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No fewer than 35 Ajax players left on international duty last week, and now that most of them have played two matches in their national colors, they will be heading back to Amsterdam soon. Players of the first team will have to shake off their jetlag within three days, as Heracles will be visiting the Johan Cruijff Arena on Saturday. Naturally, not everyone will look back on this week with a smile. Some scored, but some got scored on. Some made their debuts, while some never came off the bench. In case you missed it, here’s what happened.
Netherlands: Donny van de Beek, Daley Blind, Quincy Promes, Joël Veltman
European Championship 2020 Qualifiers
16/11 Northern Ireland 0 – 0 Netherlands
19/11 Netherlands 5 – 0 Estonia
A lot of celebrations in the orange camp this week as the Netherlands finally qualified for a major tournament. After missing out on both the European Championship in 2016 and the World Championship in 2018, Oranje was yearning for redemption. They only needed one point against Northern Ireland to qualify, and they managed to draw, albeit in quite a dull way. The Netherlands then went on to thrash Estonia in Amsterdam, but Germany still won the group. Oranje will be playing all three group stage matches in our own Johan Cruijff Arena this summer. Quincy Promes started in both matches, while Blind, van de Beek and Veltman only played against Northern Ireland.
Serbia: Dušan Tadić
European Championship 2020 Qualifiers
14/11 Serbia 3 – 2 Luxembourg
17/11 Serbia 2 – 2 Ukraine
Our Serbian captain played two very important home games this past week, as Serbia tried to catch up to Portugal in group B of the qualifiers. It wasn’t meant to be in the end, as the Serbians drew against group winners Ukraine, and Portugal made no mistakes against Luxembourg and Lithuania. They will now face Norway in the play-offs. Tadić scored once and provided two assists.
Romania: Răzvan Marin
European Championship 2020 Qualifiers
15/11 Romania 0 – 2 Sweden
18/11 Spain 5 – 0 Romania
Heartbreak for Romania this week as the Romanian national team faced the two strongest sides of their group and did not pass the test. Conceding seven and not scoring once, Romania lost third place to Norway. They still have a chance to attend the European Championship in their own country through the play-offs. Marin played 65 minutes against Spain.
Argentina: Nicolás Tagliafico
International friendlies
15/11 Brazil 0 – 1 Argentina
18/11 Uruguay 2 – 2 Argentina
Nothing but honor on the line for Nico Tagliafico and the Albiceleste as they played South-American powerhouses Brazil and Uruguay. Nico, second captain after Lionel Messi, started and finished both matches. Their win over Brazil was celebrated all across Argentina, as the ‘Superclásico de las Américas’ is never really a friendly.
Mexico: Edson Álvarez
CONCACAF Nations League
16/11 Panama 0 – 3 Mexico
20/11 Mexico 2 – 1 Bermuda
Mexico has won group 2 of Division A of the CONCACAF Nations League, which is just as complicated as its UEFA counterpart. The Mexicans had no trouble with Panama and Bermuda in their group and managed four wins in four matches. Edson ‘el machín’ Álvarez has been an important player for his country in recent times, and he scored the second goal against Panama. He will face Costa Rica in the semifinals.
United States: Sergiño Dest
CONCACAF Nations League
16/11 USA 4 – 1 Canada
20/11 Cuba 0 – 4 USA
The United States also managed to win their group this week after two commanding victories of Canada and Cuba. It came down to goal differential in the end, in which the US had a clear edge over the Canadians. Sergiño Dest is now an official USMNT player, and it took him less than two minutes to bag an assist. He will face Honduras in the semifinals. Ajax fans can hope for a Nations League final between Álvarez and Dest!
Cameroon: André Onana
Africa Cup of Nations 2021 Qualifiers
13/11 Cameroon 0 – 0 Cape Verde
17/11 Rwanda 0 – 1 Cameroon
André Onana has kicked off the qualifiers for the next Africa Cup with two clean sheets. Cameroon is on top of their group right away, tied with Mozambique, who also beat Rwanda and drew against Cape Verde. If Cameroon qualifies, they will be playing the Africa Cup in their own country. The 2019 Africa Cup was originally planned to be held in Cameroon, but the event was moved to Egypt due to safety issues.
Morocco: Hakim Ziyech, Noussair Mazraoui
Africa Cup of Nations 2021 Qualifiers
15/11 Morocco 0 – 0 Mauritania
19/11 Burundi 0 – 3 Morocco
Morocco’s new manager Halilhodžić decided to give Hakim Ziyech the honor of wearing the captain’s armband for the first time this week. Qualifiers were off to a disappointing start, however, as the ‘lions of the Atlas’ drew against a weaker Mauritania side. They then bounced back by beating Burundi three goals to nil, with one goal of Noussair Mazraoui. Both Ajacieden played both fixtures. They now sit at the top of their group, tied with Mauritania.
Burkina Faso: Lassina Traoré
Africa Cup of Nations 2021 Qualifiers
13/11 Burkina Faso 0 – 0 Uganda
17/11 South-Sudan 1 – 2 Burkina Faso
Lassina Traoré made his debut for Burkina Faso when he was just 16, and he received a call-up again to play in the Africa Cup qualifiers this week. He played against Uganda but did not find the back of the net. His countrymen beat South-Sudan without him four days later, and they are now also tied at the top of their group. Uganda sits at four points as well.
Below is a list of results of all the Ajax players who represented one of their national youth squads.
Netherlands U21: Perr Schuurs, Kjell Scherpen
European Championship U21 2021 Qualifiers
14/11 Gibraltar U21 0 – 6 Netherlands U21
International friendlies
14/11 Netherlands U21 2 – 1 England U21
Netherlands U20: Jurgen Ekkelenkamp, Noa Lang, Juan Castillo
International friendlies
15/11 Netherlands U20 1 – 4 Czech Republic U20
19/11 France U20 2 – 1 Netherlands U20
Netherlands U19: Brian Brobbey, Enric Llansana, Jurriën Timber, Quinten Timber, Ryan Gravenberch
International friendlies
Netherlands U19 3 – 3 Czech Republic U19
Netherlands U19 3 – 3 Mexico U19
Netherlands U17: Sontje Hansen, Calvin Raatsie, Anass Salah-Eddine, Devyne Rensch, Youri Regeer, Kenneth Taylor, Naci Ünüvar, Steven van der Sloot
FIFA World Cup U17 Semifinal
14/11 Mexico U17 1 – 1 Netherlands U17 (Mexico U17 wins after penalties)
FIFA World Cup U17 Losers Final
17/11 France U17 3 – 1 Netherlands U17
Croatia U21: Dominik Kotarski
European Championship U21 2021 Qualifiers
14/11 Lithuania U21 1 – 3 Croatia U21
18/11 Croatia U21 1 – 2 Czech Republic U21
Argentina U23: Lisandro Martínez
United International Football Festival Semifinal
14/11 Argentina U23 14 – 0 Canary Islands
United International Football Festival Final
17/11 Argentina U23 1 – 0 Brazil U23
United States U23: Alex Méndez
United International Football Festival Semifinal
14/11 Brazil U23 1 – 0 USA U23
United International Football Festival Losers Final
17/11 USA U23 4 – 0 Canary Islands
Germany U20: Nicolas Kühn
International friendlies
18/11 Portugal U20 0 – 2 Germany U20