Real Madrid’s winners & losers from March international break

With the international break now over, Real Madrid’s stars from across the globe are heading back to Valdebebas to switch their focus on to Sunday’s La Liga clash with Athletic Club.

And it’s fair to say that most of Madrid’s internationals will be heading into the game buoyed by some impressive performances for their respective countries.

Here’s the highlights from Carlo Ancelotti’s squad during March’s international break.

You know you’ve had a good international break when football fans are comparing you to 2006 World Cup Zinedine Zidane. That may be the highest praise imaginable for a midfielder.

And while it is a bit hyperbolic, there’s no doubting that Toni Kroos was utterly exceptional for Germany in their two most recent friendlies.

The Real Madrid star, who returned from international football retirement earlier in the month, instantly made Die Mannschaft look like genuine contenders for Euro 2024 after a rough few years by inspiring wins over France and the Netherlands.

He’s single-handedly turned things around for the German national team.

What’s the last thing a player wants during an international break ahead of a number of crunch club fixtures?

Yep, that’s right, an injury scare.

That’s exactly what Eduardo Camavinga had this past week when he limped off in France’s 3-2 win over Chile on Tuesday evening.

After initial scans, it seems that the midfielder is not set to miss any games with what has been described as a ‘simple strain’.

A lot has been made of Endrick since he signed for Real Madrid, potentially thanks in large part to how utterly ridiculous he’s been on the last few Football Manager games, and this past week European footbal fans finally got to see what all the fuss is about.

The youngster marked his maiden trip to Wembley Stadium with a winning goal against England, and followed that up with his first ever goal at the Santiago Bernabeu in a subsequent draw with Spain.

Believe the hype.

The fact that Joselu didn’t play a single minute of Spain’s draw with Brazil after starting his nation’s rather embarrassing defeat to Colombia tells you basically all you need to know about the 34-year-old forward’s performance at the London Stadium.

His 73% pass accuracy and zero shots on goal tells you the rest. Not ideal.