KESSIE OUT OF THE WORLD CUP, KALULU SCORES FOR THE UNDER‑21s

Yesterday's round of matches saw the final fixtures played in the last international break of 2021. There were many final verdicts meted out, starting with Franck Kessie and Ivory Coast, who were eliminated from the race for Qatar 2022. Les Éléphants were beaten 1-0 by Cameroon in Douala and missed out on the chance to top the group and go through to the final stage of qualification in March. Staying on the African continent, Ismaël Bennacer started and played 89 minutes as Algeria drew 2-2 with Burkina Faso. This result saw the Fennec Foxes qualify for the playoffs for World Cup.

Two Rossoneri got on the pitch in action in UEFA qualifying: Alexis Saelemaekers got 32 minutes as Belgium drew 1-1 with Wales in Cardiff, with Roberto Martínez's men already having booked their spot at the World Cup. Rade Krunić played 26 minutes in a home defeat for Bosnia - who have already been knocked out - against Ukraine, who have thus qualified for the playoffs in March behind France. Les Bleus played last night but Theo Hernández wasn't involved as Deschamps' men beat Finland 2-0 away from home.

There weren't just World Cup qualifiers taking place last night, though. Pierre Kalulu bagged the winner as France U21 maintained top spot in their Euro 2023 qualifying group. Pierre scored the only goal of the game against North Macedonia, capping off another top performance from the young Rossonero. Finally, Pietro Pellegri played 37 minutes in Italy U21's 4-2 win over Romania.

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