Mixed night for Doria stars in international action

Luis Muriel’s good form continued against Brazil on Tuesday night but he was unable to prevent his Colombia side from slipping to a 2-1 defeat in Manaus.

Miranda gave Brazil the lead early on, and though a Marquinhos own goal saw Colombia draw level, the hosts secured the three points through Neymar in the second half. Colombia are now fourth in the South American qualifying group for the 2018 World Cup.

It was a happier night for Bruno Fernandes, whose Portugal U21 side became the first nation to qualify for the UEFA European Under-21 Championship in Poland next summer with a 1-0 defeat of Greece.

Bruno Fernandes – who is the Portuguese captain – played the full game as Gelson Martins’ 54th-minute strike saw Portugal seal qualification with two games to spare. Portugal have clocked up seven wins and one draw from their eight qualifiers so far.

There was an all-Doria battle in Leuven as Dennis Praet’s Belgium U21s took on Patrik Schick’s Czech Republic, and it was the former who bagged the bragging rights with a 2-1 win on Tuesday evening.

Praet himself – who captained the side and played for 73 minutes – opened the scoring for Belgium, and though Cermak levelled for the visitors soon afterwards (courtesy of an assist from Schick, who later hit the woodwork), Teilemans found the net to hand Belgium the win.

Belgium’s two wins in their last two qualifiers mean that they are hot on the heels of group leaders Czech Republic.

Milan Skriniar’s Slovakia U21s made light work of Cyprus as they secured a 3-0 win thanks to goals from Chrien, Bero and Rusnak. Skriniar – wearing the captain’s armband – played the full 90 minutes. Slovakia can seal qualification for the finals in 2017 with a win against Belarus in October.

Last but not least, Sampdoria Primavera striker Giacomo Vriono found the net in Italy U19s’ 3-1 friendly win over Turkey. Lo Faso and Cutrone got the other goals for the young Azzurri, Yuksel grabbing Turkey’s consolation.