France appears set to make Babson their training ground for the World Cup

The history of national teams and professional clubs based at Babson started with the United States in the early 1990s, continuing with Argentina during the 1994 World Cup, Brazil, Canada, China, Costa Rica, Ireland, Russia, Juventus, and the Revolution for a time under coach Walter Zenga.

The Beavers’ Isbrandtsen Field, where France will practice, is named for Erik “Izzy” Isbrandtsen, a victim of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Isbrandtsen, a Globe All-Scholastic at Marblehead High, was a member of the Babson team when the United States trained on the field in April 1992. In fact, after US coach Bora Milutinovic invited Babson to scrimmage his team, Isbrandtsen opened the scoring with a shot past a surprised Tony Meola, before the US rallied for a 4-1 victory.

Les Bleus could make their first appearance at Babson before their “warm-up” match against Brazil, scheduled at 4 p.m. on Thursday, March 26, at Gillette Stadium.

Bayern Munich stars Alphonso Davies and Jamal Musiala are both working their way back from long-term injuries.Adam Pretty/Getty

Alphonso Davies and Jamal Musiala are being eased back into action. Fortunately, Bayern Munich can afford to do so. Bayern (16-1-2, 50 points) leads the German Bundesliga by 8 points over Borussia Dortmund after a 2-1 loss to Augsburg, its second defeat in all competitions this season. Bayern also has compiled a 6-1-0 mark in the Champions League, going into Wednesday’s visit to PSV Eindhoven, and has reached the quarterfinals of the German Cup.

Davies and Musiala sustained long-term injuries in what many consider superfluous competitions: Davies (torn ACL) with Canada in a third-place Nations League contest; Musiala (broken leg) during the Club World Cup. Now, they are going to be expected to survive until July.

The Bundesliga season concludes May 16; the German Cup final is May 23; and the Champions League final on May 30; then, it’s the World Cup. It will be difficult to expect full recuperation for Davies (who was out for 221 days) before Canada opens against a playoff survivor in Toronto on June 12; or Musiala (194 days) by the time Germany confronts Curaçao in Houston on June 14.

There is no overestimating the value of Davies, 25, captain of Canada’s national team, or Musiala, 22, ranked among the world’s top 10 players ($154 million) by transfermarkt.com. Unfortunately, they’ve become symbols of FIFA’s policy on scheduling — or over-scheduling — which is pushing the limits on players’ health, and threatens to devalue competitions.

Last season, FC Cincinnati took two 1-0 wins over the Revolution, the first decided on a sequence that began with a screened referee incorrectly awarding a throw-in to DeAndre Yedlin; the second using defensive tactics that targeted Carles Gil, with midfielder Pavel Bucha getting in the most egregious “hit” on the Revolution’s captain.

On Friday, Cincinnati took up the theme in a preseason game that finished 1-1 in Bradenton, Fla. Kévin Denkey opened the scoring after the Revolution’s Alhassan Yusuf lost possession to Bucha — thanks to a questionable non-call that sent him to the ground. On FC Cincinnati’s X page, an incredulous Revolution goalkeeper Matt Turner can be heard saying: “That’s a foul, man.” Those so-called “little things,” calls and non-calls that often go unnoticed, can be decisive, and they are just as crucial to outcomes as many stats.

Leo Campana equalized in the 85th minute, his third goal in three games. Campana converted his first international goal for Ecuador in a 1-0 win over New Zealand in Harrison, N.J., in November, and for the Revolution in a 6-0 victory over the Sarasota Paradise last week.

Revolution II goalkeeper JD Gunn became one of international sports’ few basketball-soccer national team members, performing for Panama in a 1-0 loss to Mexico in Panama City on Friday. Gunn, who had a shutout going until surrendering a Richard Peralta own goal three minutes into stoppage time, competed for Panama in the 2018 FIBA U-18 Americas Championship in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. Gunn, who stands 6 feet, 5 inches, averaged 11.2 points in the tournament, as Panama went 1-5 against opponents such as the 76ers’ Tyrese Maxey (United States) and the Pacers’ Andrew Nembhard (Canada).

Gunn had better luck against Mexico, holding forwards German Berterame and Armando Gonzalez scoreless. However, the Canaleros’ attack, with forward Ricardo Phillips Jr. (son of a former Revolution winger), failed to produce. Mexico coach Javier Aguirre gave debuts to former MLS players Brian Gutierrez and Ricky Ledezma, both now performing for Chivas. El Tri also took a 1-0 victory over Bolivia in Santa Cruz de la Sierra on Sunday.

Revolution coach Marko Mitrovic’s son, Matija, scored for Guimaraes in a 4-2 loss to Estoril in a Liga Portugal match on Saturday. Matija, a 21-year-old midfielder, helped Guimaraes win Portugal’s League Cup this month. Matija Mitrovic was born in Belgrade and has competed for Serbian junior national teams. He also played for the Chicago Fire Academy team while his father worked as a Fire assistant coach.

Frank Dell’Apa can be reached at frankdellapa@gmail.com.