The final international break of the year is over, with our boys now returning to Salzburg. Before we get back into the thick of the challenges of the season, let's take a look at how our Red Bulls got on. One thing for sure - there were experiences of all kinds, with dream goals, shock wins and disappointing defeats!

Senior national teams

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Austrian national coach Ralf Rangnick announced ahead of his side's fixtures that he would rotate goalkeepers in the two Nations League games. Alex Schlager started the opening encounter and kept a clean sheet in a good 2-0 away win in Kazakhstan. A 1-1 draw against Slovenia (with our goalie on the bench) saw Austria just miss out on promotion to the top tier in the UEFA Nations League, but they are at least in pot one for the World Cup qualifying draw as a consequence.
A 0-7 drubbing from Germany in the UEFA Nations League was watched by Amar Dedic from the substitutes' bench. Our full-back made the Bosnian starting line-up in the 1-1 draw against the Netherlands, and even took the captain's armband in the second half as Edin Dzeko left the field. Having finished bottom of their group, Bosnia are now dropping down to the second tier.

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Oscar Gloukh and the Israeli national team finished their UEFA Nations League campaign with a shock 1-0 win over Belgium, after also impressing in a 0-0 draw against France. Our playmaker extraordinaire was in the starting line-up both times and was substituted out in the final phases. Despite the good haul of four points from those two encounters, Israel finished bottom of the group and will now go into the B league.
Karim Konate, who has been named in the final five in the African Young Player of the Year award - came on twice for Ivory Coast in the final stages. Les Elephants lost their first African Cup of Nations qualifier against Zambia, 0-1, but beat Chad 4-0.
Dorgeles Nene and Mali blasted their way to a 6-0 win in an African Cup qualifying match against Eswatini. Our attacker netted as many as three goals after starting - just as he had in the 1-0 win against Mozambique.

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Kamil Piatkowski and the Polish national team were powerless against Cristiano Ronaldo & Co. They were also beaten in their second Nations League clash against Scotland (1-2), despite our centre-back smashing an absolute dream goal from distance. The defeats saw Poland relegated from the top tier.

On the subject of Ronaldo: Aleksa Terzic also found the net for Serbia in a Nations League clash with Switzerland (a 1-1 draw) and pulled off a CR7 celebration. The Serbs took a point against Denmark (0-0) with our full-back starting that one too. Having finished third in their group, Serbia now face a play-off against a second-placed side from League B.

Youth national teams

Stefan Bajcetic played two friendly matches for Spain U21. The first was a goalless draw against England, in which our midfielder came on after the break. The 20-year-old then started the 2-1 win against Denmark - playing for close to 60 minutes.

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Hendry Blank was in action for Germany U21. He came off the bench at the end of a friendly match against Denmark (a 3-0 win) and started a 2-2 draw against France. Leandro Morgalla had to pull out of the squad after suffering a muscle injury in training.

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Adam Daghim played for Denmark U21 in friendly matches against Germany (0-3) and Spain (1-2). Our attacking powerhouse started both encounters as he faced off with Hendry Blank and Stefan Bajcetic.
Defensive rock: Joane Gadou played the full 90 minutes of all three clashes for France U19 – and conceded just one goal. A 7-0 cruise against Liechtenstein was followed by a 2-1 win over Wales and a goalless draw against Scotland. France are top of their qualifying group after three matches.
Salko Hamzic was number one for the Austrian U19 team. Our young keeper kept goal in all three European qualifiers, gaining clean sheets in 4-0 wins against both Kosovo and the Faroe Islands. One goal against decided a clash with Spain (a 0-1 defeat), but the Austrian youngsters are still sitting proudly at the top of their qualifying table.
Oliver Lukic came off the bench for Croatia in their first two U19 qualifiers, a 4-0 win against Armenia and 2-0 victory over Belarus. Our young midfielder scored a penalty in the second encounter. Lukic started the third qualifier in the window, although his side were beaten 0-3 by group leaders Serbia.

John Mellberg was busy but disappointed. Our defender started three European qualifiers against Georgia, Estonia and Norway for Sweden U21, but three times his side were beaten 1-2.

Ours boys' international action