Wolves' International Round Up
Nelson Semedo featured in Portugal's 1-1 draw with Croatia. (Photo by Luka Stanzl/Pixsell/MB Media/Getty Images)

10 members of the Wolves squad headed away from Compton Park on international duty last week, after the club’s first victory of the Premier League season against Southampton at Molineux.

Gary O’Neil’s side still find themselves inside the bottom three, but signs have been positive in recent weeks, following three consecutive contests without defeat.

Central defender Toti Gomes was not selected by Portugal, after Wolves’ poor defensive record so far this campaign.

Fellow defender Santiago Bueno withdrew from the Uruguayan squad with a groin injury, which has led to worries for the Molineux faithful ahead of a crucial run of fixtures.

Joao Gomes and Matheus Cunha were both left out by Brazil, ahead of games against Venezuela and Uruguay, while South Korean forward Hwang Hee-Chan remained in the West Midlands with an ankle injury.

  • Individual recap

Jose Sa - Portugal

The 31-year-old featured in the Seleçāo’s 1-1 draw with Croatia on Monday night, a clash in which Sa was forced to make a number of important saves to protect a point for Roberto Martinez’s men.

Portugal had already confirmed top spot in Group One of League A in the Nations League, and the Wanderers shot-stopper replaced Diogo Costa in Split, which earned him his third senior cap.

Sa remains locked in a battle with Sam Johnstone for the number one spot at Molineux, so an impressive performance for his nation may have boosted his odds of getting the nod against Fulham.

Nelson Semedo - Portugal

Nelson Semedo also featured for the entirety of Portugal’s draw with Croatia on Monday.

It was the right-back’s 40th appearance for his nation, and he dealt well against the threat of Dinamo Zagreb’s Martin Baturina.

The former Barcelona man is into his fifth season in the West Midlands, and over that time has become one of the club’s most consistent performers.

Jørgen Strand Larsen - Norway

Strand Larsen is not short of competition for the role of target man for Norway, with Erling Haaland and Alexander Sorloth leading the line.

However, the 24-year-old made an impact after he replaced the latter off the bench against Kazakhstan, and picked up an assist for the final goal in a five goal rout in Oslo.

The victory meant Norway topped Group three of League B, and earned promotion to the elite level of the UEFA Nations League.

Rayan Ait-Nouri - Algeria

Algeria topped their AFCON qualification group with ease, but could only manage a 0-0 stalemate with Equatorial Guinea in Ait-Nouri sole appearance in this international break.

Wolves boss O’Neill would have been pleased when the wing-back was rested for the 5-1 demolition of Liberia on Sunday, as Ait-Nouri is one of the key creative forces in the current setup at Molineux

Mario Lemina - Gabon

Gabon had also confirmed qualification for AFCON prior to this international break, so Lemina was also rested in one of their final two games in Group B.

Wolves’ club captain was forced to endure a painful evening against Morocco however, as Gabon were torn apart by Atlas Lions, who ran out 5-1 victors.

As previously mentioned, Lemina was then left out of the final qualification fixture, a 1-0 success over the Central African Republic.

Matt Doherty - Republic of Ireland

The 32-year-old featured from the start in Ireland’s 1-0 win over Finland in Dublin, courtesy of Evan Ferguson’s header on the stroke of half-time.

A clean sheet for the experienced full-back, who was left out for the heavy defeat again England at Wembley on Sunday.

Andre - Brazil

Andre has featured for just a singular minute in Wolves’ last three Premier League outings, but he was selected over midfield partner Joao Gomes by Brazilian boss Dorival Junior.

The former Fluminense man played just four minutes over two games in the break though, as a late substitute in the 1-1 draw against Uruguay.

Tom King - Wales

The Wanderers’ fourth choice goalkeeper made it into Craig Bellamy’s squad for the contests with Turkey and Finland, but remained behind Leicester City’s Danny Ward and Leeds United’s Karl Darlow in the pecking order.

King made his Welsh debut back in June, when he featured off the bench in a 0-0 draw with Gibraltar.

Rodrigo Gomes - Portugal U21

Gomes has been handed limited minutes in an old gold shirt since his arrival from Braga in the summer, with just 118 minutes to his name in the Premier League so far.

The 21-year-old played as a right wing-back in both of Portugal Under-21's games against Ukraine U21 and Slovakia U21.

Carlos Forbs - Portugal U21

In similar fashion to his compatriot Gomes, Forbs has played under 200 minutes of Premier League action after a summer move from Ajax.

The 20-year-old appeared off the bench in both of Portugal Under-21's friendlies, and scored the goal that ignited a comeback in the 3-1 victory over Slovakia U21.