Afghanistan
Angola
Argentina
Asia (AFC)
Asian Games
Australia
Belgium-Netherlands
Brazil
Burkina Faso
Central American & Caribbean Games
Central American Games
Congo DR
Denmark
England
Europe (UEFA)
FYR Macedonia
Finland
Germany
Greece
International Tournaments
Italy
Mediterranean Games
Mexico
National
Nepal
North & Central America (Concacaf)
Palestine
Pan American Games
Panama
Russia
Scandinavia
Serbia And Montenegro
South American Games
Spain
Syria
USA
Venezuela
World (FIFA)
Yemen
Zimbabwe

Manchester City

sportsmole.co.uk, 9 September 2021, 12:18
Pep Guardiola will welcome back the 16 first-team players to his Manchester City side who have been representing their country during September's international break, as well as keeping an eye on three young players currently out on loan.

Seventeen of those players were spread out across Europe, while Riyad Mahrez and Zack Steffen travelled to Africa and Central America respectively.

Here, Sports Mole round up which City players were in action for their respective nations and how they fared on international duty.

England: Kyle Walker, John Stones, Raheem Sterling, Jack Grealish

Results:

September 2: Hungary 0-4 England - World Cup qualifier (Ferenc Puskas Stadium, Budapest)

September 5: England 4-0 Andorra - World Cup qualifier (Wembley Stadium, London)

September 8: Poland 1-1 England - World Cup qualifier (Stadion Narodowy, Warsaw)

All four players started away in Hungary, with Grealish - who provided an assist for Declan Rice's goal - the only City representative who was brought off in the final few minutes.

Sterling managed to break the deadlock in Budapest, tapping in his 18th international goal, while Stones and Walker helped the Three Lions keep a clean sheet.

Against Andorra, Stones, Walker and Sterling were all unused substitutes, while Grealish was brought on in the 62nd minute.

All four players then played the full 90 minutes against Poland, though England were unable to maintain their 100% record in qualifying, conceding a stoppage-time equaliser in Warsaw.

Portugal: Joao Cancelo, Ruben Dias, Bernardo Silva

Results:

September 1: Portugal 2-1 Republic of Ireland - World Cup qualifier (Estadio Algarve, Almancil)

September 4: Qatar 1-3 Portugal - Friendly (Nagyerdei Stadion, Debrecen)

September 7: Azerbaijan 0-3 Portugal - World Cup qualifier (Baku Olympic Stadium, Baku)

Dias was the only City representative who featured in all three international matches, starting against the Republic of Ireland and Azerbaijan as well as coming off the bench in the 68th minute against Qatar.

Cancelo and Silva, meanwhile, were rested against Qatar but started both World Cup qualifiers, with the latter scoring an exquisite volley from a tight angle to open the scoring against Azerbaijan.

Spain: Aymeric Laporte, Rodri, Ferran Torres

Results:

September 1: Sweden 2-1 Spain - World Cup qualifier (Friends Arena, Stockholm)

September 5: Spain 4-0 Georgia - World Cup qualifier (Estadio Nuevo Vivero, Badajoz)

September 8: Kosovo 0-2 Spain - World Cup qualifier (Fadil Vokrri Stadium, Pristina City)

City pair Laporte and Torres started in all three internationals this month, while Rodri only featured for five minutes as a substitute in the defeat to Sweden.

Laporte helped the Spanish backline keep two clean sheets in their final two matches, while Torres carried his goalscoring form at club level onto the international scene, finding the net against Georgia and Kosovo.

Germany: Ilkay Gundogan

Results:

September 2: Liechtenstein 0-2 Germany - World Cup qualifier (AFG Arena, St Gallen)

September 5: Germany 6-0 Armenia - World Cup qualifier (Mercedes-Benz Arena, Stuttgart)

September 8: Iceland 0-4 Germany - World Cup qualifier (Laugardalsvollur, Reykjavik)

Gundogan featured in all three international matches this month, passing the 50-cap milestone for the Germans, who enjoyed comfortable World Cup qualification victories.

