RPL players on international duty: Davitashvili earns Georgia victory in Kosovo, Kecskes earns draw at Wembley with Hungary

On 12 October, Russian Premier Liga players took part in qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup, 2023 Under-21 European Under-21 Championship and 2022 European Under-19 Championship.

2022 World Cup qualifiers

Europe

Group A

Serbia 3-1 Azerbaijan

Krasnodar defender Uros Spajic remained on the bench for Serbia. Dragan Stojkovic's team, having scored 17 points after seven matches, are top of the group, one point behind Portugal, who have a game in hand. Serbia will play Portugal on 14 November in Lisbon.

Group B

Kosovo 1-2 Georgia

Rubin midfielder Khvicha Kvaratskhelia played his 10th match for the Georgian national team. For his foul at the end of the first half, the hosts earned a penalty, from which Vedat Murici equalised. Arsenal midfielder Zuriko Davitashvili came on in the 72nd minute in place of Kvaratskhelia, and scored the winning goal 10 minutes later. Now the 20-year-old has two goals in 12 matches for Georgia, whose first goal in the 11th minute was scored by ex-Krasnodar player Tornike Okriashvili.

Having picked up their first win in the qualifiers, Georgia rose to fourth place in the group with four points. Their last match will be held on 11 November in Batumi against Sweden.

Sweden 2-0 Greece

Krasnodar midfielder Viktor Claesson played in his 55th match for Sweden from the start, and left the pitch in the 81st minute. Sweden went two points clear of Spain on 15 points and regained top spot in the group. Janne Andersson's team will face Spain on 14 November in Seville, and three days earlier they will play against Georgia.

Group D

Kazakhstan 0-2 Finland

Two RPL players started for the hosts. Akhmat defender Marat Bystrov played 76 minutes, while CSKA midfielder Baktiyor Zaynutdinov was given a yellow card - his second in the qualifiers - in the 90th minute. He will now miss Kazakhstan’s last group fixture on 13 November against France at the Stade de France. After this defeat, Kazakhstan were left with three points, and are now guaranteed to finish bottom of the standings.

Ukraine 1-1 Bosnia and Herzegovina

Rostov defender Dennis Hadzhikadunic returned after being banned for collecting too many yellow cards and played a full match against Ukraine. After six games, Bosnia and Herzegovina are fourth in the group with seven points, two points off second and a playoff spot. They will play the remaining fixtures against Finland and Ukraine at home on 13 and 16 November respectively.

Group I

Albania 0-1 Poland

Nizhny Novgorod striker Bekim Balaj was left out of the hosts’ matchday squad. However, Krasnodar midfielder Grzegorz Krychowiak picked up his 84th cap for Poland in Albania, moving him into 10th on the appearance list in the history of the national team. Thanks to the victory, they ousted their opponents from second place in the group, on 17 points, with Albania now third on 15 points.

The final group matches for Albania are against England (away) and Andorra (at home), and for Poland against Andorra (away) and Hungary (at home). The fixtures will take place on 12 and 15 November.

England 1-1 Hungary

Nizhny Novgorod defender Akos Keckes played his fourth game for Hungary at Wembley and helped his team avoid defeat to England for the first time since 1999 (when they drew 1-1 in a friendly). Hungary are fourth in the group on 11 points, with England first on 20 points. On 12 November, Marco Rossi's team will host San Marino in Budapest, and on 15 November they will meet Poland in Warsaw.

Africa, 2nd round

Group A

Niger 0-4 Algeria

Krylia Sovetov defender Mehdi Zeffan spent the entire match on the bench for the visitors. Algeria remain first in the group on 10 points after four matchdays. Burkina Faso are level on points but edged out by Algeria on goal difference (9-1 vs 19-2). Algerian will complete the second round of 2022 World Cup qualifiers with matches against Djibouti (13 November, away) and Burkina Faso (16 November, at home).

Group I

Guinea 1-4 Morocco

Lokomotiv striker Francois Kamano was booked in the 40th minute, before being substituted on 57 minutes. The victory guaranteed Morocco first place in the group after picking up a maximum of 12 out of 12 points, and passage to the next round of 2022 World Cup qualifiers. Guinea are third on three points. On 13 November, Guinea will meet Guinea-Bissau at home, then three days later will take on Morocco away.

Asia, 3rd round

Group A

Iran 1-1 South Korea

Two RPL players participated in the match in Tehran. Rubin midfielder Hwang In-beom played the whole match for South Korea, while Zenit forward Sardar Azmoun played for Iran, setting up teammate Alireza Jahanbakhsh for the equaliser in the 76th minute. He was also booked, before being substituted off in added time. Azmoun supplied an assist for the second game in a row: on 7 October, thanks to Azmoun’s assist, Iran beat UAE 1-0.

After four rounds, Iran top the group on 10 points, with South Korea two points further back in second. In November, Iran will meet Lebanon and Syria, and South Korea will take on the UAE and Iraq. The games are scheduled for 11 and 16 November.

Friendly match

Jordan 3-0 Uzbekistan

Nizhny Novgorod defender Ibrogimkhalil Yuldoshev played 61 minutes for the visitors on his 11th match for Uzbekistan. In the previous match, a 5-1 win over Malaysia, the 20-year-old scored his first goal for the national team.

2023 UEFA Under-21 Championship qualifiers

Group D

Belarus U-21 6-0 Liechtenstein U-21

Krylia Sovetov defender Dmitry Prishchepa played the whole match against Liechtenstein. In the 68th minute, he made an assist to Oleg Nikiforenko, who scored the visitors’ sixth and final goal. Belarus picked up their first points in the group and are now fifth in the table. They will host the next two fixtures: on 12 November against Greece, and on 16 November against Liechtenstein.

Group F

Italy U-21 1-1 Sweden U-21

Rostov midfielder Armin Gigovic was named in the Sweden starting line-up before being replaced in the 72nd minute. The visitors conceded in the 42nd minute, but hit back in added time; thanks to the draw in Monza, they remained in first place in the group. Sweden have 11 points after five matches, while Italy are one point behind but with a game in hand. In November, Sweden will play against Bosnia and Herzegovina (12 November, Boros) and Republic of Ireland (16 November, Dublin).

Group H

Armenia U-21 1-2 North Macedonia U-21

Rostov youth team defender Sergey Kochkanian played the full 90 minutes against Northern Macedonia. Armenia suffered their fourth defeat in five matches and find themselves in last place with three points. Armenia will play the next match on 11 November against group leaders France.

Serbia U-21 0-3 France U-21

Lokomotiv midfielder Alexis Beka Beka, as in the game against the Ukrainians, remained on the bench for France. They are undefeated in the qualifiers and lead the group with 10 points after four games. In November, France will play two matches - against Armenia (11 November, Grenoble) and Northern Macedonia (16 November, Skopje).

2022 UEFA Under-19 Championship qualifiers

Group 10

Georgia U-19 1-0 Norway U-19

Ural midfielder Luka Gagnidze started as captain and played 89 minutes. Georgia completed the qualifying round with seven points in three games and as group winners made their way to the elite round, which will be held in the spring of 2022.

At the second stage of qualification, 28 teams will be divided into seven groups, with only first-placed sides making it through to the final part of the Euros, which will be held in Slovakia from 20 July to 2 August 2022.

Photo: Hungarian Football Federation; Football Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina