InterNationals, 1,551 minutes on the pitch and six Nerazzurri goals

Following Italy’s victory away to Lithuania, the latest round of international fixtures has come to an end as far as Inter are concerned. Nine Nerazzurri players were involved in matches across Europe and Africa. They played a total of 1,551 minutes and scored six goals (Radu, one of the ten players to be called up, didn’t take to the pitch for Romania).

Conte’s men will return to action at 20:45 CEST on Saturday, when they’ll face Bologna on matchday 29.

ITALY | THREE WINS FROM THREE, SENSI MAKES DECISIVE CONTRIBUTION

Roberto Mancini’s excellent record in the Azzurri dugout continued (his team have now gone 25 matches without defeat). Indeed, Italy opened their World Cup qualifying campaign with three 2-0 victories against Northern Ireland, Bulgaria and Lithuania. The Azzurri Head Coach fielded Nicolò Barella for 143 minutes, Bastoni for 89 (the Nerazzurri defender made his fourth Italy appearance in the process) and Sensi for 113. The latter, who started against Bulgaria, was a key figure away to Lithuania, coming on at half-time and opening the scoring in Vilnius.

BELGIUM | TWO MORE GOALS FOR LUKAKU

180 minutes and two goals for Romelu Lukaku, who continues to leave his mark every time he’s called up to his National Team. He’s now scored 35 goals in his last 30 matches for Belgium. Romelu was rested against Belarus but played 90 minutes against Wales and the Czech Republic, also netting in both matches.

SLOVAKIA | SKRINIAR PLAYS THROUGHOUT AND SCORES TWICE

Milan Skriniar played 270 minutes for Slovakia, meaning he was the Nerazzurri player who featured the longest in the latest round of international fixtures. After draws against Cyprus and Malta, the Slovakians emerged victorious against Russia. The Inter defender found the net against both Malta and Russia.

CROATIA | BROZOVIC AND PERISIC INVOLVED

Two wins (against Cyprus and Malta) and a defeat for Croatia (against Slovenia), with Brozovic playing 180 minutes in total and being rested against Malta. As for Perisic, he featured in all three matches and was involved for a total of 203 minutes: 90 against Slovenia, 77 against Cyprus and 36 against Malta. He made a decisive contribution against the latter, coming on to break the deadlock.

DENMARK | THREE WINS FOR ERIKSEN

Denmark enjoyed a very successful start to their World Cup qualifying campaign, overcoming Israel, Moldova and Austria. Christian Eriksen remained on the pitch for 90 minutes against Israel and Austria and played 13 minutes as the Danes thumped Moldova. The Inter midfielder thus notched up 193 minutes.

MOROCCO | 180 MINUTES FOR HAKIMI

Morocco qualified for the next Africa Cup of Nations, with Hakimi playing 90 minutes against both Mauritania (a draw) and Burundi (a narrow Moroccan win).