West Ham United attackers Marko Arnautovic and Andriy Yarmolenko both enjoyed international success on Thursday evening.
Arnautovic, who has scored both of the Hammers’ Premier League goals so far this season, did not find the net but was still on the winning side as Austria defeated Sweden.
The Austrians celebrated the opening of the refurbished Generali Arena in Arnautovic’s home city of Vienna with a 2-0 friendly international victory over Sweden.
An own-goal from Filip Helander put the home side on their way within six minutes before Bayern Munich star and captain-for-the-night David Alaba doubled their advantage on 64 minutes.
Arnautovic, who had been booked on the stroke of half-time, was replaced a minute after Alaba’s goal.
The West Ham forward will wear the captain’s armband when Austria kick-off their UEFA Nations League B Group 3 campaign in Bosnia and Herzegovina next Tuesday evening.
Speaking of the new Nations League, which provides countries with competitive matches between major tournaments and will provide four qualification spots for UEFA Euro 2020, Yarmolenko started as Ukraine defeated the Czech Republic 2-1 in Uherske Hradiste in League B Group 1.
The West Ham winger played for 66 minutes before being replaced by Manchester City’s Oleksandr Zinchenko. By then, Yevhen Konoplyanka had cancelled out Patrik Schick’s early opener for the Czechs and it was Zinchenko who scored a 90th-minute winner.
Ukraine will host Slovakia in their second Nations League fixture in Lviv on Sunday afternoon.
Elsewhere, goalkeeper Nathan Trott was a substitute for England U20s in their 2-0 friendly win over Switzerland at St George’s Park.
And summer Academy signing Sebastian Nebyla appeared for the final 21 minutes as Slovakia U17s defeated Sweden 1-0 in a friendly in Skalica.