June International Round Up: Two goal Trossard adds to his transfer value
Four international matches crammed into two weeks at the end of a hectic 2021-22 is the last thing many footballers would have wanted. Brighton players representing their countries however seem to be making the most of the opportunity, especially Leandro Trossard whose value will have only increased following two goals for Belgium against Poland.
The Red Devils ran out 6-1 winners over Robert Lewandowski and co in their Nations League fixture in Brussels. Lewandwoski had given the visitors the lead and they nearly made it to half time ahead, only for Axel Witsel to equalise just before the break.
It took Belgium until the hour mark to move ahead for the first time, starting a mad spree of five goals in a little over 30 minutes.
Kevin De Bruyne got the party started before substitute Trossard made it 3-1. Some typically nifty footwork saw the Vampire of Genk shift the ball onto his left foot before beating Bartlomiej Dragowski in the Poland goal to make it 3-1.
Trossard then added the fourth with the goal of the game. He collected the ball from a shot corner and took a shot from a seemingly impossible angle outside of the Poland penalty area.
If Brighton fans had shouted SHOOT from such a position, Graham Potter would have told us off. Trossard though showed what he was capable of, bending the ball over the head of Dragowski and into the far corner.
As good a player as Eden Hazard looked in awe at Trossard’s piece of magic. Trossard has been linked with a move away from Brighton this summer – should a bid come in, then the Albion should simply show the interested club that goal on loop to say that his value has now gone up by another £10 million.
Leander Dendoncker made it five and Lois Openda added the sixth in stoppage time. It was some way for Belgium to bounce back after being hammered 4-1 by the Netherlands in their opening Nations League game on Friday night.
Trossard replaced the injured Romelu Lukaku in that one , the Chelsea striker lasting only 27 minutes before injury struck.
The Netherlands followed up their impressive win over Belgium with three points away in Wales. Giant Albion goalkeeper Kjell Scherpen was an unused substitute for the Dutch after receiving his first international call up.
Trossard increasing his potential value was not the only Brighton related moment which may have a bearing on the summer transfer window.
Shane Duffy said that he may seek a move away from the Amex if his lack of first team football impacts on his game time for the Republic of Ireland.
Duffy fell out of favour in the second half of the 2021-22 season, with Potter preferring to use Marc Cucurella as one of three central defenders when operating with a back three.
It would be unfortunate timing for Duffy if he were to leave Brighton in the coming months, given that Molly Malone’s is apparently reopening.
He captained the Republic in their two Nations League games played so far. They lost 1-0 away against the might of Armenia, following that up with defeat by the same score at home to Ukraine.
Duffy came closest of anyone to finding a way past Ukraine at the Aviva Stadium with a trademark header tipped onto the bar by Ukrainian goalkeeper Andriy Lunin.
Brighton’s Nations League representation was rounded off by Robert Sanchez, who played backup to Unai Simon as Spain beat Portugal and drew with the Czech Republic.
Just like Trossard, Enock Mwepu was in the goals as The Computer showed his value to Zambia by helping them to an important African Cup of Nations qualifying win over Comoros.
El Fardou Ben Mohammed had given Comoros a 1-0 lead which Mwepu cancelled out on the stroke of half time.
Mwepu only seems to deal in spectacular goals and this was another one for his collection, featuring a tidy bit of control on the chest and a crisp finish.
Zambia secured their three points in stoppage time thanks to a stunning free kick from Kings Kangwa.
That sparked wild scenes of jubilation amongst the home crowd at National Heroes Park in Lusaka, some of whom had turned up wearing replica Brighton shirts. The Albion are officially massive.
Also in Africa, Yves Bissouma managed to take time out from using his Instagram account to angle for a move from the Amex to play for Mali in their 4-0 win Congo.
Our international roundup ends in South America, where we may well find the first ever Brighton player to win a World Cup.
Argentina will go to Qatar as one of the hot favourites following a 33 game unbeaten run stretching back to June 2019.
In that time, they have won the Copa America and now the Finalissima after beating European champions Italy 3-0 at Wembley last Wednesday.
Alexis Mac Allister was an unused sub in that one before starting as Argentina hammered Estonia 5-0 in a friendly. A bloke called Lionel Messi scored all five.
Steve Alzate completed a stop-start season with 66 minutes for Colombia as they beat Newcastle United in a friendly played in Spain.
Moises Caicedo meanwhile started both of Ecuador’s games as they beat Nigeria 1-0 and then drew 0-0 with Mexico with Jeremy Sarmiento coming off the bench in both games.
