Inter Quiz | Special…Internationals

MILAN – Ready for another Nerazzurri test? Just like every Sunday, Inter Quiz is back, in collaboration with Opta. Today we’ll test you with questions about our players’ international experiences: do you know everything about them and their national team matches? Find out now!

1) Antonio Conte made his debut as Azzurri coach against The Netherlands in September 2014, how did that match end?

2-0 Antonio Conte made his debut as Italy’s Coach on 4 September 2014 in a friendly match in Bari against The Netherlands, which the Azzurri won 2-0 thanks to goals from Immobile and De Rossi. The current Nerazzurri Coach remained unbeaten in his first nine games in charge of Italy.

2) Which player in Inter’s current squad has made the most appearances in the World Cup?

Diego Godin Diego Godin has made 14 appearances for Uruguay in the World Cup: five in 2010, when they came third; four in 2014, when they made it to the Round of 16; and five in 2018, when they reached the quarter-final. With 135 appearances (and eight goals) Diego Godin is the most capped player in Uruguay’s history.

As for World Cup appearances, behind Godin are Romelu Lukaku (Belgium, ten), Kwadwo Asamoah (Ghana, eight), Alexis Sanchez (Chile, eight), Marcelo Brozovic (Croatia, seven), Stefan de Vrij (Holland, seven). What’s more, in 2018 Marcelo Brozovic played in the World Cup Final.

3) Which player in Inter’s current squad has made the most appearances for Italy?

Antonio Candreva The Nerazzurri right-winger has made 54 appearances for the Azzurri, scoring seven goals. His debut for Italy dates back to a friendly match against The Netherlands in November 2009. He made two appearances at the 2014 World Cup and two at the 2016 European Championship.

Here’s the list of current Inter players who have played for the Azzurri: Candreva 54, Ranocchia 21, Barella twelve, Biraghi seven, Gagliardini six, Sensi four, D’Ambrosio three.

4) Two Inter players hold the goal scoring record for their respective national teams. Who are they?

Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez Lukaku has played 82 matches for Belgium, scoring 52 goals. He made his debut on 3 March 2010 (Belgium 0-1 Croatia in a friendly) when he hadn’t yet turned 17. He then scored his first goals in November 2010 with a brace against Russia in a friendly. In the 2018 World Cup he scored four goals, with back-to-back doubles against Panama and Tunisia. Lukaku also averages 0.62 goals per game for his national side.

Alexis Sanchez is a double record holder: he’s the most capped Chilean player in history, with 132 appearances, ahead of Gary Medel’s 126, and he’s also their all-time top scorer with 43 goals (ahead of Edu Vargas’ 38). Sanchez made his national team debut on 27 April 2006 in a friendly against New Zealand and has won two Copa America titles (in 2015 and 2016), scoring the winning penalty against Argentina in the 2015 final. He also won the Player of the Tournament award in 2016.

5) Besides Romelu Lukaku and Lautaro Martínez, which other Inter player has scored a hat trick for their national team?

Christian Eriksen The Danish midfielder, who’s made 95 appearances and scored 31 goals for his national side, scored a crucial hat trick on 14 November 2017 during Ireland 1-5 Denmark in Dublin in the second leg of the play-off to qualify for the 2018 World Cup.

Lukaku has scored two hat tricks for Belgium, one against Luxembourg in a friendly and the other against Gibraltar in qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup. While Lautaro Martínez scored a hat trick last September in Argentina’s 4-0 win over Mexico.

6) Against which team did Lautaro Martínez score his first goal for Argentina?

Iraq Lautaro Martínez’s first goal for his national side came in a friendly match against Iraq in October 2018. That was only his second appearance for Argentina, having made his debut in March that same year against Spain. Lautaro has now made 17 appearances and scored nine goals for ‘La Albicesleste’.

7) Besides Diego Godin, which Inter players have captained their national team?

Handanovic, Eriksen, Sanchez Samir Handanovic made 86 appearances for Slovenia until Novemeber 2015 and he wore the captain’s armband during six of those. Meanwhile Christian Eriksen has skippered Denmark three times, as has Sanchez for Chile.

8) On the last international break in November, how many Nerazzurri players were called up for international duty?

13These were: Milan Skriniar (Slovakia), Romelu Lukaku (Belgium), Sebastiano Esposito (Italy U19), Nicolò Barella and Cristiano Biraghi (Italy), Marcelo Brozovic (Croatia), Valentino Lazaro (Austria), Stefan de Vrij (The Netherlands), Lautaro Martínez (Argentina), Diego Godin and Matias Vecino (Uruguay), Lucien Agoumé (France U17), Lorenzo Pirola (Italy U17).