USMNT's next generation, Messi's farewell, AFCON qualifying: International break preview

After a whirlwind opening six weeks to the 2026-27 club season across Europe, we're now settling in for a three-week international break in which countries will play up to four games each as they build toward the next phase of continental competitions, from the UEFA European Championships to the Africa Cup of Nations. (Oh, and there are things like Copa América and Gold Cup qualifying on the horizon depending on where you look.)

Lots of national teams will also be playing exhibition games with specific goals in mind, like bedding in new talents or refreshing tired squads. So, with lots to watch for around the world over the next 15 days, we take you around the things in particular to pay attention to before club soccer resumes on Oct. 9.

- Why do we have a three-week international break?
- Carlisle: Sullivan, USMNT's gifted next generation has arrived
- Connelly: Hottest men's soccer teams right now based on form

U.S., Mexico working on different things ahead of October meeting

Ahead of a rivalry clash in early October, Concacaf powerhouses Mexico and the United States are entering the international window with two distinct approaches.

For the U.S., under returning manager Mauricio Pochettino, it's clear that one of the primary goals is to test out the next generation of talent. Of the 28 called up, a total of 13 could claim a national team debut in the upcoming friendlies and eight of those 13 are still teenagers, which includes 16-year-old phenom Cavan Sullivan. With the likes of key figures such as Christian Pulisic, Folarin Balogun and Weston McKennie, among others, being given a rest, Pochettino will seek to expand his player pool even further with a fall roster that doesn't have a single player over the age of 30.

As for Mexico, new manager Rafael Marquez is taking a slightly different route. Although there are a handful of fresh faces like Chivas up-and-comers Santiago Sandoval and Hugo Camberos, El Tri's plan is focused more on bringing back a strong core of veterans, as opposed to testing out the next generation. That said, though the squad isn't as youthful as that of the U.S., there is still a group of young call-ups who should have plenty of opportunities in a four-game window. Highlighted by Mexico's own teenage rising star Gilberto Mora, Marquez's roster has 11 players who are 23 and younger.

Either way, expect some fireworks when the rival nations face off on Oct. 3. Regularly battling for the top spot in the Concacaf region -- Canada included, in recent years -- both countries will seek to make their own mark in a new World Cup cycle.

Will the youth of the U.S. provide some hope for the future of the national team program? Or will the more tried-and-true names from Mexico help maintain the momentum that was seen in the World Cup this summer? -- Cesar Hernandez

Messi's international farewell

When Lionel Messi announced his retirement from international soccer at the end of August, the prevailing reaction in Argentina was one of gratitude. That then provided an emotional and an economic incentive for the local FA to organize a farewell game in which the iconic No.10 will get to say a proper goodbye.

It must be said that arranging this game was not an easy task. First they had to find opponents willing and available to travel to Argentina. Then, they had to dribble around the punishment handed out for the behaviour of both fans and players during the World Cup, which means Argentina's first match, and possibly the second, of this break can only be played in front of half the stadium capacity.

This explains why Messi will don the shirt for the last time in the last of Argentina's three FIFA date friendlies against Benin in Buenos Aires on Oct. 6, in River Plate's ground, the largest stadium in South America.

There will not be a dry eye in the house, but there will be plenty of well-trained eyes on the previous two matches, staged in Cordoba, just over 400 miles to the north. Here, against Bolivia and Burkina Faso, the future starts for Argentina as they get to grips with the question of what to do without their generational star.

Messi's injuries during the last set of World Cup qualifiers gave ample opportunity for Argentina to slot striker Julián Álvarez into his role, and arguably the best performance of the past four years, the 4-1 destruction of Brazil, came via this route. But there will be a huge temptation to hand the shirt to a specialist No.10 -- specifically, the player who has been seen for the past couple of years as the Messi replacement, the hugely talented Como playmaker Nico Paz. Argentina took Paz to the World Cup, but could not slot him successfully in the same side as Messi, almost certainly because both players prefer the ball played to their feet.

Now, the great opportunity is coming. If Brazil struggled post-Pele and Argentina slumped after Diego Maradona, then Paz has the chance to prove that there is life after Lionel Messi. -- Tim Vickery

England's goal: move on from World Cup heartache and prep for Euros challenge

England resume this week in the curious state of basking in their best World Cup finish for 60 years while still processing the missed opportunity of what might have been.

