3 Real Madrid Players to Watch in International Action This Week

Real Madrid have experienced their usual exodus of players at the start of the international break, with 17 first-team players, plus Castilla’s Martin Odegaard, having been called up by their respective countries.

Their number includes four Spanish internationals (Dani Carvajal, Iker Casillas, Isco and Sergio Ramos) and three (Cristiano Ronaldo, Fabio Coentrao and Pepe) who have joined up with the Portugal national team.

Seven further players will turn out for European nations, Marcelo will join up with Brazil in France, while Lucas Silva (Brazil Olympic), Keylor Navas (Costa Rica) and Javier Hernandez (Mexico) all face long-haul flights to the Americas.

Here are three Real Madrid players to watch in international action this week.

Gareth Bale

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Gareth Bale will be glad to escape the cauldron of Madrid and the Spanish press for a few days and return to an environment where he is more kindly welcomed.

“He’s a great player and a really good guy as well,” his Wales team-mate Simon Church said on Tuesday, as per Chris Wathan of the Daily Post. “When he plays for Wales, everyone loves him.”

And the 25-year-old will have a key role to play as Wales attempt to continue their unbeaten start to the Euro 2016 qualifiers by getting a positive result away to group leaders Israel on Saturday.

Bale scored twice in the win away to Andorra in their opening qualifier and also provided the assist for Hal Robson-Kanu’s winner against Cyprus in October. He has a more central role at international level and will be keen to perform at his best against Israel.

The expanded, 24-team European Championship has given Wales and other similarly-sized countries a solid chance of reaching the finals. The Dragons have not qualified for a major international tournament since the 1958 World Cup in Sweden. And if Bale can lead them to Euro 2016, he will assure himself of a place in his country’s record books.

Marcelo

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When Dunga took over as Brazil national team coach for the second time in the wake of last summer’s World Cup he was in no doubt as to what he felt was one of the major weaknesses of the side he inherited.

In an interview with O Globo (h/t AS) in December, he said:

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How many times did Marcelo go up and attack during the World Cup? 20. How many goals did he score or create? None. How many times were we caught out with balls behind the backs of our defenders? Three or four.

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It is Filipe Luis who has thus far been first-choice at left-back under Dunga. The Chelsea man has, however, struggled to pin down a regular starting place at club level this season and alternatives are now being sought ahead of the Copa America.

The first result was a recall for Marcelo ahead of Brazil’s friendlies against France on Thursday and Chile on Sunday.

Per Marco Ruiz of AS, rumoured Madrid target Danilo has had his forward-thinking instincts somewhat neutered during his appearances for Dunga’s Brazil and it will be interesting to see if Marcelo is also capable of fulfilling a more disciplined defensive role. 

That is what Dunga asks of his full-backs. If Marcelo is unable to perform well under such restrictions then he is unlikely to get much of a look-in while the former midfielder is in charge.

Luka Modric

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Luka Modric has made a clear positive impact on the fluidity of Real Madrid’s play since his return from the injury he picked up on international duty with Croatia last October. He was the orchestrator of their excellent first-half performances against both Levante and Barcelona.

“It was great to have Modric back,” Madrid striker Karim Benzema told Pablo Polo of Marca on Tuesday. “He always plays on the attack and that’s why he’s so important to us. We’ve missed him.”

Modric’s team-mates and Madridistas all over the world will therefore be watching on with bated breath this week, when he returns to the international fold.

Croatia currently top Group H will be confident of continuing their unbeaten start to the Euro 2016 qualification process at home to Norway on Saturday.

Modric, Ivan Rakitic and Marcelo Brozovic formed a highly attractive, ball-playing midfield three that dominated the early exchanges of the match away to Italy in which Modric picked up his injury.

It was a performance that showed what Croatia are capable of and is something that Kovac will be keen to work on further with Modric now back on the scene.

The midfielder has shown how vital he is to Madrid since his return from injury. On Saturday he is likely to demonstrate that he is just as important for his country.