Eleven West Ham United women's team players were in action for their countries on Friday evening, where two sets of our players faced each other on the international stage.
Jessie Stapleton - currently on loan at Women's Super League 2 side Nottingham Forest - and Republic of Ireland took on Amber Tysiak’s Belgium at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, while Jess Ziu was an unused substitute.
Both played 90 minutes, but it was the Republic of Ireland who clinched an emphatic 4-2 victory in the first leg of their UEFA Women's Nations League A/B play-off match courtesy of Arsenal winger Katie McCabe’s hat-trick and Marissa Sheva’s strike, with Tessa Wullaert and Marie Detruyer on target for the Red Flames.
The sides will reconvene at the King Power at Den Dreef Stadion in Leuven, at 7.30pm GMT on Tuesday 28 October, and should Ireland defend their commanding first-leg advantage, they will seal their place in League A for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup qualification campaign.
Elsewhere, Hammers team-mates Leila Wandeler and Shelina Zadorsky faced each other as Switzerland played Canada in Lucerne.
And it was Switzerland who came out on top in the international friendly, with Alayah Pilgrim's first-half strike enough to record a narrow 1-0 victory at Swissporarena, where Zadorsky played the full 90 minutes, and Wandeler was introduced as a substitute midway through the second period.
Also in Europe, goalkeeper Kinga Szemik continued her good form as she kept a clean sheet in Poland’s 0-0 friendly draw against the Netherlands at PGE Arena Gdańsk.
Our No1 made several key saves to help Nina Patalon’s side record an impressive draw, and will look to build more momentum when she and her team-mates travel to Newport County’s Rodney Parade to face Wales on Tuesday 28 October at 7.45pm GMT.
Having been awarded a first call-up to the full Germany squad, life on the international stage got off to a winning start for Shekiera Martinez, as the two-time world champions battled to a hard-fought 1-0 win over France in the first-leg of their UEFA Women’s Nations League semi-final.
Bayern Munich’s Klara Bühl tucked in the decisive goal late in the second half, as Christian Wück’s side stood firm to take a slender advantage into Tuesday’s second leg at Stade Michel-d'Ornano in Caen, where our No19 will hope to make her debut, having been an unused substitute in Düsseldorf.
Eva Nyström and Oona Siren both played 90 minutes for Finland in the first-leg of their UEFA Women’s Nations League A/B play-off tie with Denmark, but fell to a 6-1 defeat at Tammelan Stadion.
In a breathless first-half, the visitors raced into a 3-0 lead through strikes from former Hammer Emma Snerle, Sofie Svava and Pernille Harder, and the hill to climb got much steeper when Harder added her second - and Denmark’s fourth - midway through the second-half.
Substitute Sara Holmgaard added Denmark’s fifth, quickly followed by Lotta Lindström’s consolation for Finland - assisted by Siren - before Holmgaard rounded off the evening with her side’s sixth.
The reverse fixture will take place on Tuesday 28 October at 5pm GMT at the Parken Stadium in Copenhagen.
Elsewhere, Halle Houssein’s Turkey won their UEFA Women’s Nations League B/C play-off 4-0 against Kosovo.
Houssein was an unused substitute at Pristina City Stadium, where a first-half brace from Kader Hançar and a Melike Pekel strike - assisted by Hançar - saw Necla Güngör Kırağası’s side establish a commanding 3-0 lead.
A fine evening's work was completed when substitute Busem Şeker added a fourth after 81 minutes - as the visitors took a big step towards promotion to League A.
Our No33 and her team-mates will look to finish the job off on Tuesday 28 October at Göztepe Gürsel Aksel Stadı.
Meanwhile, Anna Csiki earned her 51st Hungary cap as they defeated Luxembourg 4-0 in an international friendly at Hidegkuti Nándor Stadium in Budapest on Friday evening.
Two goals in two first-half minutes from Zsófia Mayer and Sára Pusztai, followed by strikes from Zsanett Kaján and Henrietta Csiszár, wrapped up a comfortable victory.
Csiki and Hungary are back in action on Tuesday 28 October at 3pm GMT, when they make the trip to Senec to face Slovakia.
Finally, Riko Ueki earned her 41st cap as Japan picked up a 1-1 draw in their international friendly with Italy.
Ueki was introduced as a 77th-minute substitute, after Manchester City’s Yui Hasegawa had cancelled out Giada Greggi’s earlier effort, to ensure the spoils were shared at Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia in Como.
Japan will now travel to Ciudad de La Línea Stadium in Cádiz, Spain, on Tuesday 28 October to play Norway in a 5pm GMT kick-off.
