Donley, Romero and Yang in fortnight of firsts for March internationals

Jamie Donley, Cristian Romero and Yang Min-Hyeok made it a fortnight of firsts amongst our players involved during the March international break which concluded overnight.

Jamie, who has impressed on loan at League One side Leyton Orient this season, took his first steps as a senior international after earning his maiden call-up for Northern Ireland this month. Given his debut off the bench in a 1-1 draw with Switzerland, coming agonisingly close to the winner for a dream start to life for his nation, the 20-year-old was then named in the starting side for the first time in the GAWA's defeat to Sweden.

'Cuti' became the first Spurs player to secure a spot at the 2026 World Cup as he helped Argentina to two huge wins in CONMEBOL qualifiers. Following a clean sheet in a 1-0 away win over Rodrigo Bentancur's Uruguay, the defender then completed another full 90 minutes in a resounding victory over great rivals Brazil in the early hours of Wednesday morning as La Albiceleste were the first South American nation to book their place at the finals in the USA, Canada and Mexico.

It was also a memorable March for South Korea's Yang. The 18-year-old, on loan at Championship outfit Queens Park Rangers, experienced his first minutes on the senior stage with his debut as a half-time substitute in a World Cup qualifier against Jordan on Tuesday. Finishing 1-1 at Suwon World Cup Stadium, compatriot and captain Heung-Min Son had earlier set up the opener on his 133rd cap as Korea came away with consecutive 1-1 draws in the third round of Asian qualifying for the World Cup finals.

In Europe

Pedro Porro helped holders Spain book their place in this summer's UEFA Nations League Finals with penalty shootout success over the Netherlands. The full-back featured in both legs, first starting in the 2-2 away draw in Rotterdam and coming on four minutes into extra-time in the return leg 3-3 draw at Valencia's Mestalla, as it finished 5-5 on aggregate before the Spaniards triumphed on spot-kicks to set up a semi-final with France in Stuttgart on 5 June.

In the same competition, Italy's Destiny Udogie played every minute and Guglielmo Vicario was an unused substitute as the Azzurri lost 5-4 on aggregate to Germany in their quarter-final tie. Having fallen to a 2-1 first-leg defeat on home soil on Thursday, the Italians needed an away victory on Sunday yet, despite staging a dramatic comeback from 3-0 down to earn a 3-3 draw in Dortmund, it was not enough for them to progress to the last four.

The European qualification campaign for the 2026 World Cup got under way with Ben Davies and Brennan Johnson in action for Wales. After leading by example with a goal and assist in a 3-1 home win over Kazakhstan, Ben led the side out once again to earn his 94th cap as the Welsh snatched a late, late point in a 1-1 draw in North Macedonia on Tuesday. Brennan started both fixtures as Wales made an unbeaten start to Group J.

Selected in Thomas Tuchel's first England squad, Dominic Solanke remained an unused substitute in both World Cup qualifiers as the Three Lions made a winning start with consecutive 3-0 victories over Albania and Latvia at Wembley.

Manor Solomon's Israel endured a mixed start to Group I with victory over Estonia followed by defeat to Norway. The 25-year-old attacker, on loan at Leeds United, supplied an assist in the 2-1 win before captaining the side for only the third time in their 4-2 loss against the Norwegians.

In Africa

As CAF qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup heat up, Pape Matar Sarr netted his second international goal with a superbly-taken opener to inspire Senegal to a crucial 2-0 win over Togo in Dakar. The midfielder had previously come on at half-time in their 0-0 against Sudan on Saturday, with Senegal vying for the one automatic place with DR Congo and Sudan from CAF qualifying Group B.

Meanwhile, Yves Bissouma resumed captaincy duties for Mali and supplied two assists in a 3-0 win over Comoros before putting in a full 90 minutes in a goalless draw with Central African Republic. Those results put Mali on nine points in fourth and six points off Group I leaders Ghana.

In South America

Elsewhere in CONMEBOL World Cup qualifiers, Rodrigo put in a full shift in both fixtures for Uruguay as they followed the 1-0 defeat to Argentina with a stalemate against Bolivia in El Alto. La Celeste remain fourth in the table - the top six of 10 from CONMEBOL qualify automatically for the 2026 finals.

Youth internationals

It was a fruitful international break for France Under-21 duo Mathys Tel and Wilson Odobert as they both played their part in back-to-back victories over England and Slovakia in youth friendlies. After Wilson had provided two assists in a thrilling 5-3 win over Archie Gray's Young Lions side, his compatriot Mathys then bagged a brace in the subsequent 4-0 victory in Slovakia. Gray started in both fixtures for England Under-21s, who bounced back with a 4-2 success over Portugal. Elsewhere, Academy goalkeeper Aaron Maguire was in action for Republic of Ireland Under-21s, starting against Scotland.

Dane Scarlett and Ashley Phillips, on loan at Stoke City, were in action for England men's Elite League Squad who remained undefeated in 2024/25 with draws against Portugal (1-1) and Switzerland (2-2). Dane captained the side and scored against Portugal, with both players starting the former before being second-half substitutes in the latter.

Mikey Moore claimed two assists whilst on duty for England Under-19s in UEFA U19 European Championship qualifiers. The winger's first came as they toppled Wales 2-0 in the opener before supplying the only goal of the game as they concluded with a 1-0 win over Portugal having also been held to a 0-0 against Turkey in between.

England Under-17 trio Jun'ai Byfield, Malachi Hardy and Luca Williams-Barnett were part of the Young Lions' squad that progressed to this year's UEFA U17 European Championship finals in Albania with consecutive victories over Israel (2-0), Slovenia (3-2) and Northern Ireland (5-0) in recent EURO qualifiers. Jun'ai also captained the side in their final outing against Northern Ireland. 

In the same competition, George Feeney started that game against England - having previously featured from the outset in their 1-1 draw with Slovenia and off the bench in a 1-0 defeat to Israel. Albania's Leon Myrtaj also featured in a 4-1 win over Azerbaijan and 2-1 loss to Wales, scoring against the latter - his nation's place in the tournament finals is confirmed as hosts.

Samal Bangura also featured for Sierra Leone Under-20s during this month’s training camp and friendly series in Morocco.