RPL players on international duty: Sweden break Armenia run, Malcom makes Olympic team

On 5 June, players from RPL teams played for their national teams in friendly matches.

Cote D’Ivoire 2-1 Burkina Faso

Dynamo midfielder Charles Kabore came on in the 78th minute with the score at 1-1, and 10 minutes later earned a yellow card. Striker Mohamed Konate, who moved from Khimki to Akhmat in the off-season, remained on the visitors’ bench. Burkina Faso missed out on a draw after conceding a chance in the seventh added minute. On 12 June, Burkina Faso will play a friendly match away against Morocco.

Brazil (Olympic) 1-2 Cape Verde

Zenit forward Malcom played his first match for the Olympic team. He came on in the second half in Belgrade with the score at 1-1, and the Brazilians conceded the decisive goal in the 83rd minute. On 8 June, Brazil will play at the Partizan Stadium against Serbia’s U-21 team. This match is the final one for Brazil before their appearance at the Olympic Games in Tokyo.

Sweden 3-1 Armenia

Krasnodar midfielder Kristoffer Olsson played the entire match, while his teammate Viktor Claesson appeared after the break and was shown a yellow card in the 80th minute. Forward Markus Berg, who spent the last two seasons also at Krasnodar, scored Sweden’s third goal in the 85th minute. Spartak forward Jordan Larsson was on the bench.

For Armenia, Krasnodar midfielder Eduard Spertsyan played the first half, and after the break Rostov midfielder Khoren Bayramyan came on and earned a booking. Armenia broke a nine-match unbeaten streak that began with a 2-0 win over Estonia in the Nations League on 8 September.

Sweden will start their Euro 2020 group stage campaign on 14 June against Spain, and will also take on Slovakia and Poland. Armenia will play their next matches in September against North Macedonia, Germany and Liechtenstein in 2022 World Cup qualifiers.

Senegal 3-1 Zambia

Arsenal midfielder Kings Kangwa came off for Zambia at half-time with his team trailing 3-0. In June, Zambia will play two more friendly matches; against Benin (8 June) and Sudan (11 June), both away from home.

Photo: Swedish Football Union