Five FCA stars called up for international duty

The Bundesliga will put on hold for the next week as the first round of international fixtures in 2018 get under way.  Ja-Cheol Koo, Michael Gregoritsch, Martin Hinteregger, Marwin Hitz and Marco Richter have all been called up for their national teams. Having qualified for the World Cup, Ja-Cheol Koo’s South Korea face Northern Ireland on Saturday 24th March, before heading to Poland three days later. Conveniently for Koo, both matches will take place in Europe. Another nation preparing for the World Cup in Russia is Hitz’s Switzerland, who face Greece away (23rd March) before hosting World Cup debutants Panama (27th March) in Lucerne. Fresh start for Austria Austria, who failed to qualify for Russia 2018, will be looking for a fresh start under new head coach Franco Foda, looking to regain some confidence with two friendlies against Slovenia (23rd March) and Luxemburg (27th March). Martin Hinteregger and Michael Gregoritsch are both in the squad. FCA youngster Marco Richer has been called up to the Germany U20s, however a visit to the doctors early in the week to check on an adductor problem will determine whether or not the 20-year-old can travel. Germany play against Portugal on 22nd March and Poland on 27th.