5 things we learned from the last international break
There is no doubt whenever we get action packed weekends with the domestic leagues, especially the English Premier League, and an international break is on the cards, there is a pinch of sadness with the thought of not having league action for 2 weeks.
But boy, these past 2 weeks the international friendlies as well as the new thrilling UEFA Nation's League didn't disappoint even a bit.
Right from The Netherlands' 3-0 thumping of previous world champions Germany last week, to a gripping 2-3 win of England's Three Lions over Spain, it has definitely set standards high for the upcoming weekend of league action. And why shouldn't it, we await Manchester United facing Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Saturday!
Lets take a look at the top 5 things we learned from these last two weeks of international football!
#5 Croatia desperately miss Mario Mandzukic
Just after Croatia's best international performance after 1998 in the FIFA World Cup this year in Russia, Croatian star striker Mario Mandzukic hung up his boots and announced his retirement, having a close to perfect fairy-tale ending to his international career.
While the focus was totally on Luka Modric as the Croatian captain led his team from the front for the whole of the tournament, Mandzukic was a silent hero helping his nation win matches and progress to the latter end of the tournament. Nobody will forget his extra time winner against England in the semi-final of the World Cup this year.
His retirement brings misery to the Croatian side, as they are left with good but not great strikers at their disposal. Ivan Perisic is a beast upfront, but he cannot play as a lone striker, and that's a fact. Kramaric and the other young strikers are still nowhere near what Mandzukic was at his peak.
This international break clearly exposed this fact that Croatia miss their recently retired striker, as they couldn't find the net in the 0-0 draw against England and just edged past low seeded Jordan in a 2-1 win which they were expected to win by a heavy margin, considering their potential.
Lets hope Croatia find Mandzukic's replacement soon if they are to replicate their World Cup success again.