10:28 AM ET
The days are counting down to the start of the World Cup in Qatar, with the host nation kicking it all off on Nov. 20, when they take on Ecuador.
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All 32 finalists are making their closing plans for the tournament, hoping that star players head into the World Cup in top form and don’t get struck down by injury. Away from that, there are plenty of players desperately hoping to break into their country’s 26-man squad, which has to be named by Nov. 13.
– World Cup finals bracket and fixtures schedule
Each week, we’ll take a look at the favourites to see how they are shaping up and also check in with other nations as their players either shine or struggle.
The final friendlies and UEFA Nations League fixtures take place this month, so how are the teams doing as the games approach?
Jump to: England | United States | Argentina | Brazil | France | Germany | Spain | Portugal | Netherlands | Belgium | Mexico | Ghana | Cameroon | Morocco | Tunisia | Senegal | Australia | IR Iran | South Korea | Japan
ENGLAND Nations League fixtures: Italy (Friday), Germany (Monday) STOCK CLIMBING
Ivan Toney : Harry Kane is up for grabs, and Toney is in good form, becoming the first Brentford player to receive a senior England call-up since Les Smith in 1939. Tammy Abraham is ahead of him in the pecking order at present, however.
UNITED STATES International friendly fixtures: Japan (Friday), Saudi Arabia (Tuesday) STOCK CLIMBING
Ricardo Pepi : FC Groningen from Augsburg, and he scored his side’s only goal in a 2-1 loss to Sparta Rotterdam , giving him a valuable boost of confidence heading into the U.S. camp.
ARGENTINA International friendly fixtures: Honduras (Friday), Jamaica (Tuesday) STOCK CLIMBING
Thiago Almada : Atlanta United FC attacking midfielder is the only player to force his way in from outside. That aside, there are few changes on this roster — which is not hard to understand given the team’s recent record.
Lisandro Martinez : Nicolas Otamendi as the left centre-back, the profile of Martinez has almost certainly risen as a result of his move to Manchester United .
BRAZIL International friendly fixtures: Ghana (Friday), Tunisia (Tuesday) STOCK CLIMBING
Pedro : Ghana or Tunisia this week.
Alex Telles and Renan Lodi :Guilherme Arana sets up a battle to replace him — made even sharper by the fact that first-choice Alex Sandro has had to pull out of this squad. The competitors are Telles, loaned from Manchester United to Sevilla , and recent Nottingham Forest signing Lodi. The late inclusion of Serie A centre-backs Bremer of Juventus and Ibanez of AS Roma is also intriguing.
FRANCE Nations League fixtures: Austria (Thursday), Denmark (Sunday) STOCK CLIMBING
Olivier Giroud : AC Milan so far this season (four goals and one assist in seven Serie A matches) and the fact that no real alternatives have emerged brought him back into the squad. Now he has a good chance of making the World Cup.
Dayot Upamecano : Bayern Munich defender has had a weird career with France so far. His last game with Les Bleus was back in November 2021, and it has been a bumpy ride for him since at club level too, being in and out of the Bayern team. There is a lot of competition for a centre-back place with France, and he needs to seize this chance.
Eduardo Camavinga :Real Madrid midfielder is back in the squad. More playing time, positive performances in the Champions League last season, and so far in this campaign as well, have convinced Deschamps to call him up again. With the injuries in midfield (Paul Pogba , N’Golo Kante , Adrien Rabiot ), he will have the opportunity to prove himself.
GERMANY Nations League fixtures: Hungary (Friday), England (Monday) STOCK CLIMBING
Armel Bella-Kotchap : Southampton from Bochum in the summer, is proof positive that coach Hansi Flick is not averse to springing a surprise.
Benjamin Henrichs : RB Leipzig full-back can do his hopes a power of good after getting a late call-up, having won only seven caps for Germany after making his debut six years ago.
SPAIN Nations League fixtures: Switzerland (Saturday), Portugal (Tuesday) STOCK CLIMBING
Borja Iglesias :Real Betis beat Girona 2-1 on Sunday. His six goals this season — making him LaLiga’s top-scoring Spaniard — have launched Betis up to third in the table. Iglesias, 29, has never represented his country at any level, but he now has the chance to convince coach Luis Enrique that he deserves to lead the line in Qatar in Spain’s Nations League games against Switzerland and Portugal.
PORTUGAL Nations League fixtures: Czech Republic (Saturday), Spain (Tuesday) STOCK CLIMBLING
Goncalo Ramos :Czech Republic and Spain and a near-certainty to go to the World Cup — decided to quit international football. Ramos has been linked with a future move to Manchester United.
Tiago Djalo :Lille defender has been named in the latest squad after a fine start to the season in Ligue 1. The 22-year-old has yet to win a senior cap for Portugal but could make the World Cup squad.
