How Everton Players Fared on the International Stage

Nathan Patterson-Scotland and Idrissa Gana Gueye-Senegal

Young Scottish defender Nathan Patterson made two cameo appearances in Scotland’s two EURO qualifying wins over Cyprus and Spain. This is Patterson’s first appearance in any uniform since coming off injured in an embarrassing 4-1 home loss against Brighton and Hove Albion on January 3rd.

Patterson played 10 minutes in a 3-0 win over Cyrpus and eight minutes in a 2-0 upset victory over Spain. Coach Steve Clark penned fellow young Scott Aaron Hickey of Brentford to start in the right wing-back position over Patterson. This move is applauded by Evertonians because the last thing we need is for Nathan to sustain another injury while not wearing Everton blue.

His possible return to the team could be a major boost for the last ten games, as his ability to get forward will be much welcomed in an Everton offense that is tied for last in goals per match with 0.8. However, the recent play of skipper Coleman will make it difficult for the young defender to convince Sean Dyche to immediately slot him in the lineup.

Midfielder Idrissa Gana Gueya played two full matches in Senegal’s two Africa Cup of Nations qualifying matches. The squad came out winners of both, first in a 5-1 domination of Mozambique and a closer 1-0 win over the same nation. In the first match, Gana Gueye completed the most passes in the match with 80 and contributed on the offensive end by creating two chances and registering four total shots.

Four days later in Senegal’s second match, Gana Gueye again completed the most passes with 44, and sent three accurate long balls, creating one chance and getting another shot on goal. Since returning to the blues after three seasons in Ligue 1 with PSG, Gana Gueye has started 22 matches and has not yet returned to the form Everton fans recall from 2016 to 2019, being one of the top tackle leaders in all of the premier league, right up with guys like N’Golo Kante and Wilfred Ndidi. This year he only sits in eighth with 61 tackles. However, Gueye has been a stabilizer in the midfield for the club, as we have not properly replaced him since his departure.

With each player returning to Merseyside in good health, everyone will need to put several shifts in to keep Everton above water. Their next match is a big one, Monday, April 3rd versus Tottenham Hotspur.