There were mixed fortunes for the Fulham players involved in European Qualifiers on Friday night.
Chris Baird and Aaron Hughes both played 90 minutes on Friday evening in Maribor, as Northern Ireland beat Slovenia by one goal to nil. Both players have returned to Motspur Park ahead of Saturday’s clash against Wolves.
The Republic of Ireland also made a positive start with a one-nil win over Armenia in Yerevan. Damien Duff and Stephen Kelly did not feature. On Tuesday the Republic of Ireland will be hoping to make the most of home advantage when they play Andorra in Dublin.
Fulham’s Norwegian contingent of Brede Hangeland and Bjorn Helge Riise also tasted victory with a two-one win over Iceland in Reykjavic. Hangeland played the full 90 minutes whilst Riise saw 65 minutes of action. On Tuesday Norway will take on Portugal in Olso.
Zoltan Gera and Moussa Dembele both tasted defeat in their respective European Qualifiers. Gera lost two-nil as Hungary were defeated by Sweden in Solna ahead of Tuesday’s match against Moldova.
Meanwhile Dembele’s Belgian team narrowly lost out one-nil to Germany in Brussels. Next up for Belgium is Turkey in Istanbul on Tuesday.
In the Continental Qualifiers, John Pantsil’s Ghana ran out three-nil winners against Swaziland in Lobamba whilst Rakik Halliche’s Algeria side managed a one-all draw against Tanzania in Blida.
Two further First Team players were involved in friendly matches on Friday evening and played the full 90 minutes. Mark Schwarzer played out a nil-nil draw against Switzerland for Australia whilst Carlos Salcido’s Mexico side lost to Ecuador in Guadalajara.