The November international break is upon us, meaning this will be the final pause in club football around the globe until the spring of 2025.
The September international window came just weeks into the new club season in Europe and barely two months after the finals of Euro 2024 and the Copa America had taken place.
There was another temporary halt to the domestic calendar as further fixtures in Nations League and World Cup qualifying events around the globe took place during October. Now, the November break will see some of those international events play to a conclusion.
While the international window is often a dull period for club football fans, those who follow their national team home and away look forward to these dates as they support their nation in action.
This season, there are World Cup qualifiers for fans of South American, Asian, and African nations, while teams in Europe and North America will contest Nations League games during these periods of international play. The first one of next year will be in March, and another occurs in June prior to the CONCACAF Gold Cup, in which Mexico will look to defend their title.
The Sporting News has the details on the FIFA international match calendar below.
MORE: Golden Boot standings at Euro 2024 | How Messi and Argentina won the Copa America
The next international break will take place from November 11 to November 19, 2024. It will be the final FIFA window of the calendar year.
Below is a list of the dates for the international match calendar for the coming year, up to and including the CONCACAF Gold Cup in June 2025.
September 2-10, 2024 |
October 7-15, 2024 |
November 11-19, 2024 |
March 17-25, 2025 |
June 2-10, 2025 |
CONCACAF Gold Cup: June 16 – July 6 |
The September window saw Nations League fixtures for UEFA (Europe) and CONCACAF (North America) take place. It was also when the next round of World Cup qualifying matches for CONMEBOL (South America), CAF (Africa), and AFC (Asia) were held.
The UEFA Nations League group stage is played during the September, October, and November breaks, with the final fixtures of the preliminary phase taking place this month. The quarterfinals and playoffs are scheduled for March 2025, followed by the finals in June.
At this point, the Nations League fixtures are the only confirmed matches for Europe, as the draw for the continent’s World Cup qualifiers is yet to take place.
With 16 spots available for European teams in the expanded 48-nation 2026 World Cup, the qualifying process will also be adjusted. There will be 12 groups, with the winners automatically qualifying and the runners-up entering a playoff round, joined by the four highest-ranked Nations League teams that didn’t secure top-two finishes in their qualifying groups.
The third round of AFC qualifying matches for the 2026 FIFA World Cup is scheduled to take place from September 5, 2024, to June 10, 2025.
The 18 teams that progressed from the second round, consisting of nine group winners and nine runners-up, were divided into three groups of six. These teams will compete in a home-and-away format. The top two teams in each group will secure direct qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, while the third and fourth-placed teams will move on to the fourth round.
CONCACAF has also confirmed the schedule, venues, and kickoff times for the 2024/25 CONCACAF Nations League group-stage matches. The competition features 41 national teams across three leagues (A, B, C) and take place during the September, October, and November 2024 FIFA international windows.
The finals will take place next March.
Axel Disasi is considering leaving Chelsea as early as January, with German champions Bayer Leverkusen joining the race for the defender according to reports.Di
Football News Dive into the weekend’s thrilling European
Former France international Diarra, now 39, has been mired in a series of legal battles since his contract with Lokomotiv Moscow was terminated by the club in 2
The Cherries are currently fifth in the Premier League table. Bournemouth’s 3-0 thrashing of Manchester United indicated that they are on the course of som