After Wolves’ humbling 5-3 defeat to Brentford, nine members of Gary O’Neil’s squad left Compton Park for their respective national teams.
There were recalls for Rayan Ait-Nouri and Mario Lemina after minor knocks kept both players sidelined for September’s round of qualifiers for the African Cup of Nations.
Matt Doherty, Jose Sa and Joao Gomes were all overlooked by their respective managers, while youngster Pedro Lima got married during the break.
After bagging his first Colombia goal last month, Yerson Mosquera missed out due to his season-ending knee injury.
Individual Recap
Jorgen Strand Larsen – Slovenia (H) Oct 10th, Austria (A) Oct 13th
Jorgen Strand Larsen netted his second Wolves goal in London but was not able to add to his tally for the season while representing Norway. The striker was introduced as a 75th minute substitute in their 3-0 home win over Slovenia, being forced to play out wide due to this Sunday’s opponent Erling Haaland occupying the number nine spot.
In Norway’s second match, Larsen came off the bench in the 84 minute in a 5-1 defeat in Austria.
Nelson Semedo – Poland (A) Oct 12th, Scotland (A) Oct 15th
It was a quiet break for Nelson Semedo – who was the sole Wolves representative in the Portugal squad. The full-back was introduced in the final 10 minutes in both games, a 3-1 win away in Poland and a 0-0 draw at Hampden Park against Scotland.
Andre – Chile (A) Oct 11th, Peru (H) Oct 16th
September’s Player of the Month Andre couldn’t replicate his successes of last month with his time in South America this week. The midfielder was substituted at half-time in Brazil’s 2-1 win over Chile, struggling defensively and conceding three first-half fouls.
He would enter the action in the 79th minute of Brazil’s rampant 4-0 win over Peru, enjoying a relaxed end to the game.
Hee-Chan Hwang – Jordan (A) Oct 10th, Iraq (H) Oct 15th
Hee-Chan Hwang was taken off with an injury just 23 minutes in South Korea’s win over Jordan. Hwang’s ankle was seen to get caught underneath a sliding defender, with reports claiming the forward has suffered a sprain.
Wolves’ number 11 was photographed being carried by South Korea’s physio post-match, with visible swelling to his foot.
Rayan Ait Nouri – Togo (H) Oct 10th, Togo (A) Oct 14th
On his return to the Algeria side, Rayan Ait-Nouri was at his attacking best in a 5-1 win over Togo. The full-back was not troubled defensively and was creating chances by completing his almost trademark weaving runs past opposition defenders.
Algeria would face Togo again four days later, picking up a 1-0 win. Ait-Nouri played the full 90 minutes for the second game in a row, this time putting in a more defensively sound performance.
Mario Lemina – Lesotho (H) Oct 11th, Lesotho (A) Oct 15th
Similarly to Ait-Nouri, Mario Lemina’s Gabon side faced the same opponent twice, drawing 0-0 and subsequently winning 2-0 over Lesotho. Lemina captained Gabon in both games, completing the full 180 minutes on offer.
In a stark contrast to his performance at the Gtech Community Stadium, Lemina seemed back to his best, putting in performances that centred on breaking up play and immediately feeding the ball out wide.
Santiago Bueno – Peru (A) Oct 12th, Ecuador (H) Oct 16th
Santiago Bueno is seemingly becoming a Uruguay regular, receiving his fifth cap in the 1-0 loss to Peru. In a possible act of foreshadowing ahead of Wolves’ clash with champions Manchester City, Bueno played on the left of a back three.
He was the only recognised centre-half in Uruguay’s starting 11, lining up alongside Manchester United’s Manuel Ugarte and Flamengo right-back Guillermo Varela.
Bueno again started in a 0-0 draw with Ecuador in the early hours of Wednesday morning, this time in a back four.
Carlos Forbs (U21) – Faroe Islands (A) Oct 11th, Andora (A) Oct 15th
Portugal’s Under 21’s sealed qualification to next summer's European Championships with a 3-1 win away to Faroe Islands. Winger Carlos Forbes was introduced with 20 minutes to go, before starting the 2-1 win over Andora as a striker. Wolves’ loanee Fabio Silva scored in both games.
Rodrigo Gomes (U21) – Faroe Islands (A) Oct 11th, Andorra (A) Oct 15th
Gomes was also part of the side that confirmed qualification to the Under 21 European Championships. Whereas Forbs was played in a familiar attacking role, Gomes was deployed at right-back in both games, starting against Andorra and picking up a yellow card.
