international round-up of PSV

With the international break a number of PSV players were involved in action this Saturday.

Ibrahim Afellay and Dirk Marcellis were both selected for Bert van Marwijk Netherlands provisional squad for World Cup qualifying matches against Scotland and Macedonia. Oranje pride blossomed in Amsterdam as they rolled over Scotland with ease 3-0 in a match they dominated from start to finish. After a number of near misses Bayern München's Mark van Bommel got things going for the home side as his cross was sent in by Klaas-Jan Huntelaar in what surely was a peculiar homecoming. Before the break KJH's Real Madrid teammate Arjen Robben sent in a corner that Arsenal's Robin van Persie nodded in. With hopes for the Tartan Army waning, Dirk Kuyt connected from the spot to make it 3-0 in the seventy-eighth minute. Following the goal Ibrahim Afellay entered the match as the match concluded without further mark. The Netherlands returns to action next Wednesday against Macedonia with a handy eight point lead on their nearest competition.

Timmy Simons took his position in the starting eleven for René Vandereycken Belgium side along with fellow Eredivisie players Moussa Dembélé and Gill Swerts of AZ and Thomas Vermaelen of Ajax against the rapidly emerging Bosnia and Herzegovina side. After giving up an early 1-0 lead to VfL Wolfsburg's Edin Džeko goal, the home side fought back level with Moussa Dembélé's goal from AZ teammate AZ Gill Swerts provision five minutes past the hour. However the Bosnian side stormed back with three rapid fire goals, first from Sanel Jahić of Super League Greece's Aris FC, followed up by Eintracht Frankfurt’s Zlatan Bajramović and lastly Wolfsburg’s Zvjezdan Misimović. While Wesley Sonck added a goal from the spot with a minute remaining, the match was decided and Belgium lost 4-2.

Danko Lazović was selected by Radomir Antić to be a part of the extraordinary resurgent Serbian squad. While both he and fellow fellow Eredivisie player Miralem Sulejmani of Ajax did not feature they can take solace that Serbia are in the drivers seat for World Cup qualification after dispatching Romania 3-2 in Constanta with goals from Standard Liège Milan Jovanović, Chelsea's Branislav Ivanović and an own-goal via Universitatea Craiova’s Dorel Stoica. The Romanian's canceled out with strikes of their own from VfB Stuttgart's Ciprian Marica as well as Dorel Stoica but it wasn't enough and Serbia took the 3-2 victory.

Balázs Dzsudzsák returned to Hungary as his homeland in one of the great stories of World Cup qualifying presently. Former PSV man Erwin Koeman has Hungary holding a share of Group 1 lead and with five matches remaining they are in line for their first World Cup appearance since 1986. With fellow Eredivisie players Gábor Babos of NEC Nijmegen and Boldizsár Bodor of Roda in Hungary's lineup they faced a very tough Albanian side. Led by Arie Haan, Albania is a far more challenging than their ranking of eighty in the world suggests. Captained by Hannover 96's Altin Lala with Lorik Cana of Marseille in their lineup as well as a formidable back-line that includes Armend Dallku and Debatik Curri of Ukrainian side Vorskla Poltava, the Albanians put forth a well disciplined side that is quite capable of launching a powerful counter offensive. After early efforts by Borussia Dortmund's Tamás Hajnal, last years Hungarian player of year, were wide by a fraction a rare defensive blunder gifted Sándor Torghelle an close range opportunity with the FC Augsburg striker making no mistake. The 1-0 lead was enough as Hungary's defending was fool proof.

Andreas Isaksson was named to Lars Lagerbäck's Sweden lineup in their critical match against faltering Portugal in beautiful Lisbon. With both sides watching their World Cup qualifying efforts dimming, the match was highly anticipated by many. In addition to the PSV 'keeper on the squad list he was joined with fellow Eredivisie players Viktor Elm of SC Heerenveen, Ajax's Rasmus Lindgren and Groningen duo Marcus Berg and Andreas Granqvist. The Portuguese side, while controlling much of the run of play and certainly the creator of significant scoring chances were held in a scoreless draw.