Cristiano Ronaldo has used his time on international duty to show his "sadness" problems are firmly based in Madrid.

The Portuguese forward's much-publicised comments that he hadn't celebrated his two goals in Los Blancos' 3-0 victory over Granada due to being "sad" for "professional" reasons had unearthed a whole host of rumours and speculation as to just why he wasn't happy.

Was it money? Was it due to being "unloved?" It's something I'd discussed at length at the time of the incident on here before and it sparked a big reaction, as it did in sports columns all over the world.

One thing's now for sure -- it's certainly based in Madrid, and not a problem in Ronaldo's personal life as some had speculated. Portugal came from behind to defeat Luxembourg 2-1 in the first of two matches the Madrid forward will play in for his country over the international break. The hosts had led 1-0 but Real's talisman got his team back on level terms and did the not-so-Ronaldo-like thing of celebrating the goal with a smile on his face.

He's one of a number of Blancos players away on international duty and he'll be out for more goals (and smiles) when Portugal hosts Azerbaijan in its next qualifier on Tuesday.

It was a good round of international matches as far as Madrid players were concerned, with all of them being involved in victories. Club managers don't like their players playing for their nations in today's football climate, owing to the risk of injuries and fatigue. It always makes for a tricky return to domestic club action following international matches. At least the Madrid players are winning though and more importantly, are getting that winning habit back after a tough opening few weeks of the season.

Mesut Ozil was arguably Madrid's star player on the world stage, scoring twice in a man-of-the-match performance as Germany had a comfortable time in a 3-0 win over the Faroe Islands. Sami Khedira also featured and both are expected to line-up when the Germans face a tougher test in Austria on Tuesday.

Madrid's biggest call-up of players was, of course, for Spain. Five players in total were called up for their friendly clash with Saudi Arabia, a match organised thanks to the close relationship of the nations' football associations, and three Blancos featured in a much-changed Spain team. Raul Albiol was the only one who lasted the full 90 minutes and helped keep a clean sheet in an emphatic 5-0 win. Goalkeeper Iker Casillas and defender Sergio Ramos were second-half substitutes.

It's likely to be all-change when Spain plays its first World Cup qualifier in Georgia on Tuesday, with both Casillas and Ramos set to start and Xabi Alonso and Alvaro Arbeloa, who didn't feature against Saudi Arabia, also expected to get the nod to return.

Karim Benzema and Madrid new boy "Lucky" Luka Modric both started for France and Croatia respectively as both teams enjoyed 1-0 victories. France beat Finland away and host Belarus on Tuesday while Croatia edged out Macedonia and face the trickier test of visiting Belgium on Tuesday.

It was a Madrid-led attack that helped Argentina rise to the top of the South America group thanks to a 3-1 win over Paraguay. Angel di Maria opened the scoring just three minutes in and ran the show throughout, feeding Gonzalo Higuain for his goal. Lionel Messi completed the 3-1 win and Argentina will be out to retain top-spot on Tuesday when they visit Peru.

Marcelo played the full 90 minutes for Brazil as they kicked-off their run of friendly matches before hosting the World Cup in 2014 with a close-fought 1-0 win over South Africa. Brazil play against China in their next match on Tuesday.

Madrid did well on the back of international breaks last season, something key in their La Liga success, and Jose Mourinho will again have to manage his squad well ahead of their next match in Seville, especially the players making the long trip to and from South America.

All's well on the international front for the Blancos.