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Unlike other famous team sports like cricket, football mainly focuses on club games over international matches. International fixtures only happen in the summer and during dedicated international breaks throughout the club season.
Given football’s popularity in the world, millions of fans are more connected to their favorite club than their country’s national team. A fair share of footballers tend to play at a higher level for their clubs.
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England’s golden generation during the 2000s were all world-class for the clubs. However, they couldn’t put their act together for The Three Lions. Another prominent example is Frank Ribery, who was far better for Bayern Munich than he ever was for France.
This article will discuss five current players who perform better for their clubs than countries.
#5 Wissam Ben Yedder
Wissam Ben Yedder has been a consistent goal scorer throughout his career. Be it Sevilla in La Liga, or Toulouse and Monaco in Ligue 1. The Frenchman has always managed to contribute holistically with an abundance of goals and assists.
Since 2012-13, he has scored more than ten league goals in all but one season. The 31-year-old has scored 52 Ligue 1 goals in just 86 matches for Monaco over the last three seasons. Such numbers must indeed transfer over to the national level, right? Not really.
The centre-forward has managed only two goals in his 15 French appearances since 2019. N’Golo Kante has also played the same number of games over the last three years. While he deserves to start more often, the lack of goals for France is pretty explicit.
#4 Paulo Dybala
Paulo Dybala is part of a host of Argentinean forwards who haven’t delivered for their country. The Juventus number 10 has enjoyed a fruitful time in Serie A. He was the most important forward in the squad that has won five Scudettos and four Coppa Italia trophies.
The 2019-20 Juventus Player of the Year has recorded 112 goals and 48 assists for The Old Lady in 281 appearances. He is just two goals away from entering their top 10 all-time goalscorers list. However, his record for Argentina has been baffling.
Dybala has scored just two goals for La Albiceleste in 32 appearances. After making his national debut in 2015, the centre-forward took three years to find his first national goal. He was not even in the squad who were victorious at the Copa America last year.
#3 Jan Oblak
Jan Oblak has been among the best goalkeepers in the world for quite some time now. The Slovenian shot-stopper has kept 167 clean sheets in 336 games for the Colchoneros. His time with Slovenia has been slightly different.
Oblak had to wait until 2016 to become the nation's first-choice goalkeeper due to Samir Handanovic. Since his debut, Oblak has registered 21 shut-outs in 44 appearances. While that is quite impressive, it must be noted that none of these have come in a major competition.
Oblak is yet to inspire his country to a spot in the FIFA World Cup or Euros. The 29-year-old hasn't achieved anything for his country and is still one of the best players in his position. His exploits at club level haven't been replicated on the international stage.
#2 Trent Alexander-Arnold
Trent Alexander-Arnold is a once-in-a-generation footballer. The Liverpool youth academy product has already made his mark for the Premier League giants in league and cup competitions. However, he hasn't been able to lock down his national berth.
Since his debut in 2016, the Liverpool number 66 has amassed 59 assists and 12 goals in 208 matches in all competitions. He has broken several assist records and is well on his way to being the best right-back in Premier League history.
Despite being such an essential cog in Jurgen Klopp's system, Alexander-Arnold isn't a regular starter for England. Due to his defensive lapses, England managers have tried him in midfield. So far, he has played 16 times for the Euro 2020 runners-up.
#1 Bruno Fernandes
Bruno Fernandes has been Manchester United's most influential player since his move from Sporting in 2020. The "Portuguese Magnifico" has scored 48 times and assisted his teammates on 37 occasions in his 112 Red Devils appearances.
He has not only been prolific in the Premier League but has also led from the front in the Champions League. However, the former Sporting talisman has been below average for his country. Fernandes has just 13 goal contributions in 40 national caps.
The disparity in performances for club and country is due to the level of freedom he gets at Manchester United. He is not the main man in Portugal and struggles to deliver in a well-defined system. Hence, he was ineffective for them at Euro 2020.
