Southampton: Saints Stars Shine In Second International Break

Southampton was once-again well represented in international play, with eleven players getting the call for their countries in World Cup qualifying this week.

Southampton’s talent was on display from Portugal to Japan and everywhere in between this week, with some of Saints’ standout players contributing to their countries’ quests toward Russia 2018.

An incredible 11 Saints were called to represent their countries this week, the most ever called up from the South Coast squad at one time. Among the standouts during the off-week was attacking midfielder Dusan Tadic; the Serbian international scored the winning goal versus Austria on Sunday, a 73rd minute master stroke into the bottom right corner.

Tadic has been directly involved in each of the past ten Serbian goals, scoring four of them himself. So far, he has one in Premier League play this year as well as an assist on an own-goal versus Arsenal. With his spot in the starting XI presumably facing a challenge from a recovering Sofiane Boufal, a run of form now could provide the spark needed to help the 27 year old fight for his place.

Elsewhere in Europe it was a pair of Irishmen who championed their respective sides. Steven Davis, captaining Northern Ireland, notched a goal and an assist in a 4-0 drubbing of San Marino last weekend. Meanwhile Shane Long, representing the Republic of Ireland, got his first competitive goal of the 2016-17 campaign versus Moldova.

Long’s goal came in typical Shane Long form. The 27 year old striker, likened to Jamie Vardy and recently clocked as the Premier League’s fastest player, broke free on an early run and effortlessly passed the ball into the bottom right in just the 2nd minute of play.

It’s a goal of a type Southampton fans will be delighted to see, as Long’s goalscoring drought has been cause for concern along the South Coast. As with Tadic, the fans will surely hope that breaking the seal will lead to more to come as the Saints’ campaign heats up.

In England, Charlie Austin was controversially snubbed of a place despite holding one of the best runs of scoring form in the Premier League leading up to the break. Fraser Forster, too, was forced to watch the Three Lions from the bench despite a 5 game clean-sheet streak. Representing England on the pitch was left-back Ryan Bertrand, though his involvement was limited as an apparent hamstring injury forced him to withdraw from a match vs. Malta.

In Denmark, 21 year old midfielder Pierre-Emile Højbjerg played heavily in both matches as Denmark lost 3-2 and 1-0 to Poland and Montenegro respectively.

The Portuguese side featured Southampton captain Jose Fonte and fellow defender Cédric. The two were on fine form against minnows Andorra and Faroe Islands, whom A Seleção handily sent off on 6-0 apiece.

Southampton’s defensive prowess was also on display in the Netherlands, as right-back Virgil van Dijk put in a spirited performance in Het Oranje‘s losing effort to France. Jordy Clasie also featured in the teamsheet, but saw no action.

Next: Hojbjerg, Austin Recognised for Top-Tier Performance

Finally, in the AFC qualifiers, Japanese international Maya Yoshida saw action in Japan’s 2-1 triumph over Iraq and was solid in defence versus Australia in a hard-fought 1-1 draw yesterday.

The Saints’ players now return back to St. Mary’s with lowly Burnley ahead and matches against titans Inter Milan and Manchester City looming. With the confidence of a great run of club form and a week of international triumph behind them, October could be the month that propels Southampton up the table from good to great.