Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Sport
Alex Brotherton

Two Man City players struggle for England as Julian Alvarez dazzles in Argentina cameo

Manchester City's stars have jetted off across the globe this week to join up with their national teams, and on Friday evening a number of them were in action.

With an unprecedented winter World Cup less than two months away, this international break will be the last before the Premier League pauses for a month and players travel to Qatar to play on the world stage.

That means that this is the final chance for some players to prove their worth to their international managers, while for those who didn't qualify for Qatar it's an opportunity to build towards their next goals. Here we take a look at how City's contingent got on during Friday's games.

READ MORE: Jack Grealish provides England spark as Man City stars enjoy mixed fortunes

Algeria

Riyad Mahrez's Algeria failed to qualify for the World Cup when they lost at the play-off stage earlier this year, but he is still playing an important role for his nation.

The City winger came off the bench to set-up the only goal of the game in Algeria's 1-0 friendly defeat of Guinea on Friday, with former Leicester striker Islam Slimani providing the finish.

Argentina

As is the case at City, Julian Alvarez is not yet a regular starter for Argentina, but whenever he does feature he tends to impress. The 22-year-old was a half-time substitute in Argentina's 3-0 friendly win against Honduras in Florida, replacing Inter Milan attacker Lautaro Martinez. He created two chances and missed one himself.

Brazil

Ederson was an unused substitute in Brazil's 3-0 defeat of Ghana in France, with coach Tite preferring to play Liverpool's Alisson between the posts.

England

England's 1-0 defeat to Italy in the UEFA Nations League confirmed their relegation from the top tier of the competition while also extending their winless streak to five matches.

Gareth Southgate's side have now not scored a goal from open play in 450 minutes, but it wasn't for a lack of effort from City duo Phil Foden and Jack Grealish.

Foden played the full 90 minutes on the right wing, but often looked isolated as Southgate set his side up in a 3-4-3 system. The manager changed the shape to more of a 4-2-3-1 when he brought on Grealish late in the second half, and England started to look a bit more cohesive in attack.

At the other end of the pitch Kyle Walker's inconsistent form continued. The City full-back started as the right-sided centre-back in a back three, and while he has played there before his positioning for Italy's goal spoke of someone not entirely comfortable in a changed role.

After forcing Giacomo Raspadori to cut inside rather than get to the byline the defender stood off him, affording the Napoli attacker the space to bend a shot into the far corner of the goal. As a centre-back, Walker really should have closed him down. John Stones did not feature as he was serving a one-match suspension.

Germany

In the other game in England's group, Ilkay Gundogan played 69 minutes of Germany's 1-0 defeat to Hungary.

Who's playing today?

Bernardo Silva and Ruben Dias will be hoping to feature for Portugal in the Nations League trip to Czech Republic. Joao Cancelo is unavailable due to suspension.

Erling Haaland will almost certainly start for Norway in their Nations League match away in Slovenia. A win could seal Norway's promotion to the top tier. The only team to stop Haaland scoring since the start of last season? Slovenia.

Manuel Akanji will be looking to keep Spain quiet when Switzerland travel to Zaragoza for a Nations League appointment.

READ NEXT:

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.