Wolves stars are shining on the international stage.
Wolves defender Ladislav Krejci grabbed the headlines as he captained Czech Republic to a World Cup play-off semi-final win over the Republic of Ireland.
The 26-year-old was named skipper just days before the crunch clash and he put in a player of the match performance to help his side to a play-off final.
Ireland made a strong start to the game with four shots in the opening 10 minutes, including an effort that saw former Wolves defender Nathan Collins hit the bar from range.
Collins then won a penalty, with the help of VAR, and Troy Parrott netted to give Ireland the lead.
The visitors made it 2-0 inside 23 minutes when Ryan Manning’s corner found Dara O’Shea at the back post and as his header was cleared off the line by Vladimir Coufal, it came back off goalkeeper Matej Kovar and crossed the line.
Despite that setback, Czechia responded quickly when a corner to the far post found Krejci and as he attempted to get his shot away, he was dragged back and won a penalty, which Patrik Schick converted.
The Wolves centre-back then nodded home from a corner in the 86th minute to send the game to extra-time and eventually penalties.
Ladislav Krejciplaceholder image
Ladislav Krejci | Getty Images
Krejci stepped up first from the spot and scored as Czechia won 4-3 in the shoot-out.
They now face a play-off final against Denmark in Prague on Tuesday, with a place in this summer’s World Cup up for grabs.
Krejci is one of nine Wolves first team players called up for international duty this week
Mateus Mane made his debut for Portugal u21s off the bench against Azerbaijan under-21s on Friday morning, in their 4-0 win. He was a 70th minute substitute.
Colombia are preparing for the World Cup with friendlies against Croatia and France.
They faced Croatia on Thursday evening, losing 2-1, and Mosquera was an unused substitute, while former Wolves forward Jhon Arias scored Colombia’s goal.
Colombia next take on France on Sunday night.
Wolves under-21 midfielder Xu Bin was in action, as he made his international debut in China’s 2-0 friendly win over Curacao.
He played the opening 67 minutes and China next face Cameroon, and Jackson Tchatchoua, in a friendly on Tuesday.
Tchatchoua was an unused substitute on Friday, when Cameroon lost 1-0 in a friendly against Australia, thanks to an 85th minute Jordan Bos finish.
A number of Wolves players will be in friendly action over the weekend, with their countries already qualified for the World Cup this summer.
Santi Bueno will hope to play some minutes when Uruguay take on England at Wembley tonight (Friday, March 27).
David Moller Wolfe is also in action tonight, when Norway take on the Netherlands. Both matches kick-off at 7.45pm.
South Korea and the Ivory Coast clash in a friendly in Milton Keynes on Saturday afternoon, kicking off at 2pm.
Hwang Hee-chan is in the South Korea squad and could face off with former team-mate Emmanuel Agbadou, who left Wolves in the winter transfer window to join Turkish side Besiktas.
On Sunday, two Wolves players have friendlies in North America.
Jean-Ricner Bellegarde will hope to be involved with Haiti as they face Tunisia in Canada, while Jose Sa and Portugal will play Mexico.
Continue Reading