Many of Manchester City’s players will be making their way back to the club after spending time with their national teams during the latest break. Some notable mentions can be found on this Thai website.
Some of them will have been involved in trying to qualify for the FIFA 2022 World Cup in Qatar that is scheduled to take place this winter, whilst there will be others that will have been looking to make an impression in the latest squads to give their chances of representing their country at the major finals.
Naturally, and perhaps to be expected of a player that is involved in Pep Guardiola’s team, there were a couple of players who managed to impress whilst on international duty.
Whilst many of you will have been keeping an eye on those performing away from the Etihad Stadium over the last ten days or so, especially with fixtures against opponents such as Atletico Madrid in the UEFA Champions League, Liverpool in the Premier League and the FA Cup, as well as the upcoming league encounter with Burnley this weekend, we thought we would highlight which stars were being the best for their countries.
Zack Steffan
Although Ederson’s capable understudy, Zack Steffan is the USMNT No.1 and, at the time of writing, has helped the team to be on the brink of qualification to the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Indeed, they still have a match against Costa Rica to play, but should they be able to achieve a positive result or even lose by fewer than five goals, Steffan will have played his role in this international break as they will qualify.
The shot-stopper managed to keep a clean sheet against Mexico in a 0-0 draw, and whilst he conceded once against Panama, he helped his team to a 5-1 victory.
Jack Grealish
Jack Grealish appears to be transitioning to life in Manchester a lot better recently and is starting to achieve what many expect of the £100 million signing from Aston Villa. He did not get a huge outing against Switzerland, however he certainly made an impact against the Ivory Coast.
He was able to turn provider to his club teammate, Raheem Sterling, with a sublime half-volley that was duly converted for England’s second of the night in their 3-0 victory.
Raheem Sterling
Having played an hour against the Ivory Coast, Raheem Sterling was a different animal for the Three Lions on Tuesday night as he performed brilliantly.
He managed to have a hand in the opener for England when he used a moment of individual magic that sent former Spurs right-back, Serge Aurier - who only lasted 40 minutes before being sent off for two yellow cards - packing and allowed Ollie Watkins to net the first goal of the night. Of course, Sterling had his own goal-scoring moment, too, as he expertly finished Grealish’s well-executed assist.
Notable mentions
Of course, with so many other players all representing Manchester City away from the Etihad Stadium whilst on international duty, it is hardly a surprise that many had their own storylines.
Nathan Ake managed to score a goal for The Netherlands in their win against Denmark last weekend, whereas Joao Cancelo and Bernando Silva played their roles in helping Portugal to advance to the 2022 FIFA World Cup after defeating North Macedonia; the side that famously dumped Italy out of qualification last weekend.