A dream week for Newcastle United
Thankfully, this was the last international break until March 2025, but it's been very positive for Newcastle United and several of our players; young and old.
We start with our Three Lions, where Anthony Gordon, Lewis Hall and Tino Livramento had a week to remember for England, starting with a 3-0 win in Greece where Hall delivered an assured 45-minute display on his first senior outing.
It got even better on Sunday night. Not only did all three start at Wembley - the first time since 1997 Newcastle have had three Mags in and England XI - but Gordon scored his first goal, assisted by Livramento and Hall impressed at left-back once again in a 5-0 win over the Republic of Ireland.
Elsewhere, we've also seen goals from Sandro Tonali, Alexander Isak and Miguel Almiron over the break. Tonali scored his first for Italy in a 1-0 win over Belgium last week, Isak managed a goal and an assist in a 2-1 win over Martin Dubravka's Slovakia and Miguel Almiron followed a shock win over Argentina in World Cup qualifying with a well-taken finish in last night's 2-2 draw with Bolivia.
It's been a frustrating week for Bruno Guimaraes, who started in Brazil's 1-1 draws against Venezuela and Uruguay, but fellow midfielder Lewis Miley will return on a high after making his England U21 debut across a 0-0 draw with Spain last Friday and 1-1 draw with the Netherlands on Monday night.
Odysseas Vlachodimos also responded to an own-goal and 3-0 defeat to England, recording another clean sheet in a 2-0 win over Finland on Sunday to secure a promotion play-off spot for Greece.
After scoring seven goals in five for our U18s this season, Geordie striker Sean Neave was rewarded with an England U18 call-up, joining fellow Mags Leo Shahar (captain) and Trevan Sanusi in the Young Lions' games against Poland and Germany. Travis Hernes is another talent making good progress too, with the midfielder starting in Norway U20s win over Chile on Monday.
As for those who did not go away on international duty, we've seen the squad enjoy a warm-weather training camp in Saudi Arabia and hope to have a few senior players back from injury, with Kieran Trippier and Callum Wilson tipped to return next week.
All in all, it's been a really positive break from a Newcastle United perspective. No injuries, several goals, memorable debuts and important victories have been a theme, giving several players a welcome boost as they return for next Monday's clash with West Ham at St James' Park.
