The FC Barcelona internationals called up for the double international matchday of the October break began to add minutes on Thursday. In total, ten first-team players traveled with their national teams. Three of them saw action with England, the Netherlands, and Denmark.
Frenkie de Jong started for the 'Oranje' in the rout against Malta (0-4). The midfielder played 67 minutes in matchday 5 of Group G for the UEFA qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup. Cody Gakpo led the rout with a brace, while Tijjani Reijnders and Memphis Depay closed the result that keeps the tulips in the lead with 13 points before hosting Finland on Sunday.
Marcus Rashford, meanwhile, played the second 45 minutes in the friendly against Wales. The Barça '14' replaced Ollie Watkins after halftime in a match that the English resolved in the first half with goals from Morgan Rogers, Bukayo Saka, and Watkins himself in just 20 minutes. Next Tuesday, in the qualifiers, the 'Three Lions' will visit Latvia.
Assist for Christensen, Rest for Lewandowski
Even more stellar was the appearance of Andreas Christensen with Denmark. The Barça center-back played the full 90' and provided the assist that opened the scoring in Belarus (0-6), a match where the Danes easily prevailed on matchday 3 of Group C of the UEFA qualifiers. With this result, Denmark has 7 points and leads the group before hosting Greece on Sunday.
Robert Lewandowski, on the other hand, had a day of rest in Poland's friendly against New Zealand (1-0). The Poles celebrated thanks to a goal from Piotr Zielinski and, next Sunday, they will visit Lithuania for the qualifier, surely with 'Lewy' back in the lineup.
Summary of the day for Barça's internationals:
- Andreas Christensen: played 90 minutes against Belarus.
- Frenkie de Jong: played 67 minutes against Malta.
- Marcus Rashford: played 45 minutes against Wales.
- Robert Lewandowski: did not play against New Zealand.
- At FCBN you can follow live the evolution of all the internationals of Fútbol Club Barcelona during this FIFA date.