The 30-year-old played in a deep-lying midfield role from the start against Liechtenstein and also when he came on for the final half an hour against Armenia, before starting in a more advanced midfield role away in Reykjavik.

Netherlands: Nathan Ake

Results:

September 1: Norway 1-1 Netherlands - World Cup qualifier (Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo)

September 4: Netherlands 4-0 Montenegro - World Cup qualifier (Philips Stadion, Eindhoven)

September 7: Netherlands 6-1 Turkey - World Cup qualifier (Amsterdam ArenA, Amsterdam)

Ake was an unused substitute for the first two matches, however the 26-year-old then left the national team's training camp on Monday and returned to Manchester for personal reasons. It remains to be seen whether he will be available for Man City's fixture against Leicester City on Saturday.

Ukraine: Oleksandr Zinchenko

Results:

September 1: Kazakhstan 2-2 Ukraine - World Cup qualifier (Astana Arena, Nur-Sultan)

September 4: Ukraine 1-1 France - World Cup qualifier (NSC Olimpiyskiy, Kiev)

September 8: Czech Republic 1-1 Ukraine - Friendly (Doosan Arena, Plzen)

Zinchenko once again played in a central midfield position for his national side, as opposed to his usual City role at left-back.

The 24-year-old played the full 90 minutes against Kazakhstan but was shown a yellow card midway through the second half, which forced him to miss their clash with France due to suspension.

Zinchenko returned to the starting lineup against the Czech Republic, though he was unable to help Ukraine claim a victory during this month's international break.

Algeria: Riyad Mahrez

Results:

September 2: Algeria 8-0 Djibouti - World Cup qualifier (Stade Mustapha Tchaker, Blida)

September 7: Burkina Faso 1-1 Algeria - World Cup qualifier (Stade de Marrakech, Marrakech)

Mahrez, who captained his national side and played the full 90 minutes in both qualifiers, scored the seventh goal in Algeria's 8-0 thrashing of Djibouti.

The 30-year-old and his teammates then had to settle for a point against Burkina Faso, in a game played in Marrakesh due to coronavirus safety precautions.

USA: Zack Steffen

Results:

September 3: El Salvador 0-0 USA - World Cup qualifier (Estadio Cuscatlan, San Salvador)

September 6: USA 1-1 Canada - World Cup qualifier (Nissan Stadium, Nashville)

Steffen was named in USA's 25-man squad for this month's qualifiers, however he was unable to feature after testing positive for coronavirus. As a result, the 26-year-old will miss Man City's Premier League clash against Leicester this weekend.

England Under-21s: Cole Palmer, Tommy Doyle (on loan at Hamburg), Taylor Harwood-Bellis (on loan at Anderlecht)

Results:

September 7: England Under-21s 2-0 Kosovo Under-21s - Euro 2023 qualifier (Stadium MK, Milton Keynes)

England's first fixture was due to be against Romania on September 3, however it was cancelled after two positive coronavirus tests among the squad and coaching staff.

However, the Young Lions were able to play against Kosovo with all three of City's representatives making their international debuts at this level.

Harwood-Bellis played the full 90 minutes at centre-back and Doyle came on as a late substitute in midfield, but the star of the show was Palmer, who scored a stunning solo effort to double England's lead in Milton Keynes.

Republic of Ireland: Gavin Bazunu (on loan at Shamrock Rovers)

Results:

September 1: Portugal 2-1 Republic of Ireland - World Cup qualifier (Estadio Algarve, Almancil)

September 4: Republic of Ireland 1-1 Azerbaijan - World Cup qualifier (Aviva Stadium, Dublin)

September 7: Republic of Ireland 1-1 Serbia - World Cup qualifier (Aviva Stadium, Dublin)

Nineteen-year-old Bazunu has claimed the number one jersey under Republic of Ireland manager Stephen Kenny and he started in all three qualifiers this month.

The Dublin-born goalkeeper was unable to keep a clean sheet, though a memorable moment for him will have been his penalty save from none other than Cristiano Ronaldo against Portugal.

