Yeboah in the Kirin Cup final, Adams scores for Nigeria

Defender John Yeboah took part in the Kirin Cup final, where his penalty was saved, while Akor Adams scored in Nigeria's friendly win against Russia. The international break has had little impact on this Venezia.

Facts of the Kirin Cup final

Yeboah was involved in the Kirin Cup, which was lost in the final on penalties against Panama; the Venezia defender took his penalty, but the Nigerian side was defeated in the shootout. Akor Adams, however, found the net in the friendly match against Russia, contributing to Nigeria's positive result. The final ended with Panama's victory.

On the way to the final, Yeboah had helped the national team overcome Japan in the semi‑final, demonstrating his worth in decisive moments.

Impact of the international break on Venezia

Venezia is among the teams least affected by the international break: of the seven called up, only four saw any minutes, and only two exceeded 180 minutes on the pitch. John Yeboah (Ecuador) logged 187 minutes, Akor Adams (Nigeria) 182 minutes, Richie Sagrado (Belgium U21) 90 minutes, Albion Rrahmani (Kosovo) 69 minutes.

Ridgeciano Haps (Suriname), Redouane Halhal (Morocco) and Filip Stankovic (Serbia) did not record any playing minutes.

This situation could be an advantage for coach Stroppa, who has not had to manage overly fatigued players, or a disadvantage due to the lack of maintained match rhythm.

Haps, Halhal and Stankovic remain to be watched, awaiting the next opportunity to get on the field.