How our internationals performed

The March international break has come to an end, so it’s time to take a look at how our international Kemphanen performed. Below you’ll find an overview, from Costa Rica to Denmark, and from Belgium to Portugal.

We begin with Josimar Alcócer. On Friday, March 27, he played a friendly match with Costa Rica against Jordan and started in the starting XI. Trailing 2–0, Costa Rica were awarded a penalty in the 84th minute. Alcócer stepped up but saw his effort saved by the Jordanian goalkeeper. However, he reacted quickly to the rebound and managed to score the 2–1. Costa Rica eventually even found an equalizer in the 91st minute from a corner. Alcócer was substituted one minute before full time. On Tuesday, March 31, Costa Rica faced Iran. Iran won convincingly 5–0. Alcócer started again but was taken off after 85 minutes.

Denmark were also in action, with our goalkeeper Andreas Jungdal included in the squad. In the European play-offs for World Cup qualification, the Danes faced North Macedonia in the semi-final. Jungdal remained on the bench for the entire match but saw his team win convincingly 4–0. In the final of these play-offs, Denmark took on the Czech Republic. After 120 minutes, the score was 2–2, meaning penalties were needed to decide the winner. In the end, the Czech Republic came out on top and will travel to Canada, Mexico and the United States in June for the World Cup. Jungdal remained on the bench for the full match once again.

On Friday, March 27, our Young Red Devils played an important qualifier for the 2027 European Championship against Austria. Head coach Gill Swerts gave midfielder Arthur Piedfort a full 90 minutes. Belgium won 1–0 thanks to a late goal by Arthur Vermeeren. Piedfort was one of the standout performers in midfield: he made no fewer than 14 interceptions, won 9 out of 10 duels, and achieved a pass accuracy of 84%. Thanks to this victory, Belgium U21 now lead their group outright with 10 points. On Monday, March 30, a friendly match against the Netherlands followed. In Venlo, the Young Red Devils lost 2–1 to their northern neighbors. Piedfort started on the bench but came on in the 58th minute with his team trailing 2–0. He was unable to turn the game around.

Finally, we look at our young Portuguese striker Afonso Patrão. Portugal U19 played three matches in the second round of their European Championship qualifying campaign. In the first match, away against Poland, Patrão remained on the bench for the entire game, while his teammates secured a 0–1 victory. The second match, at home against Serbia, ended in a 1–1 draw. Patrão started that game but was substituted after an hour. On Tuesday, March 31, the final group match took place at home against England. Portugal suffered a heavy 0–6 defeat, with Patrão again staying on the bench for the full match. Following this loss, Portugal U19 were eliminated from their European Championship qualifying campaign.