5 Paris Saint-Germain Players to Watch on International Duty Week of October 6
At this summer’s 2014 World Cup in Brazil, 12 of Paris Saint-Germain’s current squad played at the tournament. Laurent Blanc is blessed with a team full of international calibre players, with no fewer than 12 of his squad away on national team duty this week.
Some players have won back a place in their countries squads due to their current form, like Javier Pastore and Gregory van der Wiel.
France is well represented with Lucas Digne, Blaise Matuidi and Yohan Cabaye all making Didier Deschamps' squad.
Only one of the Brazilian contingent has made it into the selecao for the games against Argentina and Japan, with Thiago Silva still an injury concern. David Luiz will have to fly the PSG flag on his own, Lucas Moura unlucky to miss out after his excellent form.
Here are five PSG players to watch on international duty week of October 6.
Javier Pastore: Argentina
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After his fantastic start to the season, PSG midfielder Javier Pastore has been recalled to the Argentina national team by Coach Gerardo Martino for the friendlies against Brazil and Hong Kong.
If Pastore is given a chance on the field, it will be his first appearance for the La Albiceleste since November 2011.
Three years in the wilderness is a huge amount of time in international football, but the recall is no less than Pastore deserves.
Starting the season with two assists in the opening-day 2-2 draw with Stade de Reims gave the impression that this would be a more positive campaign for the Argentine playmaker.
Further performances against Caen, Barcelona and last weekend against Monaco have shown it was not a one-off, Pastore has shown great work rate, decisiveness on the ball and a creative spark all over the pitch.
At 25-years-old, Pastore is at the ideal age to win a place back in the squad for next summer’s Copa America in Chile. It all starts again for the playmaker this weekend in Beijing.
Gregory van Der Wiel: Netherlands
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Another PSG player making his return to his national team this weekend is full-back Gregory van der Wiel. After missing the World Cup through injury, the right-back has been called up for the UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying matches against Kazakhstan and Iceland.
The marauding forward runs of Van der Wiel had been a feature of PSG’s play last season and he would have been perfect in Louis van Gaal’s 3-5-2 formation, but injury saw Daryl Janmaat take his place and the defender impressed, winning a move to Newcastle United.
Van der Wiel has been excellent again this season, assists in the league against Bastia and Rennes showing what the 26-year-old is capable of, and then he was superb against Barcelona in the Champions League, providing Blaise Matuidi with the cross that put PSG 3-1 ahead.
The Dutchman will be hoping to get a chance to show his qualities to Guus Hiddink and win a place back ahead of the 2016 European Championships.
Jean-Christophe Bahebeck: France Under-21
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The French under-21 side have a huge two-leg tie against Sweden coming up this week. Les Espoirs take on the Scandinavian side, with the winner rewarded with a place at the 2015 Under-21 Championships.
In 2012, France lost to Norway at the same stage, missing out on the 2013 championships, so the French Football Federation are taking no chances this time, announcing a star-studded squad.
PSG’s Jean-Christophe Bahebeck is one of five forwards selected, rewarded for his performances for the under-20 side in Toulon last summer and his displays for the Parisians this season.
The 21-year-old Bahebeck joins the likes of Geoffrey Kondogbia of Monaco, Florian Thauvin and Gianelli Imbula of Marseille and Chelsea’s Kurt Zouma, in what is one of the strongest under-21 sides the French have ever named.
Bahebeck will be fighting with former teammate and Juventus starlet Kingsley Coman for a place on the left. Any of the five forwards selected by Coach Pierre Mankowski are good enough to start, but whoever gets the nod will know they can’t let their country down.
Yohan Cabaye: France
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Many were surprised by the inclusion of Yohan Cabaye in Laurent Blanc’s latest France squad. Although he has made an appearance in seven of PSG’s nine league games, he has only started four and he has only completed the full 90 minutes once this term.
That game was away from home against Evian, one of PSG’s worst performances of the season.
When Cabaye has been given a chance, his performances have been sub-par, nothing like the player that was a leader for Newcastle United and actually poorer than the displays that gathered criticism last season.
Deschamps obviously trusts Cabaye, and is rewarding him for the role he played at the World Cup, but if he plays any part of the friendlies against Portugal and Armenia, and doesn’t perform, it could be time that the 28-year-old made way for one of the young midfielders hoping for a chance.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic: Sweden
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Despite missing the last four games for PSG this season, Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been named in the Sweden squad for the UEFA 2016 qualifying matches against Russia and Liechtenstein.
Reports on Tuesday in the Swedish press, via The Local, suggested that even though he was injured, Coach Erik Hamren was willing to risk the forward against Russia, but would make his final decision closer to the game.
It would be a huge blow for the Parisians if Ibrahimovic was to play this weekend and in anyway aggravate the injury that has kept him out. Six draws in nine games is not the sort of record PSG and Blanc would have been hoping for at this stage of the season. They need their talismanic striker back in the lineup, sooner rather than later.
Common-sense would hopefully prevail and if he wasn’t 100 percent fit, Ibrahimovic wouldn’t play for Sweden this weekend, but he is such an influential figure, that the Swedish side rely on him for moments of magic, much like the Parisians themselves.
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