Marco Fabián/ Carlos Salcedo (Mexico)
It had been nine months since Marco Fabián last played for Mexico, after the midfielder suffered a serious injury at the 2017 Confederations Cup that ruled him out for a lengthy period. Fabián was back in national colours in Mexico’s friendly against Iceland overnight and made his mark straight away, scoring the opening goal with a delightful free-kick. Fabián was substituted 15 minutes before the end of the match, which finished 3-0. Fellow Eagle Carlos Salcedo played the full 90 minutes.
Ante Rebic (Croatia)
Ante Rebic was also in action overnight for Croatia, but their first match of 2018 ended in a 2-0 defeat in Peru. Early goals in each half were enough to secure victory for the South Americans. Rebic could do nothing to turn the game around and was taken off with 13 minutes left on the clock.
Mijat Gacinovic (Serbia)
Mijat Gacinovic and Serbia suffered a narrow 2-1 loss against Morocco on Friday evening. All the goals came in the first half with the Moroccans restoring their lead shortly before the break after Serbia had equalised. Gacinovic came on for goal scorer Dusan Tadic in the 70th minute.
Gelson Fernandes (Switzerland)
Switzerland got their 2018 World Cup preparations off to a good start on Friday. Blerim Dzemaili scored the only goal of the game as they beat Greece 1-0 in Athens. Eintracht midfielder Gelson Fernandes was introduced in the 61st minute and helped the Swiss to see the game out.
Lukas Hradecky (Finland)
Lukas Hradecky set new personal record with Finland by extending his unbeaten run in the national team to five games. Finland drew 0-0 at home to Macedonia on Friday, with Hradecky keeping his side in the game with a number of fine saves.
Makoto Hasebe (Japan)
Makoto Hasebe was in the starting line-up for what turned out to be an exciting contest between Mali and Japan on Friday. Mali took the lead two minutes before the break but the home side threw everything in search of an equaliser in the second half, and it finally arrived in the fifth minute of added time courtesy of Shoya Nakajima. Hasebe, making his 107th international appearance, played an hour of the game.
Luka Jovic (Serbia Under-21)
Luka Jovic is on fire. The Serbia Under-21s’ 6-0 thrashing of Gibraltar was their eighth straight win and Jovic has scored six goals during that time, including two on Friday.
Marijan Cavar (Bosnia and Herzegovina U-21)
The Bosnia and Herzegovina U-21s claimed a 1-0 win over Wales in their European Championship qualifier on Friday. Eintracht’s Marijan Cavar played in central midfield for the whole game.
Aymen Barkok (Germany U-20)
Aymen Barkok’s record in the Germany U-20 team is impressive, his record now standing at four wins and a draw from five games. On Thursday, Frank Kramer’s charges were deserved 1-0 winners over Portugal, with Hoffenheim’s Robin Hack scoring the decisive goal in the 77th minute. Attacking midfielder Barkok played the full match.
