Milan Skriniar spoke like a leader once again after the Inter defender helped Slovakia beat Russia in FIFA World Cup qualifying.
Skriniar had never scored for his country before last weekend but now he has found the net twice in two games, with his goals earning Slovakia a 2-2 draw with Malta and a 2-1 win on Tuesday.
He played the full 90 minutes in all three games for Stefan Tarkovic’s side, with the first match ending goalless away in Cyprus.
“We’re happy with the win (against Russia), after drawing the first two games we knew we had to show a more combative spirit on the pitch,” Skriniar said after Tuesday’s win over Russia, as quoted by FcInterNews.it.
“We’re playing for the national team so we always need to have a different attitude.
“We showed against Russia we could play in a responsible manner, we were more solid and aggressive than them.
“We’re a quality side who needs to play like we did on Tuesday; I think everyone produced their best performance.”
Skriniar was one of five Inter players who returned to Appiano Gentile on Wednesday after completing his international duties.
Romelu Lukaku, Marcelo Brozovic, Ivan Perisic and Achraf Hakimi also flew back to Italy after representing Belgium, Croatia and Morocco respectively in the last week.
Antonio Conte will be counting on all five on Saturday as Inter begin their Serie A title run-in with a trip to Bologna.