International Break!!

The Premier League has completed it's first three weeks and the transfer window in England has slammed shut, so now to the real thing and a week of BIG internationals.



CONMEBOL WORLD CUP QUALIFYING
Argentina (35pts), Ecuador (25) and Brazil (25) are already qualified and Uruguay and Paraguay (24 each) need a near miracle not to join them. That basically leaves three nations fighting for the 6th and final automatic place. 7th get an inter-confederational play-off place.
Colombia sit 6th on 22 points, with Venezuela on 18 and Bolivia on 17. A quirk of the fixture list sees Colombia play both this week, with their destiny very much in their own hands.
Thursday night sees:
Uruguay vs Peru, Colombia vs Bolivia, Paraguay vs Ecuador, Argentina vs Venezuela, Brazil vs Chile

Next Tuesday concludes the process with:
Ecuador vs Argentina, Peru vs Paraguay, Venezuela vs Colombia, Bolivia vs Brazil, Chile vs Uruguay.


CONCACAF WORLD CUP QUALIFYING
With big guns USA, Mexico and Canada all qualifying as hosts, this became one of the more interesting sections. We have the start of the third round this week, with 3 groups of 4 nations. Top team qualifies for the World Cup, 2 of the 3 best second place teams will go to the inter-confederation play-offs.
Panama headline group A and meet Suriname and Guatemala in the first week, with El Salvador the fourth team.
Steve McClarens Jamaica play Curacao and Bermuda with Trinidad and Tobago the fourth team.
Costa Rica have established themselves as World Cup regulars, qualifying for 4 of the last 5. However, they look to have a tough task this year with Honduras, Haiti and Nicaragua in the group.


UEFA WORLD CUP QUALIFYING
6 groups kick off this week, while the remaining 6 are well underway. Group winners qualify automatically while the runners-up go into the play-offs.
Northern Ireland open Group A away to Luxembourg before a trip to Germany. Slovakia complete the group.
Group B looks hard to call with Switzerland and Sweden. The Swiss have home games against Slovenia and Kosovo while Sweden are away to both.
Scotland start off with a difficult tie with Denmark before playing Belarus. Greece are the 4th team in what looks like a competitive group.
France get their campaign underway against Ukraine (in Poland I think) and then host Iceland, with Azerbaijan the other team.
Group E sees Spain play Bulgaria before a potentially tricky away game to Turkey. Georgia will be potential banana skins too.
Ireland are the big attraction in Group F, and host Hungary before a trip to Armenia. 6 points are a must, with Portugal also in the group.
Group F finds Finland top but Netherlands one point behind and 2 games in hand. Poland are also on 6, playing a game more than the Dutch. Netherlands vs Poland on Thursday and Poland vs Finland on Sunday are thus pivotal games, with the Dutch also at Lithuania. Malta make up the group.
Group H sees Bosnia and Herzegovina with 3 wins from 3, and Austria with 2 from 2. Tuesdays meeting could go a long way to deciding the group, with the Bosnians expected to hammer San Marino before that, and Austria heavy favourites against Cyprus. Romania cannot be ruled out, but 6 points from 4 games leaves them chasing.
Norway have come out strong in Group I with 4 wins from 4, including an impressive 3-0 over Italy. They play pointless Moldova. Italy face 2nd place Israel before heading to Estonia.
Belgium are the notable team in Group J, and should have little trouble against Kazakhstan and Liechtenstein. They are playing catch up on North Macedonia and Wales who have 8 and 7 points respectively. Belgium are on 4 points from 2 games, 2 games less than those above them.
England face Andorra before what is arguably their toughest opponent, Serbia. Albania and Latvia make up the group.
Croatia have 2 wins from 2 and a massive 5-1 win over group toppers Czechia sees them in a good position. Montenegro are also in the race, and they face the top 2 this week in Group L.


AFRICAN WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS
9 groups of 6 nations, with the group winner getting a World Cup place. Best 4 runners up have a chance for an Inter-confed p/o. We are games in, with 4 to play so we could see some qualifiers this week.
Egypt face Ethiopia before a potentially conclusive match with Burkina Faso, who sit 5 points behind in second.
Senegal find themselves in a 3 way battle with DR Congo and Sudan in group B. Senegal and Sudan meet in the first game, with both on 12. Then Senegal go to Congo, who are on 13 points.
South Africa have a 5 point lead in Group C, and could book their place this week. They face Lesotho before hosting one of the big guns - Nigeria. Nigeria, 6 points behind SA and 4th in the group, face 2nd place Rwanda before the meeting with SA, knowing anything but 2 wins will kill hopes of automatic qualifying and even the play-offs look out of touch.
Cape Verde vs Cameroon is the big game in Group D this week, with the Islanders holding a one point advantage over their more fancied opponents.
After their semi-final performance in 2022, Morocco look in a strong position in Group E. They play Niger and Zambia this week.
Group F is between Cote d'Ivoire and Gabon and they meet. Burundi aren't out of it, and they face the Ivorians too.
Algeria look strong in Group G, while Tunisia have a 4 point lead in Group H.
After missing out on this winters ACON, Ghana desperately need to qualify for the WC, and sit 3 points clear of Comoros. Madagascar and Mali are still in with a chance but need maximum points this week.



ASIA
Iran, Uzbekistan, South Korea, Jordan, Japan and Australia all qualified for the World Cup from the third round, and there are another two places up for grabs in October but there is no action this break.


OCEANIC
New Zealand already qualified, while New Caledonia are in the inter-confeds.