West Ham colossus Konstantinos Mavropanos pocketed a much-hyped world star in waiting as Brazil lose their record without Lucas Paqueta.
After West Ham’s superb start to the season on all fronts, the last thing any of us wanted was another international break.
But here we are in the middle of the second of three before December. Yes Hammers fans that’s right there’s another one on the horizon next month too.
Eleven of West Ham’s top players are off representing their countries including Greek star Konstantinos Mavropanos.
West Ham colossus Konstantinos Mavropanos pockets much-hyped world star in waiting as Brazil lose record without Lucas Paqueta
One West Ham ace who should be representing his national side – but isn’t – is Lucas Paqueta as Brazil continue to exclude him amid the investigation into illegal betting despite the midfielder protesting his innocence.
And it has been an eventful 24 hours or so for both of them.
Because West Ham colossus Mavropanos pockets much-hyped world star in waiting as Brazil lose their record without Paqueta.
Mavrapanos has impressed for West Ham when given the chance after signing from Stuttgart in the summer for around £18m.
Golden boy Evan? Get him to the Greek
He is a mainstay for his national team and was one of the best players on the pitch as Greece beat the Republic of Ireland 2-0 on Friday night.
The giant West Ham defender has been praised for his performance against Brighton striker Evan Ferguson, who is being linked with the top clubs across all of Europe from Man City to Bayern Munich.
Brighton’s forward Ferguson was this week named on the 25-player shortlist for the Golden Boy Award, a prestigious honour given to the best European-based footballer aged under 21.
He barely had a sniff, though, as he was pocketed by Mavropanos in impressive style.
Brazil surely regret Paqueta stance after losing 15-game winning streak on home soil without Hammers magnifico
Ferguson was restricted to just one shot in the game and was given a match rating of 5/10 by The Sun. West Ham’s centre-back was given a 7.3/10 match rating by WhoScored.
The win puts Greece second behind France in their group as they look to qualify for Euro 2024.
Brazil meanwhile will surely be regretting their stance against Paqueta. Arguably the most in-form Brazilian player on the planet, Paqueta has been left at Rush Green.
And without West Ham’s talisman, Brazil threw away a 1-0 lead to draw 1-1 with Venezuela in a 2026 World Cup qualifier to end a 15-match winning streak on home soil.
Jarrod Bowen was of course also in action last night – and you can read all about what we thought of that here.
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