Review of the SL Benfica Internationals

In all, nine players of Sport Lisboa e Benfica were in competitive actions with their respective national teams between November 11.

Captain of the Belgian national team, Vertonghen started the three matches. In the friendly match against Switzerland (win by 2-1), he came off at 58 minutes; in the last two rounds of the National League Division A Group 2, he helped Belgium confirmed their presence in the final stage of the competition. He played the 90 minutes in the 2-0 win over England, and he came off in the last minute of the 4-2 win over Denmark.

Odysseas was not an option against Cyprus but played 90 minutes against Moldova (triumph by 0-2) and 90 minutes in this Wednesday scoreless draw against Slovenia.

On the other side of the Atlantic, Argentina plays the qualification for the 2022 World Cup and Otamendi was called up for the national team. The eagles central defender racked up 180 minutes divided into 90 against Paraguay (1-1) and 90 in the 0-2 win over Peru.

Performance of the internationals

Everton represented Brazil in the two matchdays of the World Cup Qualifiers. He played 15 minutes in the 1-0 win against Venezuela and racked up another 20 in the 0-2 triumph away at Uruguay.

Fighting for ACN qualification is Taarabt's Morocco. The Benfica center-midfielder started the two matches against the Central African Republic. In Rabat, Morocco won by 4-1 and Taarabt came off in the 84th minute; in Douala, a 0-2 win and the midfielder was replaced at 78'.

There were four Benfica attacking players in their national teams: Seferovic (Switzerland ), Waldschmidt (Germany), Darwin (Uruguay) and Gonçalo Ramos (Portugal U-21). Seferovic amassed 111 minutes in two matches: 27 minutes in the 2-1 defeat against Belgium and 84 minutes in the draw (1-1) against Spain, in matchday 5 of the Nations League Division A Group 4.

In Germany, Waldschmidt was in the spotlight with a goal scored in three Mannschaft matches. He played 90 minutes in the friendly match against the Czech Republic and scored the solitary goal of the encounter; in the Nations League matches, he played four minutes in the triumph by 3-1 against Ukraine, and came on in the 71st minute of the clash with Spain, which finished with a 6-0 win for La Roja.

Darwin's participation in Uruguay began at full speed. The striker came on at half-time in the match against Colombia and contributed to his national team's 0-3 win with a brilliant goal. In the next round of the South American World Cup qualifiers, he featured as a starter and played 90 minutes against Brazil, but Uruguay lost 0-2 at the Estadio Centenario.

With Portugal U-21, Gonçalo Ramos played in the three matches and scored a goal, helping the Portuguese National Team qualify for the U-21 Euro. In the 3-0 win over Belarus, the striker came on at 74 minutes and scored from the penalty spot; in the 2-1 triumph over Cyprus, he was launched the start of the second half and in the decisive encounter against Holland, he came on in the 66th minute and helped Portugal maintain the 2-1 lead until the end.

Benfica returns to competitive action this Saturday, November 21, at 9:15 pm, with the match from the 3rd round of the Portuguese Cup away at Paredes.

Text: Marco Rebelo

Photos: UEFA / FPF / AFA