STUNNING GYOKERES HAT-TRICK FIRES SWEDEN TO WIN

Viktor Gyokeres netted a fine hat-trick to help Sweden move one step closer to World Cup qualification with a 3-1 win over Ukraine.

Sweden headed to Valencia for the European playoff semi-final, with our summer signing opening the scoring after just six minutes.

Viktor doubled his tally on 51 minutes before firing home a penalty to ensure he would take home the match ball. 

Sweden, managed by Graham Potter, will now face Poland, who defeated Albania in their semi-final, in Solna, with the winner advancing to the World Cup finals in Canada, Mexico and the USA.

NORGAARD NETS 

There was more joy for our stars in the European playoffs as Christian Norgaard scored for Denmark as they took a step closer to qualifying for a third straight finals.

The Danes took on North Macedonia in Copenhagen and opened the scoring in the second half through Mikkel Damsgaard. The Brentford attacker then doubled his tally on the night before Rasmus Hojlund added a third.

There was still enough time for Christian to find the net, producing a bullet header from Christian Eriksen's cross to round off a fine night's work.

Denmark will now take on Czechia, who came from 2-0 down to beat Ireland on penalties and will host the playoff final in Prague.

CALAFIORI ONE AWAY FROM WORLD CUP

Elsewhere, Riccardo Calafiori ensured it was three wins from three in the European playoffs for our Gunners as Italy downed Northern Ireland 2-0 in Bergamo.

Richy started for Gennaro Gattuso's side as Italy looked to right the wrongs of two previous failed qualifications - and it took 56 minutes to make the breakthrough courtesy of Newcastle United's Sandro Tonali.

Former Everton attacker Moise Kean scored the second for Italy, who will now face Bosnia and Herzegovina for a place at the summer tournament in Zenica.

MARTINELLI MINUTES

Away from World Cup qualification, Gabriel Martinelli picked up his 21st cap for Brazil as the five-time World Cup champions took on France in Foxborough, USA.

Gabi started for Carlo Ancelotti's side and went close early on, bending his shot narrowly wide at the Gillette Stadium. 

Our forward played 62 minutes as goals from Kylian Mbappe and Hugo Ekitike gave Les Bleus a 2-1 victory, with Gleison Bremer netting for The Seleção.

Finally, Max Dowman played 88 minutes in England under-19s 2-0 defeat against Serbia. Max was bright throughout, forcing Vuk Draškić into two good saves.

FULL LIST OF CONFIRMED INTERNATIONAL GAMES

*all times UK

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25

England U19 0-2 Serbia U19

Max Dowman started, played 88 minutes

THURSDAY, MARCH 26

Denmark 4-0 North Macedonia

Christian Norgaard netted late on in the victory

Italy 2-0 Northern Ireland

Riccardo Calafiori played the full 90 minutes, kept a clean sheet

Ukraine 1-3 Sweden

Viktor Gyokeres netted a hat-trick

Brazil 1-2 France

Gabriel Martinelli played 62 minutes

FRIDAY, MARCH 27

Andorra U21 v England U21 (Setford, Lewis-Skelly)

Euro U21 qualifier | Andorra | 6.30pm

England (Saka, Madueke, White, Rice) v Uruguay

Friendly | Wembley | 7.45pm

Switzerland v Germany (Havertz)

Friendly | Basel | 8pm

Spain (Raya, Zubimendi, Mosquera) v Serbia

Friendly | Villarreal | 8pm

Morocco v Ecuador (Hincapie)

Friendly | Madrid, Spain | 8.15pm

SATURDAY, MARCH 28

England U19s (Dowman) v Poland U19s

Euro U19 qualifier | Guimaraes, Portugal | 11am

MONDAY, MARCH 30

Germany (Havertz) v Ghana

Friendly | Stuttgart | 7.45pm

TUESDAY, MARCH 31

Portugal U19s v England U19s (Dowman)

Euro U19 qualifier | Guimaraes, Portugal | 4pm

England U21s (Lewis-Skelly, Setford) v Moldova U21s

Euro U21 qualifier | Norwich | 7pm

Bosnia and Herzegovina v Italy (Calafiori)

World Cup qualifier | Zenica | 7.45pm

Czech Republic v Denmark (Norgaard)

World Cup qualifier | Prague | 7.45pm

Sweden (Gyokeres) v Poland 

World Cup qualifier | Solna | 7.45pm

England (Saka, Madueke, Rice, White) v Japan

Friendly | London | 7.45pm

Netherlands v Ecuador (Hincapie)

Friendly | Eindhoven | 7.45pm

Spain (Mosquera, Raya, Zubimendi) v Egypt

Friendly | Cornella | 8pm

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1

Brazil (Martinelli) v Croatia

Friendly | Orlando USA | 1am

- Arsenal 

HOW ARSENAL'S NEW BOYS PERFORMED ON DEBUT - INCLUDING A 15-YEAR-OLD WONDERKID

Mikel Arteta handed out numerous debuts as Arsenal made a winning start to their pre-season tour

Norgaard, Zubimendi and Dowman all featured against AC Milan (Photos@ Getty)

Arsenal 1-0 AC Milan (Saka 53′)

Arsenal made a winning start to their pre-season tour against AC Milan in Singapore with a few new faces given their first runouts by Mikel Arteta.

Bukayo Saka scored the game’s only goal with a scuffed volley at the back post from Jakub Kiwior’s searching cross, before the Gunners were beaten 6-5 on penalties in a pre-arranged post-match shootout.

