How the Juventus stars fared during the international break

Much-needed respite for Andrea Pirlo and Juventus arrived in the form of the international break at the end of March.

In total, 13 Bianconeri stars were in action across Europe as the World Cup qualifiers and European Under-21 Championships got underway. The suspension of the CONMEBOL World Cup qualifiers meant the likes of Danilo, Paulo Dybala, Arthur Melo, and Juan Cuadrado enjoyed a lengthy break to round off the month.

Without further ado, let’s see how the Europeans got on for their respective countries.

Poland – Wojciech Szczęsny

A small COVID-19 outbreak in the Polish camp thrust Wojciech Szczęsny’s status for the Bianconeri’s upcoming Serie A bout with Torino into doubt, but it appears he’ll return safe, sound and negatively tested for the derby.

On the playing field, Juve’s number one played every minute of Poland’s three qualifiers against Hungary, Andorra, and England. While he was able to keep a clean sheet against the lowly Andorrans, Hungary and England combined for five strikes beyond Szczęsny.

Netherlands – Matthijs de Ligt

Life under Frank de Boer is proving tricky for the Dutch, as they succumbed to a heavy 4-2 defeat in their opening qualifier. They bounced back to claim victories over minnows Latvia and Gibraltar, with Matthijs de Ligt guiding the Oranje to back-to-back clean sheets.

The former Ajax star was superb in the 2-0 triumph over Latvia, strolled through the 7-0 thumping in Gibraltar and certainly didn’t disgrace himself in defeat to Turkey.

Italy – Leonardo Bonucci, Giorgio Chiellini, Federico Chiesa & Federico Bernardeschi

Roberto Mancini’s exuberant Azzurri continued their fine run in March, claiming a trio of, albeit, not totally convincing 2-0 victories against distinctly inferior opposition.

The old guard of Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci started together for the opening victory against Northern Ireland and impressed before the latter partnered Francesco Acerbi in Bulgaria.

Old Juve’s February and March Player of the Month Federico Chiesa, meanwhile, surprisingly started just one of the games and didn’t enjoy the most prosperous of breaks overall. It was Domenico Berardi who stole the show against the Northern Irish, with Chiesa struggling to make an impact in his sole start in Bulgaria.

As for fellow wide man Federico Bernardeschi – how he made the squad, I do not know – his only start came from right wing-back as Mancini opted to utilise an Antonio Conte-esque 3-5-2 for the win over Lithuania as Inter’s Alessandro Bastoni and Atalanta’s Rafael Toloi functioned as a pair of overlapping centre-backs. Nevertheless, Bernardeschi’s performance at wing-back wasn’t spectacular but diligent.

France – Adrien Rabiot

In a France squad drenched with elite talent, it’s fair to say that Adrien Rabiot is a bit of an outlier. Nevertheless, the pragmatic Didier Deschamps appears a fan.

Rabiot started the opening clash against Ukraine alongside N’Golo Kante in the pivot before advancing towards the left side of the attacking midfield triumvirate following Paul Pogba’s introduction in the second period. Overall, it was your archetypal ghostly display from the Juve man.

The world was treated to a Pogba/Tanguy Ndombele pivot for the bout in Kazakhstan before Rabiot returned to the XI for the Bosnia clash. He impressed on this occasion, notching an assist for Antoine Griezmann – whose header proved the winner – with a fine cross from the left.

Portugal – Cristiano Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo, amid his chase of Ali Daei for the international goals record, provided, perhaps, the most memorable moment from the break.

With Portugal deadlocked at 2-2 in the dying embers of their clash with Serbia, Nuno Mendes successfully picked out the Portuguese skipper with a fine diagonal pass. The trajectory of Mendes’ switch was completely misjudged by Serbia shot-stopper Marko Dmitrovic allowing Ronaldo to seemingly tap home into an empty net.

Stefan Mitrovic’s desperate intervention was a microsecond too late in the eyes of Ronaldo, who remonstrated with the helpless linesman as the officials deemed Mitrovic’s clearance to have arrived in the nick of time, triggering a storming-off sequence and armband dash from the great one.

Otherwise, it was a fairly productive international break for the Juve forward, who scored in the 3-1 victory over Luxembourg and looked sharp in the triumph over Azerbaijan.

Sweden – Dejan Kulusevksi

The international break could’ve been the optimal opportunity for Dejan Kulusevski to rediscover a little bit of form following a difficult few weeks in Turin.

However, Kulu played a mere bit role for a Sweden side buoyed by the return of Zlatan Ibrahimovic. He enjoyed 97 minutes of action, functioning off the right in Janne Andersson’s archetypal 4-4-2 but crucially didn’t notch a goal contribution.

HE JUST NEEDS A GOAL!

Spain – Alvaro Morata

It wasn’t all plain sailing for the Spaniards at the start of their qualifying campaign, as they edged to victories over Greece and Kosovo after being held to a point by Greece on matchday one.

Nevertheless, Alvaro Morata starred in the 1-1 draw with the Greeks as he scored the game’s opener. A less prosperous outing against Georgia ensued before he impressed with his overall play in the triumph over Kosovo before being substituted midway through the second period.

Italy Under-21 – Gianluca Frabotta & Nicolo Rovella

The European Under-21 Championships kicked off last week with Juventus represented via Gianluca Frabotta, Nicolo Rovella and Radu Dragusin.

Frabotta and Rovella were a part of an Azzurrini squad blessed with plenty of talent. Sassuolo’s Davide Frattesi, in particular, is destined to become a Serie A star further down the line.

Nevertheless, Rovella endured a mixed bag, while Frabotta looked comfortable at that level without standing out. Rovella’s sole start against a superb Spain side was overshadowed by his late dismissal for picking up a pair of yellow cards. Otherwise, it was a performance with plenty of promise.

The young Italians will compete in the knockout phase in two months’ time.

Romania Under-21 – Radu Drăgușin

There’s not much to discuss here. The Juve defender failed to start any of Romania’s three group games with his only minutes arriving off the bench on matchday three in the stalemate with Germany.