Morocco in the picture: four players worry Mourinho during the international break

Six exhausting days for the Merengue stars

José Mourinho believes the current international break could benefit Real Madrid, but only if the national team coaches handle the Los Blancos players according to each one's needs. The disparity is clear. Some need game time to regain their sharpness, while others have reached a level of fatigue that requires a period of rest.

A very positive atmosphere surrounds Real Madrid after eight consecutive wins across all competitions, the latest a 3-0 victory over Valencia at the Mestalla. The Portuguese coach hopes to keep his players in that same form before they head off on international duty.

Mourinho wants Brazil's Endrick and his compatriot Vinicius Junior, along with Morocco's Brahim Diaz and Tiago Pitarch (Spain Under-21), to be given a prominent role with their national teams. They need to play to maintain their match sharpness or regain their form.

This group doesn't worry the Portuguese coach. Quite the opposite: he reckons international football could do them good.

Mourinho's concerns, by contrast, centre on the players who have piled up the minutes, chiefly the quartet of Kylian Mbappé, Jude Bellingham, Cucurella and Diomande. All four need rest over the international break after Real Madrid played three away matches in six days, worn down by travel and back-to-back fixtures, according to a report by Defensa Central.

He had hinted as much after the win over Valencia, urging national team coaches not to treat his players as they had in the recent period and to factor in the fatigue they have suffered.

The Portuguese coach said: "I have to be humble, because the Spanish league association holds the authority, and I ask them not to do the same thing to us. I don't want to describe it as something supernatural, because it is possible, but it is extremely difficult. And if they want to repeat this joke, let them do it with others, and leave us alone after the marathon of travel and matches we went through from Sunday to Saturday. It was too much."

Mourinho did everything in his power to make his players and the national team coaches aware of the need to exercise caution during the international break, so that the strain of matches would not affect the positive results Real Madrid are achieving.

It has been a long time since Real Madrid showed this level of stability at this stage of the season. In past seasons, losing players to injury had been the norm.