Thomas Tuchel's mission was clear: get a second star on the shirt. England's sole World Cup triumph of 1966 has proved impossible to live up to ever since and after Gareth Southgate took England to two finals, one semifinal and a quarterfinal from his four tournaments in charge, Tuchel was hired as the difference-maker. That reputation slipped somewhat in the manner of England's World Cup semifinal defeat to Argentina this summer.

The 2-1 loss fell into an alarmingly familiar pattern for England in the biggest matches: take the lead, concede possession and territory, suffer fatigue and eventually fall short. Furthermore, Tuchel's substitutions exacerbated the problem rather than countered it. He insisted at last week's squad announcement that "99.9%" of fans he encounters do not talk about his changes in that fateful game and instead mention the highlights -- the famous round-of-16 win in Mexico, the second-half demolition of Croatia, the nervous tension of their late comeback triumph against DR Congo -- but in truth, Tuchel has something to prove.

The England manager is keen to define those 30 minutes against Argentina as a blip and therefore this Nations League campaign is not a new beginning. More of the World Cup squad would have been selected this time had it not been for injury -- Reece James, Dan Burn, Dean Henderson, John Stones and Djed Spence among them -- but instead, there are nine new faces including two players many believe should have gone to the World Cup. Both Trent Alexander-Arnold and Cole Palmer return with a point to prove, but Tuchel insisted they are not "winners" from that collapse against Argentina.

Tuchel admits he is torn between a desire for greater control in matches and playing to England's strengths as a risk-taking team in a Premier League mold. He now speaks of "embracing the chaos" exemplified by their last outing, a 6-4 win over France in Miami that earned them third place at the World Cup and a bronze medal, but would that have worked had France been fully tuned up? And will it work against the best?

The Nations League offers an immediate answer with world champions Spain first up at Wembley on Saturday. Tricky trips to Czechia and Croatia follow before a return Wembley date with Czechia closes out the calendar.

Tuchel and England need positive momentum to begin to leave that Argentina defeat behind as they focus on a new target: winning a home Euros in 2028. -- James Olley

Germany, Netherlands, France showing off brand-new -- and iconic -- coaches as Nations League qualification begins

In a 29-second video message, Jurgen Klopp introduced himself to the nation that knows him so well as "the new one."

To be fair, Germany's been waiting for Klopp for more than a decade. After their round-of-32 exit at the World Cup, Klopp is seen as the savior of German football -- the man who can steer them back to the heights they hit in 2014. No pressure, then.

Already, just two months into the job, there are clear indications that Klopp's going to do this his way, from the backroom staff packed with familiar confidants (Peter Krawietz and Pep Lijnders both worked for him at Liverpool) to naming an extended 44-man squad, split across two groups for this block of four matches. And then there was his introductory news conference where he basically told the German press that if they dared trouble his family, he'd walk on the spot.

The next four years are going to be a German symphony composed and conducted by Klopp, and that journey begins on Thursday with a trip to face the Netherlands, where the Dutch are also under new stewardship. It's Xavi's Netherlands now in what will be an intriguing matchup between a Pep Guardiola disciple and Klopp's evolved rock 'n' roll gegenpressing.

Like Klopp, Xavi has already put his stamp on the Dutch side by calling up Ruben van Bommel of PSV and Feyenoord midfielder Gjivai Zechiël, while leaving out Memphis Depay, Wout Weghorst or Stefan de Vrij. Their plans have been disrupted by Donyell Malen withdrawing, but captain and defender Virgil van Dijk remains indispensable.

It's going to be fascinating to see how Xavi does. He bleeds Barcelona and, by default, it should be a perfect marriage considering he's an acolyte of Rinus Michels and Johan Cruyff's school of thought. Though he was reminded in his opening news conference by KNVB technical director Nigel de Jong that they spoke with Pep Guardiola and Arne Slot before turning to him.

Oh, and the iconic, enigmatic Zinedine Zidane is beginning his time in charge of France, replacing Didier Deschamps who oversaw a 14-year spell in which they won the World Cup in 2018 and finished runners-up in 2022. Zidane named five uncapped players in his first streamlined 23-player squad, including Liverpool's Jérémy Jacquet. His first batch of matches include two games with Mark van Bommel's Belgium and one with Roberto Mancini's Italy -- both teams also under new management.

