Portsmouth striker's tantalising return to form after becoming World Cup hero

And Pompey will be hoping the two-goal contribution in Bahrain can finally ignite his season upon returning to the south coast later this week.

The striker has suffered a difficult introduction to the Championship with the Blues, with injury issues and form struggles.

If that wasn’t frustrating enough, Yengi found himself benched for Australia against Saudi Arabia last week, featuring for just one minute.

However, he was restored to the Socceroos’ side for last night’s World Cup 2026 qualifier in Bahrain - and responded by netting twice in a 2-2 draw.

Yengi opened the scoring after 38 seconds when he intercepted Sayid Mahdi Baqer’s dreadful backpass before rounding the keeper and finishing into an empty net.

He then struck the post on 61 minutes after shouldering the ball towards goal from eight yards, only for Bahrain to subsequently fight back with two goals inside three minutes.

Substitute Mahdi Abduljabbar struck twice and suddenly Australia were facing defeat having led for so long in the Bahrain National Stadium encounter.

However, six minutes into stoppage time, Yengi reacted quickest to a loose ball inside the box to drive past the home goalkeeper and make it 2-2.

There was still more drama, however, with a VAR check to assess whether another Australian player had handled in the build-up - yet the Pompey player’s leveller stood.

That point leaves the Socceroos second in the six-team Group C, trailing Japan by nine points following six matches.

It remains to be seen whether Yengi will be considered for Blues duty at Blackburn on Saturday bearing in mind the journey time back to England.

The 25-year-old has started Pompey’s last three matches, yet Mark O’Mahony will be the most likely replacement up front should Mousinho decide against naming him in his side.

Colby Bishop is also available again, having announced his return from heart surgery with a goal off the bench in the 3-1 win over Preston before the international break.

However, he must be considered unlikely to be ready to start a match at present as the Blues look to ease him back into the first-team.