Draw for Lazaro – Darida wins!

The first Hertha players were in action during the international break on Thursday.

Berlin – The last international break of the year is in full swing and the first Hertha players have already been in action. On Thursday there was a real mix of results: Vladimir Darida won with the Czech Republic, Valentino Lazaro drew with Austria and Jonathan Klinsmann’s USA side lost, although he wasn’t in the matchday squad. The day before, Germany U19s suffered a “deserved defeat”, according to coach Guido Streichsbier. Dennis Jastrzembski came on in the 1-0 defeat to Portugal in the 81st minute.

Valentino Lazaro was the only Hertha player in Nations League action – the 22-year-old played the whole game against Bosnia and Herzegovina, but his side had to settle for a point after a goalless draw. Austria therefore cannot win their group, but will finish instead in second place after the draw. National coach Franco Foda stated after the game: “In the first half our passes weren’t accurate enough. We had a few good breaks, but didn’t finish them off well enough. After the half-time break, we had a few chances, which we should have taken, but we didn’t and thus it finished 0-0.” On Sunday the Austrians will face Northern Ireland.

Win for Darida and the Czech Republic – Debut for Dilrosun?

Poland and the Czech Republic met yesterday in a friendly. The Czech Republic won 1-0, their second win in three games under new head coach Jaroslav Silhavy. Vladimir Darida came on at half time and Jakub Jantko scored the winning goal in the 52nd minute. “A win against a team like Poland gives us a real boost ahead of the Nations League game against Slovakia”, summarised Silhavy. That game will take place in Prague on Monday (19/11) against two other Hertha players; Ondrej Duda and Peter Pekarik. Both teams are still hoping to avoid relegation from Group B.

Slovakia will take on Ukraine in a friendly on Friday evening (16/11). Rune Jarstein (Norway vs. Slovania), Javairo Dilrosun (the Netherlands vs. France) and Maximilian Mittelstädt (Germany U21s vs. Netherlands U21s) are also all in action.