UEFA Nations League – Round 5

Following Manchester City’s dominant performance in the Manchester derby, the current English Premier League leaders will head into the international break. Several Blues have been recalled to their respective national teams.

In Europe, a large portion of City’s players will be competing in the final rounds of the UEFA Nations League. In League A (the competition’s most prestigious league), England, Belgium, Germany and Portugal will fight for a place in the UEFA Nations League finals.

John Stones, Fabian Delph, Raheem Sterling and Kyle Walker were called up to the English national team for their match against Croatia. Vincent Kompany will help Belgium against Iceland and Switzerland. Leroy Sané and Germany hope to starve off relegation to League B versus the Netherlands. Finally, Bernardo Silva’s Portugal face Italy and Poland.

In League B, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Ukraine have already won Group 1 and secured promotion to the competition’s League A. Their placement also means that they have secured a place in the EURO 2020 second round of qualification. Finally, Aro Muric and Kosovo will face Malta and Azerbaijan in the UEFA Nations League’s Group 3 in League D.

Phil Foden was selected to compete with the England U21 squad.

Outside of the European continent, Brazil has called up Danilo, Gabriel Jesus and Ederson. The trio will see their side face Uruguay and Cameroon in a series of friendlies. Meanwhile, Riyad Mahrez and Algeria will face Togo and Gambia in their final matches of the Africa Cup of Nations Group Stage qualification period.

City’s İlkay Gündoğan, Sergio Agüero, Aymeric Laporte, Eliaquim Mangala, Fernandinho and Nicolás Otamendi were not recalled to represent their homelands. David Silva has retired from the Spanish national team.

Claudio Bravo, Kevin De Bruyne and Benjamin Mendy remain sidelined through injury and thus were not recalled to compete with their respective national teams.