Fulham, West Brom, Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, and Newcastle stars were among many to find the net last night in the latest round of international friendlies.
Phil Jagielka and Jermain Defoe scored the goals as England defeated Italy last night, but with more than 25 other international friendlies taking place, who else got on the scoresheet? Here are seven notable goalscorers…
Jan Vertonghen
Belgium soared to a memorable friendly victory over Holland last night, winning 4-2. New Tottenham defender Vertonghen capped off the win scoring the fourth goal with 10 minutes to go.
Romelu Lukaku
Vertonghen’s strike was preceded by Romelu Lukaku’s goal three minutes earlier, just two minutes after they had scored an equaliser. So in five minutes Belgium went from 2-1 down to 4-2 up how the game finished. The Chelsea striker signed on loan for West Brom last weekend, and will be hoping to go straight into their starting line-up for their opening day clash with Liverpool.
Shane Ferguson
Newcastle utility man Shane Ferguson barely featured last season, but last night he showed that perhaps he deserves more of a chance. He scored a stunning half-volley for Northern Ireland last night to open the scoring in a 3-3 draw with Finland.
Santi Cazorla
New Arsenal signing Santi Cazorla gave Arsenal fans something to smile about when he scored a 25-yard effort against minnows Puerto Rico. The goal opened the scoring and the match finished 2-1, with former Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas bagging what proved to be the winner.
Brede Hangeland
Fulham defender Brede Hangeland failed to score in the Premier League last season, a rare occurrence for the defender who netted seven a year earlier. He was back to goalscoring ways last night, but could not stop his Norway side slipping to a 3-2 home defeat to Norway. Club and international teammate John Arne Riise also scored.
Jordan Rhodes
In-demand Jordan Rhodes made his debut for Scotland and made his mark by scoring the equaliser against Australia. Scotland went onto win 3-1, but there was bad news for Aston Villa fans as new signing Brett Holman limped off with an injury. The Huddersfield striker is wanted by several clubs including Fulham, but his goal will only add to his price tag.
Leandro Damiao
Leandro Damiao is the man of the moment in Brazil, after scoring six in six games to help the side to the silver medal at the Olympics. He carried on that form, scoring for the full international side in a 3-0 win away to Sweden. The striker is wanted by Spurs, but his recent exploits will have certainly increased his transfer fee.
And somewhat unsurprisingly in other matches, both Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo netted, no doubt each kicking off another attempt each at breaking more records this coming season. Messi scored in Argentina’s 3-1 win against Germany, also missing a penalty, with Ronaldo scoring in Portugal’s 2-0 win over Panama.
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image: © Ronnie Macdonald
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