3 Paris Saint-Germain Players to Watch in International Action This Week

Over the international break, Paris Saint-Germain has nine players away on duty with their national team, with another seven left at the club due to either being injured or just not selected.

France takes on Brazil at the Stade de France on Thursday evening, and it could have been a chance for a number of teammates to face off against each other, but with Marquinhos, Lucas Moura and David Luiz all out injured, it will be left to captain Thiago Silva to take on Blaise Matuidi on his own.

The other Thiago, Motta, was not picked for Italy for their games against Bulgaria and England, giving Marco Verratti the chance to shine for the Azzurri.

Adrien Rabiot will line up for France's under-21 side for the first-time this weekend as they play Estonia and the Netherlands, but Jean-Christophe Bahebeck is now too old to join him as Les Espoirs build for the 2017 Under-21 European Championships.

Laurent Blanc's main concern will be that his nine stars all return injury free. That's all he can hope.

Here are three PSG players to look out for during the international break.

Blaise Matuidi: France

Michel Euler/Associated Press

As they continue to build toward the 2016 European Championships based in France, Les Bleus have another two friendlies lined up this week. First up, they take on Brazil at the Stade de France, and then on Sunday they travel down to Saint-Etienne to play Denmark at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard.

The injury to Paul Pogba, plus the non-selection—due to injury and form—of Yohan Cabaye means that Matuidi is the only member of the Didier Deschamps midfield trio who played at the World Cup that is in the squad.

We have only seen glimpses of Matuidi at his best this season, usually in the Champions League. Although it is just a friendly, it will be up to the PSG man to take control and shepherd the team through a tough test against the Selecao.

Javier Pastore: Argentina

Christophe Ena/Associated Press

Gifted playmaker Javier Pastore wasn’t part of the Argentina squad that finished runners-up at the 2014 World Cup last summer, but his form for PSG this season has seen the 25-year-old force his way into Gerardo Martino’s squad.

Argentina are building toward the Copa America in Chile this summer, and with the way he has been playing for the French champions, it is clear he has enough ability and guile to become a huge part of the international set-up.

However, Martino has the same problem as Blanc. Where do you play him? With the attacking talent Argentina possesses, it’s hard to play him as one of your forwards, but you may also lose some steel in midfield.

It will be interesting to see how and if Martino uses him against El Salvador or Ecuador during the break.

Marco Verratti: Italy

Christophe Ena/Associated Press

Antonio Conte’s Italy travel to Sofia this week to take on Bulgaria in a crucial Euro 2016 qualifying match. Group H rivals Croatia and Norway face each other on Saturday, so the Azzurri know that a win would help them pull away from one of their main opponents.

Marco Verratti has shown in this season’s Champions League that he can mix it with Europe’s best, and with Thiago Motta not in the squad he should have the chance to show that same class with Italy.

At his best he is a very tenacious midfielder, with the ability to pick a team apart with his range of passing. He will always bring drive and determination, and sometimes that is exactly what you need when faced with tough away tests.

"

Q: Conte had doubts on Verratti.. Lippi "I've seen him in the CL, there's been great growth of quality & personality. A great distributor."

— Tarek Khatib (@ADP1113) March 25, 2015"

Conte should pick him on Saturday, but he does have a reputation of over-looking the younger members of his squad in these occasions.