Top News

22 November 2024 talksport.com Reece James faces an uncertain future in football due to his ongoing injury problems. 22 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Chelsea Women will look to maintain their 100% record in all competitions when they face Manchester United Women in Sunday's Women's Super League contest at Kingsmeadow. 22 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Barcelona will be looking to record their 12th La Liga victory of the 2023-24 campaign when they travel to Celta Vigo on Saturday night. 22 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim has revealed that he will not make a final decision on his squad for Sunday's Premier League clash with Ipswich Town until after Saturday's training session. 22 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester City striker Erling Haaland has labelled Pep Guardiola the best manager in the world and "probably the best to have ever existed on Earth". 22 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Two places separate Willem II and NAC Breda in the Eredivisie table heading into Sunday's gameweek 13 meeting at Koning Willem II Stadion. 22 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Premier League football returns this weekend, with the final international break of 2024 now being completed. 22 November 2024 talksport.com Jack Grealish has revealed whether or not he would ever appear on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! 22 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Pep Guardiola has insisted he will remain Manchester City manager even if the club are relegated over alleged breaches of financial rules. 22 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Aiming for a victory to start Patrick Vieira's tenure positively, Genoa seek maximum against a Cagliari side one place ahead of them in the Serie A table ahead of Sunday's gameweek 13 match at Stadio Comunale Luigi Ferraris. 22 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Ruben Amorim takes charge of his inaugural Manchester United match on Sunday afternoon, when his Red Devils side face Ipswich Town at Portman Road in the Premier League. 22 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is guaranteed to set a new club record in Saturday's Premier League home meeting with Nottingham Forest. 22 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Southampton boss Russell Martin has confirmed that both Aaron Ramsdale and Jan Bednarek will be sidelined for "a number of weeks". 22 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Alistair Johnston has claimed that he is "exactly where I want to be" as he enters the prime years of his career after signing a contract extension at Celtic until the summer of 2029. 22 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Ajax will be looking to extend their unbeaten run in the Eredivisie this weekend when they face off against PEC Zwolle at the Johan Cruijff Arena on Sunday afternoon. 22 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Premier League champions Manchester City will be looking to return to winning ways when they welcome Tottenham Hotspur to the Etihad Stadium on Saturday evening. 22 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Looking to strengthen their case for a top-six finish, Swansea City will welcome Premier League-chasing Leeds United to Swansea. 22 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Chelsea's hopes of claiming all three points against Leicester City may be tempered by the recent record following international windows. 22 November 2024 talksport.com Lionel Messi continues to break records while in the twilight of his career - but one stat has proved impossible for even him to top. 22 November 2024 talksport.com No list of all-time Premier League goals can be complete without Tony Yeboah's memorable screamer against Liverpool in August 1995. 22 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Ipswich Town midfielder Kalvin Phillips is eligible to return from suspension for the Tractor Boys' Premier League showdown with Manchester United at Portman Road on Sunday. 22 November 2024 talksport.com Comments from Rodri about Vinicius Jr during an interview sparked a feisty response from Neymar on Instagram. 22 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim could be working around a defensive selection crisis for his first Premier League match in charge against Ipswich Town on Sunday. 22 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Portman Road is the venue for Ruben Amorim's Manchester United baptism on Sunday afternoon, as the Portuguese takes his Red Devils side to face Ipswich Town in his first game as head coach. 22 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester City midfielder Rodri has seemingly opened the door to a future move to Spanish giants Real Madrid. 22 November 2024 talksport.com Premier League clubs are not renowned for their patience when firing managers, and we've already had our first sacking of 2024/25. 22 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Returning to the Roma hotseat for a third spell in charge, Claudio Ranieri will lead the Giallorossi into Sunday's Serie A showdown with Napoli. 22 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has conceded that Ben White is likely to be out for months rather than weeks after undergoing an operation on his knee. 22 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Arsenal expert Charles Watts believes that Gunners new boy Mikel Merino has been "unfairly judged" on some of his performances so far in the 2024-25 campaign. 22 November 2024 talksport.com What would you do if you first big break in football came with your fierce rivals?
Tomorrow at 14:00
A
Verona Verona
-
sch
Inter Inter
Tomorrow at 20:00
L1
Reims Reims
-
sch
Lyon Lyon