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International round-up: Victory for Schär's Switzerland
Fabian Schär was one of three Newcastle United players in international action on Wednesday as he helped Switzerland seal a 2-1 friendly win over Greece.
The centre half started for his country in Basel, and saw Steven Zuber give the hosts an early lead at St. Jakob-Park.
Vangelis Pavlidis levelled the scores ten minutes before the break, but Ruben Vargas’ 51st-minute winner meant Switzerland ended with a win in their first post-EURO 2020 outing.
Schär played the full 90 minutes for his nation, and could now keep his place for their 2022 World Cup qualifier against Italy on Sunday (kick-off 7:45pm BST).
Ryan Fraser, meanwhile, also got 90 minutes under his belt, but couldn’t prevent Scotland from being beaten by Denmark in Copenhagen.
Goals from Daniel Wass and Joakim Maehle secured the win for the hosts in the Danish capital, with Fraser’s attention now turning to their Group F qualifying clash with Moldova at Hampden Park on Saturday (kick-off 7:45pm).
It was a tough night for fellow Magpie Jeff Hendrick, too, as the midfielder conceded a penalty in the Republic of Ireland’s 2-1 World Cup qualifying loss to Portugal.
His foul on Bruno Fernandes gave Cristiano Ronaldo the chance to open the scoring from the spot in Faro, but his penalty was saved by Gavin Bazunu.
John Egan’s goal on the stroke of half time gave Ireland the lead, but in the end Ronaldo’s late brace – his 110th and 111th international goals – dealt Eire a cruel blow, with the decisive strikes coming in the 89th and 96th minutes.
Hendrick played the full game for Stephen Kenny’s side, who now face Azerbaijan in another qualifier in Dublin on Saturday (kick-off 5pm BST).