Two of AC Milan’s midfielders were in international action on Tuesday night, and they endured mixed fortunes.

Luka Modric and Ardon Jashari were both on the pitch for Croatia and Switzerland respectively in their final UEFA Nations League commitments before returning to Milan. One suffered another defeat, while the other kept the momentum rolling.

Read SempreMilan ad-free and get access to exclusive news. Click here for a free trial!

Modric starts again

Modric ended the international break with a 2-1 defeat against a Spain side that are of course the world champions, but they did fall behind to Croatia. The Milan midfielder started, giving the impression he could hold his own even among the young and talented Spanish side.

The former Real Madrid star confirmed his accuracy in passing: 89% successful passes and 100% long balls. These are numbers we’re used to, complemented by his usual attentive defensive performance (7 recoveries, 1 block and 1 interception).

Modric returns to Milanello with 208 minutes under his belt across three starts. Despite his age, his central role in Slaven Bilic’s Croatia is not in doubt, and it was at least a more spirited performance after the ‘shame’ of Saturday’s 7-0 loss to England .

Jashari off the bench

Jashari began in a substitute in the game between Switzerland and North Macedonia, but came on at half-time. Away from Milan, the former Club Brugge player has found more minutes than Ruben Amorim has granted him at the start of this season.

In the four Nations League matches, Jashari has been on the pitch for almost 300 minutes (298) and coach Murat Yakin has (almost) always fielded him as a starter, with the exception being last night’s 3-0 win.

It was a tidy performance from Jashari: 2 key passes, 94% accurate passes, 3 defensive recoveries and 4 interceptions. Beyond the performance, there remains the important injection of confidence and rhythm that he will try to take with him on the flight back to Milan.