Friday’s international round-up: Sabitzer stars for Austria

Elsewhere, there was a heroes’ welcome for Lisandro Martinez and Argentina in Buenos Aires, who returned to their homeland for a first home fixture since lifting the World Cup earlier in the season.

Lionel Scaloni’s team received a typically vociferous reception in front of an 83,000-crowd at El Monumental, home of River Plate. Licha was a half-time substitute for his nation, replacing Nicolas Otamendi, as Argentina scored twice in the second half to beat Panama 2-0 in their international friendly.

Back on European soil, there was another warm welcome on the international scene for a fellow Reds defender, as Raphael Varane bid farewell to France supporters at Stade de France. Varane announced his retirement from international football last month and was reunited with supporters ahead of Les Bleus’ Euro 2024 qualifying tie against the Netherlands.

It proved to be an emphatic 4-0 win for Didier Deschamps’s team, who raced into an early three-goal lead before Tyrell Malacia was introduced for the final three minutes for the visitors, while Wout Weghorst remained an unused substitute in Paris.