The Netherlands (Ryan Gravenberch, Davy Klaassen, Daley Blind, Maarten Stekelenburg)
The Dutch started poorly in their World Cup qualifying series with a loss against Turkey (4-2). Klaassen still scored a wonderful goal, but it was not enough to help the side earn any points. Ryan Gravenberch made his debut against Turkey
Ex-Ajax coach Frank de Boer’s side then won with relative ease against Latvia (2-0) and Gibraltar (7-0). Unfortunately, Daley Blind suffered an injury in that final match.
Dutch U21s (Kjell Scherpen, Perr Schuurs, Jurgen Ekkelenkamp, Brian Brobbey)
The Dutch U21 side qualified for the quarterfinals of the European Championship U21 last week. After two draws (against Romania U21 and Germany U21 respectively), they closed the week with a big victory over Hungary U21 1-6). Both Perr Schuurs and Brian Brobbey scored goals during the break. The U21s will play against France in the quarterfinals in May.
Serbia (Dusan Tadic)
Assist-King Dusan Tadic was in fine form with four assists in three World Cup qualifiers. With his help, Serbia came away with seven points from three matches. They are now the shared leader with Portugal in group A.
Ghana (Mohammed Kudus)
Ghana has qualified as the first seed for the African Cup of Nations. Mohammed Kudus scored this week in their 1-1 draw against South Africa. Kudus and company were also 3-1 victors against Sao Tomé and Principe. AFCON will take place in January 2022.
Burkina Faso (Lassina Traoré)
Burkina Faso also qualified for AFCON this week. The Stallions won 1-0 against South Sudan on Monday. Lassina Traoré assisted former Ajax player Bertrand Traoré in that game. Earlier in the week, their encounter with Uganda ended in 0-0.
Mexico (Edson Álvarez)
Mexico played two friendlies during the international break. The first game of the week was a 1-0 loss against Wales. On Tuesday, Mexico were 1-0 victors against Costa Rica. During that match, Álvarez remained on the bench.
Croatia U21 (Dominik Kotarski)
Dominik Kotarski narrowly qualified with the Croatia U21s for the quarterfinals of the European Championship U21. The Croats lost in their last group stage match against England 1-2, but their one goal - deep into the last stages of the game - turned out to be enough to carry them to the next round. Croatia will meet Spain in the quarterfinals of the European Championship U21.
