Irankunda still absent from Alcochete, Sporting have a reason | OneFootball

Nestory Irankunda has not yet returned to Sporting training, despite already having finished his involvement with Australia during this international break. The winger will have a few additional days of rest and will only return to Rui Borges’ squad next week.

The 20-year-old comes off an international window in which he played a major role, highlighted by the two friendlies against Brazil. In the first, Irankunda was one of the standout performers for the Socceroos and scored a spectacular direct free-kick goal in the 1-1 draw.

The performance earned him plenty of praise in his home country. Mark Schwarzer, Australia’s all-time most-capped player, described the free-kick as “sublime, world-class” and also highlighted the winger’s development since his move to Alvalade. “The transfer to Sporting is fantastic,” said the former goalkeeper.

The second clash with the Brazilians, lost 4-2, was less successful. Irankunda gave the ball away 14 times and committed four fouls, one of which led to a penalty, with GoalPoint saying the Sporting player got lost in “actions that almost always failed”.

Even so, the overall picture from the international break reinforces the youngster’s growing status in Australia. Irankunda started both matches against Brazil and once again showed some of the traits that have generated the most excitement:

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.