John Stones is falling out of favour for England as well as Manchester City, and Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp will be furious at Croatia's two games in 48 hours - 10 THINGS WE LEARNED

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While Premier League managers twiddle their thumbs and hope their stars do not pick up any injuries it was an important weekend for international bosses across the globe.

England's journey to Russia 2018 continues apace but it is a rocky road to Moscow for giants Italy and Argentina. Back home, there was also action in the Football League and in the charity match, Game4Grenfell.

Ralph Ellis has studied all the stats and facts and brings you 10 things we learned from it all...

1. John Stones seems to have fallen down the pecking order in Gareth Southgate’s plans after being left on the bench for the second World Cup qualifier in a row.

The creative Manchester City defender, who was also axed from Pep Guardiola’s last starting line-up at Bournemouth, missed out while Manchester United’s Phil Jones partnered Gary Cahill.

Stones, 23, who has 18 caps, started the first five games in this qualifying campaign, but has now watched both the draw in Scotland and the 4-0 win in Malta from the bench.

John Stones has found himself on the sidelines during recent England internationals

2. Rafa Benitez must be even more annoyed that he won’t have wild-man striker Aleksandar Mitrovic available for the next three games as a result of his ban for elbowing West Ham’s Manuel Lanzini.

The giant Serb has started the season on a hot streak with two goals in as many games for the Toon and now another for his international side.

Mitrovic scored one of his country’s goals in the 3-0 win over Moldova, hit the post, and as well as having three other goal attempts also set up three chances for team-mates.

Aleksandar Mitrovic (top) continued his fine start to the season with a goal for Serbia

3. Jurgen Klopp won’t be best pleased with the shenanigans around Croatia’s international break when he gets a worn-out Dejan Lovren back at Anfield before Saturday’s massive trip to Manchester City.

Lovren and the rest of his Croatia team-mates were forced to play two games in 48 hours after FIFA ordered their abandoned clash with Kosovo to be replayed on Sunday, before they then flew to Turkey for Tuesday's vital Group I date.

The mood was summed up by Real Madrid’s Luka Modric who fumed: ‘We were told the match against Kosovo wouldn’t be played so we all stayed up late, and then next morning we were woken early like we were in the army and told to get ready. FIFA showed they didn’t care about the players.’

Dejan Lovren (left) and his Croatia team-mates are benig forced to play twice in 48 hours

4. Following Antonio Conte was always going to be a tough gig for Giampiero Ventura so the former Torino boss must be glad he signed a new contract before a 3-0 defeat by Spain.

It was the first qualifier that Italy had lost since 2006 and the 69-year-old is already facing the wrath of his country’s media for picking a daring 4-2-4 formation that saw his side get swamped in midfield.

The result has left Italy almost certainly having to go through the play-offs to qualify for Russia. They will be the country nobody wants when the draw is made.

Goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon fails to stop a shot by Spain's Isco during Italy's heavy defeat

5. The idea of a World Cup without Lionel Messi doesn’t bear thinking about but while Brazil have booked their place in Russia, Argentina are suddenly under pressure.

A 0-0 draw in Uruguay has left them in fifth place in the South American group with only four guaranteed qualifying places.

Tuesday’s home clash with Peru, two points behind them after beating Bolivia, has suddenly become a must-win fixture.

Lionel Messi and Ever Banega (centre) joke around in Argentina training on Sunday, but boss Jorge Sampaoli looks in a determined mood amid a tense World Cup qualifying campaign

6. Derby must have some decent players in their squad if Tom Lawrence can’t get in their starting line-up.

Since Gary Rowett paid neighbours Leicester £7m for the 23-year-old winger in the summer he has yet to make his full Championship debut for the club, with just two cameos as a sub.

Wales manager Chris Coleman had no worries, though, about using him to replace suspended Joe Allen and he made a superb full debut for Wales in the 1-0 win over Austria.

Lawrence, who began his career at Manchester United, attempted more dribbles (5) and completed more (3) than any other player including Real Madrid megastar Gareth Bale and West Ham’s ace Marko Arnautovic.

Tom Lawrence impressed during his full wales debut against Austria on Saturday night

7. Mo Farah has always talked about how his dream was to play for his beloved Arsenal and he did his best to give Arsene Wenger a hint in the Game4Grenfell.

At a time when everybody is questioning Mesut Ozil’s work rate, the four-times Olympic gold medal-winning distance runner not surprisingly got around every blade of grass on the Loftus Road pitch.

Farah scored the opening goal and was voted man of the match.

Incidentally it’s still possible to donate to QPR’s fund for victims of the Grenfell Tower fire by following this link.

Mo Farah gets on the ball during a goalscoring appearance in the Game4Grenfell

8. There was a time when Latvia, despite a population of less than two million, was emerging as a country that could punch above its weight.

Current Cheltenham manager Gary Johnson began a development programme that ended with them becoming the first Baltic State to qualify for the European Championship in 2004.

Alas those days are gone. A 3-0 defeat at home by Switzerland has left them probably relying on beating Andorra at home in their final game to not finish bottom of Group B.

Latvia goalkeeper Andris Vanins was powerless to stop Switzerland running riot in Riga

9. Spaniard Pep Clotet, Garry Monk’s assistant first at Swansea and then Leeds, seemed a left-field choice for the Oxford job when Michael Appleton left to join Leicester in the summer.

The 40-year-old has made a solid start, though, and a 1-1 draw at MK Dons was another decent step in the right direction.

He’s certainly getting the best from former West Ham and Bolton striker Rob Hall who got his third goal in five days.

Striker Rob Hall is flourishing under Pep Clotet's guidance at Oxford United

10. Former Leeds and Liverpool star Harry Kewell took a gamble taking Crawley as his first management job – the League Two club have a reputation for not giving their bosses much time.

The 38-year-old Aussie was under pressure immediately after losing his first four games, but has stayed strong and the 2-0 win over Yeovil makes it back-to-back victories.

He’s already had an impact on Jordan Roberts, encouraging the former Inverness Caledonian Thistle midfielder to get forward more. He got both goals, making it three in two games. 

Harry Kewell now has a couple of wins under his belt as Crawley boss after a tough start