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The international break seems to have come earlier than it has done in a while this season. Maybe AC Milan benefited from this.
Compared to last season, Milan entered the break in a much better position. The mercato had just finished, and with a few moves over the final weekend, there is time needed to assess their positions.
Additionally, the Rossoneri got their first win of the season before departing for the break. Perhaps that has made it feel a little bit more welcoming than it did last season. Time will only tell in that regard.
However, there were still some players in action over the break, meaning those who were selected for international duty. Let’s dive into a bit of a round-up of their performances.
Nothing staggering – Mike Maignan & Adrien Rabiot
We start with France, who played against Ukraine and Iceland in the latest round of World Cup Qualifiers, where Mike Maignan and new boy Adrien Rabiot were present.
Though whether that can be said for the latter is another matter entirely, which we’ll get to.
Against Ukraine, the goalkeeper kept a clean sheet, only making two saves and being rather untested. Whilst in the game against Iceland, the Milan shot-stopper conceded once, though he made another save in that game.
Not an international break to scream about for the ‘keeper, but there was certainly more to say than in Rabiot’s case, at least from a positive perspective.
After ‘what happened in Marseille’, as Didier Deschamps stated, the midfielder was not really used during the break, resulting in him only playing for around half an hour across both games. One to forget for him…
Half good, half bad – Strahinja Pavlovic
Strahinja Pavlovic’s international break was certainly something. In fact, it was very much a case of two games, rather than one period. Separable, but not defining.
In his first game, against Latvia, the defender was rock solid and was actually seen by some as the Man of the Match, as he was heavily involved at the back.
In 90 minutes, he made three clearances, had two blocks, as many tackles and an interception. All this whilst making 74/78 passes, a textbook game.
Unfortunately, the game against England did not reap the same rewards, with the Serbian looking ok, but with some glaringly obvious faults.
England were in a fine mood and scored five, and Pavlovic certainly wasn’t the worst in the team on the night. However, being part of a defensive unit that concedes that many never looks good, especially when he made some mistakes.
Giving credit where it’s due, he certainly looks more solid from the first game. Now, it is just a case of sharpening his game up in some parts. Then, who knows, the Rossoneri might have a pretty good defender on their hands.
Alexis Saelemaekers show
Alexis Saelemaekers only had 56 minutes across the two international games to make an impact, and he certainly fulfilled that task.
In his first game, he delivered an assist in the final minutes, as the Red Devils strolled to a 6-0 win against Liechtenstein. Then, from 26 minutes in the second game, he was even more influential.
Again, the side won 6-0 against a poor opposition, with the greatest respect to Kazakhstan. Though Saelemaekers took his chance with both hands and delivered, again, quite literally. This time, twice: once for Kevin De Bruyne and the other for Thomas Meunier.
Put it this way, after a solid start to the domestic campaign, his time with the national team has only strengthened the talk about him deserving a new contract, and discussions could start shortly, it seems.
The Belgian is making waves for club and country, and it seems that he is a complete article now, and he is shining.
Like fine wine – Luka Modric
Do we really need to justify Luka Modric anymore? Yesterday, the Croatian midfielder celebrated his 40th birthday, but he plays like he is 10 (or more) years younger, entering his prime years.
Whilst the level of opponent was not as great, Modric played half an hour against the Faroe Islands, and then played 80 or so minutes against Montenegro.
He was quite busy in the second game, as you’d expect, having 114 touches of the ball and making almost 80 passes; one of those being an assist. A solid performance, but nothing new there from the veteran midfielder.
The starter and the Sub – Christian Pulisic & Santiago Gimenez
Combining the breaks of Christian Pulisic and Santiago Gimenez potentially feels a little harsh. However, they played the same opposition and had nothing to play for, due to the location of the 2026 World Cup.
Nevertheless, the way their breaks went was certainly different.
We start with Christian Pulisic, who started both games for the United States, even grabbing an assist in their 2-0 win against Japan, where he was also given a 9/10 rating by some.
However, the same could not be said for Gimenez, who has had a rough few weeks. The striker played around 60 minutes, being substituted on for the final 30 minutes in both games.
Despite this, though, he still managed to have an impact against South Korea, scoring a late equaliser and proving that he can be deadly when it matters.
A nice curled effort from the edge of the box from seemingly nowhere. Something that will certainly impress Allegri in several ways, mentally and as a striker.
The International Rossoneri
Elsewhere, there were no other performances of note, really.
Pervis Estupinan played 85 minutes against Paraguay, but missed the second fixture of the break, against Argentina, due to a muscle injury. However, any worries about this have already been alleviated, and he could start on Sunday.
Elsewhere, Zachary Athekame helped Switzerland’s Under 21 side keep a clean sheet against Estonia in the UEFA European Under-21 Championship Qualifiers.
For Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Koni De Winter and Davide Bartesaghi, it was a long fortnight without club football, with the trio all minuteless for England, Belgium and the Azzurini, respectively.
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