Take two, play one: while waiting for Manuel Akanji, a guaranteed starter for both Inter and Switzerland, who tonight will close World Cup qualifying against Kosovo, the total minutes played by Inter internationals has reached 992, which means each player away from the club during this third international break has averaged 90 minutes on the field. Not bad, especially considering that in the previous two breaks the averages were 120 and 127 minutes per player. This is great news for Cristian Chivu, who today will lead training in Appiano after three days off for those who stayed in Italy: the derby drains physical and mental energy, so it is better to arrive without accumulated fatigue from constant travel.
Lautaro leads the way:
Another positive note will appear today at La Pinetina, something that almost never happens when leagues pause for international fixtures. Lautaro Martinez is usually the last to rejoin the squad after a dozen hours of travel and a tough jet lag, but this time he will be there to lead the group, first among all Inter internationals. Beside him will be Marcus Thuram, spared by Deschamps after an injury that kept him out for over a month and fully available for Inter even longer than his teammate. The "ThuLa" duo will have six days to reconnect as they haven’t in years. Perfect timing, with Allegri’s Devils on the horizon.
Inter's Italian block:
If Lautaro saved time and energy while delivering results, a goal and an assist for Messi in the friendly in Angola, overtaking Crespo in fourth place on Argentina’s all-time scorers list, other internationals joining the squad tomorrow have “limited the damage.” Barella and Bastoni, absent against Moldova (Nicolò suspended, Alessandro on the bench), ended their Italian duties with 86 minutes each in the heavy 0-2 loss to Norway at San Siro, while Dimarco played just over 100 minutes, as did Esposito, finally scoring at his San Siro. Pio scored for the national team (after his goal in Moldova), now he must ride that momentum with Inter: doing it in his first derby would mark him as destined for big things.
Dumfries at zero?
Without being overused by their national coaches, all Inter internationals played at least one match, except one. Denzel Dumfries stopped as a precaution last Friday, ahead of the Netherlands’ match with Zielinski’s Poland, due to a minor left ankle issue and returned early to Italy. After initial checks with the 'Oranje' staff, the right wingback, who was in Appiano yesterday for therapy, will be examined today by Inter’s medical team. Tomorrow it will be Calhanoglu’s turn, joining the Italians and the Sucic-Zielinski duo, who played yesterday for Croatia and Poland. The midfielder rested while his Rossoneri rival Modric came on mid-game, staying on until the end and scoring the winning goal in Malta. At Inter, there is cautious optimism regarding Dumfries: the preventive rest did its job, he has almost a full week to fully recover and be ready for the Milan match. Fresh and not drained, he is ready.
At the moment, international duty has cost 846 minutes of effort, and it is easy to believe that this will surpass a thousand after the current fixtures. Twelve Rossoneri left Milanello to play across Europe in search of a World Cup spot, and the fans followed with interest, cheering for France and Portugal among others.
Once on the field, it is better for everyone if Maignan and Leao return focused and in good spirits. Even better if they return fully fit, a condition Milan cannot take for granted given the problems in the last international break. For now, everything is under control: Maignan kept a clean sheet for France in the first match against Ukraine (one minute at the end for fellow countryman Nkunku), leaving Chevalier to concede a goal against Azerbaijan in the second match.
After qualification was secured, coach Deschamps gave Nkunku a starting spot as central attacking midfielder in a 4-2-3-1 behind Mateta. The Rossoneri player was the first to be substituted after just over an hour without goals or assists. This news did not disturb Allegri, as Christopher will not start in the derby.
Leaders
The attack will be led by Leao, who came on for the final 27 minutes against Ireland and then started against Armenia. While his teammates scored nine goals in those matches, Rafa watched without major involvement. The last goal was scored by Juventus’ Conceicao on an assist from former Rossoneri Joao Felix… Leao had already been substituted after 56 minutes and now faces the real test: on Sunday evening he must be the technical leader and motivator. Modric, making his debut in the Milan derby (Rafa will play his twenty-first), serves as a comparison: the first Croatian to secure a spot in his fifth World Cup, Captain Luka led his team to victory over the Faroe Islands and, once the 3-1 advantage was secured, left just after the hour mark. Yesterday in Montenegro he played only the final 12 minutes. More of a formality than a test.
Are the Milan players tired?
From Milanello’s perspective, the balance is not bad: Italians Gabbia and Ricci played a total of four minutes. The defender, expected to start in the derby, rested for a couple of weeks except for training. Ricci came on in the final four minutes of the loss to Norway. Saelemaekers’ Belgium (only 19 minutes in the first match) and De Winter will play tonight, as will Bartesaghi’s Under-21 team and Switzerland’s same-age players Athekame. The last three started the first match; tonight it will be seen. Of the three, only the Italian has a chance of a derby spot. The most used was Pavlovic with Serbia: 135 minutes across two matches, followed by young Odogu, 108 minutes with Germany U20, who will watch the derby from the bench.
Energy saved
The effort saved cannot be quantified: thanks to arrangements between Milan and the US federation, Pulisic stayed to train at Milanello. The same goes for Estupinan: no intercontinental flights or friendlies in the other part of the world. This was not a favor, but common sense: both had just returned to Allegri’s squad after being sidelined with their national teams. The same applies to Rabiot, whom Allegri will see only at the restart: no France call-up for him. First Milan, then Switzerland applies to Jashari as well.
Source: La Gazzetta dello Sport in this morning's print edition
