Jackson Irvine kicked off his 2. Bundesliga season by scoring the opener for St. Pauli as pre-season continued and Australia Under-23 captain Tyrese Francois signed a new contract with Fulham.
Irvine scored in the 24th minute to start St. Pauli’s promotion charge, but it was far from a straightforward first outing for the hosts.
Elsewhere in Europe, pre-season continued as two Socceroos were reunited at San Sebastian while Tyrese Francois signed a new contract with Premier League club Fulham.
Check out our summary of everything Australians are doing overseas.
Europe
Starting with Germany, where Jackson Irvin got their 2. Bundesliga season off to a perfect start on Sunday, scoring the opener for St. Pauli in a thrilling 3-2 victory against FC Nuremberg.
The Socceroos midfielder opened the scoring in the 24th minute with a superb free-kick header from Leart Paqarada.
Paqarada then doubled St. Pauli’s lead from the penalty spot before Lukas Daschner made it 3-0 with a clinical finish just inside the box.
St. Pauli thought they were out of sight but Nuremberg found a way back into the game through Kwadwo Duah and Enrico Valentini. However, it was too late for Nuremberg to secure the equalizer as the Kiezkicker set up their promotion charge with three points.
Connor Metcalfe was also an unused substitute in the game.
Elsewhere in Germany, Ajdin Hrustic Eintracht Frankfurt wrapped up their training camp in Austria with a 3-1 win over Torino on Friday. Hrustic started the second half and played alongside new signing Mario Götze in Eintracht midfield.
In Spain, Awer Mabil made his first pre-season appearance in the Cádiz CF yellow as his side crushed Barbate CF at Benalup-Casas Viejas on Saturday. Mabil came on in the second half and showed what he could bring to the Cadiz side by assisting José Mari’s goal.
Elsewhere in Spain, Maty Ryan and Denis Genreau were reunited as they watched Toulouse FC beat Real Sociedad 1-0 at the Reale Arena in San Sebastián on Sunday. Ryan only returned to Spain last week as Genreau recovers from injury.
In Belgium, Jason Davidson also wore the colors of KAS Eupen for the first time. The Socceroos defender came on as a 75th-minute substitute as Eupen drew 1-1 with Ajax on Friday in a pre-season friendly.
In the news of Olyroos abroad, Josh Rawlins started and played 60 minutes as FC Utrecht continued their pre-season with a 2-1 loss to KV Kortrijk on Saturday.
UK
From England, where Bailey Wright started and played 66 minutes in Sunderland’s 2-0 win over Dundee United on Saturday as the Socceroos defender exhausted his first pre-season minutes of the summer.
by Riley McGree Middlesbrough were also in action as they completed their week-long training camp in Portugal with a 3-0 loss to SC Braga in Lagos on Saturday. McGree started and played the full 90 minutes but was unable to break down a resolute Braga side.
Kenny Dougall also started and played 71 in Blackpool’s 2-1 loss to Rangers at BloomField Road on Saturday. Rangers took a two-goal lead 15 minutes from time and Blackpool pulled back a late goal to make it 2-1 in their third pre-season friendly.
In the news of Olyroos abroad, Jacob Chapman lined up in goal and played 45 minutes before being replaced by Nicolas Bilokapic in Huddersfield Town’s narrow 1-0 loss to Harrogate Town at the EnviroVent Stadium on Saturday.
Huddersfield played two friendlies on Saturday as they tried to get more minutes in all of their players’ legs.
Jay Rich-Bagheulou also played 90 minutes in Accrington Stanley’s 1-0 loss to Championship side Preston North End as they prepare for the start of the League One season in a fortnight.
In contractual news, it was a happy birthday for Tyrese Francois, who put pen to paper on a new two-year contract at Fulham on his 22nd birthday. The deal binds him to the club until June 2024.
Having moved from Sydney to London in 2013 aged 14, Francois came through Fulham’s academy and made 12 senior appearances.
Francois made his Premier League debut on the final day of the 2020/21 campaign and made four appearances under Marco Silva last season.
“I am delighted to pass it. I can now focus on my football, so I’m excited,” said Francois. FFCtv.
“Since coming to the UK I’ve only been to Fulham so this is my home away from home.”
Francois has now joined the first team for their pre-season tour of Portugal.
In Scotland, Nathaniel Atkinson and Kye Rowles were unused substitutes in Heart of Midlothian’s 2-2 draw with English League Two side Crawley Town in a pre-season friendly at Tynecastle Park on Saturday.
In the news of Olyroos Abroad, Lewis Miller came on as a 72nd-minute substitute as Hibernian beat Bonnyrigg Rose Athletic 4-1 in Scottish League Cup Group D. The win takes the Hibees to the top of their group.
Asia
From J-League 2 where Mitch Duke played 75 minutes as Fagiano Okayama played out a 0-0 draw with Tochigi SC on Sunday night. Okayama currently sits fifth in the standings, two points behind fourth with one game less.
Elsewhere in Japan, Adam Taggart was ruled out for two weeks after suffering a back injury in Cerezo Osaka’s Emperor’s Cup win over Nagoya Grampus last week.
