Ahead of the return of Academy action with an Under-18 Premier League Cup tie against Crystal Palace on Saturday - which you can watch live for free on the Chelsea Official App and website - there were some strong performances from the teenage Blues on international duty during the November break.

Forwards Derry and Shumaira Mheuka were heavily involved for England Under-19s as they finished top of their group in the first round of European Under-19 Championship qualifying, scoring seven goals between them during this break.

Mheuka got both goals as England opened with a 2-0 win against hosts Lithuania, converting a first-half penalty before netting the second from close range shortly after the half-time break.

Derry then netted a hat-trick in the second game, an emphatic 7-0 victory over Latvia. He had already won a penalty for the Young Lions when he blasted home to make it 3-0 in the 23rd minute. Either side of the hour mark, he tapped in after a mix-up in the Latvia defence and then finished expertly from the edge of the box to ensure he would take home the match ball.

England made it three wins from three by beating Scotland 4-0, with Mheuka and Derry combining for two goals in the space of five first-half minutes. The striker gobbled up the rebound after Jesse had an effort blocked on the line, and then converted his fellow Blues’ centre from close range.

Calvin Diakite and Eboue travelled to Dubai with England Under-17s for a trio of friendlies. They started in dramatic style, as Eboue’s hat-trick helped them fight back from 2-0 behind at half-time to beat the USA 5-2.

With an hour on the clock and the Young Lions trailing, Mathis netted with a fine first-time finish. After the equaliser, Eboue was brought down to allow England to take the lead from the penalty spot, and scored twice more himself in the last 10 minutes, charging into the box to find the bottom corner before meeting a cross at the back post to complete his hat-trick.

Diakite netted for England in their 1-1 draw with the Ivory Coast, converting when a delivery fell to the defender at the back post to open the scoring, before the African side equalised 15 minutes from time. They concluded with another 1-1 draw, this time with Australia, drawing level when Eboue’s dangerous free-kick was headed home.

Dujuan Richards was called up to represent Jamaica at senior level, in the final two fixtures of their qualifying campaign as they attempt to reach the FIFA World Cup for the first time since 1998.

He came off the bench in both games, taking his tally of international caps to 14, as draws with Trinidad & Tobago and Curacao saw them finish second in their group, meaning they will compete in the inter-confederation play-offs in March.

Unfortunately, Chizarama Ezenwata and Reggie Walsh’ FIFA Under-17 World Cup campaign with England came to an end in the last 16. Ezenwata had scored a hat-trick earlier in the tournament – as they beat Haiti 8-1 in the group stage, with Walsh also on target – but despite a comfortable 2-0 win over South Korea in the last 32, England were then eliminated by Austria.

Ato Ampah and Harrison Murray-Campbell were both involved for England Under-20 as they hosted Japan in a friendly. Murray-Campbell started and completed the 1-1 draw, which was played in Doncaster, while Ampah was replaced with 12 minutes remaining.

Harry McGlinchey started two of the Republic of Ireland Under-19s’ three Euros qualifiers, a 1-0 win over Cyprus and loss to Kazakhstan by the same score, but they missed out on progressing to the next round by a single point.

Those players are all now back at Cobham training with their Blues team-mates ahead of the Academy's next fixture. That arrives at 11am on Saturday, when Chelsea Under-18s travel away to top-of-the-table Crystal Palace in the Under-18 Premier League Cup, and you can watch the game live for free on the Chelsea Official App and website via our Crystal Palace vs Chelsea Under-18s Match Centre, or on the homepage shortly before kick-off.