Four Wanderers players have been away on international duty with their respective national teams during the last 10 days or so. Let’s take a look at how the lads fared during that time.
Amadou Bakayoko
Following a last-gasp winner at Crewe Alexandra for Wanderers just prior to the break, Amadou Bakayoko flew to Turkey to represent Sierra Leone for a trio of international friendlies in Antalya against three fellow African nations: Togo, Liberia, and Congo.
Earning his first cap in a 3-0 defeat to Togo, he scored his first international goal in a 1-0 victory against Liberia and was a second-half substitute in a 2-1 victory against Congo – with Tottenham Hotspur’s Kallum Cesay scoring a brace.
Dion Charles
Adding to the six caps he already had to his name since the start of 2021, Dion Charles made two substitute appearances for Northern Ireland during the international break.
Coming on as a 63rd-minute substitute for Josh Magennis in a 3-1 away win in Luxembourg, he came on at the break for the Wigan Athletic forward in a 1-0 defeat to Hungary at Windsor Park on Tuesday evening with Roland Sallai scoring a 71st-minute winner for the Eastern Europeans.
Jón Daði Böðvarsson
Vastly experience on the international stage, Böðvarsson earned two more caps during the break. Playing in two friendlies held in Spain, he provided an assist for Birkir Bjarnason’s equalising goal in a 1-1 draw with Finland on Saturday after Norwich City’s Teemu Pukki had given them the lead.
The Icelanders were on the receiving end of a 5-0 defeat to Spain in La Coruña on Tuesday evening with the Wanderers forward playing 67 minutes of a match dominated by Luis Enrique’s side.
James Trafford
Playing one of England U20s’ two fixtures during the international break, Trafford was an unused substitute in a 2-0 defeat to Poland U20s in Bielsko-Biala on Friday evening – with Hull City’s Harvey Cartwright deputising between the sticks in place of the Manchester City loanee.
The 19-year-old Cumbrian was given the nod to start for Tuesday evening’s 3-1 victory against Germany U20s at Colchester United’s JobServe Community Stadium with Sam Greenwood (Leeds United, James McAtee (Manchester City), and Tyrhys Dolan (Blackburn Rovers) on the scoresheet.