Stoke City: Uneventful international nights for the Potters
By Kee Min
Even less football for the Stoke City fans, as very few of the Potters were featured in international clashes last week.
As if the Premier League can’t come back soon enough, Stoke City players had a rather quiet international break.
Xherdan Shaqiri perhaps made the most impact out of any Stoke players, perhaps to nobody’s surprise. The right winger was featured in both of Switzerland’s World Cup Qualifiers against Northern Ireland. While he may not have recorded any goals or assists, he played a total of 170 minutes en route to the Swiss going through to the group stage. At least we will see him in the World Cup.
Joe Allen was the only other Stoke City player featured in any of the action. The Welsh magician played 53 minutes against France before being subbed out. The midfield recorded no goal, no assist, and a yellow card. He was nowhere to be found against Panama, making ways for young Ethan Ampadu.
Jack Butland was slated to make an appearance for the Three Lions over the break, but he suffered an unfortunate injury to his finger during training. This is the second time the goalkeeper was injured during a national team duty. Thankfully, his injury this time was not as horrific as it was last time.
Related Story: Stoke City: Jack Butland’s injury crisis is worrisome
Another player that earned a call-up this time was Kevin Wimmer, who was on the bench for Austria’s games, but never made an appearance.
Next: Stoke City Injury Update: More defenders out
Kurt Zouma failed to make the French national team, after his last call-up in September against Luxemburg. The French manager Didier Deschamps previous mentioned that he wants to build the defense around young center backs like Zouma so it will probably be a matter of time before he gets another call.