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How Manchester City players including Raheem Sterling, Jack Grealish fared on international duty

Sports Mole round up which Manchester City players were in action for their respective nations during September's international break.

Pep Guardiola will welcome back the 16 first-team players to his Manchester City side who have been representing their country during September's international break, as well as keeping an eye on three young players currently out on loan.

Seventeen of those players were spread out across Europe, while Riyad Mahrez and Zack Steffen travelled to Africa and Central America respectively.

Here, Sports Mole round up which City players were in action for their respective nations and how they fared on international duty.


England: Kyle Walker, John Stones, Raheem Sterling, Jack Grealish

England's Raheem Sterling shoots at goal against Hungary on September 2, 2021© Reuters

Results:
September 2: Hungary 0-4 England – World Cup qualifier (Ferenc Puskas Stadium, Budapest)
September 5: England 4-0 Andorra – World Cup qualifier (Wembley Stadium, London)
September 8: Poland 1-1 England – World Cup qualifier (Stadion Narodowy, Warsaw)

All four players started away in Hungary, with Grealish – who provided an assist for Declan Rice's goal – the only City representative who was brought off in the final few minutes.

Sterling managed to break the deadlock in Budapest, tapping in his 18th international goal, while Stones and Walker helped the Three Lions keep a clean sheet.

Against Andorra, Stones, Walker and Sterling were all unused substitutes, while Grealish was brought on in the 62nd minute.

All four players then played the full 90 minutes against Poland, though England were unable to maintain their 100% record in qualifying, conceding a stoppage-time equaliser in Warsaw.


Portugal: Joao Cancelo, Ruben Dias, Bernardo Silva

Portugal's Bernardo Silva pictured on September 7, 2021 © Reuters

Results:
September 1: Portugal 2-1 Republic of Ireland – World Cup qualifier (Estadio Algarve, Almancil)
September 4: Qatar 1-3 Portugal – Friendly (Nagyerdei Stadion, Debrecen)
September 7: Azerbaijan 0-3 Portugal – World Cup qualifier (Baku Olympic Stadium, Baku)

Dias was the only City representative who featured in all three international matches, starting against the Republic of Ireland and Azerbaijan as well as coming off the bench in the 68th minute against Qatar.

Cancelo and Silva, meanwhile, were rested against Qatar but started both World Cup qualifiers, with the latter scoring an exquisite volley from a tight angle to open the scoring against Azerbaijan.


Spain: Aymeric Laporte, Rodri, Ferran Torres

Spain's Ferran Torres celebrates scoring their second goal against Kosovo on September 8, 2021© Reuters

Results:
September 1: Sweden 2-1 Spain – World Cup qualifier (Friends Arena, Stockholm)
September 5: Spain 4-0 Georgia – World Cup qualifier (Estadio Nuevo Vivero, Badajoz)
September 8: Kosovo 0-2 Spain – World Cup qualifier (Fadil Vokrri Stadium, Pristina City)

City pair Laporte and Torres started in all three internationals this month, while Rodri only featured for five minutes as a substitute in the defeat to Sweden.

Laporte helped the Spanish backline keep two clean sheets in their final two matches, while Torres carried his goalscoring form at club level onto the international scene, finding the net against Georgia and Kosovo.


Germany: Ilkay Gundogan


Results:
September 2: Liechtenstein 0-2 Germany – World Cup qualifier (AFG Arena, St Gallen)
September 5: Germany 6-0 Armenia – World Cup qualifier (Mercedes-Benz Arena, Stuttgart)
September 8: Iceland 0-4 Germany – World Cup qualifier (Laugardalsvollur, Reykjavik)

Gundogan featured in all three international matches this month, passing the 50-cap milestone for the Germans, who enjoyed comfortable World Cup qualification victories.

The 30-year-old played in a deep-lying midfield role from the start against Liechtenstein and also when he came on for the final half an hour against Armenia, before starting in a more advanced midfield role away in Reykjavik.


