Premier League stars return from international break after mixed set of goals, debuts and injuries

All 20 Premier League clubs had at least five players away on international duty during the latest FIFA window, with top-flight stars representing 59 different countries and producing a mixture of debut goals, match-winning strikes, disciplinary moments and injuries.

Several players produced eye-catching returns. Norway's Erling Haaland scored five times and provided two assists in an 11-1 victory over Moldova, while Manchester City's Bernardo Silva and Jeremy Doku also found the net for Portugal and Belgium respectively. England recorded a 5-0 win over Serbia in which several Premier League players were influential, and Jordan Pickford kept consecutive clean sheets to equal his and Gordon Banks' joint record of seven successive shutouts for the national side.

Arsenal had 17 players away, with Mikel Merino scoring in a World Cup qualifier for Spain and following that with a hat-trick in a 6-0 win over Turkey according to team reports. Noni Madueke scored his first England goal in a 5-0 victory over Serbia, and Declan Rice also scored in England's 2-0 win over Andorra. Martin Ødegaard scored once and set up two in Norway's 11-1 win over Moldova.

Manchester City sent 12 players on international duty. Haaland's haul for Norway was the headline, while Omar Marmoush, who scored for Egypt in a 2-0 win over Ethiopia, was ruled out of the upcoming Manchester derby with a knee injury after going off injured in a subsequent 0-0 draw with Burkina Faso. Bernardo Silva scored for Portugal and Jeremy Doku netted twice for Belgium.

Liverpool registered 21 players away. Mohamed Salah scored for Egypt in a 2-0 victory over Ethiopia. New signing Alexander Isak made his first appearance of the season as a substitute for Sweden in a 2-0 defeat by Kosovo, and Florian Wirtz scored in Germany's 3-1 win over Northern Ireland.

Tottenham Hotspur had 20 players out with international teams. Senegal's Pape Sarr scored a late winner in a 3-2 victory over DR Congo, while Djed Spence made history as the first Muslim to play for the senior England men's team when he came on as a substitute in the 5-0 win over Serbia.

Chelsea's contingent of 14 included Marc Cucurella, who scored in Spain's 3-0 win over Bulgaria, and Moises Caicedo, who was sent off for Ecuador but whose side still secured a 1-0 win against world champions Argentina. Reece James provided the cross that led to Declan Rice's goal for England.

Manchester United had 14 players away. New signing Benjamin Sesko completed 180 minutes for Slovenia across two qualifiers — a draw with Sweden and a loss to Switzerland — but has yet to open his account for club or country this season.

Newcastle United's internationals included Yoane Wissa, who scored twice and assisted once across two games for DR Congo, and Bruno Guimaraes, who scored in Brazil's 3-0 win over Chile. Anthony Elanga scored in Sweden's 2-2 draw with Slovenia.

West Ham's Lucas Paquetá continued his scoring form with a goal for Brazil in a 3-0 win over Chile. Jarrod Bowen featured as a substitute for England in the win over Serbia and was unused in the match against Andorra.

Brighton saw Yakuba Minteh score his sixth international goal as Gambia beat Kenya, while Kaoru Mitoma was rested by Japan. Goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen started both Netherlands fixtures and Carlos Baleba featured as Cameroon edged Cape Verde.

Aston Villa's Matty Cash scored a late equaliser against the Netherlands and then again in a win over Finland; he came off injured at half-time in that match but reports suggested the issue was not serious. Youri Tielemans scored twice for Belgium and Ezri Konsa registered his first England goal in the 5-0 win over Serbia.

Brentford's record signing Dango Ouattara scored twice in Burkina Faso's 6-0 win over Djibouti and Mikkel Damsgaard scored in Denmark's 3-0 victory over Greece. Jordan Henderson made just a nine-minute appearance for England across their two fixtures.

Everton's internationals included Iliman Ndiaye and Idrissa Gueye as part of Senegal's comeback 3-2 win over DR Congo. Beto contributed off the bench for Guinea-Bissau in a win over Djibouti. Jordan Pickford's successive clean sheets brought his England total to 40, moving him level-third on the national list of goalkeepers for clean sheets.

Crystal Palace defenders Marc Guéhi and Ezri Konsa were influential in England's defence across the two qualifiers, with Guéhi scoring and setting up Konsa's first international goal. Jefferson Lerma and Daniel Muñoz helped Colombia secure two 2026 World Cup qualifying victories.

Nottingham Forest's Chris Wood scored for New Zealand in a 3-1 defeat by Australia, and Serbia captain Nikola Milenković was sent off in the 72nd minute of a 5-0 defeat by England after a challenge on Harry Kane.

Bournemouth forward Antoine Semenyo, praised by Ghana coach Otto Addo as a "lone fighter" in attack, was unable to find the net in a 1-1 draw with Chad and a 1-0 win over Mali.

Fulham's Calvin Bassey scored his first international goal for Nigeria in a 1-1 draw with South Africa, while Raúl Jiménez scored in Mexico's 2-2 friendly draw with South Korea. Timothy Castagne helped Belgium to clean-sheet wins in their qualifiers.

Leeds United winger Dan James played the full 90 minutes in Wales' friendly loss to Canada and came off the bench in Wales' narrow World Cup qualifying win over Kazakhstan. Burnley midfielder Hannibal featured in Tunisia's qualification run, and goalkeeper Martin Dúbravka produced player-of-the-match performances and clean sheets for Slovakia, including a shock 2-0 win over Germany.

Sunderland's Granit Xhaka played every minute across Switzerland's two dominant qualifiers, and Wolves' Jean-Ricner Bellegarde debuted for Haiti and earned a second start against Costa Rica. Marshall Munetsi played the full 90 minutes in Zimbabwe's 1-0 win over Rwanda.

The international window produced a mix of encouraging scoring displays and player fitness concerns for clubs as the Premier League season resumes. Clubs will monitor returns to training closely ahead of weekend fixtures, with medical updates expected where players picked up knocks on national team duty.

Clubs and managers will now assess the impact of the break on selection decisions and squad rotation as the domestic campaign continues, with several players having boosted their international records while others return carrying minor and, in a few cases, more significant injuries.