The international break is back, and several Olympians have left Marseille for a few days to join their national teams.
In the Americas, Amir Murillo will play two friendly matches with Panama, including one against Derek Cornelius’ Canada, who only has one game scheduled. Further south, in South America, Leonardo Balerdi, Valentin Carboni, and Geronimo Rulli will represent Argentina in the World Cup qualifiers. The reigning champions will face Venezuela and Bolivia in what is expected to be a straightforward campaign.
In Europe, two Olympians are involved in the Nations League. They will face each other as Pierre-Emile Højbjerg’s Denmark travels to Switzerland to take on Ulisses Garcia, who is making his return to the national team.
On the African continent, Chancel Mbemba will return to football with the Democratic Republic of Congo, where he serves as captain. They will face Tanzania twice. It will be a tougher challenge for Geoffrey Kondogbia’s Central African Republic, also a captain of his team, as they take on Azzedine Ounahi’s Morocco in a double confrontation as part of the qualifiers for the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations.
In the youth category, Gaël Lafont and Alexi Koum will represent the French U19 team, while Roggerio Nyakossi will play for the Swiss U20 team. The young French players will kick things off on Wednesday with a friendly match against Denmark.
Here is the schedule for the Olympians on international duty:
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg
Spain vs. Denmark (Nations League) – 12/10
Switzerland vs. Denmark (Nations League) – 15/10
Geronimo Rulli
Venezuela vs. Argentina (WCQ) – 12/10
Argentina vs. Bolivia (WCQ) – 16/10
Valentin Carboni
Venezuela vs. Argentina (WCQ) – 12/10
Argentina vs. Bolivia (WCQ) – 16/10
Leonardo Balerdi
Venezuela vs. Argentina (WCQ) – 12/10
Argentina vs. Bolivia (WCQ) – 16/10
Derek Cornelius
Canada vs. Panama (Friendly) – 16/10
Amir Murillo
USA vs. Panama (Friendly) – 13/10
Canada vs. Panama (Friendly) – 16/10
Chancel Mbemba
DR Congo vs. Tanzania (AFCONQ) – 10/10
Tanzania vs. DR Congo (AFCONQ) – 15/10
Geoffrey Kondogbia
Morocco vs. Central African Republic (AFCONQ) – 12/10
Central African Republic vs. Morocco (AFCONQ) – 15/10
Ulisses Garcia
Serbia vs. Switzerland (Nations League) – 12/10
Switzerland vs. Denmark (Nations League) – 15/10
Rogerio Nyakossi (U20)
Switzerland vs. Ghana (Friendly) – 11/10
Romania vs. Switzerland (Friendly) – 14/10
Gaël Lafont (U19)
France vs. Denmark (Friendly) – 09/10
France vs. Belgium (Friendly) – 12/10
France vs. England (Friendly) – 15/10
Yanis Sellami (U18)
France vs. Denmark (Friendly) – 09/10
France vs. Belgium (Friendly) – 12/10
France vs. England (Friendly) – 15/10
(A: Friendly, Nations League, WCQ: World Cup Qualifiers, AFCONQ: Africa Cup of Nations Qualifiers)