De Bruyne was right and Southgate wrong — Six things Man City learned from June internationals

Pep Guardiola has been stressing the point for years, and Kevin De Bruyne was blunt when asked about his opinion of UEFA's decision to hold four Nations League games in June.

Now those four games are over, it's hard to argue that De Bruyne didn't have it spot on, with all countries showing tiredness and few showing much progress, even looking ahead to the World Cup. For Guardiola watching on, he will have seen plenty to encourage him from a Manchester City perspective, but equally won't have seen much to persuade him that a longer break for his players would have been more beneficial.

Still, with 15 senior City players in action, Guardiola can use these four games to help plan his pre-season preparations and try to predict how his players will be used for their countries in September and then the World Cup.

ALSO READ: Man City could give Phil Foden a new role after Erling Haaland transfer

This is what we learned from June's internationals:

Southgate might be wrong about Grealish

Jack Grealish started the international break talking about he freedom he gets with England, and impressed with two cameos off the bench versus Hungary and Germany. They prompted fans to ask when will he start for England, with Gareth Southgate replying that Grealish must improve tactically before becoming a first-choice starter.

Grealish got his start against Italy, where the whole side looked like they were playing a third needless international after a gruelling season, but arguably displayed some of those tactical elements Southgate was looking for. And his omission in the baffling 4-0 defeat to Hungary will only strengthen his case to start even more, with nobody proving they can do a better job. Going into the World Cup season, Grealish