Real Sociedad: schedule for the 10 international breaks

The autumn international break brings extra workload for Real Sociedad, with up to 10 first-team players called up and the usual physical and logistical balancing act made tougher by a very tight calendar, as Mundo Deportivo explains. The headline detail is the density: for some European internationals, there can be as many as four official matches in just three weeks before returning to the training group of Pellegrino Matarazzo.

Nations League focus

In Europe, Mundo Deportivo highlights the UEFA Nations League Group 3. Mikel Oyarzabal will lead Spain through four games: a trip to England on Saturday 26 September (20:45), a home match vs Croatia on Tuesday 29 September (20:45), a game against the Czech Republic on Saturday 3 October (20:45), and then another trip back to Croatia on Tuesday 6 October (20:45).

The piece also underlines the repeated clash with Luka Sucic (Croatia): he starts vs the Czech Republic on Saturday 26 September (20:45) and then faces England on Saturday 3 October (18:00), with the two teammates set to meet again within days.

Travel across continents

Alongside that, Orri Óskarsson faces a similar marathon with Iceland in the Nations League, including matches vs Estonia on 26 September and 6 October, plus fixtures vs Luxembourg on 29 September and vs Bulgaria on 3 October.

Jon Martín also racks up international minutes with Spain Under-21 for the European Championship qualification: trips to Finland (Friday 25) and San Marino (Thursday 1), then a home game vs Romania on Tuesday 6.

Kirin Cup and qualifiers

The article also covers Take Kubo with Japan in the Kirin Cup and high-level friendlies, with a start vs Uruguay on Thursday 24 and the tournament finale on 5 October. It notes that his route overlaps with Venezuelan call-ups for Jon Aramburu and Yangel Herrera: their ‘face-to-face’ arrives in the friendly Japan-Venezuela on Monday 28 September (12:25), before further encounters.

Finally, Africa completes the picture. Mamadou Sarr takes Senegal into a three-game run for Africa Cup of Nations qualification vs Mozambique and Ethiopia, plus a friendly vs Comoros, while Job Ochieng represents Kenya against Eritrea and Guinea, according to the schedule included by Mundo Deportivo.