A total of ten Southampton players are representing their national teams in this month's international break. The international break will be over this week, thus, several Saints players have a chance to perform well for their national teams in order to play in the starting lineup for Russell Martin's side. Recently, Poland faced a 1-0 defeat against Croatia in the second group stage match of the Nations League after registering a thrilling 3-2 win against Scotland.
Southampton defender Jan Bednarek started for Poland and played the full ninety minutes in the match. Bednarek made three clearances alongside two important tackles and successfully completed 59 out of 61 passes in the match. Bednarek also made six key passes from the defence, however, he struggled a few times in the match.
Southampton star struggled in UEFA Nations League defeat
While playing out from the defence, Bednarek gave away possession in his own half twice, and Croatia even came close to scoring from one misplaced pass near the box. Later, Croatia took the 1-0 win as Luka Modric scored from a free-kick to give Croatia the three points from the match. This wasn't a great performance for Bednarek and was similar to Southampton's defensive performances this season as they made a few mistakes despite defending well for most part of the game.
With this match, Poland have played their two matches this month and thus, Bednarek will now return to Southampton to prepare for the upcoming matches. After this international break, Southampton will face Manchester United in a massive home game and need to show an improved performance to take their first points of the new Premier League season. Bednarek will aim to be a reliable presence at centre back for Russell Martin's side as they want to give an impressive display in this match both in defence as well as the attack.