Aston Villa had four senior figures on international duty last night, with many performing well for their nations.
The first international break of the season is underway as many Villa stars return to their national teams.
Both the Nations League and the World Cup Qualifiers are on, as players give everything for their country to ensure they meet expectations.
While Unai Emery will no doubt want his stars back to compete in the Premier League and the Champions League, he will be delighted to see them continuing their form on the international stage.
Therefore, Aston Villa News has provided a round-up on which stars competed internationally on Thursday night and how they performed.
How Aston Villa stars fared on international duty last night
Emi Martinez in Argentina vs Chile
Argentina and Emi Martinez returned to action in South America for the first time since their Copa America victory.
The highly-rated goalkeeper started against Chile in the World Cup Qualifiers where he helped see out a 3-0 victory over Chile.
Given the level of performance put out by the hosts, Martinez had little work to do as he saw out a comfortable clean sheet.
Argentine outlet TyC Sports rated the ‘keeper as a 6/10 stating: “He hardly had any work to do, but when they pushed him he finally responded. At the end of the first half he hit the left post of his ally after a header from Catalán.”
John McGinn in Scotland vs Poland
Scotland returned to action after their miserable Euro 2024 campaign to compete in the Nations League.
John McGinn started and played the full 90 minutes as the Tartan Army lost 3-2 to Poland at Hampden Park.
For his efforts, the midfielder was widely praised for the performance despite the late defeat in the Nations League.
Edinburgh Evening News rated his performance a 7/10, citing his pass to Ryan Christie as outstanding.
The Herald was in agreement with this assessment, as it stated that McGinn ‘did mostly what was expected of him’ as it awarded him with another 7/10.
In comparison, The Scotsman rated the Villa captain a 6/10, believing that he is ‘a little out of form for Scotland’ after another quiet game.
Kosta Nedeljković in Serbia vs Spain
As well as Scotland, Serbia also began their Nations League campaign as they took on Spain for their opening fixture.
Despite playing the Euro 2024 champions, the Balakan side more than held their own and managed to see out a 0-0 draw.
Villa youngster Kosta Nedeljković started the match and played the full 90 minutes to see out the clean sheet.
According to WhoScored, the defender performed well and completed three tackles with a 100% success rate while also making three clearances and one interception.
As a result, for his efforts TNT Sports rewarded his performance with a 7/10.
Ian Maatsen in the Netherlands Under 21s vs North Macedonia Under 21s
The final Villa player who was playing for his nation on Thursday night was Ian Maatsen.
Despite his form at Dortmund and Emery’s side over the past year, the full-back is yet to make his full debut for the Netherlands. As a result, he has remained playing for their Under 21s.
On Thursday night, the Lowland Country competed in their Euro Qualifying campaign where they overcame North Macedonia 5-0. Maatsen started and played the full 90 minutes of the match as they cruised to victory.
SofaScore awarded the 22-year-old with an 8.4 rating as he completed four tackles and made one interception in the big win.