Three of Arsenal’s summer signings were involved, with Christian Norgaard starting and Kepa Arrizabalaga and Martin Zubimendi brought on at half-time. A few promising academy prospects also featured in the second half.

Arteta will soon have other newcomers to integrate.

Christian Mosquera is in the Far East to complete his move from Valencia and could feature against Newcastle or Tottenham, while Arsenal hope to have Viktor Gyokeres join them on tour once his protracted move from Sporting Lisbon has been finalised.

Noni Madueke has been given an extended break after featuring for Chelsea at the Club World Cup.

Zubimendi catches the eye

The introductions of Zubimendi and Martin Odegaard at the break, alongside Declan Rice, gave Arsenal fans a first look at what is likely to be a first-choice midfield next season.

Zubimendi offers more playmaking qualities than Arsenal have had recently in the No 6 role, but he also possesses the defensive nous to protect the back four.

The 26-year-old ranked ninth in La Liga for combined tackles and interceptions last season and offered glimpses of those ball-winning capabilities in Kallang.

He was well-positioned to disrupt Milan counters, nicking the ball off Rafael Leao within minutes of coming on as Milan’s main man slalomed towards goal after a turnover.

Later on, he dispossessed Leao again, staying alive and alert to win the ball inside his own box. He looks well suited to Arsenal’s high press, too, shuttling crab-like to close down space in the opponents’ half.

It was a polished performance on the ball pockmarked by various line-breaking passes. He even scored a penalty, calmly sending Milan’s impressive No 2 Lorenzo Torriani the wrong way in a pre-arranged post-match shootout.

An encouraging first outing from the £52m buy.

Neat and tidy Norgaard

Adapting to playing for a team that had the third-highest possession share in the Premier League last season, from one that was 15th, will determine whether or not the Dane is a success in north London.

There were a couple of stray passes, but generally, he was accomplished on the ball (if less so than Zubimendi) and looked to punch balls into the forwards.

With Arsenal controlling much of the first half, he had plenty of the ball and operated higher up the pitch than he tended to for Brentford.

Norgaard played the first-half against AC Milan (Photo: AP)

He could even have registered a debut assist, after Ethan Nwaneri’s stinging drive from his pass forced a smart stop on the stretch from Pietro Terracciano.

Another facet of Norgaard’s game that has perhaps been overlooked is his aerial ability. According to WhoScored, Norgaard won 52 aerial duels last season, the third-most among Premier League central midfielders.

The six-footer made a headed clearance from a Milan corner later in the half and his presence could help Arsenal improve their defensive set-piece record.

The Gunners let in 14 set-piece goals in the league last season; Brentford conceded just two.

A clean sheet for Kepa

Signed to provide competition for David Raya, Kepa will be pleased to have kept his first clean sheet in Arsenal colours.

It was a largely stress-free half for the ex-Chelsea keeper, especially considering he played most of it behind a back four containing two 18-year-olds and a 15-year-old.

His best moment was getting his positioning and handling spot on to gather in a Leao shot from range, before immediately springing to his feet to set an Arsenal counter in motion with a throw.

Kepa may have had little to do in regulation time, but he was in inspired form in the penalty shootout, matching Torriani by making three saves from the first five kicks, all of which were down to his left.

He has always backed himself in shootouts, to be fair.

Teenage kicks

Besides the newcomers, Arsenal supporters will have been eager to see a few of the club’s youngsters get some game time.

There is plenty of hype around the 15-year-old Max Dowman, who is eligible to play Premier League football next season.

A left-footed attacking midfielder, Dowman slotted in on Saka’s right flank and looked remarkably composed given his inexperience.

Dowman impressed on his Arsenal debut (Photo: Reuters)

There is a touch of early Jack Wilshere about Dowman, with his low centre of gravity, direct dribbles and silky touch.

The schoolboy kept his cool in the shootout, succeeding where Odegaard, Reiss Nelson and Kiwior hadn’t by netting from 12 yards. Expect to see much more of him over the next few years.

Marli Salmon, another 15-year-old, also looked assured at centre-back, while 18-year-old right-back Josh Nichols produced some exciting bits of skill. Nichols also scored a penalty, although Salmon blazed his over with Milan winning the shootout with the next kick.

Hale End graduates Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly both broke into Arteta’s first-team plans last term, and judging by the displays of Dowman, Salmon and Nichols, more will follow before long.

- Oliver Young-Myles

ARSENAL SIGNS MIDFIELDER CHRISTIAN NORGAARD FROM BRENTFORD

Arsenal.com

LONDON (AP) - Arsenal completed the signing of Christian Norgaard from Brentford on Thursday for a reported fee of up to 15 million pounds ($20 million).

The 31-year-old Denmark international has signed a two-year contract with the option of a further 12 months. He is Arsenal's third signing of the offseason after midfielder Martin Zubimendi and goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga.

Arsenal has been busy in the transfer market after finishing runner-up in the Premier League for a third straight season.

A top striker is also among manager Mikel Arteta's targets.

Norgaard made 196 appearances for Brentford and scored 13 goals.

He said he was relishing the opportunity to play in the Champions League with Arsenal.

"You can get almost emotional because maybe it was a dream that I´ve given a little bit up on coming towards the later stage in my career," he said. "Now, I get to hear the anthem and be a part of a Champions League campaign. It´s a childhood dream and something I didn´t think would be possible. So it´s something I´m really, really happy about."

- ASSOCIATED PRESS