No fewer than 13 members of the FC Barcelona squad are away competing for their countries this week, and this is the place to check in on how they are getting on:
- Spain: Cubarsí, Pedri, Olmo, Lamine & Ferran Torres
- Spain U21: Pablo Torre, Fermín & Gerard Martín
- France: Kounde
- Netherlands: Frenkie de Jong
- Poland: Lewandowski
- Brazil: Raphinha
- Uruguay: Araujo
MONDAY 24 MARCH
Poland v Malta (World Cup qualifier, 8.45pm CET, Warsaw)
Robert Lewandowski's side beat Lithuania 1-0 in their opening World Cup qualifying fixture, and on Monday they have home advantage once again, this time against Malta. Following the results in the Nations League on Sunday, Poland also now know that Frenkie de Jong's Netherlands will be the other side joining them in this group.
SUNDAY 23 MARCH
France 2-0 Croatia (UEFA Nations Cup semi final)
France made it through to the Final Four by turning around a 2-0 deficit from the first leg to draw 2-2 on aggregate and take the tie into extra time and penalties. Jules Kounde played all 120 minutes of the game and although he missed his kick in the shootout, the evening ended on a positive note.
Spain 3-3 Netherlands (UEFA Nations Cup semi final)
With Barça representation on both sides, this game was also decided on penalties, with Spain ultimately advancing to the Final Four at the expense of Frenkie de Jong and his countrymen. Dani Olmo and Lamine Yamal both started for Spain, while Pedri and Ferran Torres joined the fray later on.
In a game where three of the six goals were also penalties, Spain took the lead three times only for the Dutch to bite back. In the shootout, both Ferran and Olmo scored, but Lamine did not. But despite that, the teenage sensation was one of the heroes of the day with a sensational goal to make it 3-2 in extra time.
SATURDAY 22 MARCH
Plenty more international football going on around the world this Saturday, but there is no Barça involvement in any of the games.
FRIDAY 21 MARCH
Spain U21 2-2 Czechia U21 (Friendly)
The friendly in Lorca, Spain saw the two sides play out a draw in which Barça's Gerard Martín made his debut for the U21 side. The full back was in the starting XI and played 75 minutes before being replaced by Álex Valle, another blaugrana who is out on loan this season at Italian side Como. Barça's Fermín López also started and played 75 minutes before being replaced by his blaugrana team mate Pablo Torre.
Poland 1-0 Lithuania (World Cup qualifier)
Robert Lewandowski scored the late winner for the Polish national side in their opening World Cup qualifier against Lithuania in Warsaw. The Barça striker found the net in the 81st minute before being substituted in the 86th minute. Poland will be back in action on Monday against Malta.
Uruguay 0-1 Argentina (World Cup qualifier)
Ronald Araujo played the full game but was unable to save his side from home defeat in the Clásico del Río de la Plata. The result means that Uruguay have dropped from second to fourth in the Conmebol table, with Ecuador and Brazil moving above them. Despite the setback, los celeste are still on fine course to reach the finals and have another chance to win points when they visit Bolivia on Tuesday.
THURSDAY 20 MARCH
Netherlands 2-2 Spain (UEFA Nations League Quarter Finals First Leg)
It wasn't the best of performances from Spain but they managed to get away with a 2-2 draw in Rotterdam. Nico William's early opener was turned around by goals from Cody Gakpo and Tijani Reijnders, but after the home side suffered a red card, Mikel Merino snatched a late equaliser for Spain.
From a Barça perspective, the most worrying sight was Pau Cubarsí having to withdraw injured after 40 minutes. Lamine Yamal and Pedri both started for Spain too, and were also substituted later on, although in their cases for tactical reasons, with Dani Olmo taking over from Pedri.
Frenkie de Jong featured for the Dutch, and he too was taken off early. The sides will meet again in the second leg in Valencia on Sunday.
Croatia 2-0 France (UEFA Nations League Quarter Finals First Leg)
Not a great day for Jules Kounde's France. They have a job to do in Paris next Sunday after they were beaten 2-0 by Croatia in Split. The home side scored both goals in the first half, courtesy of Ivan Perisic and Ante Budimir, and things could have been even worse had Croatia not missed a penalty earlier on.
Brazil 2-1 Colombia (World Cup qualifier)
Raphinha excelled by first scoring a penalty and then setting up Vinicius Junior for Brazil's dramatic injury time winner to beat Colombia in Brasilia. The result moves Brazil up to second in the table, but there are teams below them who have games to play on Friday.