Woves’ international stars continued their positive form away from Compton Park over the weekend, with five of Vitor Pereira’s players featuring in victories for their countries.
Old Gold skipper Nelson Semedo was one of them, playing his part as Portugal booked their place in the Nations League semi-finals, while the Republic of Ireland retained their divisional status in the same competition, with the help of Matt Doherty, who earned his 50th cap.
Meanwhile, the Ivory Coast, Algeria and Burkina Faso all won in their World Cup qualifying groups, and Emmanuel Agbadou, Rayan Ait-Nouri and Nasser Djiga featured in those victories for their respective countries.
Nelson Semedo | Portugal 5-2 Denmark (AET)
Trailing 2-1 from the first leg, Portugal welcomed Denmark back to Lisbon in the Nations League last eight on Sunday, and Jose Sa and Semedo once again both started on the bench. However, with the score on the night at 2-2, Portugal were heading out, and Roberto Martinez called on the services on Semedo. He came on with nine minutes of the 90 remaining and former Wolves man Francisco Trincao sent the tie to extra time moments later. Once in the additional 30 minutes, Portugal took control, winning 5-2 on the night and 5-3 on aggregate to set up a semi-final meeting with Germany at the Allianz Arena in June.
Matt Doherty | Republic of Ireland 2-1 Bulgaria
The Republic of Ireland retained their Nations League B status on Sunday, with Doherty playing the full 90 of their win over Bulgaria. Leading 2-1 from the first leg, where the Wolves man bagged the winner, Ireland were back in Dublin and Doherty was employed at right back, having hit form on the right of a back three under Pereira. He played his part as the Irish came from a goal down to win 2-1, with Evan Ferguson and Adam Idah on target in the second half. The Irish will begin their World Cup qualification group in September.
Congratulations on 50 caps for @IrelandFootball, Matt Doherty! 🇮🇪🙌 pic.twitter.com/K3UEFgoGCr
— Wolves (@Wolves) March 24, 2025
Emmanuel Agbadou | Burundi 0-1 Ivory Coast
The Ivory Coast boosted their chances of featuring at next year’s World Cup with a significant win in Burundi on Friday and Agbadou featured from the start. The Wolves man played on the left of a back three, as he did for the Old Gold in his initial games for the club and played 65 minutes. The Elephants won the game 1-0, meaning they are now second in their group, six clear of Burundi in third, and on track for a play-off place as it stands. Should they win their game in hand however, the Ivory Coast would leapfrog Gabon into top spot.
🇨🇮 A G B A 🇨🇮 pic.twitter.com/kMk6w5Nrfi
— Wolves (@Wolves) March 21, 2025
Elsewhere
Algeria and Rayan Ait-Nouri strengthened their position at the top of their World Cup qualifying group. The Wolves man played the full 90 at left-back as his country beat Botswana 3-1. The Algerians are top on 12 points, but Mozambique are on their tails, trailing only on goal difference, also on 12 points. The two nations meet on Tuesday.
Nasser Djiga added another Burkina Faso cap, as he came off the bench in their 4-1 win over Djibouti. The defender played the final 12 minutes in the 4-1 win and Burkina Faso are currently second, which is enough for a play-off place, however just two points separate them and Guinea-Bissau in fourth.
Finally, Santiago Bueno was an unused substitute as Uruguay were narrowly beaten 1-0 by Argentina on Friday. They now sit fourth, still on track for qualification as it stands.
Coming up
Both Andre and Matheus Cunha will hope they’ve done enough to earn starts in Brazil’s massive World Cup qualifier with Argentina in the early hours of Wednesday morning. Both came off the bench last time out, as Brazil beat Colombia with an injury time winner from Vinicius Junior. Joao Gomes has now been added to the group too. In the same group, Bueno and Uruguay face Bolivia at 8pm on Tuesday. South Korea and Hee Chan Hwang are next in action at 11am on Tuesday. They face Jordan, who are one place behind them in qualification, and know a victory would take them significantly closer to qualification.
Agbadou will hope to feature once again when the Ivory Coast meet Gambia at 7pm on Monday, while Burkina Faso and Djiga are also in action on Monday when they take on Guinea-Bissau. On Monday Ait-Nouri’s Algeria host Mozambique – their nearest rivals in the qualification group – and victory would be huge. Meanwhile, Marshall Munetsi and Zimbabwe face Nigeria, hoping to move off bottom spot in their group.
Across the West Midlands at the Hawthorns, Portugal’s under-21s will face England and both Rodrigo Gomes and Carlos Forbs will hope to feature.
