Monday evening proved successful for some of Aston Villa's stars on the international stage. The stand-out performance came from Morgan Rogers. The forward, who has taken the Premier League by storm so far this season, scored two goals for the England Under-21 side as they brushed aside Austria 4-1 at Kenilworth Road. Rogers starred in a superb attacking display from the young Lions and the team took the lead through the former Middlesbrough man. Rogers drilled a penalty into the top left corner to give his side the lead, and to give Villa fans another question to consider: Does Rogers take over from Douglas Luiz on penalty duties? His goal celebration also potentially sending a message to England interim manager Lee Carsley.
Austria equalised before half-time to see the teams head into the break all square. However, shortly after the break, Rogers scored again to give England the advantage again. Former Villa player, currently on loan at Bologna, Samuel Iling-Junior slotted a ball down the left-hand side from the middle of the pitch and Rogers, cutting in on his right foot, smashed the ball into the far corner with a brilliant first-time finish. England went on to win the game 4-1 thanks to further goals from James McAtee (a goal in which Rogers was critical in the build-up) and Tom Fellows.
The Villa left-back department also had a successful evening. Lucas Digne, called up by the French national team for the first time in two years, played the full ninety minutes in the 2-0 victory over Belgium in the UEFA Nations League. Despite receiving a yellow card early in the game, Digne performed confidently and was solid in ensuring the likes of Jeremy Doku didn't have any joy down the right-hand side. Digne has started all three games for Villa this season and is doing well to keep new signing Ian Maatsen out of the side. The former Everton and PSG defender will hope to take this confidence into the forthcoming games for his club.
Lucas Digne for France tonight against Belgium:
— Aston Villa Statto (@AVFCStatto) September 9, 2024
90 minutes played
92% passing accuracy
1 chance created
72 touches
2 touches in opp box
6 passes into the final third
3 clearances
3 recoveries
2 ground duels won
1 clean sheet
Back where you belong @LucasDigne #AVFC pic.twitter.com/lxLQiVGsVG
Meanwhile, Ian Maatsen himself had a good evening representing the Netherlands Under-21 side. The 22-year-old signed from Chelsea in the summer admitted that he was disappointed to have not been selected for the Netherlands senior side, but he put that disappointment to one side to play well in the 3-1 victory over Georgia (under-21's). Maatsen provided the assist for his team's decisive third goal to seal qualification for the Under-21 European Championships in Slovakia next summer.
Disappointing results for others
Although a handful of Aston Villa's players had positive performances and results in the last few days, others have been more unlucky.
Villa captain John McGinn played ninety minutes for Scotland as they suffered late heartbreak against Portugal on Sunday evening. Despite taking the lead early through former Manchester United midfielder Scott McTominay, Scotland suffered defeat thanks to goals from Bruno Fernandes and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Your Tielemans and Amadou Onana faced off against the impressive Lucas Digne for Belgium. The Villa duo provided the double pivot in front of the Belgian defence but ultimately were on the wrong end of a 2-0 scoreline in France. Tielemans was replaced after an hour whilst Onana played the full ninety minutes.
18-year-old Kosta Nedeljkovic started for Serbia to gain his second cap in their defeat against Denmark. Playing as a right-wing-back, Kosta struggled to cope with Denmark's inter-play down the flank and was replaced just after the hour mark with his team already 2-0 down. The youngster performed well on his international debut against Spain just a few days before and he will hope to put this performance aside ahead of his return to Aston Villa.
Pau Torres was deservedly called up to the Spanish squad having missed out on selection for Euro 2024. However, Torres was an unused substitute for both of his country's fixtures against Serbia and Switzerland. Ezri Konsa was also an unused substitute for England in their victory in Dublin against Ireland and will hope to get his chance tonight when England play Finland at Wembley.
Emi Martinez is likely to start in goal for Argentina in their World Cup qualifier against Colombia this evening, aiming to achieve his 35th clean sheet in just 47 games for his country.
UTV