First Team

Captain’s armband, assist and clean sheet

The second interim round-up of the Wolves away on international duty.

From Monday to Thursday, ten more matches involving VfL players took place on the international stage. Six ended in victory and four in defeat. The past few days also produced some special moments on an individual level.

Appearances at a glance

Jonas Adjetey (Ghana / Africa Cup of Nations qualifying)

After losing their opener against Ivory Coast, Ghana suffered another setback on Matchday 2 of Africa Cup of Nations qualifying. The Black Stars surrendered a 2-0 lead against Gambia and eventually went down 4-2 (2-2). Jonas Adjetey played the full match at centre-back.

Adjetey in der Nahaufnahme im Ghana Trikot.

Alexander Bernhardsson (Sweden / Nations League)

Sweden remain on course in the Nations League. After opening with a win over Romania, the Scandinavians beat Poland 3-1 (1-1) on Matchday 2 to maintain top spot in their group. Alexander Bernhardsson came on in the 80th minute for the closing stages.

Alexander Bernhardsson in der Nahaufnahme im Schweden Trikot.

Joakim Maehle (Denmark / Nations League)

Denmark suffered their second defeat in three Nations League matches, losing 4-2 (2-1) to Portugal. As in their 3-2 defeat in Norway, the Danes showed character and twice came from behind to equalise. However, they had no answer to goals from Vitinha (67’) and Joao Felix (87’). Joakim Maehle started the match and set up Mikkel Damsgaard for the temporary 1-1 equaliser. The VfL defender was substituted in the 80th minute.

Joakim Maehle im Zweikampf im Dänemark Trikot.

Kento Shiogai (Japan / Kirin Challenge Cup)

Japan recorded two more victories in the Kirin Challenge Cup. Against Venezuela, Japan fell behind shortly after the restart following a goalless first half, but an Ayase Ueda brace turned the match around as they came back to win 2-1. The striker scored the decisive goal in the sixth minute of stoppage time. Kento Shiogai was not in the squad.

It remained a tense affair right to the end against Ecuador too. After 90 goalless minutes, the match was decided in a penalty shoot-out, with nine of the ten takers converting. Ecuador’s Denil Castillo was the only player to miss, handing Japan a 5-4 victory. Shiogai was involved again this time and came on in the 86th minute.

Kento Shiogai sitzt im Japan Trikot auf der Auswechselbank.

Alessio Besio (Switzerland U21 / European Championship qualifying)

After three successive victories, Switzerland U21 suffered a major setback in their bid to reach the European Championship finals. The Swiss were comprehensively beaten 5-1 (2-0) in Iceland. Alessio Besio played the full match and had a chance to score shortly before half-time, but narrowly missed the target from a promising position.

Alessio Besio im Zweikampf im Schweiz Trikot.

Sael Kumbedi (France U21 / European Championship qualifying)

France U21, meanwhile, remain unbeaten at the top of their qualifying group. Les Bleuets beat Estonia 2-0 (1-0). Shortly after France took the lead, Estonia were shown a red card and had to play around 60 minutes with ten men. Sael Kumbedi was not part of the France squad on this occasion.

Sael Kumbedi in der Nahaufnahme im Frankreich-Trikot.

Mathys Angely (France U20 / friendlies)

France U20 suffered a 2-1 defeat to England. Two goals in the opening 15 minutes put England firmly on course for victory, with France only pulling one back from the penalty spot in the 68th minute. Mathys Angely led Les Bleus out as captain and was substituted in the 71st minute.

Jakub Zielinski (Poland U19 / Youth Nations Cup)

After watching the narrow opening defeat to Switzerland from the bench, Jakub Zielinski started in goal for VfL in the following two matches. Poland U19 first celebrated a 2-1 victory over Slovakia before beating Kazakhstan 3-0 – with Zielinski keeping a clean sheet.