Kobel's Switzerland Stay Perfect; England U21s Clinch Group With Nwaneri

Kobel conceded for the first time yet Switzerland won 2-1; Nwaneri's England U21s clinched their group; Gadou saw red but France beat Luxembourg 3-2.

The international window brought a mix of playing time and results for Borussia Dortmund's contingent on national-team duty. Switzerland, with Gregor Kobel in goal, stayed perfect in the Nations League; Ethan Nwaneri and England's Under-21s clinched first place in their qualifying group; and Joane Gadou's red card did not stop France's Under-21s from beating Luxembourg.

Nwaneri was the only Dortmund player to take the field Friday, featuring for England's Under-21s against Slovakia on matchday 11 of Under-21 European Championship qualifying. The game finished 0-0, with the 19-year-old coming off in the 71st minute. That point was enough to guarantee England first place in the group ahead of the final matchday, leaving second-place Ireland unable to catch them in the teams' closing meeting.

Daniel Svensson did not play as Sweden and Bosnia and Herzegovina drew 1-1 in their third Nations League match. Sweden meets Romania on Monday, October 5.

Samuele Inacio was not in the squad for Italy's 1-1 draw against France. Italy plays again Monday, against Turkey.

Switzerland met Slovenia on Saturday evening in matchday three of the Nations League, and Kobel conceded for the first time in the competition. After clean-sheet wins over North Macedonia and Scotland to open the campaign, the goalkeeper saw Zan Vipotnik find room in the penalty area in the second minute and score into the left corner. Switzerland answered with two goals before halftime to win 2-1, keeping the Swiss top of the table on nine points from three matches. A meeting with bottom side North Macedonia, which has yet to register a point, follows on Tuesday, October 6.

Enzo Dos Santos made his first start in a Nations League match as Luxembourg faced Estonia on matchday three. The 17-year-old lined up in central midfield and played 62 minutes. Estonia scored in the fifth minute and the goal stood as the winner, leaving Luxembourg third with three points after three matchdays. Luxembourg faces bottom side Bulgaria next Tuesday, October 6.

In Under-21 qualifying, group leaders France took on Luxembourg on matchday nine, with Gadou in the starting lineup. Steve Ngoura struck twice inside the first 24 minutes to put France 2-0 ahead. The game turned shortly after halftime, when Gadou lost the ball to Ivan Englaro during a build-up and halted him with a foul; referee Henrik Nalbandyan ruled that the foul denied an obvious goal-scoring opportunity and sent off the defender in the 50th minute.

Englaro stepped up to take the free kick and scored from the edge of the penalty area with a mid-height strike. Less than 15 minutes later, he converted a penalty to level the score at 2-2. Mathys Tel restored France's lead in the 76th minute, and the match ended 3-2. France stays first in the group with 23 points; Luxembourg sits fifth on seven.

The international schedule continues Tuesday, October 6. Czechia visits England at 2:45 PM EDT from Wembley Stadium, and North Macedonia travels to Switzerland at 2:45 PM EDT from the Swissporarena.