Doria on international duty

Seven Sampdoria players have been called up for international duty as Serie A takes an early-season break this week.

The in-form Luis Muriel has already left for Colombia, having been called up by coach Jose Pekerman for the South American side’s World Cup qualifiers against Venezuela (Barranquilla, 1 September) and Brazil (Manaus, 6 September).

Polish midfielder Karol Linetty will also be looking to help his nation take the first step towards Russia 2018. Adam Nawalka’s side will face Group E opponents Kazakhstan in Astana on 4 September.

Dennis Praet – the captain of the Belgian U21 side – will travel to Paola to play Malta on 2 September as part of qualifying for the UEFA European Under-21 Championship. Praet’s side then head back to Leuven, where they’ll host the Czech Republic on 6 September.

Praet may well come up against Patrick Schick in that game, with the latter named in the Czech U21 squad who play Montenegro on 1 September before travelling to Belgium.

Bruno Fernandes has been called up to the Portugal U21 squad to face Israel (in Pacos de Ferreira on 2 September) and Greece (in Barcelos on 6 September).

Finally, Milan Skriniar – along with David Ivan, who’s on loan at Bari – has been named in the Slovakia U21 squad for their friendly against Germany (in Kassel on 2 September) and the UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifier against Cyprus on 5 September. Slovakia can take a big step towards the finals with victory over the Cypriots.