Podolski bows out with a thunderbolt, Werner wins his first cap and Bundesliga players represent all over the world

If a perfect story could be written then Wednesday night surely gave Germany fans a fairy tale. With the whole night dedicated to Lukas Podolski retiring from international service, it was only fitting that he would get the winning goal for his country. Could it have been hit any sweeter? Probably not, it was a stunning strike that was enough to secure the win. Podolski goes down as a great in the eyes of many.

In Bundesliga terms, Die Mannschaft was filled with Bundesliga talent, with a first international cap given to Leipzig hitman, Timo Werner.

Oliver Burke played 45 minutes for Scotland in their abysmal 1-1 draw with Canada. The Scots must be feeling that something fresh is needed in order to ignite their World Cup qualifying campaign. With the likes of Burke and Armstrong coming through, Scotland should be optimistic about the future, but will Strachan be the man the help them fulfil the potential?

A number of Bundesliga stars lined up for Austria’s win on Friday night. Heinz Lindner of Frankfurt, Aleksander Dragovic of Leverkusen, Martin Hinteregger of Augsburg, Bremen captain Zlatko Junozovic, Guido Burgstaller of Schalke and the Leipzig duo Stefan Ilsanker and Marcel Sabitza. The side was captained by Bayern’s excellent wing back, David Alaba. This was the first time Alaba wore the captain’s armband for the National side, it was only a matter of time I suppose.

Omer Toprak and Yunus Malli played in Turkey’s 2-0 win over Finland, keeping up their chances of qualification. Dortmund’s Emre Mor also made an appearance in the final few minutes.

Leipzig’s Swede, Emil Forsberg scored a brace in Sweden’s 4-0 rout over Belarus. Hamburg’s Albin Ekdal also started the game but was substituted after 70 minutes.

Six Bundesliga men played in Switzerland’s 1-0 win over Latvia, maintaining their 100% record in this qualifying campaign. Admir Mehmedi of Leverkusen, Yann Sommer of Gladbach, Fabian Schar of Hoffenheim, Haris Seferovic of Frankfurt and HSV pair Johan Djourou and Josip Drmic. It will be Drmic who will get the plaudits as it was his goal that settled the game and put the Swiss in a very healthy position.

Ousmane Dembele made his full debut for France as the wiped the floor with Luxembourg.

Javier Hernandez helped Mexico win against Costa Rica and is now level as their all-time top goal scorer. Let’s hope the ‘little pea’ can become the most decorated talisman.

The man that everyone in the Bundesliga has been talking about this international break is BVB star Christian Pulisic. He put on a show that all BVB and US fans have been waiting for. Driving his side to a 6-0 destruction over Honduras, he scored 1 and assisted 3. BVB fans will be hoping he can inject this kind of inspiration into their inconsistent season. John Brooks of Hertha also played in this game, but came off towards the end with suspected dehydration!

BVB man Andre Schürrle got an assist as Germany eased to victory against Azerbaijan. Bayern’s Thomas Müller and Wolfsburg’s Mario Gomez also got on the scoresheet.

Vladimir Darida off Hertha and Bremen’s Theodor Gebre Selassie both got on the scoresheet as the Czech Republic thrashed San Marino 6-0.

Robert Lewandowski, arguably Europe’s top marksman, scored for the 10th successive qualifying game for Poland as they secured a 2-1 victory over Montenegro. Lukasz Piszczek of Dortmund scored what turned out to be the winning goal and Poland remains top of group E.