Marcel Sabitzer distances himself from the Austrian national team and Marc Marquez leads the motorcycle racing standings

The Austrian Football Association announced on Sunday that midfielder Marcel Sabitzer will take a break from playing with the national team and will not participate in the group stage matches of the European Nations League this year.

Sabitzer (32 years old), who plays for Borussia Dortmund and scored 27 goals in 102 matches with his country’s national team, will re-evaluate his future before the start of the 2028 European Championship qualifiers next March.

Sabitzer said in a statement issued by the Austrian Federation: “The past two years have witnessed very intense activity. “Since Euro 2024, I have actually played three seasons because of the Club World Cup and the World Cup.”

He added: “This season is also busy with participation in the German League, the German Cup and the European Champions League. “I am 32 years old and I still want to play football at the highest level for many more years and I have to manage my energy carefully.”

He continued: “So I agreed with the coach, in frank and trust-based discussions, that I would take a break now, and that we would discuss at the beginning of next year whether I would return to the national team to participate in the European Championship qualifiers.”

Coach Ralf Rangnick said, in the same statement, that it was unfortunate that he had to let go of Sabitzer, but that he understood the reasons for his decision.

He explained: “We will make a joint decision in due course before the start of the 2028 European Championship qualifiers on how to move forward. Anyway, I'm glad Marcel will be available again basically if we need him. “This shows me how important the national team is still to him.”

On Monday, Rangnick will announce his team's lineup for the Nations League matches that will be held at home against Israel in Linz on September 24 and against Kosovo in Vienna on September 29.

On October 1, Austria will face Ireland in Dublin and Kosovo four days later in Pristina.

Ducati racer Marc Marquez won the San Marino Grand Prix on Sunday, taking him to the top of the overall standings of the World Motorcycle Championship, after Aprilia racer Marco Betsicki withdrew following a fall accident while leading the race on his home circuit in Misano.

Ptsiki, who came in pole position, had finished the sprint race on Saturday in second place, but the Italian racer fell on the first lap, causing great shock and disappointment among the local fans.

This victory is Marquez's fifth this season. The seven-time world champion in the first category crossed the finish line, topping the standings for the first time this season.

His brother Alex, a Gresini Racing racer, came in second place, while Pedro Acosta, a KTM racer, came in third.

This victory raised Marquez's tally to 274 points, equal to Aprilia's Jorge Martin, who finished the race in fifth place, but the world champion and future title holder from the Ducati team took the lead thanks to his advantage in the number of race victories this season.