Zidane is doing things his way too. He left N'Golo Kanté out of his first official squad, closing the door on his international career for the time being. "What inspires me is the game," Zidane said in his opening news conference. "I want to see these players and this team playing."

International soccer has a new band of superstar managers, and across the next three weeks, we'll see some of their plans take shape as attention slowly turns to Euro 2028. It's going to be some ride. -- Tom Hamilton

Spain's motivation: complete the triple crown

World champions Spain will be the team to beat as the latest edition of the UEFA Nations League kicks off this week across Europe. Given the relative ease with which they won the World Cup this summer -- swatting aside France in the semifinal, ruining Lionel Messi's Argentina swansong in the final and conceding just once in eight tournament matches -- it is hard to see anyone beating them.

La Roja also have the added motivation of completing, if you will, international football's triple crown. European champions in 2024 and world champions in 2026, the only trophy Luis de la Fuente's side don't currently have their hands on is the Nations League. They did win it under Luis de la Fuente in 2023, but relinquished the title in 2025, losing to Portugal on penalties in the final. They will be out to avenge that defeat this time around.

First up is a tantalizing trip to Wembley to meet England on Saturday in a repeat of the Euro 2024 final. The core of the Spain squad has hardly changed since that final, and it's likely to remain the same throughout this Nations League cycle: goalkeeper Unai Simón, defenders Pau Cubarsí, Aymeric Laporte and Marc Cucurella, midfielders Pedri, Rodri, Fabián Ruiz and Dani Olmo, forwards Nico Williams and Lamine Yamal ... the list goes on, but the beauty of this Spain side lies not in the individuals, but in the collective. You can take almost anyone out of the side, replace them with someone else and very little will change -- as we saw with Rodri and Martín Zubimendi in that 2024 final.

Perhaps Spain's two biggest potential problems come from within: complacency and keeping Yamal firing and happy as part of the team dynamic. The Barcelona teenager has said he was not entirely content with his performances at the World Cup after coming into the tournament on the back of a hamstring injury. He will be keen to do more moving forward -- not that he was bad in North America this past summer -- but De la Fuente must ensure that desire is channeled in the right way on the pitch. -- Sam Marsden

Africa's international heavyweights return to action this week for the first time since the World Cup, with the opening qualifiers for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations providing an immediate test of how the continent's leading sides intend to evolve over the next four-year cycle.

Forty-eight teams compete across 12 groups, with qualification beginning with two rounds this international break and concluding in March. For several World Cup nations, this window also represents the beginning of a new era.

Herve Renard is back with Ivory Coast, 11 years after he won the AFCON with the Elephants, and faces arguably the window's standout fixture immediately, against Ghana in Bouake. Patrick Vieira begins his first international management job with Senegal, claiming he has come to "win trophies"; Mouin Chaabani will look to pick Tunisia up after their disastrous World Cup; and Pitso Mosimane returns to South Africa.

With co-hosts Kenya automatically qualified from Bafana Bafana's group, only one of the other three teams can join them at AFCON. This means South Africa's opener against Guinea could prove critical.

There is jeopardy elsewhere. Morocco begin against Gabon; Algeria, now overseen by Brahim Hemdani, host Zambia; and Egypt face Angola; while Mali vs. Cape Verde pits two of the continent's strongest recent performers against one another. Without the injured Victor Osimhen, Nigeria host Madagascar knowing there is less margin for error than usual; because hosts Tanzania automatically advance from Group L, only one team from this pool can join them.

That format creates obvious potential for drama. Madagascar and Guinea-Bissau both have recent experience of qualifying and can complicate the Super Eagles' campaign. Like Nigeria, Cameroon will also be determined to bounce back after failing to reach the World Cup when they face Comoros and then Congo-Brazzaville.

FIFA's expanded September-October window could have allowed teams to play as many as four matches, but CAF's decision to stage the two qualifiers across the opening weekend has left several coaches questioning why friendlies could not instead have served as preparation. DR Congo follow qualifiers against Equatorial Guinea and Zimbabwe with two friendlies against Uganda, while Ivory Coast meet Cameroon, and South Africa face Egypt afterward.

It should create a curious dynamic, with high-stakes qualifiers being followed by low-key friendlies -- and some coaches have named two squads to account for this -- but don't be surprised if this international break produces drama aplenty as Africa's road to 2027 begins. -- Ed Dove