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There is no doubt whenever we get action packed weekends with the domestic leagues, especially the English Premier League, and an international break is on the cards, there is a pinch of sadness with the thought of not having league action for 2 weeks.
But boy, these past 2 weeks the international friendlies as well as the new thrilling UEFA Nation's League didn't disappoint even a bit.
Right from The Netherlands' 3-0 thumping of previous world champions Germany last week, to a gripping 2-3 win of England's Three Lions over Spain, it has definitely set standards high for the upcoming weekend of league action. And why shouldn't it, we await Manchester United facing Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Saturday!
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Lets take a look at the top 5 things we learned from these last two weeks of international football!
#5 Croatia desperately miss Mario Mandzukic
Just after Croatia's best international performance after 1998 in the FIFA World Cup this year in Russia, Croatian star striker Mario Mandzukic hung up his boots and announced his retirement, having a close to perfect fairy-tale ending to his international career.
While the focus was totally on Luka Modric as the Croatian captain led his team from the front for the whole of the tournament, Mandzukic was a silent hero helping his nation win matches and progress to the latter end of the tournament. Nobody will forget his extra time winner against England in the semi-final of the World Cup this year.
His retirement brings misery to the Croatian side, as they are left with good but not great strikers at their disposal. Ivan Perisic is a beast upfront, but he cannot play as a lone striker, and that's a fact. Kramaric and the other young strikers are still nowhere near what Mandzukic was at his peak.
This international break clearly exposed this fact that Croatia miss their recently retired striker, as they couldn't find the net in the 0-0 draw against England and just edged past low seeded Jordan in a 2-1 win which they were expected to win by a heavy margin, considering their potential.
Lets hope Croatia find Mandzukic's replacement soon if they are to replicate their World Cup success again.
#4 Asian dominance in the coming years?
World Cup 3rd place winners Belgium were almost knocked out by the Asian representatives Japan in the round of 16 in the tournament earlier this year, but fate and Nacer Chadli had other plans as the Belgian winger scored the winner in stoppage time.
But the fixture definitely showed what Japan were capable of. Nobody would believe they were leading a side like Belgium 2-0 going into 40 minutes in the match before Jan Vertonghen scored for Belgium.
Japan have continued their World Cup form with yesterday's 4-3 win over South American heavyweights Uruguay. Not only Japan, China too struck 2 times against Syria to claim a win, and South Korea were held to a 2-2 draw by Panama, which would not be considered the worst of results for the South Koreans.
Are we looking at an Asian dominance in international football in the coming years?
#3 Romelu Lukaku - Remember the name Belgian fans!
Belgian star striker Romelu Lukaku might be struggling to find form and consistency at Manchester United week in week out, but he is nothing short of a sensation when he wears the Belgian colours for international duty.
Lukaku was phenomenal last week when he scored two goals against Switzerland to seal a Belgian victory on the night.
His international team captain and Chelsea player, Eden Hazard was quick to respond to Lukaku finding form for Belgium when he was quoted saying that he hopes Lukaku doesn't continue this form when Chelsea face Manchester United this weekend.
Saturday is still a few days away, but Lukaku definitely hasn't continued his World Cup form for the Manchester club. He was one of the best target men throughout the tournament, and also scored 4 goals for Belgium in Russia. He was only second to Harry Kane in terms of the best target men in the tournament.
Lets hope Lukaku continues his run for United this weekend, contrary to Eden Hazard's wishes.
#2 England - Three Lions or Young Lions?
Liverpool Legend Jaime Carragher in the aftermath of England's 2-3 victory in Spain claimed that England are finally playing like a top European team after many long years. But who's responsible? Definitely the young generation of English stars who have stepped up and taken matters into their own hands.
The average age of England's first team against Spain in the 2-3 victory was an astonishing 23.3 years, which is great as England have always been known to field experienced sides in the last two decades.
Gone are the days of Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, and Paul Scholes. With them are gone the days of the failure England surprisingly faced, even as the above mentioned names were at the peak of their careers for their respective clubs.
Now, the likes of Harry Kane, Raheem Sterling, Marcus Rashford and Eric Dier are up for a challenge as England try to build on their World Cup 4th place finish earlier this year, and will surely give 200 percent to bring the World Cup trophy back home 4-8 years down the line.
#1 Die Mannschaft and La Furia Roja - We miss the 'old' you
The Spanish and German dominance in international football started when Spain won the Euros back in 2008 and 2012, as well as the World Cup in 2014, and they then passed the baton to Germany who won the World Cup convincingly in 2014.
After shocking eliminations in their World Cup title defenses, both European giants have been lacklustre ever since. Spain couldn't even win a game convincingly against a young English side in their backyard, while Germany gave up on leads taken against sides like France who will definitely punish if given the opportunity.
Back in 2010, there was no answer any team or coach had for Spain's Tiki Taka style of play, and in 2014, with a somewhat similar but more offensive style, Germany blew the opposition away like they never even tried. But both nations have found it difficult to maintain consistency after peaking, and right now, especially Germany, look in shambles if their prospects are to be considered.
From a neutral perspective of international football, all I can say is, Spain and Germany, we miss the 'old' you. Lets hope Joachim Low and newly appointed head coach Luis Enrique find their form soon.
