A perfect start to World Cup qualification for Jiri Pavlenka! The Werder goalkeeper played all 90 minutes for his home country as the Czech Republic beat Estonia 6-2. The victory means that the Czechs take an early lead in Qualification Group E after the first matchday.
Milot Rashica also celebrated a comfortable victory as his native Kosovo beat Lithuania 4-0. The 24-year-old played 66 minutes of the victory and provided the assist for the second goal with a great cross.
Meanwhile, Milos Veljkovic was rested for Serbia's 3-2 win over Ireland in Belgrade. After being substituted in Werder’s last outing against Wolfsburg, the centre-back was not included in the Serbian line-up as a precautionary measure. A first victory under new national team coach Dragan Stojkovic took Serbia into first place in Qualifying Group A.
The international action continues on Thursday as four Werder players are in action in the first round of World Cup qualifying. Yuya Osako was in action at 11:20 CET for Japan as they hosted South Korea in a friendly, with the Werder man racking up 77 minutes in the 3-0 win. Josh Sargent and the USA face Jamaica at 18:00 CET, while Sweden take on Georgia with Ludwig Augustinsson and Austria play Scotland with Marco Friedl (both 20:45 CET).
![[Translate to Englisch:] Jiri Pavlenka zeigt die Richtung an.](https://werdercdn.azureedge.net/typo3temp/assets/_processed_/9/0/csm_828dc93387ab8582b6802319e4febcaf160f23eb-fp-1000-600-11-19_966665f5a7.jpg)
