Bruno Guimaraes stars plus ‘X-Rated’ rants & sacking as £69m Newcastle United man makes history
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Newcastle United news: A host of Eddie Howe’s squad have been involved in huge matches and bizarre events during the international break.
International football has taken centre stage over the past week or so with a number of Newcastle United players involved in big matches for their country. Most have enjoyed decent success on the pitch, although a couple have been at the eye of some off-field drama - including a history making managerial sacking.
Here, we take a look at how Newcastle United’s seven senior international representatives fared whilst on international duty:
Anthony Gordon and Dan Burn (England)
England’s international break began with a friendly match against Wales at Wembley on Thursday night. Thomas Tuchel’s side triumphed 3-0 in that game, with all three goals coming during a dominant first 20 minute period.
Gordon started that match on the left of a front three before moving further infield as Tuchel made substitutions. Burn, meanwhile, was an unused substitute.
England’s second game of the break saw them come up against Latvia in Riga. A comprehensive 5-0 win for the Three Lions ensured they qualified for the 2026 World Cup.
That five-star win started with Gordon netting his second international goal with a brilliant curling effort. A long ball from John Stones released Gordon who chopped back onto his right foot before tucking home his shot and giving his side the lead.
Gordon would continue to impress on the left before being replaced in the 71st minute by Marcus Rashford. That substitution break would see Burn enter the fray as he replaced Stones to mark his fourth appearance for his nation.
England 3-0 Wales (Thursday 9 October)
Latvia 0-5 England (Tuesday 14 October)
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Nick Woltemade (Germany)
Germany enjoyed a very fruitful international break, winning both of their matches to put themselves in pole position to qualify for the 2026 World Cup. After initially missing the initial meet-up with the German squad due to illness, Woltemade was picked to start both of their matches by Julian Nagelsmann.
Woltemade couldn’t open his account for his national team during their 4-0 win over Luxembourg on Friday night before being replaced just after the hour mark with his side already four goals to the good. However, the 23-year-old was able to get off the mark in their next match.
Heading to Windsor Park in Belfast, Germany knew they had to pick up a positive result against Northern Ireland to keep qualification for next summer’s World Cup in their own hands. They did just that courtesy of Woltemade’s first-half goal.
The big German continued his impressive run of form in front of goal with the only goal of the game as Germany triumphed 1-0. The Magpies man rose the highest in the box to deflect a corner in off his shoulder and into the back of the net.
Germany 4-0 Luxembourg (Friday 10 October)
Northern Ireland 0-1 Germany (Monday 13 October)
Bruno Guimaraes and Joelinton (Brazil)
Both Guimaraes and Joelinton were called-up by Carlo Ancelotti for friendly matches in the Far East against South Korea and Japan. The pair will be desperate to impress their new international boss and seal their place in Ancelotti’s squad for the World Cup.
However, their journey to join up with their international teammates began with travel chaos as planes were diverted to Amsterdam due to a broken window. The pair eventually touched down in Seoul on Wednesday 8 October.
Brazil, with Guimaraes in the starting XI, began the break with a sensational 5-0 win over South Korea in Seoul with Vinicius Jr, Rodrygo and Estevao getting the goals. However, their second game ended in a 3-2 defeat in Tokyo.
Brazil took a two-goal lead in that game with Guimaraes setting up Paulo Henrique’s opener with a wonderful through ball. The Magpies captain was replaced by his club teammate in the 57th minute as Joelinton picked up his eighth cap for his country.
South Korea 0-5 Brazil (Friday 10 October)
Japan 3-2 Brazil (Tuesday 14 October)
Sandro Tonali (Italy)
Tonali played pretty much every minute of Italy’s two matches against Estonia and Israel. The Azzurri won both matches as they kept their hopes of automatic qualification for next summer’s World Cup alive.
However, they now require Norway to drop points against Estonia during the next international break or face the prospect of overturning a goal difference deficit of 16. Tonali, meanwhile, started both matches in midfield alongside Nicolo Barella as they begin to form a midfield partnership that will likely anchor the Italian midfield in the USA, Mexico and Canada.
Estonia 1-3 Italy (Saturday 11 October)
Italy 3-0 Israel (Tuesday 14 October)
Anthony Elanga (Sweden)
Sweden’s international break began with them needing two wins to revive their hopes of qualifying for the World Cup. It ended with two defeats, zero goals scored and with Jon Dahl Tomasson being sacked - becoming the first man to ever be sacked as manager of the Swedish national team.
Elanga didn’t feature in their 2-0 defeat against Switzerland in their opening match. He then came on as a half-time substitute as Sweden trailed Kosovo 1-0 in Gothenburg on Monday night.
He could not help his nation overturn that deficit as they slipped to another defeat. Tomasson’s preferred 3-5-2 system meant that there was no room for Elanga in his starting XI in his natural role, forcing the Magpies man either into a wingback role or to play as a striker.
Following the defeat to Kosovo, Elanga was allegedly critical of the system in a post-match outburst. Radiosporten's Jonas Enarson claimed Elanga shouted ‘the ------- system has to go,’ in an x-rated outburst in the players’ tunnel.
Sweden 0-2 Switzerland (Friday 10 October)
Sweden 0-1 Kosovo (Monday 13 October)