Manchester City stars shine on the international stage as Jegerletz praises his squad

During the October international break, several stars from Andrée Jegerletz’ Manchester City squad represented their nations on the big stage.

The head coach addressed the media following the break from domestic football and praised his squad for their involvements in the women’s game beyond Manchester City.  

It is clear that he is proud of the team’s progression since taking the helm this summer. International break offered him the time to sit back and reflect on a positive start to the 2025/26 season and understand his squad’s true potential when wearing their national team colours.

International break roundup

Manchester City's Japanese trio: Yui Hasagawa, Aoba Fujino and Ayaka Yamashita featured in both matches. Hasagawa captained their national team to a 1-1 draw against Italy. However, the national team suffered a 2-0 defeat to Norway in the other game of the break.

Sydney Lohman featured in Germanys 1-0 win to France in the first leg of their Nations League semi-final, which contributed to the second leg where the Germans qualified for the final.

In action for Austria was defender, Laura Wienroither in their 1-0 loss to Czechia, but she remained on the bench alongside other substitutes in their 2-0-win against Czech Republic.

For the Netherlands, Kerstin Casparij and Vivianne Miedema were in the starting lineup against Poland. The Dutch side, however, could not slot the ball in the back of net, leaving with a 0-0 draw. They then went on to secure a 1-0-win against Canada, where fellow Manchester city defender, Jade Rose was called into action. Rose also secured minutes in a 1-0 loss against Switzerland for her Canadian side.

City Captain, Alex Greenwood started against both Brazil and Australia for the Lionesses. Despite a defeat to the South American Champions, England earned a comfortable victory over the Mathildas in the second match of their ‘Homecoming Series’.

At youth level, both Naomi Layzell and Gracie Prior represented England internationally. However, Layzell picked up a small knock that is currently unidentified.

Key takeaways from the break

Regarding Manchester City’s player of the month for October, Iman Beney, she certainly proved herself as she represented Switzerland. In a tight 4-3 win over Scotland, Beney netted her first ever goal for a senior Switzerland team.

Domestically, she started two games in October, while obtaining two assists and two goals. Having come in during Manchester City's summer window, she established herself as a goal threat and slotted perfectly into the team. Jegerletz spoke highly of her adaptability and performances both on the domestic and international stage:

“Well, an exciting player with so many qualities in her repertoire… it’s difficult to come to a new country, new city, new club, new teammates. Everything is new and she's very very young, but she’s shown a calmness and a confidence that I'm impressed by.”

But the most standout moment of the break is Khiara Keating’s senior debut for the Lionesses. To make this even more special, she stepped on the pitch as England’s number one on home soil at the Etihad stadium. In response to Sarina Wiegman choosing Keating to make her debut, in the absence of Hannah Hampton due to injury, Jegerletz praised the youngster and reminded how deserving she is of her first senior appearance:

“Fantastic for her of course, and for the club of having a young player making her debut in her hometown and stadium so extremely happy for her of course.”

However, Jegerletz was disappointed to see Laura Blindkilde-Brown receive no minutes in neither England's fixture against Brazil nor Australia:

“I think it's difficult to compare her to the central midfielder they decide to play instead and all the substitutions instead.”

This has not knocked her confidence though, as being part of the England senior setup alone is testament to her hard work and adept contributions to Manchester City’s midfield:

“Speaking to her today also I haven't seen or heard that she has lost any confidence or anything I think she's very excited to come back  and in a home environment of being continuing the journey that she's on with this team and hopefully contributing the same way she has been so far so I'm not worried about her. Of course, I would like to see her on the field because I think she deserves it but i cannot compare her to the other ones.”

Team news

Whilst the international break spotlighted several of Manchester City’s talented players, it also acted as a reminder of those sidelined with injuries. The pause, however, came at a good time for these individuals, providing them time to rest and continue with their rehabilitation in Manchester. Jegerletz provided a positive update from the training pitch, with both Rebecca Knaak and Grace Clinton edging closer to match fitness and being in contention for the matchday squad:

“I think both Rebecca and Grace Clinton have been training fully now for the last weeks”. “So that was definitely a great week for them to get some more time.”

But the likes of long-term absentees such as: Lily Murphy, Kerolin Nicoli, Mary Fowler and Lauren Hemp are still following their rehabilitation plans and are not match fit just yet:

“Some of them will be back sooner but they are working hard to get back as quickly as possible.”