Atlético Madrid had a healthy 12 players away on international duty during the October break.
Four featured for Spain, four turned out for Argentina and another four dotted around the other European World
Cup qualifiers.
Here’s a quick round-up from Into the Calderón on how they each got on.
Atleti presence in La Roja
For the first time in what feels like forever, four Atlético players were in Luis De La Fuente’s squad as the Spanish national team eased past Georgia and Bulgaria to remain top of European qualifying Group E.
Robin Le Normand was the star pick of the bunch, starting and assisting in both games as he continues his rich run of goal contributions. The defender played the full 90 minutes against Georgia before being subbed off in the 72nd minute against Bulgaria.
Álex Baena started his first football match since August when he lined up in the starting 11 against Bulgaria, having had a good half an hour in the previous match. In the 4-0 win over Bulgaria, Baena attempted five shots and created two chances over 63 minutes played.
Pablo Barrios was able to continue his positive audition for next summer’s World Cup with more good minutes; he came on in the 75th and 67th minutes of these two matches. The youngster faces stiff competition from a stacked midfield, but his performances with the red shirt have definitely given De La Fuente something to think about.
The manager obviously remembered that Marcos Llorente is a Spanish national, as he was back in the set up for the first time since a warm up game for last summer’s European Championships. Llorente is a player who would fit in any nation’s squad for a major tournament based on pure versatility alone but surprisingly didn’t feature in those Euros. The yellow lens sporter played 20 minutes against Georgia before remaining on the bench for the entirety of the next game.
Argentina rojiblancos in the USA
Lionel Scaloni’s world champions set up shop in Florida during the October break (presumably to accommodate Mr. Messi) to play friendlies against Venezuela and Puerto Rico.
Nico González was the most fruitful of the four Atlético players in action for the albiceleste, providing two assists in the 6-0 drubbing of Puerto Rico. He played the full 90 minutes of that match and the whole second half against Venezuela from left-back in a four-man defence.
Giuliano Simeone and Nahuel Molina both started one match and made an appearance from the bench in the other, coinciding down the right side of the pitch for only 15 minutes across both games.
Julián Alvarez was finally rested in a national team match for the first time since June 30 of last year, staying on the bench for the whole game in Fort Lauderdale. He had played 78 minutes against Venezuela four days earlier.
Atleti’s Euro stars
Jan Oblak kept two clean sheets as his Slovenia side drew both of their matches 0-0. The captain had little to do against Kosovo as RCD Mallorca striker Vedat Muriqi’s team failed to register a shot on target, but he was alert to make three stops in the following game against Switzerland.
David Hancko only played in the second of Slovakia’s two matches, completing the full 90 minutes to help his team beat Luxembourg 2-0; he missed Slovakia’s first qualifier of this FIFA break due to the birth of his son Dominik. The defender provided an assist against Luxembourg to add to his goal earlier in the qualifying campaign, against Germany in September.
Alexander Sørloth provided Erling Haaland with an assist in Norway’s comfortable 5-0 win on Oct. 11. He was then given permission to head back to Madrid and miss the friendly his side played against New Zealand a few days later.
Finally, Giacomo Raspadori started both of Italy’s matches as they look to chase down Norway, winning both encounters to remain three points off the Scandinavians. Jack’s amazing goalscoring run for the tricolore finally wore off; he was unable to provide any goal contributions this time round.
