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The international break saw a handful of players from the south coast sides make a huge impact on their national sides UEFA Nations League campaigns.
England had representation from Bournemouth, as Callum Wilson made his England debut after a tumultuous career with injuries. Wilson has suffered from two serious knee injuries, which resulted in lengthy spells on the sidelines and his prospects of an England career looking bleak. But the Cherries striker has fought back with the mental strength Gareth Southgate will admire to force his way into the conversation.
Wilson started the friendly against USA, which was a send off for England all time top scorer Wayne Rooney, and managed to grab the third goal in a 3-0 win. A positive performance which was in tune with his recent Bourenmouth form, and should be a springboard for both his club and international career
Both Brighton and Southampton also saw a player on their books become an full England international in that win at Wembley, as both Lewis Dunk and Alex McCarthy played the second half of that game to earn their first caps. A routine win and performance from both saw them comfortably wade their way into the international scene with a clean sheet and not a huge amount to worry about.
Southampton had another debutant, for the Republic of Ireland, as teenage prospect Micheal Obafemi made his debut as a substitute against Denmark, coming up against his club teammate Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg. The Dublin born striker has recently broken into the first team squad at Southampton and will be hoping to challenge his Irish counterpart Shane Long to a starting position for both Southampton and the Irish side.
High flying Bournemouth also had representation north of the border, as Ryan Fraser scored to earn his Scotland side a well earned 4-0 in Albania. Fraser opened the scoring in the 14th minute for Alex McLeish’s side to give Scotland a chance of topping their group and gaining promotion to League B of the UEFA Nations League format.
Both Fraser and Southampton man Stuart Armstrong were involved in that final game against Israel, as they came from behind to win 3-2 and top the group, with both men involved with the goals. Armstrong’s deflected shot landed at Forrest’s feet who slammed it into the net whilst Fraser laid on the assist for his second of the night.
Another scorer during that pivotal fixture was Brighton’s very own Beram Kayal, who spent a large part of his career in Scotland, playing for Celtic in the SPL. Kayal gave Israel the lead when he created space for himself in outside the area to bend one over and around Scotland keeper Allan McGregor.
Kayal has struggled for first team football recently but with a performance and goal like that, he will give Chris Hughton food for though.
All the south coast clubs find themselves in action this weekend, with Southampton visiting Fulham, Bournemouth hosting Arsenal and Brighton welcoming Leicester City to The Amex. With an aura of positivity surrounding those involved with their international sides over the past week, the managers of the respective clubs will be hoping that can translate into three points this weekend.
