Man City don’t play again until Fulham visit the Etihad on Saturday 21 November, but 15 of Enzo Maresca’s players have been called up for international duty, and two of them meet at San Siro on Thursday.
After a third straight Premier League defeat at Nottingham Forest, plenty of City fans will be glad of a fortnight without club football. For the players, it’s anything but a rest. There are Nations League games all over Europe, friendlies in South America and Asia, and Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers for Morocco and Senegal.
Here is where City’s internationals are playing this break, and when, after Marc Guehi and Abdukodir Khusanov both pulled out injured on Monday. All times are UK.
Man City international break fixtures at a glance
| Player | Country | Fixtures |
|---|---|---|
| Elliot Anderson (Marc Guehi withdrawn) | England | Croatia (h) Thu 12 Nov 19:45; Spain (a) Sun 15 Nov 19:45 |
| Josko Gvardiol, Mateo Kovacic | Croatia | England (a) Thu 12 Nov 19:45; Czechia (h) Sun 15 Nov 19:45 |
| Gianluigi Donnarumma | Italy | France (h) Thu 12 Nov 19:45; Belgium (a) Sun 15 Nov 19:45 |
| Rayan Cherki | France | Italy (a) Thu 12 Nov 19:45; Turkiye (h) Sun 15 Nov 19:45 |
| Jeremy Doku | Belgium | Turkiye (a) Thu 12 Nov 17:00; Italy (h) Sun 15 Nov 19:45 |
| Erling Haaland | Norway | Wales (h) Sat 14 Nov 17:00; Denmark (a) Tue 17 Nov 19:45 |
| Ruben Dias | Portugal | Denmark (h) Sat 14 Nov 19:45; Wales (a) Tue 17 Nov 19:45 |
| Enzo Fernandez, Geronimo Rulli | Argentina | Uruguay (h) Fri 13 Nov 23:00; Costa Rica (h) Tue 17 Nov 20:00 |
| Vitor Reis | Brazil | Japan (in Singapore) Sat 14 Nov 10:15; Singapore (a) Tue 17 Nov 10:00 |
| Ayyoub Bouaddi | Morocco | Niger (h) Fri 13 Nov 20:00; Niger (a) Tue 17 Nov 20:00 |
| Iliman Ndiaye | Senegal | Sudan (h) Thu 12 Nov 19:00; Sudan (a) Mon 16 Nov 13:00 |
| Abdukodir Khusanov (withdrawn) | Uzbekistan | Russia (h) Thu 12 Nov 15:00; Saudi Arabia (a) Tue 17 Nov 15:30 |
Is Guehi still going to England?
No. That was the big question for both City and England, and it was settled on Monday. Guehi asked to come off at half-time at the City Ground with a hip problem, and after the centre-back was sent for a scan, he withdrew from Thomas Tuchel’s squad. Newcastle’s Dan Burn has been called up in his place, and City have confirmed Guehi will stay at the club ahead of the Fulham game.
That leaves Elliot Anderson as City’s only player in the England squad, after Nico O’Reilly was left out to manage his fitness and Phil Foden missed out again.
A City v City night at Wembley
England’s opener is against Croatia, which means Anderson could come up against Josko Gvardiol and Mateo Kovacic on Thursday night. Gvardiol was the other City player taken off at half-time at Forest, after what Maresca called a small issue during the week, so Croatia will be watching him closely too.
Donnarumma v Cherki at San Siro
The pick of the week for City fans might be Italy against France at San Siro on Thursday. Gianluigi Donnarumma goes up against his team-mate Rayan Cherki, the one City player who came out of the Forest defeat with any credit after his long-range goal.
Donnarumma could do with a good week. His form has come under scrutiny after several costly mistakes, though Maresca has kept backing him throughout.
Three days later, Donnarumma faces Jeremy Doku when Italy visit Belgium. Doku is back in Mark van Bommel’s squad after missing out last time, and Belgium start away to Turkiye on Thursday.
Haaland, Dias and the rest
Erling Haaland and Norway host Wales at the Ullevaal Stadion on Saturday, then away to Denmark at the Parken Stadium on Tuesday. Ruben Dias and Portugal play the same two sides in the opposite order, hosting Denmark in Braga before finishing in Cardiff.
Further afield, Enzo Fernandez and Geronimo Rulli face Uruguay at La Bombonera and then Costa Rica at the Estadio Mario Alberto Kempes with Argentina. Vitor Reis has the longest trip of anyone, with both of Brazil’s friendlies in Singapore.
Bouaddi, Ndiaye and Khusanov
Ayyoub Bouaddi plays Niger twice in Africa Cup of Nations qualifying, at home first and then away. Iliman Ndiaye is in Patrick Vieira’s Senegal squad for a double-header with Sudan, starting at home on Thursday. Abdukodir Khusanov will miss Uzbekistan’s games against Russia and Saudi Arabia after picking up a problem at Forest, even though he played the full 90 minutes.
Rayan Ait-Nouri won’t be among them. As we reported last week, Algeria left the left-back out of their squad.
What City need from this break
Mostly, they need everyone back fit. Maresca’s side face Fulham on 21 November and the fixture list doesn’t ease up after that, so the last thing he needs is another call from a national team doctor.
Twelve national teams across four continents is a lot of risk, and the break has already cost City two defenders before a ball is kicked. At least Guehi and Khusanov get to rest at the Etihad Campus. We’d settle for Haaland scoring, Donnarumma getting his confidence back and Cherki keeping the form that made him City’s best player at the weekend.
