International Round-Up | March 2025

Conor Hazard

Nikola Katic's Bosnia & Herzegovina side got off to the perfect start in FIFA World Cup qualifying, recording consecutive wins to lead their group.

The defender didn't feature in the opening match, a 1-0 away win against Romania, but impressed off the bench in the 2-1 over Cyprus that followed.

Also featuring in World Cup qualifying was Mustapha Bundu, for Sierra Leone.

Bundu opened the scoring in the Leone Stars' 3-1 victory over Guinea-Bissau, but was substituted with a minor injury after 40 minutes, and was sidelined for the proceeding 1-0 loss to group-leaders Egypt.

Sierra Leone are third in Group A, three points behind Burkina Faso. They must finish second to stand a chance of advancing to the play-offs.

Booking his place at the World Cup Finals was Ben Waine, whose New Zealand side beat Fiji and New Caledonia in the OFC qualifiers.

Waine, on loan at Mansfield Town, featured off the bench in the Fiji win.

Victor Palsson was in UEFA Nations League action, as his Iceland side lost to Kosovo over two legs in the League B/C play-off.

The defender played all of the first match, a 2-1 away loss, but didn't feature in the second.

Freddie Issaka impressed, as his Wales Under-19s side finished third in their final U19 Euro qualifying group.

The 18-year-old played 67 minutes against group winners England, 60 minutes against Portugal, and 78 minutes against Turkey, scoring the opener in a 3-1 win.

Only the group winners advance to the Finals, with Wales falling short in a strong group.

Darko Gyabi featured twice for England's Elite League Squad - drawing both games, against Portugal and Switzerland.

Conor Hazard was an unused substitute in Northern Ireland's friendlies against Switzerland and Sweden.