STOCK FALLING
Cristiano Ronaldo :
NETHERLANDS Nations League fixtures: Poland (Thursday), Belgium (Sunday) STOCK CLIMBING
Remko Pasveer & Andries Noppert : Jasper Cillessen is the most likely candidate, but recently the performance of Ajax goalkeeper Pasveer and Heerenveen ‘s Noppert stand out. Pasveer kept Ajax in contention at Liverpool in the Champions League. Noppert is the most unknown, having played only 38 professional matches for smaller clubs in the Netherlands and Italy, but he gets his big shot at the age of 28.
Kenneth Taylor :
BELGIUM Nations League fixtures: Wales (Thursday), Netherlands (Sunday) STOCK CLIMBLING
Jason Denayer : Lyon in the summer, yet he has been called up by Roberto Martinez. The Belgium head coach has already announced that the former Manchester City centre-back will train with the team but not play the matches. Nevertheless, it is a huge vote of confidence for him to be there.
Lois Openda :Lens striker has started the season so well in Ligue 1 (four goals in seven starts) and he is rewarded with the call-up. At 22, he is new in the Belgium senior setup (first cap came in May) but Martinez likes his pace and his energy. There is big competition for the forward places, but he has the momentum.
Wout Faes :
MEXICO International friendly fixtures: Peru (Saturday), Colombia (Tuesday) STOCK CLIMBING
Henry Martin : Raul Jimenez is overcoming injury concerns, Martin can prove that he’s worthy of a more significant role for Mexico in upcoming international friendlies.
GHANA International friendly fixtures: Brazil (Friday), Nicaragua (Tuesday) STOCK CLIMBLING
Mohammed Kudus : Thomas Partey , is Ghana’s great World Cup hope.
CAMEROON International friendly fixtures: Uzbekistan (Friday), South Korea (Tuesday) STOCK CLIMBLING
Bryan Mbeumo : Brentford forward has committed to Cameroon having represented France at youth level, and he’ll bring tenacity, dangerous movement and (hopefully) goals.
Nicolas Nkoulou :
MOROCCO International friendly fixtures: Chile (Friday), Paraguay (Tuesday) STOCK CLIMBLING
Hakim Ziyech :
TUNISIA International friendly fixture: Brazil (Tuesday) STOCK CLIMBLING
Chaim El-Djebali: The wunderkind signed his first professional contract this summer and has only represented Lyon’s second team in the French fourth tier. He was part of the Coupe Gambardella-winning side and has represented France at U16 level but could now line up against the land of his birth in Qatar on Nov. 30. Angers defender Yan Valery , another player to have represented France at youth level, has also been handed his maiden call-up.
SENEGAL International friendly fixtures: Bolivia (Saturday), Iran (Tuesday) STOCK CLIMBLING
Noah Fadiga : Brest team this season. He’s the son of former Senegal midfielder Khalilou Fadiga and could provide a spiritual link to the iconic 2002 Teranga Lions team who reached the quarterfinals, even if an injury means he’ll have to wait to make his debut.
AUSTRALIA International friendly fixtures: New Zealand (Thursday, Saturday) STOCK CLIMBING
Cameron Devlin: Garang Kuol and Jason Cummings may have grabbed the headlines of the first-time call-ups for a double-header of friendlies against New Zealand, but the terrier-like Devlin is playing week-in and week-out for Hearts in Scotland and could challenge for a midfield place in the World Cup squad.
STOCK FALLING
Jason Davidson: He ended seven years in the international wilderness when he was called into the Socceroos squad for playoffs against United Arab Emirates and Peru but didn’t feature in either. Despite moving to Belgium and playing regularly for Eupen, he has missed selection for the New Zealand friendlies.
HOW ARE THEY LOOKING?
Coach Graham Arnold has been talking up his goals of a second-round berth, but the immediate target remains to secure a first World Cup win since 2010. Set to open their tournament against France , they’ll be eyeing every bit of drama coming out of Les Blues’ camp with glee. – Joey Lynch
IR IRAN International friendly fixtures: Uruguay (Friday), Senegal (Tuesday) STOCK CLIMBING
Mehdi Taremi :
SOUTH KOREA International friendly fixtures: Costa Rica (Friday), Cameroon (Tuesday) STOCK CLIMBING
Son Heung-Min :
JAPAN International friendly fixtures: United States (Friday), Ecuador (Tuesday) STOCK CLIMBING
Takefusa Kubo :Real Madrid first team over the past three seasons, Kubo is enjoying a new lease on life at Real Sociedad . He continued to shine for Sociedad in the weekend’s 2-1 LaLiga win over Espanyol , assisting Alexander Sorloth’s 17th-minute opener after showing good determination to force opposition goalkeeper Alvaro Fernandez into an error. The 21-year-old is thriving with regular starting XI action, including a star turn in a recent 2-1 Europa League triumph over Manchester United .
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