Wolves defender trains but misses out - with England up next

Wolves defender Ladislav Krejci did not feature for Czechia as his nation slumped to a 2-1 home Nations League defeat to Croatia.

The defender missed the previous weekend’s Black Country derby victory at home to Albion with a calf complaint, as boss Cesar Peixoto revealed afterwards Krejci, 27, did not feel right to feature.

Reports in the defender’s homeland last week confirmed Krejci was partaking in individual training to get over the muscle concern, but was not fit enough to be named in Czechia’s 23-man squad against Croatia, which ended in defeat.

The Molineux man, who is captain of his country, will now aim for a place in the squad for Tuesday night’s home clash against Thomas Tuchel’s England in Prague.

Wolves star Fer Lopez was unable to inspire Spain under-21s to victory against Finland in a top-of-the-table clash.

Lopez played 70 minutes of the under-21s European Championship qualifier for table-toppers Spain, but hosts Finland edged a 2-1 victory to move within two points.

Spain play in San Marino on Thursday night before a final clash at home to Romania on Tuesday week.

Mateus Mane faces a busy week of action but was unable to inspire Portugal under-20s as they began a UEFA Elite League campaign with a home defeat to Poland.

The Portuguese youngsters were beaten 3-1 as Mane featured from the off. His side are in action at home to Switzerland on Tuesday night before welcoming Czechia on Friday evening.

Wolves centre-back Nasser Djiga played 90 minutes as Burkina Faso earned an AFCON qualifier point from a 1-1 draw at home to Benin. The contest featured two penalties, as Djiga’s hosts led from 20 minutes before the visitors equalised from the spot midway through the second half.

Burkina Faso are back in action away to Central African Republic on Monday with Djiga eyeing a 13th cap.

Jordan James played 75 minutes as Wales fell to a 1-0 defeat in Portugal and the Molineux midfielder will aim for another appearance in Sunday’s Nations League clash against Denmark in Copenhagen (5pm).

Haiti are looking to add to a winning start in their Concacaf Nations League group with a Sunday lunchtime contest against Costa Rica, with Jean Ricner-Bellegarde looking to feature. The Wolves man was booked after coming from the bench in Thursday’s remarkable last-gasp comeback win over Trinidad & Tobago.

Wolves’ Marshall Munetsi and Tawanda Chirewa are in Zimbabwe action on Monday evening with a home clash against DR Congo after both scored in Thursday’s AFCON qualifying opener in Sierra Leone.

New Wolves recruit Ghislain Konan is eyeing another cap for Ivory Coast in Tuesday’s qualifier in Somalia after playing 90 minutes in the impressive 2-0 win over Ghana last Thursday.

Jackson Tchatchoua was an unused substitute in Cameroon’s 3-1 win over Comoros last week and his nation are back in action away to Congo on Tuesday.