This week sees the return of international football, and six of Roy Hodgson's first-team squad have been selected for their respective countries in what is a crucial fortnight in the UEFA Nations League.
Two Palace players could face off in a crucial game in Rotterdam on Friday night as Mamadou Sakho’s France face Patrick van Aanholt’s Holland, where a draw for the world champions will see them book a spot in the semi-finals.
Should the Dutch win that game, they could reach the final four themselves by beating Germany in their final group game three days later. Avoiding a defeat against the Germans though will see the Oranje condemn their arch-rivals to relegation to League B.
That is the section Wayne Hennessey’s Wales hope to advance from, but to do so they have to beat Denmark in Cardiff on Friday. They then head to Albania for a friendly on Tuesday 20th November.
There could also be cause for celebration for Alexander Sørloth’s Norway, who currently top League C3. Successive wins in this break against Slovenia and Cyprus will see them advance up a division, or a combination of results that better Bulgaria’s results against the same opposition.
It is also an important week for qualification for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, with Jordan Ayew receiving a first call-up in a year for Ghana as they take on Ethiopia in Addis Ababa. The Black Stars’ hopes hang in the balance as they are four points behind group leaders Kenya, but have two games in hand.
One Palace man who doesn’t have to worry though is Cheikhou Kouyaté, whose Senegal side qualified for the finals in the last international break. He will once again captain his country as they take on Equatorial Guinea in Bata on Saturday, however Wilfried Zaha has been forced to withdraw from the Ivory Coast squad through injury.
There are also a number of younger players who have been selected for junior call-ups, including Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Nya Kirby, Oliver Webber and Nikola Tavares.
Full list of Palace international call-ups:
Wednesday 14th November
England U19s (Kirby) v Moldova
Euro Qualifier, Antalya (Turkey) – 9am
Croatia U20s (Tavares) v Belarus
Friendly, Zagreb – 6pm
Northern Ireland U19s (Webber) v Poland
Euro Qualifier, Portadown – 7pm
Thursday 15th November
Italy U21s v England U21s (Wan-Bissaka)
Friendly, Ferrara - 5.30pm
Friday 16th November
Belarus U20s v Croatia U20s (Tavares)
Friendly, Lucko – 3pm
Holland (Van Aanholt) v Sakho (France)
Nations League, Rotterdam – 7.45pm
Wales (Hennessey) v Denmark
Nations League, Cardiff – 7.45pm
Slovenia v Norway (Sørloth)
Nations League, Ljubljana – 7.45pm
Saturday 17th November
England U19s (Kirby) v Iceland
Euro Qualifier, Antalya (Turkey) – 9am
Equatorial Guinea v Senegal (Kouyaté)
AFCON qualifier, Bata – 4pm
Northern Ireland U19s (Webber) v Serbia
Euro Qualifier, Portadown – 7pm
Sunday 18th November
Ethiopia v Ghana (Ayew)
AFCON qualifier, Addis Adaba – 1pm
Monday 19th November
Germany v Holland (Van Aanholt)
Nations League, Schalke – 7.45pm
Tuesday 20th November
England U19s (Kirby) v Turkey
Euro Qualifier, Antalya – 12pm
Northern Ireland U19s (Webber) v Kazakhstan
Euro Qualifier, Portadown – 1pm
Denmark U21s v England U21s (Wan-Bissaka)
Friendly, Esbjerg - 5pm
Albania v Wales (Hennessey)
Friendly, Elbasan – 7pm
France (Sakho) v Uruguay
Friendly, St Denis – 8pm
