Die Wölfe in international action

While the international break is a perfect time for Felix Magath to prepare his side for the championship race that starts with next weeks battle against Bayern München, a host of Wolfsburg players proudly represented their homelands.

Wolfsburg's Bosnia and Herzegovina connection, Edin Džeko and Zvjezdan Misimović, have littered Bundesliga nets this campaign and returned to the Plavo-žuti to upset Belgium 4-2 at Stade Roi Baudouin in Brussels. Miroslav Blažević's Bosnian side, captained by Lokomotiv Moskva's Emir Spahić, featured fellow Bundesliga players Zlatan Bajramović of Eintracht Frankfurt, Vedad Ibišević 1899 Hoffenheim as well as the Wolfsburg duo in their squad list. Edin Džeko gave the visiting Bosnian's the lead seven minutes in as he capitalized on a loose ball to take the 1-0 lead. The match stayed deadlock until five minutes past the hour when AZ duo's of Gill Swerts and Moussa Dembélé combined for the equalizer with the later sliding in a cross from point-blank range. However the goal seemed to awake Bosnia as they erupted for three goals in a span of only eleven minutes. First Sanel Jahić, who plays for Aris FC of Super League Greece, restored the lead only minutes later with fifteen minutes remaining. Eintracht Frankfurt's Zlatan Bajramović doubled the margin six minutes later off the counter and only a few minutes later it was time for Wolfsburg's Zvjezdan Misimović to take centre stage as he made it 4-1. Club Brugge's Wesley Sonck added the fourth goal but it was too little for the Belgians and Bosnia took the victory.

Yoshito Ōkubo and Makoto Hasebe were both in Takeshi Okada starting eleven for Japan as they defeated Bahrain 1-0. In a match decided by Celtic’s Shunsuke Nakamura free kick just after the break, the Japanese side exhibited flawless defending and barely allowed the opposition ball possession in the final third.

Diego Benaglio was between the posts as Ottmar Hitzfeld’s Switzerland side defeated Moldova 2-0 to bring them level with Greece in Group Two. The Nati, who also had VfB Stuttgart's Ludovic Magnin, Bayer Leverkusen's Tranquillo Barnetta and Borussia Dortmund's Alexander Frei in their starting eleven found out like many that the tiny nation is far from a pushover. While the Swiss controlled the run of play it wasn't till two minutes past the half hour before they found the net as FC Twente skipper Blaise Kufo charged into the area before providing the ball to for Alexander Frei to send in. Moldova fought valiantly to get back into the match and while their attempts on goal were few and far between Diego Benaglio was up to every challenge. As time was winding down Manchester City's Gelson Fernandes added his name to the score sheet, nodding in Alexander Frei's cross.

Peter Pekarík played the full ninety minutes for Slovakia in their friendly loss against England but the action turns real Vladimír Weiss's side against the Czech Republic on Wednesday.

Marcel Schäfer did not feature for Joachim Löw's side in Germany’s defeat of Liechtenstein but is expected to do so as they face Wales on Wednesday.