🎥 The international break: What you missed from Thursday's action | OneFootball

We’re now into the third international break of the season.

In any other year that would mean groans and a countdown clock until club football is back.

But this time, we’re going to lay all our cards on the table and admit right at the top: if you’re not into the Nations League, then there really is no hope for you.

Croatia leave it late

Got your breath back yet? As if you needed any more persuading that the Nations League was a good idea, Croatia and Spain went and played out one of the games of the season in Zagreb.

0-0 at half-time, the second half exploded into life with five goals and a 94th minute winner from Tin Jedvaj to give the home side a stunning 3-2 win.

Having gone into their game against England last month knowing that just a point would see them qualify for the final four, now Spain know that only a draw between Croatia and the Three Lions on Sunday will do as they look to top Group 2.

Added to that, there was a lovely bit of argy bargy between Ivan Perisić and Sergio Busquets proving once again that these players care about this competition.

We’ve said before and we’ll say it again: bravo Uefa.

Rooney’s return

The furore and anger surrounding Wayne Rooney’s return to the England set-up, for one last hurrah, baffled many.

The arguments that it ‘devalued the cap’ were astonishingly po-faced, but no matter how vehemently you disagreed with the national team honouring their greatest ever goalscorer, you couldn’t deny the scenes when he came on during the second half of the Three Lions win over USA.

Unfortunately, the DC United striker couldn’t get on the scoresheet in the 3-0 victory, and let’s be honest, even in what was a glorified testimonial, England still didn’t know what to do, or where to put, Rooney.

That wasn’t a problem for Callum Wilson though. First start. First goal. Hopefully, first of many.

Leroy Sané breaks his duck

It’s been a long time coming but finally Leroy Sané has finall scored for Germany.

16 capos later, the Manchester City winger has come in for vociferous criticism from the media back home, as well as getting some stern words of advice from coach Joachim Löw and senior members of the Mannscahft squad.

Sané was the surprise omission from their World Cup squad and was called out by Toni Kroos for “not seeming to care whether he wins or loses”.

But given a reprieve and back in after their Russian nightmare, it was this summer’s hosts who came to Leipzig and were played off the park by Löw’s men.

Their first half performance, especially, was something approaching the old Germany, and they ended up romping away to a comfortable 3-0 win.

Hazard gives another warning

Michy Batshuayi scored both goals as Belgium beat Iceland in Brussels on Thursday.

But really the night belonged to Eden Hazard.

The Chelsea attacker was on scintillating form and showed just why some consider him as the third best player in the world right now.

It seems every week that the 27-year-old is going to another level, and with the help of Maurizio Sarri, who knows where that’ll take him, and the Blues, come May.