13 Atlético players called up for international duty

With international break upon us, it’s time now to take a look at the 13 Atlético Madrid called up to represent their countries.

To the list!

• Jan Oblak (Slovenia)
• Šime Vrsaljko (Croatia)
• José Giménez (Uruguay)
• Diego Godín (Uruguay)
• Lucas Hernández (France U21)
• Stefan Savić (Montenegro)
• Filipe Luís (Brazil)
• Yannick Carrasco (Belgium)
• Augusto Fernández (Argentina)
• Koke (Spain)
• Thomas Partey (Ghana)
• Saúl Ñíguez (Spain)
• Antoine Griezmann (France)

Every country will be playing in big games. Oblak, for example, will be between the sticks for Slovenia while they play Slovakia and England in critical World Cup qualifiers; Slovenia trail both in Group F. Thomas and the Black Stars will play the Congo in must-win games to qualify for the World Cup. Koke, Saúl and Spain will play Italy on Sept. 2nd in a heavyweight battle.

Once again, Griezmann has been called up to the French national team. It will be his first game of any kind since his suspension for a red card against Girona on Aug. 19. France will take on the Netherlands and Luxembourg, with a chance to leapfrog Sweden for top spot in the group. In March, Griezmann scored a penalty against Luxembourg to help France to a 3-1 win.

Godín, who made his international debut 12 years ago, will almost certainly make his 109th and 110th appearances for Uruguay in important CONMEBOL qualifiers against Argentina and Paraguay. The 31-year-old is nearing the record for the most national team caps, currently held by teammate Maxi Pereira (120 international appearances).

In other news, Spain legend and former Atlético player David Villa has been called up to represent Spain after three years away. The 2016 Major League Soccer MVP has torn it up at New York City FC this season, with 19 goals and four assists over 24 appearances. Saúl and many others are happy to see him back.

Many familiar faces will represent their countries this international break, and with big games and high stakes, it should not fail to excite.