International round-up: Big wins for Magpies trio

Almirón was in action for Paraguay in their 2022 World Cup qualifier with Ecuador, and the United midfielder – who started for La Albirroja – netted his side’s third of the night with 54 minutes gone with a neat finish after turning past his man in the box.

Paraguay, who were reduced to ten men when Blas Riveros was dismissed in the second half, ran out 3-1 winners, tough their hopes of reaching this winter's tournament are already over. Almirón picked up a yellow card but played the full 90 minutes in Ciudad del Este.

Wood, meanwhile, became New Zealand's all-time record goalscorer on Monday when his brace in a 4-0 win over Fiji took him onto 30 goals for his country.

And he was among the scorers on Thursday too, coming off the bench on 71 minutes before netting twice inside the final ten minutes to help the All Whites seal an emphatic 7-1 World Cup qualifying victory over New Caledonia.

Brazil international Guimarães also made an impression in midweek, despite starting on the bench for the Seleção in their qualifying clash with Chile at the Maracana in Rio de Janeiro.

Goals from Neymar, Vinicius Junior and Philippe Coutinho had given Brazil a three-goal lead by the time Guimarães was introduced from the bench in place of Manchester United’s Fred with just under ten minutes remaining.

And he made a late impact, providing the assist for Richarlison to make it 4-0 to the hosts and maintain their seven-point lead over rivals Argentina at the top of the South American standings.

Elsewhere, Mo Sangare lined up for Liberia in their friendly defeat to Benin in Antalya, Turkey, with the Magpies' under-23s midfielder starting in the 4-0 loss.

But defender Emil Krafth missed out on a place in Sweden's matchday squad for their 1-0 extra time victory over the Czech Republic, which has set up another play-off clash with Poland on Tuesday as both sides battle for a place at the World Cup in Qatar this November.