InterNationals: 1565 minutes on the pitch, 4 goals and 3 assists for the Nerazzurri

The first international break of the 2025/26 season has finished, with thirteen Inter players playing in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. Below is a complete summary of their fixtures and playing time.

Five Inter players played for the Azzurri. Alessandro Bastoni scored his first international goal of the season against Estonia, then played the full 90 minutes in the dramatic victory over Israel. Nicolò Barella and Federico Dimarco also featured prominently across the two games, providing quality and pace, while Francesco Pio Esposito celebrated his debut with the senior national team. Also noteworthy was the assist provided by Davide Frattesi, who came off the bench against Israel.

Italy 5-0 Estonia (2026 World Cup Qualifiers) | Bastoni 90' (1 goal), Barella 90', Dimarco 67', Pio Esposito 6', Frattesi 0' Israel 4-5 Italy (2026 World Cup Qualifiers) | Bastoni 90', Barella 68', Dimarco 79', Frattesi 22' (1 assist), Pio Esposito 0'

Lautaro Martinez played in both Argentina matches. The first, against Venezuela at the Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires, was a historic and emotional night. In what was likely Lionel Messi's final match in Argentina, Lautaro made his mark: coming on in the 74th minute, it took him less than two minutes to score his 33rd goal for the Selección. He is now fifth in Argentina's all-time scoring charts, behind Messi, Batistuta, Agüero, and Crespo. The Nerazzurri captain then started the match against Ecuador.

Argentina 3-0 Venezuela (2026 World Cup Qualifiers) | Lautaro 16' (1 goal) Ecuador 1-0 Argentina (2026 World Cup Qualifiers) | Lautaro 63'

Denzel Dumfries was a key player for the Oranje: he opened the scoring against Poland at De Kuip and provided the decisive assist for Depay in the win against Lithuania. A constant presence in both matches, the Nerazzurri wing-back demonstrated his importance to the Dutch national team. Stefan de Vrij also featured: he had a few minutes against Poland, then played the first hour in the away match in Kaunas.

Netherlands 1-1 Poland (2026 World Cup Qualifiers) | Dumfries 90' (1 goal), De Vrij 3' Lithuania 2-3 Netherlands (2026 World Cup Qualifiers) | Dumfries 90' (1 assist), De Vrij 62'

Piotr Zielinski started both matches. After playing 71 minutes against the Netherlands, the Nerazzurri midfielder was a key player against Finland, providing an assist for Lewandowski and receiving a commemorative jersey for his 100th cap.

Netherlands 1-1 Poland (2026 World Cup Qualifiers) | Zielinski 71' Poland 3-1 Finland (2026 World Cup Qualifiers) | Zielinski 90' (1 assist)

Manuel Akanji scored Switzerland's first goal in the win against Kosovo and also played a leading role in the following match against Slovenia. He started both matches and was a constant presence at the heart of the Swiss defence.

Switzerland 4-0 Kosovo (2026 World Cup Qualifiers) | Akanji 90' (1 goal) Switzerland 3-0 Slovenia (2026 World Cup Qualifiers) | Akanji 90'

Hakan Calhanoglu started both the win against Georgia and the match against Spain. 90 minutes in the first match, 68 in the second: two solid performances from the Turkey captain. Georgia 2-3 Turkey (2026 World Cup Qualifiers) | Calhanoglu 90' Turkey 0-6 Spain (2026 World Cup Qualifiers) | Calhanoglu 68' Petar Sucic continued his strong form for Croatia: he started in both matches, playing 90' against the Faroe Islands and 70' in the emphatic win against Montenegro. Faroe Islands 0-1 Croatia (2026 World Cup Qualifiers) | Sucic 90' Croatia 4-0 Montenegro (2026 World Cup Qualifiers) | Sucic 70' Marcus Thuram was not used by coach Didier Deschamps in the 2-0 victory in Ukraine, but he played 70 minutes in France's home win against Iceland. Ukraine 0-2 France (2026 World Cup Qualifiers) | Thuram 0' France 2-1 Iceland (2026 World Cup Qualifiers) | Thuram 70'