Three of West Ham United’s young stars secured wins in 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifying action in Friday’s international football fixtures.
Mipo Odubeko scored his first goal for the Republic of Ireland U21s on just his second outing, firing home the team’s second in a 3-0 win against Bosnia & Herzegovina.
The 19-year-old, who spent the second half of the season on loan at EFL League One side Doncaster Rovers and earned his first U21s cap in March, coolly netted from a one-on-one situation on 63 minutes to put Ireland two goals ahead.
Will Smallbone had put the Irish ahead on 16 minutes before adding his second, and Ireland’s third, late on to secure victory.
Another of West Ham’s loaned Academy talents – Conor Coventry – was also in action for the Republic of Ireland, captaining the U21s to the victory.
Odubeko, Coventry and their international colleagues now sit third in Group F on 16 points, just one behind group leaders Sweden and second place Italy with a final qualification match to play on Monday against Montenegro.
Elsewhere, Ben Johnson helped England U21s take a huge step toward qualifying for the 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship Finals with a 2-1 win away to the Czech Republic.
Johnson made his second appearance for the young international side on Friday, having made his debut back in March, featuring at left-back in the victory for Lee Carsley’s team at the Stadio Střelecký ostrov.
The match between first and second place in Group G was won by England thanks to goals from Emile Smith Rowe of Arsenal and Aston Villa’s Jacob Ramsey in either half, while the hosts hit back through Daniel Fila’s late finish.
Johnson played the full 90 minutes for England in the fixture, continuing his superb season for both Club and country.
The Young Lions now need four points from their three remaining match to reach Euro 2023. Johnson and his teammates are top of Group G on goal difference, having moved level on points with the Czechs, but played two games fewer.
At full senior international level, Nikola Vlašić made an appearance from the bench for Croatia as they fell to a 3-0 defeat at home to Austria.
Vlašić was introduced on 58 minutes in Friday’s match but the damage had already been done by the visiting Austrians as former Hammer Marko Arnautovic netted in the first half before Augsburg’s Michael Gregoritsch and Bayern Munich’s Marcel Sabitzer added the other two in the second half.
Defeat to Austria puts Croatia bottom of Group 1A in the 2022-23 UEFA Nations League, albeit after only one fixture.
On-loan goalkeeper Alphonse Areola was an unused substitute for France in the same UEFA Nations League group, as they fell to a surprise 2-1 home defeat at the hands of Denmark.
