With the international break now wrapped up, several Wolves players returned to Molineux after mixed fortunes on the world stage. While some were limited to bench roles or brief cameos, others made real impacts for their countries, with Ladislav Krejci and Josh Gracey in particular standing out. From senior internationals to youth prospects, here is a full look at how Wolves’ players got on over the break.
Jose Sa – Portugal
Although not getting any time against Mexico, Sa kept a clean sheet with three saves (two diving) and five recoveries against the USA in a 86 minute start. Ex-Wolves man Trincao scored the winner in a 2-0 victory for Portugal.
Santiago Bueno – Uruguay
Bueno was left completely off the squad for Uruguay’s 1-1 draw against England, and featured on the bench for their match against Algeria but failed to pick up any minutes.
Yerson Mosquera – Colombia
Mosquera made the bench in both matches but failed to feature in either of them. Ex-Wolves man Jhon Arias scored the opener in a 2-1 defeat against Croatia.
David Moller Wolfe – Norway
Wolfe had a successful break, assisting Norway’s lone goal in their two matches as well as winning four tackles and four clearances in 64 minutes against 7th ranked Netherlands. He came off the bench as a second half substitute in their 0-0 draw with Switzerland before lasting just 12 minutes due to picking up an injury, requiring stitches just below his eye.
Ladislav Krejci – Czechia
If Krejci was a Czech hero before, they might as well build a statue of him now. In their play-off match against Ireland, the captain scored an 86th minute equalizer, before smashing home his penalty to advance to the qualification final. He also won their penalty in which Schick scored (27’) and had five won tackles, 11 clearances, an interception and seven recoveries.
In the qualification final against Denmark, he scored a late goal to make it 2-1 (100’), before Denmark equalized. He missed his penalty, but Czechia prevailed and advanced to Group A where they will see Mexico, South Africa, and South Korea. Defensively, he tallied on another tackle, two blocks, 10 clearances, three interceptions and 10 recoveries. In 240 minutes of football, he was only dribbled past twice.
Jackson Tchatchoua – Cameroon
The wingback didn’t feature against Australia, but played the full 90 minutes in a 2-0 victory over China, opposite of Wolves youth Xu Bin. He created two chances and picked up a yellow card.
Jean Ricner Bellegarde – Haiti
JRB played the entire 90 in a 1-0 defeat to Tunisia and 85 minutes in a 1-1 draw to Iceland. He did not pick up any goals or assists in this campaign.
Mateus Mane – Portugal U21
Mane played 13 minutes in Portugal’s 3-0 victory over Scotland U21, and 20 minutes in their 4-0 win over Azerbaijan U21, but recorded no goals or assists.
Fer Lopez – Spain U21
Lopez came off the bench and scored in a 7-0 rout of Cyprus U21, and started the match against Kosovo U21 in a 2-0 win.
Sasa Kalajdzic – Austria
Sasa played around 20 minutes in two substitute appearances for Austria in their wins against South Korea and Ghana. He recorded one shot off target against Ghana, and nothing of note against South Korea.
Xu Bin – China
Bin started both of China’s matches, playing the full 90 minutes against Cameroon and teammate Tchatchoua, and 67 minutes in a 2-0 victory over Curacao.
Wesley Okoduwa – England U19
Okoduwa played the full 90 minutes against Bulgaria U19, 24 minutes off the bench against Spain U19, and 6 minutes off the bench against Croatia U19. The three matches were played in a span of 6 days, which explains the downtick in minutes.
Josh Gracey – Northern Ireland U19
Gracey had a great break, starting all three matches for Northern Ireland in their U19 Euro Championship Qualifiers. He conceded a goal and had two saves in a loss to Ukraine U19, but had nine combined saves across two shutouts against Romania U19 and Kazakhstan U19.
With the international break now behind them, Wolves can turn their full attention back to the league run in. They sit 13 points clear of the relegation zone in 17th place with seven matches remaining, and just as importantly, none of those games come against top half opposition. It leaves Wolves in a strong position to finish the job, starting with Friday’s clash against West Ham, where they will look to take another big step toward safety.
