Nine Herthaner on international duty

Before the Bundesliga season comes to a close, the traditional March break comes around, which means club players on international duty. Indeed nine Hertha players will be off representing their countries in the next two weeks. As captain Dedryck Boyata and his Belgium side have been qualified for the Qatar World Cup for some time now, the Red Devils will have two friendlies to play in the break, against the Republic of Ireland and Burkina Faso.

Fredrik Bjørkan and Norway will also be playing friendlies in the break, with matches against Slovakia and Armenia on the cards. A possible face-off against fellow Herthaner Peter Pekarík is not going to happen, though, as our right-back has chosen not to represent his country this month in order to concentrate fully on all things Hertha: “Given the situation we’re in here, I decided to stay here. It was a no-brainer for me,” said our number 2. Stevan Jovetić’s Montenegro also have a fixture against Armenia, as well as a match against Greece – Jove’s side, Peka’s Slovakia and Bjørkan’s Norway have all missed the chance to qualify for this year’s winter World Cup in Qatar. Algeria and Ishak Belfodil are still in with a shout of qualification, and will be playing in a two-legged playoff against Cameroon in this international break – only the winner will be going to the World Cup.

Several Blue-Whites still in international youth competitions

There are not only numerous Herthaner in the youth setup who will be off representing their countries at youth level, several Blue-Whites with first-team experience will be doing the same. Marcel Lotka will represent Poland’s U20 side in friendlies against England and the Czech Republic. Those will not be competitive matches though, unlike Jurgen Ekkelenkamp and the Dutch U21s. Our number 10 and the “Jong Oranje” have qualifiers for the 2023 U21 European Championships in Romania on the cards. Initially called up to the Germany U20 squad, Marton Dárdai has now been moved into the U21 side following several players' absences ahead of their EURO 2023 qualifiers against Latvia and Israel. 

Linus Gechter, who recently extended his contract at Hertha, and Anton Kade will also represent Germany, this time at U19 level. The side, coached by Hannes Wolf, also have EURO qualifiers, in Finland where they will play the hosts as well as Italy and Belgium. Their matches form a group-format qualification process where only the group winner goes through to this summer’s tournament, held in Slovakia. Of course, Fredi Bobic hopes that every Herthaner off representing his country returns to Berlin fit and healthy. “Friendlies in March are a little unnecessary, but there are still a couple of players in competitions, and we have to accept that,” said our director of sport.