#UCLfantasy: Internationals in the spotlight
Thursday, October 18, 2018
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UEFA.com looks at which players have impressed in their international break as matchday three draws near.
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With three weeks between matchdays two and three, which players have impressed on international duty – and are they worth bringing into your side?
Raheem Sterling (Manchester City, MF, €9.5m)
Having scored three goals in his last five Premier League appearances – providing a further two assists – Sterling has been steadily finding his best form, and carried that into the international break. Scored England's first goal in Monday's victory in Spain to end a goal drought lasting more than three years, and added his second and the visitors' third to seal a win – doubling his goal tally for his country.
Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid, DF, €6.5m)
Long established as a scorer of significant goals, the Madrid captain missed the matchday two defeat at CSKA Moskva but characteristically took a central role for Spain. Goals in the 4-1 friendly win against Wales and a 3-2 home defeat by England made it three goals in his last two international appearances for Ramos.
Fedor Chalov (CSKA Moskva, FW, €5.5m)
The top scorer in the Russian Premier League with seven goals in the first ten matches, the 20-year-old CSKA forward scored against both FYR Macedonia and twice against Austria in UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifying to make it 11 goals in 15 appearances for club and country this season.
Antoine Griezmann (Atlético Madrid, FW, €10.5m)
Scorer of two goals on matchday against Club Brugge, the France striker struck another double in the UEFA Nations League defeat of Germany, finding the net twice in the final 30 minutes in a memorable comeback win.
Haris Seferović (Benfica, FW, €5.5m)
The Swiss striker scored important goals against AEK Athens on matchday two and Porto in the Liga in Benfica's two matches before the internationals, and carried that form into his country's game with Iceland, scoring the opening goal to make it three goals in four games for club and country.
Alex Sandro (Juventus, DF, €6.0m)
Having been part of a Juve defence that has kept clean sheets in each of their first two Group H matches – and five in their last six matches in all competitions – the left-back opened his goalscoring account for Brazil in the friendly win against Saudi Arabia, the 2-0 victory also continuing his run of clean sheets.
Ádám Szalai (Hoffenheim, FW, €6.0m)
The German club are still awaiting their first UEFA Champions League win, but their Hungarian striker showed off his sharpness in the UEFA Nations League, supplying two fine finishes in a 3-3 draw against Estonia.