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- Last international players return from duty
Antoine Griezmann and Thomas Partey made their return from international duty today, although Marca report that they did not train with the rest of the Atlético Madrid teammate. Both are recovering from slightly more recent game action than other internationals.
Griezmann opened the scoring in France’s 2-1 win over Belarus on Tuesday, which saw the Euro 2016 runners-up punch their ticket to the 2018 World Cup. Meanwhile, Thomas also scored for Ghana in a 3-0 friendly victory over Saudi Arabia.
- Diego just wants to play with the other kids
Another player who is eager to get back to work with his teammates is record signing Diego Costa. Another in a long line of amusing clips of Costa’s misadventures shows the player throwing a minor tantrum at training yesterday. At issue appears to be the fact that Costa is still undergoing a rigorous fitness program, while he just wants to kick the ball around with his friends.
I’m sure this perfectly encapsulates how many of us feel when it’s time to go for a run.
It looks as though the first Spain match held at Atlético’s new stadium will be a November friendly against Portugal. Brazil had been mooted previously for the matchup, but a match against Cristiano Ronaldo and the reigning European champions should be a more than fitting way to open the Wanda Metropolitano on the international stage. The match is not quite set in stone but it seems to be a matter of dotting some i’s and crossing some t’s.