International round-up: How players fared for their countries

Here, asroma.com takes a look at how those players got on…

RICCARDO CALAFIORI
Italy U20s

Roma’s 18-year-old left-back was called up to Italy U20s training camp in Florence, with no fixtures originally planned for the age group before a number of coronavirus cases in the U21 squad led to the U20s facing Republic of Ireland in a crucial UEFA Euro U21 qualifying match.

Unfortunately, Calafiori wasn’t able to add to his 21 youth international caps in Pisa as the Azzurrini moved above Ireland and into top-spot of Group 1 with a 2-0 win.

BRYAN CRISTANTE, GIANLUCA MANCINI, LORENZO PELLEGRINI, LEONARDO SPINAZZOLA
Italy

All four players featured for Italy over the past fortnight, with two on the scoresheet, as Roberto Mancini’s Azzurri saw off Moldova 6-0 in a friendly ahead of two UEFA Nations League draws against Poland (0-0) and the Netherlands (1-1).

Both Cristante and Mancini - who won just his fourth cap for his country - played all 90 minutes of that resounding victory over Moldova, during which Cristante scored his first international goal in his ninth Italy appearance and ended the game wearing the captain’s armband.

Pellegrini and Spinazzola were rested for that win, but came back into the side for Italy’s competitive fixtures.

The former started both Nations League games and superbly put Italy ahead against the Netherlands with his second international goal, while Spinazzola’s sole appearance in the three outings saw him last the whole match against the Dutch as he earned a 10th Italy cap.

AMADOU DIAWARA
Guinea

Diawara’s international break started brightly as he set up the first goal in Guinea’s 2-1 friendly win over Cape Verde in the Algarve, but a spate of coronavirus cases resulted in their second game against Gambia being postponed.

Unfortunately, Roma’s 23-year-old midfielder was one of those to subsequently test positive for the virus, but Diawara took to Instagram on Monday to assure Giallorossi fans that he “feels fine” and is now observing quarantine rules.

EDIN DZEKO
Bosnia-Herzegovina

There was real disappointment for Dzeko and his countrymen as their Euro 2020 qualifier semi-final with Northern Ireland ended in a 5-4 penalty shootout defeat, following an initial 1-1 draw after extra-time.

Dzeko lasted all 120 minutes of that grueling encounter and scored from the spot in the shootout, but it wasn’t enough to see his nation through to the final stages of qualifying for next year’s tournament.

Bosnia closed out their internationals with a fine 0-0 draw with Netherlands before a 3-0 defeat to Poland in the same Nations League A group as Italy - Dzeko managing 87 minutes across both games and taking his cap collection to a whopping 112 in the process.

MARASH KAMBULLA
Albania

Kumbulla had featured for just a single minute for Albania prior to going away with the Eagles on 5 October, but he returns to Rome with two senior international starts under his belt.

The planned meeting with Roma teammate Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s Armenia on 7 October was cancelled, but Kumbulla was handed a second cap and maiden Albania start in the 0-0 draw with Kazakhstan on Sunday.

A second successive clean sheet in Nations League C was secured on Wednesday night, with Kumbulla earning a third international appearance as Albania moved within two points of Group 4 leaders Belarus.

HENRIKH MKHITARYAN
Armenia

Following the aforementioned cancelled friendly against Albania, Mkhitaryan also picked up a pair of Nations League C draws with his country.

The Armenia skipper scored a dramatic 89th-minute penalty to earn his nation a 2-2 draw with Georgia at the weekend, moving him to 30 international goals.

His 88th cap resulted in a 1-1 draw in Estonia on Wednesday night, leaving Armenia just a point off top in Group 2 with two matches to go.