Grady Diangana had his inaugural appearance on the international stage as he represented the Democratic Republic of the Congo on Friday night. The winger from West Bromwich Albion entered the game in the 63rd minute during a friendly match against New Zealand, held in Spain. DR Congo initially took the lead early in the second half thanks to a goal by Cedric Bakambu, but New Zealand managed to level the score in injury time through a penalty converted by former Albion forward Chris Wood. Diangana’s national team is set to play another friendly against Angola in Portugal on Tuesday.
In a separate fixture, defender Semi Ajayi completed a full 90 minutes for Nigeria during a practice match against Saudi Arabia, which ended in a 2-2 draw.
|๐จ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฐ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐|
On joue la 63e minute de jeu, toujours 1:0 en faveur des lรฉopards.
Diangana remplace Elia
Balikwisha remplace Silas
Muleka remplace Bongonda๐ Nouvelle Zรฉlande ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ฝ๐ ๐จ๐ฉ ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ด๐ผ 0:1 63'#AllezylesLรฉopards ๐ช๐ฝ #NZFDRC pic.twitter.com/WOa0BZy67A
— Fecofa RDC_Officiel (@FecofaRdc) October 13, 2023
The Super Eagles faced the team that famously defeated eventual FIFA World Cup winners Argentina in Qatar last year. The match took place at the Estรกdio Municipal de Portimรฃo in Portugal, with Nigeria’s goals coming from Abdulelah Al Amri (own goal) and Kelechi Iheanacho, while Saudi Arabia scored through Salman Al Faraj and Mohamed Kanno. Ajayi, who plays for West Bromwich Albion, hopes to be part of the lineup when Nigeria competes against Mozambique on Monday.
FT in Portimao: Saudi Arabia 2-2 Nigeria #soarsupereagles #letsdoitagain pic.twitter.com/mNwnkI5fPJ
— ๐ณ๐ฌ Super Eagles (@NGSuperEagles) October 13, 2023
Meanwhile, midfielder Jayson Molumby was present as an unused substitute for the Republic of Ireland during their UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying match, where they suffered a 2-0 home defeat to Greece. The visitors, Greece, secured their victory with first-half goals from Georgios Giakoumakis and Georgios Masouras at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Molumby’s national team is scheduled to return to qualifying action as they host group underdogs Gibraltar on Monday night.
On his international duty with Nigeria, West Brom’s Semi Ajayi received a crucial VAR-assisted lifeline as his team played to a 2-2 draw with Saudi Arabia in Portugal on October 13th. Score Nigeria, a prominent online platform with 81,000 Facebook followers that extensively covers the Nigerian national team, documented the match.
Nigeria found themselves trailing due to Salman Al-Faraj’s 60th-minute goal, and things appeared even bleaker when Ajayi was initially penalized for a handball inside the box. However, Nigeria was spared from further misfortune when VAR intervened in the 69th minute, overturning the penalty decision, ruling that Semi Ajayi had not handled the ball.
The score was leveled by an own goal from Abdulelah Al-Amri, and Victor Iheanacho seemed to have secured a win with a goal in the 81st minute. However, a last-minute equalizer from Mohamed Kanno ensured that the match ended in a draw.
For West Brom supporters, the primary concern is that Semi Ajayi returns from international duty without any injuries, as they hope he can help Carlos Corberan’s team in their efforts to climb the Championship table. This is especially crucial as the center-back has been dealing with injury issues recently and could only make the bench for the past few games before the international break.
With several key first-team members already sidelined due to injuries, the last thing West Brom fans want to see is another important player facing an extended period on the sidelines. Ajayi, on the other hand, can breathe a sigh of relief for not being penalized by VAR, which could have put Nigeria at a disadvantage by potentially falling behind by two goals.
In essence, everyone involved can be content, at least for now, with the outcome of the match. Hopefully, Ajayi can benefit from the playing time and return to The Hawthorns in good shape, as West Brom is set to face Plymouth Argyle on October 21.