by Joel Griffiths (@JoelGriffithsBU)
Several AFC Bournemouth players were in action for their national teams over the international break.
Harry Arter, Nathan Ake, Aaron Ramsdale, Connor Mahoney and Lys Mousset all turned out for their countries, while Lewis Cook was an unused substitute for England after his first senior squad call up.
Harry Arter started in midfield for the Republic of Ireland, in a crushing 5-1 defeat to Denmark. He was subbed off at half-time for Aiden McGeady after a frustrating first half which saw Ireland needing to chase goals. The Danes crushed any hopes of Irish World Cup qualification though, with a ruthless hat-trick from Christian Eriksen, as well as goals from Andreas Christensen and Nicklas Bendtner. Harry Arter has arguably had a mixed season so far at the Vitality, although he has been a regular starter under Eddie Howe.
However, Dutch international Nathan Ake was on the winning side during the break. He played the full 90 minutes, in a routine 3-0 away victory against Romania. Ryan Babel, Memphis Depay and Luuk de Jong all got on the score-sheet, coming off the back of Holland’s disappointing failure to qualify for the World Cup this summer. Nathan Ake has played a large part in shoring up a Cherries defence that proved to be extremely leaky during the early parts of the season, and has started 11-matches so far, playing 983 minutes.
England under-20s goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale started for the Young Lions last night in a 2-1 loss against Germany. He played the full 90 minutes at the Zwickau Stadium, alongside summer signing Connor Mahoney, who has struggled to find game time for Bournemouth so far this season, even in the Carabao Cup. He also completed every minute of the Euro-elite fixture.
Lys Mousset impressed for France under 21’s, after scoring in their 3-0 victory over Bulgaria on Thursday. The young centre-forward featured again on Monday night, as France beat Slovenia 3-1 away from home, and will be looking to make a further impression for his club boss, as Bournemouth enter a challenging run of fixtures over the holiday period.