International Round-up: Another successful round of games for our Saints

Graziano Pelle's Italy side have achieved qualification for Euro 2016 after they beat Azerbaijan 3-1 in Baku.

Pelle featured for his country for the full 90 minutes. His blossoming strike partnership with Eder came to fruition as Eder netted the Azzuri opener before their opponents equalised through Dimitrij Nazarov.

However, Monaco star Stephan El Shaarawy netted for his country to go 2-1, before Manchester United's Matteo Darmian scored a great goal from distance to secure Italy's place in the tournament in France next year.

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Meanwhile, Virgil van Dijk made his Netherlands debut and keep their Euro 2016 dreams alive as they beat Kazakhstan away from home 2-1. <!-- ######## START FLOATED VIDEO SNIPPET ######## -->

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Under both previous boss Guus Hiddink and current coach Danny Blind, Holland have struggled in their qualifying campaign in a group with impressive sides such as the surprise package Iceland, Czech Republic and Turkey.

However, van Dijk's impressive leage form for Southampton really shone through on the international stage as a previously leaky Netherlands defence looked decidedly improved, despite the relatively poor opposition.

Newcastle summer signing Georginio Wijnaldum opened the scoring for Holland in the first half before Galatasaray star Wesley Sneijder double their advantage in the second half.

Islambek Kuat scored Kazakhstan's late consolation goal but van Dijk's defence held firm to keep the Dutch dream alive.

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Last night also saw Sam Gallagher and Harrison Reed's England U20s come from behind to beat Turkey 2-1 and progress in the Elite Cup. MK Dons' loan star Gallagher appeared as a late substitute while Reed did not feature. Next for the boys is a tough match against Germany on Tuesday.

Victor Wanyama's Kenya side held out for a 0-0 draw against Mauritius to advance in the African continent's 2018 World Cup 1st qualification round. Kenya captain Wanyama lead his country to a 5-2 away win against Mauritius in the first leg of this tie.