Guest writer, BelgianSpur sent us the following.
Over the next few days, most of our players will be involved in games for their country. Let’s have a look at what’s ahead for them, and how likely they are to play.
A total of 14 players representing 9 different countries have been called up for games this week. For this article, I’ll only look at senior call-ups, but it is worth mentioning that some of our players have been called up to represent their country’s youth team (Winks), and others have purely missed out on selection due to injury (Kane, Rose, Lamela) or recent form (Sissoko).
The nationalities joint-most represented in our team are England and Belgium, with 3 players called up each. England have called up Walker, Alli, and Dier, and all 3 are important players in the current England set-up. Fitness permitting, all 3 should feature prominently in games against Germany (friendly) and Lithuania (WC qualifier).
England will look to solidify their top spot in the group, with 10 points from 4 games so far. Belgium will be counting on Alderweireld, Vertonghen and Dembélé to face Greece (WC qualifier) and Russia (friendly), with Toby and Jan mainstays in team, and Dembélé fighting with the likes of Axel Witsel, Radja Nainggolan, Marouane Fellaini and Kevin De Bruyne to start in Belgium’s midfield 3.
Belgium are currently top of their group with a perfect 12 points from 4 games. Next up is the Netherlands, with 2 players called up in Janssen and Vorm. Vorm is unlikely to see much game time as Jasper Cillessen is the Dutch number 1, but Janssen will be hoping to get as many minutes as possible for his national team, with Bas Dost his biggest rival to start against Bulgaria (WC qualifier) and Italy (friendly). The team currently sits second behind France in their group, with 7 points from 4 games, But Sweden also has 7 points in 3rd place and will push them all the way.
France will once again be relying on captain Lloris, who is expected to start against Luxemburg (WC qualifier) and Spain (friendly). They currently comfortably top the group with 10 points from 4 games, ahead of the Netherlands. Wales face Ireland later this week (WC qualifier), and Davies will be hoping to start that match. Wales currently sit 3rd in their group, behind Ireland and Serbia but ahead of Austria, with 6 points from 4 games, and will need to get their campaign back on track. Austria face an uphill battle to get back into the race for WC qualification. The team currently sit in 4th place behind Ireland, Serbia and Wales, with only 4 points from 4 games.
Wimmer has been recalled to face Moldavia (WC qualifier) and Finland (friendly), but faces an uphill battle to start. Denmark will be counting on their star player Eriksen to lift them over Romania (WC qualifier). They currently sit in 3rd behind Poland and Montenegro, with 6 points from 4 games, also in a very tight group.
Son will be hoping to help South Korea beat China and Syria (WC qualifiers). His team is currently second behind Iran, with 10 points from 5 games, in a very tight group. Kenya face Uganda (friendly) and Congo (friendly), with Wanyama expected to captain the team for both games. So in total, 11 of the 14 players called up can expect to play significant minutes for their country. Let’s hope they all come back from international duty with no injuries.
COYS!!
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