Bournemouth’s star of the international break

Joshua King (Norway)

Joshua King pips fellow Bournemouth forward Matt Ritchie to this month’s star of the international break, simply because he helped his country Norway seal a UEFA 2016 European Championship play-off spot in Group H. Despite being restricted to substitute appearances against both Malta and Italy over the international period, King’s country are still in contention to qualify for next summer’s Euro finals in France, with the play-off draw being announced this Sunday, October 18. Norway’s 2-0 win over Malta on Saturday was followed up by an agonising late 2-1 defeat to the hands of group winners Italy in Rome. The Scandinavians went ahead through Alex Tettey’s first-half strike, but a second-half response from Alessandro Florenzi and Graziano Pelle meant the visitors were eventually consigned to a third-place finish by just a single point behind runners-up Croatia, who won 1-0 in Malta last night.