Mbappe: Ferguson a great striker

PSG star Kylian Mbappe has praised Albion striker Evan Ferguson ahead of the Republic of Ireland’s Euro qualifier against France tonight.

The 18-year-old scored his first goal for his country last Wednesday in a 3-2 win over Latvia, becoming the youngest scorer for the Republic since Robbie Keane netted against Malta in October 1998.

France captain Mbappe said, “We saw some clips of him [Ferguson], he is a great striker and an important player for their team. But we hope that on Monday he isn’t going to do anything! We want to win and do a job, but he’s a good player.”

France under-21s suffered a first defeat in 14 matches as England Under-21s, with Levi Colwill in the starting XI, won 4-0 at Leicester City’s King Power Stadium. Carl Rushworth was an unused substitute for Lee Carsley’s side on Saturday.

Alexis Mac Allister, alongside his fellow World Cup winners, had a hero’s welcome back to Buenos Aries for their first match since winning the tournament in December. Facundo Buonanotte was an unused substitute as Argentina beat Panama 2-0 while Mac Allister played 45 minutes.

Kaoru Mitoma played in Japan's 1-1 draw with Uruguay, they take on Colombia on Tuesday while Rob Sanchez was an unused sub in Spain’s 3-0 victory over Norway. They face Billy Gilmour’s Scotland, who beat Cyprus 3-0 on Saturday, on Tuesday at Hampden.

Our Ecuadorean trio of Pervis Estupinan, Moises Caicedo and Jeremy Sarmiento all started in their country’s defeat to Australia – the first of a double header against the Socceroos, with the second fixture taking place on Tuesday.

Tom McGill was included in a Canada matchday squad for the first time and was an unused substitute in their 2-0 win over Curacao in a Concacaf Nations League match. Canada face Honduras on Wednesday.

Andrew Moran grabbed an assist in the Republic of Ireland’s Under-21s 2-1 win over Iceland, despite Ireland down to ten men for over 45 minutes.