Internationals | Wins for Porro and Donley, van de Ven and Xavi held
Thu 04 September 2025, 21:45|
Tottenham Hotspur
Pedro Porro and Jamie Donley enjoyed the perfect start as their respective nations kicked-off their World Cup qualifying campaigns on Thursday night
Beginning with Pedro, he started and earned his 11th cap as Spain ran out 3-0 winners over Bulgaria in Sofia. The defender played 62 minutes as goals from Mikel Oyarzabal, Marc Cucurella and Mikel Merino gave Spain victory in their opening qualifier for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
It capped off a perfect week for the defender who welcomed his baby son into the world earlier in the week.
Jamie Donley, meanwhile, came off the bench for the final 14 minutes as Northern Ireland won 3-1 in Luxembourg in their opening game of World Cup qualifying. It was Jamie's fourth cap.
Both Pedro's Spain and Jamie's Northern Ireland have jumped to the top of their respective qualifying groups.
Meanwhile, in Rotterdam, Micky van de Ven and Xavi Simons both started as the Netherlands were held to a 1-1 draw in their third World Cup qualifier by Poland.
Denzel Dumfries gave the Dutch the lead midway through the first half but that advantage was cancelled out with 10 minutes to play as Matty Cash levelled for Poland.
It was Xavi's 29th cap as he played 79 minutes before being substituted while Micky played the full 90 minutes as he claimed cap number 13.
The Netherlands still top their group with seven points from their three games thus far. They are level on points with second-placed Poland, however the Dutch still have a game in hand.
