Players go all around the world to compete for their nations during the last international break of the 2024–2025 season.
While some have not even started their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign, others are almost over. In North America and Europe, there are additional issues to be resolved by the Nations League.
For all the information you require on this international break, continue reading.
Europe: UEFA
During this international break, different European countries have different schedules: some are playing friendlies, some are beginning their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign, and some are competing in the Nations League quarterfinals and playoffs.
UEFA Nations League
Two-leg quarterfinals are being added to the UEFA Nations League for 2019 edition, and they will take place on March 20 and 23.
With the victor hosting the June Nations League semifinals and final, the match between Italy and Germany has the highest stakes. After winning the EFL Cup with Newcastle United, Sandro Tonali might play for Italy.
When they play the defending Nations League champions Spain, who may also start a number of Premier League players, three of Liverpool’s lost EFL Cup finalists—Virgil van Dijk, Ryan Gravenberch, and Cody Gakpo—will try to move past their setback.
Josko Gvardiol and Mateo Kovacic of Manchester City will play France, while Patrick Dorgu, Christian Eriksen, and Rasmus Hojlund of Denmark and Bruno Fernandes and Diogo Dalot of Portugal will play Manchester United in the final quarterfinal.
Nations League quarter-final fixtures
All times are GMT.
First legs: Thursday 20 March
19:45 Croatia v France
19:45 Denmark v Portugal
19:45 Italy v Germany
19:45 Netherlands v Spain
Second legs: Sunday 23 March
19:45 France v Croatia
19:45 Germany v Italy
19:45 Portugal v Denmark
19:45 Spain v Netherlands
In addition, several nations will compete in two-leg Nations League playoffs in an attempt to advance to a higher division or fight to stay in the lower division.
In the competition’s upcoming edition, Scotland will meet Greece in an attempt to stay in the top League A, while other matchups to compete in the top division include Austria vs. Serbia, Turkey vs. Hungary, and Ukraine vs. Belgium.
See: European qualifier fixtures
FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifying
Thomas Tuchel’s first games as manager of England will be among the many UEFA nations starting their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign that are not in the Nations League quarterfinals or playoffs.
England’s matches against Albania and Latvia on March 21 and 24, respectively, mark the beginning of their tournament journey. Serbia and Andorra are also in their group; the winner of each group advances straight to the World Cup without having to play in the playoffs.
Marcus Rashford, who has performed well while on loan at Aston Villa, has been called up by Tuchel, and the uncapped Premier League players Dan Burn (Newcastle), Myles Lewis-Skelly (Arsenal), and Jarell Quansah (Liverpool) may make their senior international debuts.
Morgan Gibbs-White, a midfielder for Nottingham Forest who was called up late to replace the injured Cole Palmer, will also play.
Wales, Norway, the Czech Republic, and Poland are among the nations that will begin their 2026 World Cup qualification campaign.
Africa: The Confederation of African Football (CAF) | World Cup qualifying
The campaign for the 53 African countries hoping to secure a spot at the 2026 World Cup started in November 2023.
With the winner of each group going straight to the World Cup and the top two teams moving on to the playoffs, nearly every team has now participated in four of their ten group-stage games.
With players like Carlos Baleba (Brighton & Hove Albion), Bryan Mbeumo (Brentford), and Andre Onana (Man Utd), Cameroon leads their group going into matches against Eswatini and Libya.
Omar Marmoush (Man City) and Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) will try to keep Egypt’s winning streak against Ethiopia and Sierra Leone, while Ola Aina (Nottingham Forest), Calvin Bassey (Fulham), and Wilfred Ndidi (Leicester City) are part of Nigeria’s team.
South America: The South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) | World Cup qualifying
Since the 1998 tournament, the South American World Cup qualifying process has stayed the same, with all nations playing each other twice in a straightforward league system.
The top six teams in the rankings will automatically qualify out of the ten teams vying for a position in the World Cup finals the following year.
Current World Cup champions After 12 of their 18 games, Argentina is presently leading the league. During this international break, they will play two important matches.
Prior to the most important match in South American football, they play Uruguay, who are currently ranked second, followed by a Brazil team that features Premier League players like Joelinton and Bruno Guimaraes of Newcastle, Savinho of Manchester City, Matheus Cunha of Wolverhampton Wanderers, Joao Pedro of Brighton, and Alisson of Liverpool.
Asia: The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) | World Cup qualifying
The third stage of a lengthy World Cup qualifying campaign, which started in October 2023, is almost over. Six countries will then guarantee their place in the tournament, while others will move on to the playoffs.
South Korea, Japan, and Iran are all unbeaten and might secure their spots in the World Cup during this international break.
Son Heung-min of Tottenham Hotspur and Hwang Hee-chan of Wolves will start for South Korea in their matches against Jordan and Oman.
For players like Wataru Endo (Liverpool), Daichi Kamada (Crystal Palace), and Kaoru Mitoma (Brighton), a victory over Bahrain and Saudi Arabia would guarantee Japan a spot in the World Cup.
Oceania: The Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) | World Cup qualifying
Oceania earned a direct qualification slot for the World Cup for the first time ever. To decide which nation will be assured a place at the tournament the following year, semi-finals and the final will be held in New Zealand during this international break.
The runner-up will then compete in the inter-confederation playoffs alongside two teams from North America, one from Asia, Africa, and South America.
With the help of Chris Wood, the goal-scoring machine for Nottingham Forest, New Zealand is the clear favorite to advance after a string of decisive wins in the previous group round. They will compete against Tahiti and New Caledonia in one semi-final and Fiji in the other.
North America: Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) | CONCACAF Nations League
With the semi-finals and final to be held in California, America, the fourth CONCACAF Nations League is coming to an end.
In the first semi-final, the three-time defending champions, the United States, are expected to defeat Panama. The hosts include Tyler Adams of AFC Bournemouth, Antonee Robinson of Fulham, and Matt Turner and Chris Richards of Palace.
In the second semi-final, Edson Alvarez (West Ham United) and Raul Jimenez (Fulham) will try to lead Mexico over Canada.
