Ten things we spotted during the international break

Ahead of the Premier League's return, football writer Ben Bloom picks out 10 things he noticed during the international break.

Dad-to-be Haaland breaks Norway goals record

After scoring 10 goals in Manchester City’s opening five Premier League matches, it was – relatively speaking – a goal drought of epic proportions when Erling Haaland failed to add to his tally in City’s final two league fixtures prior to the international break.

It came as no surprise, then, when the 24-year-old ended that brief barren spell in Norway’s UEFA Nations League win over Slovenia, claiming two goals to become his country’s all-time leading goalscorer.

Captaining Norway in his 36th international appearance, his 33rd and 34th goals meant he equalled and then surpassed Jorgen Juve’s longstanding mark, which had stood since 1937. He then celebrated the win by announcing that he is to become a father for the first time.

Alexander-Arnold’s scoring left-back experiment

To Trent Alexander-Arnold’s extensive back catalogue of positions played, he can now add international left-back after the Liverpool star was unexpectedly used on the left – rather than right – side of Lee Carsley’s four-man defence for England’s victory over Finland.

He was named man of the match after curling a stunning free-kick into the top corner. It even earned the Liverpool right-back a prize from team-mate Jack Grealish, who revealed after that he told Alexander-Arnold just before the free-kick that he'd give him £500 if he scored!

"I said 'if you score this I'll give you £500' and then he just slapped it in the top bins. So I owe him now," Grealish told ITV.

Alexander-Arnold's free-kick v Finland

Alexander-Arnold’s array of passing was also notable, but defensive errors led to some criticism of his inclusion in the unfamiliar position.

Having now played in central midfield and left-back for his country, he will likely return to his customary position of right-back against Chelsea on Sunday.

Key Liverpool pair unexpectedly fresh for club duty

One of the big concerns for any club fan is the toll that international exertions might take on their team’s players before returning to domestic duties. So, it was with no shortage of relief, that Liverpool supporters will have greeted the unexpected boost surrounding Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk.

Salah was on target in Egypt’s first match, scoring the second in a 2-0 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying win at home to Mauritania. However, he was then excused from the away trip to face the same opposition, with Egypt’s manager Hossam Hassan explaining that he did not want to risk his players against “hard and violent tackles” from the Mauritanian players in a match on an artificial pitch.

Salah instead returned early to Liverpool, where he was joined by Van Dijk after the centre-back received the first red card of his Netherlands' career in a Nations League draw with Hungary.

His two yellow cards ruled him out of a match against Germany and meant he, like Salah, could head back to club training.

Johnson cannot stop scoring - and Wood is not far behind

Last season at Tottenham Hotspur, Brennan Johnson’s combined total goal count for club and country (Wales) was just six. That meagre haul meant it was unsurprising when he did not find the net in his opening half-dozen matches of the current campaign.

But then began a remarkable streak. In scoring the opening goal of Wales’ 2-2 Nations League draw against Iceland, Johnson made it an astonishing seven successive matches in which he has scored.

Johnson's goal v Iceland

The winger was taken off as a precaution in that match and was suspended for Wales’ second game.

While not quite Johnson-esque, Nottingham Forest striker Chris Wood’s radar has also recently been trained on goals, adding a 35th and 36th of his career for New Zealand against Tahiti and Malaysia.

That takes his season tally to six in 11 appearances after ending last season with 12 goals in his last 19 matches. 

Versatile Veiga shows positional range

In a summer of numerous incomings and outgoings, Renato Veiga was a relatively low-profile signing when he moved to Chelsea from Basel.

The 21-year-old has since impressed in two UEFA Conference League starts at left-back, while playing the entirety of Chelsea’s Premier League win over AFC Bournemouth in central midfield.

But last week, he made his Portugal debut as a centre-back in a Nations League victory over Poland, where he dealt expertly with Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski, prompting manager Roberto Martinez to praise his aggression and maturity.

"He is an aggressive player with great communication skills who can defend large spaces and play in the air against a Poland side that is very strong in set pieces," Martinez said post-match.

"It was a fantastic debut. With a striker like Lewandowski, I think it is a debut that shows Renato’s potential and how he is working at the moment."

With Marc Cucurella suspended for Sunday’s trip to Liverpool after picking up his fifth yellow card of the season in Chelsea's 1-1 draw with Nottingham Forest before the international break, Veiga could continue to show his impressive versatility with a return to left-back for his club. 

