Southampton: A draw and two losses for Saints players in Friday internationals

Three Southampton players in their respective national squads for international fixtures on Friday night.

Jan Bednarek was the only one to play though but was also the only one of the Saints trio to taste defeat.

The centre-back played the full 90 minutes as Poland fell to a 2-0 loss to Slovenia in their first European Championship qualifier of the new season.

Goals from Slovenian duo Aljaz Struna and Andraz Sporar either side of half-time proved enough for a comfortable and important win in Group G.

Poland remain in a good position at the top of their group of six and are three points clear of closest rivals Austria in second. The two sides face each other in a potentially crucial match on Monday.

Elsewhere, Stuart Armstrong was an unused substitute as Scotland fell to a 2-1 defeat at home to Russia.

The hosts at Hampden Park made the perfect start to the contest when Aston Villa midfielder John McGinn pounced on a loose ball inside the penalty area to tap home 10 minutes in.

However, Russia were level before half-time as striker Artem Dzyuba got his name on the scoresheet.

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Scotland would have been hoping to make their home advantage count after the break but they were condemned to a narrow loss by a Stephen O’Donnell own-goal.

After the appointment of Steve Clarke as manager, Armstrong and his teammates will be hoping to turn their Euro qualifying campaign around quickly.

They currently sit fourth in Group I and face formidable opponents in Belgium on Monday evening.

The third Saints player involved yesterday was Sofiane Boufal, who also remained an unused substitute for Morocco’s 1-1 friendly draw with Burkina Faso.

Boufal’s teammates found themselves 1-0 down up until two minutes from full-time, but an equaliser from Zouhair Feddal saw the scores level at the final whistle.

A start for Bednarek and places on the bench for both Boufal and Armstrong perhaps highlighted the amount of football played by each for Saints so far this season.

Bednarek has been a regular in defence, Boufal a bright option as a substitute and Armstrong has struggled to get close to a start to date.