Fabio Silva continued his impressive September international period with Portugal under-21s as he scored twice and claimed two assists in his side’s 5-0 win over Belarus.
The striker’s latest haul added to the goal and assist in last week’s opening U21 Euro qualifier against Andorra to complete a perfect week away with his country on international duty.
Silva was one of five Wolves players whose countries were in action on Tuesday, and wolves.co.uk rounds up the action from the final day of international fixtures this month.
Fabio Silva | Belarus U21 0-5 Portugal U21
Silva couldn’t have asked for a better week on international duty than he has experienced for Portugal under-21s during the last seven days. The striker has fired his country to the top of the U21 Euro qualifying standings in Group G, thanks to their two wins from as many games to kick off their 2025 campaign. It took Wolves’ new number nine just nine minutes to open the open his account against Belarus on Tuesday afternoon, when he was picked out in the box and headed past a stranded goalkeeper. He claimed his first assist of the day – and his second backheel set-up for a teammate of the international break – when he flicked the ball on to Henrique Araujo to fire into the net from close range. Inside 35 minutes it was three for Portugal as Silva was tripped inside the box before stepping up to dispatch a penalty from the spot, and moments later he played another backheel pass into the path of Joao Marques who added a fourth before half-time. Being replaced at the break meant Silva was unable to claim a hat-trick, but Portugal were able to add a fifth before full-time to put themselves well on course for Euros qualification.
Hee Chan Hwang | South Korea 1-0 Saudi Arabia
Tuesday offered a chance for Hee Chan Hwang to get more minutes into his legs as he continues his recovery from a hamstring injury which has limited his time on the pitch in recent weeks. The Wolves winger was in from the off in South Korea’s friendly against Saudi Arabia at Newcastle United’s St James’ Park – his first start since the injury forced him off at half-time in the 1-0 Premier League win over Everton. Having come on for the last 30 against Crystal Palace before matching that off the bench in Korea’s friendly with Wales last week, Hwang played the opening 68 minutes for his country as they claimed a 1-0 win over the Saudis. The winger rode a few heavy challenges from the opposition during a steady performance on the left, as a 32nd minute header from striker Gue-sung Cho was enough to see his country claim the friendly win.
Rayan Ait-Nouri | Senegal 0-1 Algeria
Another Wolves man in friendly action on Tuesday evening was Rayan Ait-Nouri, with the left back playing the full 90 minutes of Algeria’s 1-0 win over Senegal in Diamniadio. It was the second outing for Ait-Nouri this September after he returned to the Algeria fold to make earn his second cap last week having switched his allegiances from France earlier this year. The 22-year-old appears to have tied down the starting left back spot as he played a key role in helping Algeria to keep a clean sheet against a dangerous Senegal attack, featuring the likes of Sadio Mane and Nicolas Jackson. But Algeria offered a threat of their own and scored the only goal of the contest when Riyad Mahrez’s free-kick was headed in by Fares Chaibi.
Elsewhere…
Wolves’ South American contingent of Matheus Cunha and Santi Bueno will head back to Compton with fresh legs having not got off the bench for their countries as Brazil and Uruguay were taking part in qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Without Cunha’s help, Brazil inched past Peru with a narrow 1-0 win which keeps them at the top of CONMEBOL’s qualification standings, while Uruguay fell to a 2-1 defeat to Ecuador, which leaves them in fourth position in the table.