Kelleher’s topsy-turvy Liverpool warm-up

For some time, Caoimhin Kelleher has been touted as arguably the best back-up goalkeeper in the Premier League. With Alisson's hamstring injury expected to rule him out for at least another month, the Irishman knows he will have his chance to shine as Liverpool’s No 1 in the coming weeks.

Ahead of that stint, Kelleher was largely outstanding between the sticks for Republic of Ireland in their Nations League defeat against Greece, making multiple saves to keep the dominant opposition at bay.

He was unable to do anything about Greece’s deflected opener, but then gifted away possession in the closing stages of the match to concede the softest of second goals.

It was a harsh punishment for a terrible individual error, but that did not stop Kelleher earning the man of the match award.

No AFCON for Ghana’s star men?

It was mission accomplished for a host of Premier League players over the past week, who return to their clubs having helped their countries qualify for next year’s Africa Cup of Nations.

The likes of Salah (Egypt/Liverpool), Rayan Ait-Nouri (Algeria/Wolverhampton Wanderers), Bryan Mbeumo (Cameroon/Brentford), Dango Ouattara (Burkina Faso/Bournemouth) and Pape Sarr (Senegal/Spurs) are among those who secured places at the tournament, which will take place between December 2025 and January 2026.

But Ghana, one of the continent’s heavyweights with a wealth of Premier League talent, look set to miss out on the tournament for the first time in more than two decades.

It could mean international disappointment for the likes of Antoine Semenyo (Bournemouth), Mohammed Kudus (West Ham United), Thomas Partey (Arsenal), Tariq Lamptey (Brighton & Hove Albion) and Jordan Ayew (Leicester City).

Super-sub Duran maintains hot streak

Despite limited minutes, Aston Villa striker Jhon Duran has been one of the standout players during the first seven Matchweeks of the Premier League season, scoring four league goals after coming off the bench late on.

He repeated that trick in the UEFA Champions League, netting the winner against Bayern Munich earlier this month and then continued his incredible substitute hot streak for Colombia this week.

Left out in favour of Jhon Cordoba, Duran replaced the striker at half-time and soon added to his goalscoring tally with the third in Colombia’s 4-0 win over Chile to put his nation second in South America’s FIFA World Cup qualifying table.

“You always hope to come in and make an impact,” said Duran. “I always think before I go on the pitch that I can score. I tell myself, ‘if I’ve done it before, why not now?’ Luckily it happened.”

Quick turnaround required for unfortunate few

Although the international break officially concluded on Tuesday, it was not until the early hours of Wednesday morning in Britain that some of the Premier League’s top players finished fulfilling duties for their country.

The friendly between Mexico and the United States was the final match to kick-off, not concluding until around 05:30 BST.

That left West Ham midfielder Edson Alvarez with the shortest of turnarounds ahead of a Saturday 12:30 BST trip to Spurs, but at least he could revel in helping his country to a 2-0 win.

Raul Jimenez and Antonee Robinson have only a few extra hours before turning out for Fulham at 15:00 BST.

A host of South American players were also in action early on Wednesday morning ahead of Saturday Premier League engagements, including Brazil’s Gabriel (Arsenal), Argentina’s Cristian Romero (Spurs) and Uruguay’s Manuel Ugarte (Manchester United).

Nervy times as injury headaches mount

It is the news that Premier League fans (not to mention managers) dread: notice that one of your team’s leading players has picked up an injury while on international duty.

As they eagerly await updates from club managers at their pre-weekend press conferences, Premier League supporters will be fearing the worst, but hoping for the best, over a number of players who did not come through the break unscathed.

Bukayo Saka returned early to Arsenal after he came off during England’s Nations League loss to Greece with a hamstring issue, but reports suggest he could be fit to face Bournemouth this weekend. Mikel Arteta will also assess Gabriel Martinelli, after he missed Brazil’s second match.

A host of other players will require assessment to determine the severity of their problems. Sasa Lukic (Fulham/Serbia), Hwang Hee-chan (Wolves/South Korea), Amad Diallo (Man Utd/Ivory Coast) and Ugarte (Man Utd/Uruguay) were among those to suffer potential setbacks.

See: Latest Premier League injuries