Jordan Henderson notched a rare assist for England in the latest set of international fixtures, with Diogo Jota‘s involvement for Portugal was restricted to a matter of minutes.
Henderson was back in action for England in a 2-0 win over Ukraine at Wembley.
The Liverpool skipper was an unused substitute in last week’s 2-1 victory against Italy in Naples owing to illness but completed the full 90 minutes as England extended their 100 percent record in European Championship qualifying.
Harry Kane opened the scoring shortly before half-time and a Bukayo Saka thunderbolt moments later was enough to seal all three points for the home side, with Henderson supplying the assist.
Although it may be one of the simpler assists in his career, with a straightforward pass into the feet of Saka, it is still credited to Liverpool’s No. 14, his first for England since November 2021.
Jota was a late substitute in Portugal’s emphatic 6-0 away win away in Luxembourg, replacing Joao Palhinha with only a few minutes left on the clock.
After failing to come off the bench in the win over Liechtenstein on Thursday, he does not quite seem to be favoured by new manager Roberto Martinez.
The 26-year-old will be hoping for more involvement in the next set of international fixtures, which take place in June, but recovering from the calf injury which has hampered his season will remain a primary concern.
Cristiano Ronaldo netted a second brace in as many games to help his side on their way to six points from six in their opening two group fixtures.
Elsewhere, Conor Bradley was back in action for Northern Ireland in their 1-0 loss to Finland at Windsor Park.
The defender registered 90 minutes for his country for the second game in a row but was on the losing side this time around following a 2-0 away win over San Marino last week.
His performance earned him Northern Ireland’s Player of the Match award, with Belfast Live commenting on yet another performance “full of energy and constant threat down the right.”
Conor Bradley is your Player of the Match ?? Voted for by the #GAWA and presented by our Fan of the Month, Bobby Moore ? #POTM pic.twitter.com/GJflw3ZFqN
— Northern Ireland (@NorthernIreland) March 26, 2023
Owen Beck featured in an impressive 3-0 victory with Wales under-21s against Scotland U21s, with Tom Hill unfortunate to miss out on an appearance on this occasion.
Goals from Josh Farrell, Joe Low and Josh Thomas secured victory in the international friendly, with Beck involved for the entire 90 minutes.
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