National team draw got way harder?

[Half-timer]

Well something is off about this challenge.
I forgot I had my weaker team selected as I had to use that to complete last week's challenges (my first team was too fatigued for the third match), somehow I easily beat the 3 point team, beat the 2 point team in a close match, then changed to my first choice players and struggled against a surprisingly strong Malta!
The last two matchdays I've beaten all six teams surprisingly so I'm not too unhappy about that, but my free players are rubbish.
In my squad, I have three players that are weaker than all the others (weaker ones are 4 stars).But I've never managed to be awarded a player that can play in their positions - one is a DC who has to be in my first XI as I only have two DCs in my squad, and the other two are SCs.
I keep being offered 5-star players in the same few positions as my best players that are 6/7-stars, so that's really frustrating. It's effectively awarding me a new reserve player at the expense of an existing reserve player of similar or better quality.