Netherlands: Nathan Ake


Results:
September 1: Norway 1-1 Netherlands – World Cup qualifier (Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo)
September 4: Netherlands 4-0 Montenegro – World Cup qualifier (Philips Stadion, Eindhoven)
September 7: Netherlands 6-1 Turkey – World Cup qualifier (Amsterdam ArenA, Amsterdam)

Ake was an unused substitute for the first two matches, however the 26-year-old then left the national team's training camp on Monday and returned to Manchester for personal reasons. It remains to be seen whether he will be available for Man City's fixture against Leicester City on Saturday.


Ukraine: Oleksandr Zinchenko

Ukraine's Oleksandr Zinchenko celebrates after the match on June 29, 2021© Reuters

Results:
September 1: Kazakhstan 2-2 Ukraine – World Cup qualifier (Astana Arena, Nur-Sultan)
September 4: Ukraine 1-1 France – World Cup qualifier (NSC Olimpiyskiy, Kiev)
September 8: Czech Republic 1-1 Ukraine – Friendly (Doosan Arena, Plzen)

Zinchenko once again played in a central midfield position for his national side, as opposed to his usual City role at left-back.

The 24-year-old played the full 90 minutes against Kazakhstan but was shown a yellow card midway through the second half, which forced him to miss their clash with France due to suspension.

Zinchenko returned to the starting lineup against the Czech Republic, though he was unable to help Ukraine claim a victory during this month's international break.


Algeria: Riyad Mahrez


Results:
September 2: Algeria 8-0 Djibouti – World Cup qualifier (Stade Mustapha Tchaker, Blida)
September 7: Burkina Faso 1-1 Algeria – World Cup qualifier (Stade de Marrakech, Marrakech)

Mahrez, who captained his national side and played the full 90 minutes in both qualifiers, scored the seventh goal in Algeria's 8-0 thrashing of Djibouti.

The 30-year-old and his teammates then had to settle for a point against Burkina Faso, in a game played in Marrakesh due to coronavirus safety precautions.


USA: Zack Steffen

USA goalkeeper Zack Steffen pictured on June 3, 2021© Reuters

Results:
September 3: El Salvador 0-0 USA – World Cup qualifier (Estadio Cuscatlan, San Salvador)
September 6: USA 1-1 Canada – World Cup qualifier (Nissan Stadium, Nashville)

Steffen was named in USA's 25-man squad for this month's qualifiers, however he was unable to feature after testing positive for coronavirus. As a result, the 26-year-old will miss Man City's Premier League clash against Leicester this weekend.


England Under-21s: Cole Palmer, Tommy Doyle (on loan at Hamburg), Taylor Harwood-Bellis (on loan at Anderlecht)

Cole Palmer celebrates scoring for England Under-21s against Kosovo Under-21s on September 7, 2021© Reuters

Results:
September 7: England Under-21s 2-0 Kosovo Under-21s – Euro 2023 qualifier (Stadium MK, Milton Keynes)

England's first fixture was due to be against Romania on September 3, however it was cancelled after two positive coronavirus tests among the squad and coaching staff.

However, the Young Lions were able to play against Kosovo with all three of City's representatives making their international debuts at this level.

Harwood-Bellis played the full 90 minutes at centre-back and Doyle came on as a late substitute in midfield, but the star of the show was Palmer, who scored a stunning solo effort to double England's lead in Milton Keynes.


Republic of Ireland: Gavin Bazunu (on loan at Shamrock Rovers)


Results:
September 1: Portugal 2-1 Republic of Ireland – World Cup qualifier (Estadio Algarve, Almancil)
September 4: Republic of Ireland 1-1 Azerbaijan – World Cup qualifier (Aviva Stadium, Dublin)
September 7: Republic of Ireland 1-1 Serbia – World Cup qualifier (Aviva Stadium, Dublin)

Nineteen-year-old Bazunu has claimed the number one jersey under Republic of Ireland manager Stephen Kenny and he started in all three qualifiers this month.

The Dublin-born goalkeeper was unable to keep a clean sheet, though a memorable moment for him will have been his penalty save from none other than Cristiano Ronaldo against Portugal.


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