Ok! Getting ready for Saturday (oh God oh God oh God oh…). Let’s round up everything that’s happened since we last talked Burnley.
Internationals
I’m seeing Maxwel Cornet listed as a substitute for the Ivory Coast from Monday, which is great news for this weekend. He didn’t play, but his team still won 2-1 to stay a point ahead of Cameroon in CAF’s Group D ahead of their two matches in November.
Wales beat Estonia on Monday 1-0 with Connor Roberts in the lineup. The Czech Republic beat Belarus 2-0 with Matěj Vydra in the lineup. The two remain tied for second in UEFA’s Group E, with the Czechs having played one more match but that match coming against Belgium, who will be favored over Wales when the two do play. It looks like each is destined for the March play-offs but I could be wrong on that. There’s a lot happening here and I suspect I only partially understand it.
Nathan Collins made his Ireland debut in a friendly against Qatar which the Irish won 4-0.
Northern Ireland lost to Bulgaria, 2-1, with Bailey Peacock-Farrell in the net. They’ve now been formally eliminated from World Cup qualification.
Chris Wood played for New Zealand, who beat Bahrain 1-0 in a friendly.
England has still not yet clinched World Cup qualification, but they should be good, with likely just three more points needed and a match with San Marino still on the docket. We’ll see if they bring Nick Pope back for November’s round.
Partner Clubs, Burnley FC Women
The women’s team (third tier) are still off this weekend. Cobh Ramblers (Ireland, second tier) host top-of-table Shelbourne tomorrow. Ayr United (Scotland, second tier) hosts Queen of the South FC on Saturday, trying to climb into the top half of the table over there. Portadown (Northern Ireland, first tier) hosts Ballymena on Saturday, trying to stay off the league’s floor. Llandudno (Wales, second tier) is still off this weekend.
Burnley News
Ben Mee will be out on Saturday, having tested positive for Covid.
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We’ll have the preview for Saturday’s match up either tomorrow or sometime Saturday before kickoff. Godspeed.
