Follow Palace's Internationals: Doucouré helps Mali qualify for 2023 AFCON

First-team

19 Jun 2023

Crystal Palace's midfield stalwart helped his native Mali qualify for the 2023 African Cup of Nations with victory over Congo.

Doucouré, Palace's Player of the Season, played the full 90 minutes as Mali managed to defeat Congo 2-0 and emerge winners of Group G.

He will be heading to the Ivory Coast for the 2023 African Cup of Nations finals, which is being held in January 2024.

Elsewhere, Jordan Ayew and Ghana looked to seal qualification to the tournament too, though they were held by Madagascar in a 0-0 stalemate.

They're currently top of Group E, but will need to get a result against the Central African Republic in September's international break to secure their pathway to the finals.

Making his return to the United States starting XI on Thursday night, Chris Richards starred at centre-back in the States' 3-0 win over Mexico in the CONCACAF Nations League semi-finals.

A fiery affair was dominated by the USA as Christian Pulisic hit a brace either side of half-time, with both teams having two players dismissed in the final 20 minutes of the game.

He faced Canada in the final of the tournament, and managed to head home the opening goal - his first for the United States - just 12 minutes in. He became the first player in the United States' history to score their first goal in a competitive final and helped them on their way to a 2-0 win over their neighbours.

Richards will continue to enjoy the celebrations with the Nations League trophy before heading back to south London, the centre-back was not named amongst a heavily rotate United States side for the Gold Cup.

Meanwhile, in UEFA European Championship qualification action, defender Joachim Andersen played the entirety of Denmark's 1-0 win over Northern Ireland.

Deployed on the right-hand side of defence, Andersen made a match-high four tackles and an impressive 84 passes on the way to securing three points in Copenhagen.

Denmark drew 1-1 with Slovenia in their second on Monday, though Andersen was an unused substitute.

Also starting on Friday night was Andersen's regular centre-back partner Marc Guéhi, who kept his first clean sheet from the start for England on the occasion of his fourth cap.

Guéhi had a joint-high 105 touches of the ball as the Three Lions ran rampant in Malta, winning 4-0 to stretch their lead at the top of Group C to six points.

Teammate Ebere Eze was rewarded for his fine form in the Premier League this season – in which he recorded 10 goals and four assists – with a senior England debut in the closing 20 minutes, whilst Sam Johnstone was an unused substitute.

None of Palace's Three Lions featured against North Macedonia at Old Trafford on Monday, they were all unused substitutes in a 7-0 victory.

Finally, Michael Olise faces a big month with France Under-21s, having had his place in their 2023 UEFA European U21 Championship finals squad confirmed earlier this year.

Hosted in Georgia and Romania, this summer’s Euro U21 Championships began on Wednesday 21st June, with France emerging 2-1 winners in a controversial game against Italy.

Olise came on in the 64th minute and helped France to victory. He was a threat down the right hand side, but also helped France defend after they went down to 10 men late on.

He and France will take on Norway at the CFR Cluj Stadium on Sunday, 25th June, before looking to seal a place in the top-two against Switzerland at the same venue on Wednesday 28th June.

Check back on this page for reports of how our players get on!

All times below BST unless otherwise stated.

Denmark - Joachim Andersen

2024 UEFA European Championship qualifiers:

Friday, 16th June: Denmark 1-0 Northern Ireland (Andersen played the full 90 minutes at right-back and kept a clean sheet)
Monday, 19th June: Slovenia 1-1 Denmark (Andersen was an unused substitute)

England - Eze, Guéhi & Johnstone

2024 UEFA European Championship qualifiers:

Friday, 16th June: Malta 0-4 England (Guéhi played 90 minutes and kept his first clean sheet after starting for England; Eze played the final 20 minutes for his England debut; Johnstone was an unused substitute)
Monday, 19th June: England 7-0 North Macedonia (Eze, Guéhi and Johnstone were unused substitutes)

Ghana - Jordan Ayew

2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers:

Sunday, 18th June: Madagascar 0-0 Ghana (Ayew played 80 minutes)

Mali - Cheick Doucouré

2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers:

Sunday, 18th June: Congo 0-2 Mali (Doucouré played the full 90 minutes)

USA - Chris Richards

CONCACAF Nations League:

Friday, 16th June: USA 3-0 Mexico (Richards played the full 90 minutes and kept a clean sheet in a dominant display)
Monday, 19th June: Canada 0-2 USA (Richards played the full 90 minutes and scored the opening goal)

France U21s - Michael Olise

2023 UEFA European U21 Championship finals:

Thursday, 22nd June: France U21s 2-1 Italy U21s (Olise came on in the 64th minute)
Sunday, 25th June: Norway v France (19:45)
Wednesday, 28th June: Switzerland v France (19:45)

Stay tuned to cpfc.co.uk, the Official Crystal Palace App and social media for all the latest coverage of Palace's international Eagles.

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