:onion14: Internationals: Bendtner nets again for Danes:onion14:
Arsenal.com's International Watch reports back to base on those who have temporarily swapped the red of Arsenal for the colours of their national sides. Read on for the latest news...
Nicklas Bendtner
Northern Ireland 2-1 Denmark, November 17, Denmark 3-0 Iceland, November 21
A second goal in five days for Nicklas Bendtner set Denmark on their way to comfortable 3-0 win over Iceland. Former Newcastle man Jon Dahl Tomasson and then Thomas Kahlenberg rounded off the scoring as the Danes finished an inconsistent campaign on a high. Arsenal’s striker was withdrawn six minutes from the end having assisted with the final goal, and will return to the Club in very good spirits.
Eduardo
Macedonia 2-0 Croatia , November 17, England 2-3 Croatia, Nov 21
Eduardo did little to endear himself to the English public as his Croatian side tore England apart in the opening 14 minutes at Wembley. First Niko Kranjcer’s short squirmed past the hapless Scott Carson in the Englishman’s competitive debut and then Ivica Olic converted a fine pass from Arsenal’s front man. The hosts responded well in the second half with goals from Frank Lampard and Peter Crouch, but substitute Mladen Petric rifled home 13 minutes from time to send Croatia through as group winners and England out.
Cesc Fabregas
Spain 3-0 Sweden, November 17, Spain 1-0 Northern Ireland, November 21
Northern Ireland’s feint hopes of reaching Euro 2008 were dashed in Spain on Wednesday night. Cesc Fabregas was hugely impressive for the hosts in the opening period, picking astute passes from midfield and even stinging the goalkeeper’s hands with a long-range effort. He was substituted just after the restart shortly before Xavi grabbed the game’s only goal on 52 minutes.
William Gallas, Bacary Sagna, Lassana Diarra, Mathieu Flamini
France 2-2 Morocco, November 16, Ukraine 2-2 France, November 21
An already-qualified French side ended the campaign with an enthralling 2-2 draw in the Ukraine. William Gallas and Lasanna Diarra both completed 90 minutes in a match that saw Premier League stars past and present find the back of the net. First Liverpool’s Andriy Voronin scored but Thierry Henry and then Sidney Govou gave the French a half-time lead before Chelsea’s Andriy Shevchenko levelled the scores just after the break.
Lukasz Fabianski
Poland v Belgium, November 17, Serbia 2-0 Poland, November 21
Lukasz Fabianski was handed a rare start for Poland as they secured top spot in Group A with a 2-2 draw in Belgrade. The result ended the hopes of Serbia who, despite rallying strongly in the second-half, crashed out of the tournament as Portugal went through. Rafal Murawski and Radoslaw Matusiak scored for the Poles before goals from Nikola Zigic and Danko Lazovic earned a share of the spoils.
Alexander Hleb
Albania 2-4 Belarus, November 17, Belarus 2-1 Holland, Nov 21
Belarus were out and Holland already through, so the game in Minsk offered little by way of significance. However goals from Vitali Bulyga and Vladimir Korythko in the second half, after Alex Hleb had been withdrawn at the interval, meant the hosts claimed a 2-1 victory over the much-favoured Dutch. Rafael van der Vaart grabbed a late consolation for Marco van Basten’s team.
Gilberto
Peru v Brazil, November 18, Brazil 2-1 Uruguay, November 21
Gilberto came through another 90 minutes for Brazil as they recovered from an early set-back to defeat Uruguay 2-1 in Sao Paulo. Sevilla’s Luis Fabiano, who is likely to line-up against the Gunners in next week’s Champions League match, grabbed a brace for the Brazilians after Sebastian Abreu had netted inside 10 minutes for the visitors.
Jens Lehmann
Germany 4-0 Cyprus, November 17, Germany 0-0 Wales, November 21
Jens Lehmann has played 180 minutes of football with his country during this international break without conceding a goal. The German stopper is trying to force his way back into the Arsenal starting line-up and his recent performances will have done him no harm. Wales, playing simply for pride, did just that as they ended a disappointing campaign with arguably their best performance.
Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Eboue
Angola 2-1 Ivory Coast, November 17, Ivory Coast 6-1 Qatar, November 21
Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Eboue were in the Ivory Coast squad which dished out a 6-1 thrashing of Qatar. Chelsea’s Salomon Kalou netted a hat-trick and Abdulkader Keita grabbed a brace. An own goal midway through the second half completed the rout.
Theo Walcott, Matthew Connolly
Portugal Under-21 1-1 England Under-21, November 20
Theo Walcott earned that rare thing - the praise of opposition supporters - after an impressive display for England Under-21s in Portugal. Chants of 'Theo, Theo' were heard among the home fans as the Arsenal forward tormented the Portugal defence with his pace and trickery. Adelino Vieirinha fired the hosts ahead from the penalty spot and Walcott went close before Adam Johnson equalised with a volley from Joe Mattock's long throw. Walcott, operating as a lone striker in a depleted England side, forced a fine save from Ricardo Batista after another mazy run as the visitors finished strongly. Arsenal defender Matthew Connolly was an unused substitute. The 1-1 draw leaves England six points clear of Portugal at the top of Group Three with a place at Euro 2009 well within their reach.
Tomas Rosicky
Czech Republic 3-1 Slovakia, November 17, Cyprus 0-2 Czech Republic, November 21
With the Czech Republic guaranteed a place at Euro 2008, Tomas Rosicky was relieved of his duties with his country and returned to Arsenal earlier this week. He would have happily watched on though as Daniel Pudil and Jan Koller netted in a 2-0 win over Cyprus that assured top spot for Karel Bruckner’s team.
