Messi vs. Neymar & the 14 Barcelona players with international commitments
Here are the games the Barça players will be playing in the coming week with their countries...
Domestic football takes a break again as we prepare for another international break. For Barcelona, it means an exodus of first team players. This time, 14 players will leave to link up with their national teams, leaving Luis Enrique with just three fit players to work with: Rafinha, Paco Alcacer and Jordi Masip. The other players not with their countries (Pique, Iniesta, Jordi Alba, Aleix Vidal and Mathieu) are injured.
It’s the third international break of the season as countries try to qualify for the World Cup in two years. In South America, Argentina will face Brazil on Nov. 10 in Belo Horizonte. It’s one of the biggest draws in international football and will feature several Barça players: Messi and Mascherano for Argentina and Neymar for Brazil. Two Real Madrid players have also been called up for Brazil in the form of Marcelo and Casemiro.
Another point of interest is the Spanish national team, who only have two Barça players in their squad this time: Sergi Roberto and Busquets. Injuries to Pique, Iniesta and Jordi Alba have seen them left out for the World Cup qualifier against Macedonia and the friendly against England at Wembley. Denis Suarez will be with Spain U21s for their vital playoff match against Austria for a place at next summer’s European Championships.
Arda Turan, meanwhile, is back with Turkey after being left out of the squad since the Euros.
Here are the Barca players’ commitments:
Cillessen (Holland-Belgium, Nov. 9 & Luxembourg-Holland, Nov. 13)
Messi, Mascherano (Brazil-Argentina, Nov. 10 & Argentina-Colombia, Nov. 15)
Neymar (Brazil-Argentina, Nov. 10 & Peru-Brazil, Nov. 15)
Suarez (Uruguay-Ecuador, Nov. 11 & Chile-Uruguay, Nov. 15)
Ter Stegen (San Marino-Germany, Nov. 11 & Italy-Germany, Nov. 15)
Denis (Spain-Austria, Nov. 11 & Austria-Spain, Nov 15) U21
Sergi Roberto, Busquets (Spain-Macedonia, Nov. 12 & England-Spain, Nov. 15)
Rakitic (Croatia-Iceland, Nov. 12 & N.Ireland-Croatia, Nov. 15)
Arda Turan (Turkey-Kosovo, Nov. 12)
Andre Gomes (Portugal-Latvia, Nov. 13)
Digne, Umtiti (France-Ivory Coast, Nov. 15)
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