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The first international break of the 2021-22 campaign came to an end on Wednesday, as 75 FIFA World Cup 2022 qualifying fixtures were played in a week in Europe. As always, the international break produced some high-scoring results, as four or more goals were scored in 22 games.
A few players were suspended for the third game of the international break and a few left early to prepare for their club fixtures. Overall, it was a good break as we saw a lot of top-class football and there were no major injuries to any of their players participating in these fixtures.
Players continued their club form during the international break
Usual suspects like Cristiano Ronaldo, Romelu Lukaku and Robert Lewandowski were all on target for their respective national teams. The latter two continued their club form with Belgium and Poland respectively.
As club action resumes over the weekend here we take a look at the top 5 European players from the international break.
#5 Hans Vanaken | Belgium
We kick-off our list with a relatively unknown player in Belgium's Hans Vanaken. The attacking midfielder has spent his entire playing career in Belgium and has been Club Brugge's creative force for the last few seasons.
The two-time Belgian Professional Footballer of the Year (for the 2017-18 and 2018-19 campaigns) has been part of Belgium's first team since 2018, But he has only found his feet with the Red Devils in 2021. All three of his international goals have come in this year's World Cup qualifiers.
He is not the quickest player in the squad or the strongest. But his vision, movement on the pitch and control over the ball helps him be in the right place at the right time.
In the September international break, he played just 170 minutes. He was able to find the back of the net once and picked up three assists.
#4 Robert Lewandowski | Poland
Robert Lewandowski has been nothing less than a goal-machine in the last couple of years. He broke Gerd Muller's record of most goals (20) in a single Bundesliga season in the 2020-21 campaign. In the new season, he has already netted five goals in three appearances.
The all-time top scorer for Poland has been Mr Reliable for his national team as well, and has scored nine goals in nine appearances for Biało-czerwoni in 2021. In the September international break, his teammates again looked up to him to provide the spark in the final third and he didn't disappoint.
He did such an amazing job in Poland's 7-1 win over San Marino that coach Paulo Sousa gave him a breather. He substituted him after a couple of goals and an assist in the first 45 minutes.
He was the architect of the injury-time equalizer against England. Despite a frustrating night, he managed to salvage a point for his team and wrapped up the international break with three goals and assists apiece.
Also See: Top 10 football players with the most fans in the world
#3 Romelu Lukaku | Belgium
Romelu Lukaku enjoyed a fruitful international break with Belgium. Apart from just scoring goals, he also picked up his first assist of the World Cup qualifying campaign.
He has established himself as one of the best strikers of our generation. His journey from being a bench-warmer at Chelsea to now being their most expensive signing of all time has been nothing but extraordinary.
Due to yellow cards in the first two games of the international break, he was suspended for Belgium's last game of the month. But in his first two outings, he produced a remarkable display and was the standout player from the massive wins against Estonia (5-2) and the Czech Republic (3-0).
He was able to celebrate his 100th appearance for the Red Devils in style and scored his 67th international goal. This took his tally to three goals and an assist in just two appearances in the September international break.
#2 Erling Halaand | Norway
Erling Haaland is just 21 years old but has made scoring important goals for his team, on a club level or international level a habit. In this international break, he scored five of his six goals of the year for Norway. This includes the goal that earned them an important point against Group G leaders Netherlands.
He bagged an impressive hat-trick against Gibraltar in the last game of the break. In three games, he managed to find the back of the net five times and that only adds to his growing reputation as a cold-blooded finisher in the final third.
#1 Memphis Depay | The Netherlands
Memphis Depay was the most in-form player during the international break. In the three World Cup qualifying fixtures in September, he scored five goals and picked up an assist as well.
He drew a blank in the opening fixture against Norway, which ended in a 1-1 draw. But he hit top gear in the following two games against Montenegro and Turkey. He bagged a brace in the 4-0 win over the former and was the architect of Turkey's 6-1 rout, scoring three goals and picking up an assist.
Watching the Dutchman run riot against defenders must've been a great sight for Barcelona fans. They will be excited to see what their summer signing brings to the table after scoring twice and picking up an assist in his first three games for the Spanish giants.
Also See: Ranking the top 5 goal-scorers in PSG history
