The second international break of the season played host to World Cup qualifiers and friendlies. These are the stories you might have missed from the first round of international fixtures.
Ancelotti Gets The Best Out Of Brazil’s Madrid Pair
Vinícius Júnior and Rodrygo played their best football as the stars of Ancelotti’s 2023/24 Real Madrid side. Both struggled following the arrival of Kylian Mbappé, as Ancelotti struggled to find a system to accommodate all of the world-class talent at his disposal.
Following the Italian’s arrival as Brazil national team head coach, Vinícius Júnior and Rodrygo are back to their best. In an attacking midfield three alongside Chelsea starlet Estêvão, the Real Madrid duo are back among the goals. Against South Korea, Rodrygo scored two while Vinícius Júnior grabbed a goal and an assist.
With these two firing on all cylinders, Brazil will be one of the teams to beat at next year’s World Cup.
21 Teams Already On The Plane
The 2026 World Cup will feature 48 teams, making it the largest tournament to date.
21 teams have already qualified, predominantly from South America, Africa and Oceania. The teams that have already booked their place are: Canada, Mexico, USA, Japan, New Zeeland, Iran, Argentina, Uzbekistan, South Korea, Jordan, Australia, Brazil, Ecuador, Uruguay, Colombia, Paraguay, Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Algeria and Ghana.
Sweden Wasting Their Golden Generation
Sweden have never had such a stacked squad of world-class talent, yet they find themselves bottom of Group B having picked up just a point in three games.
Manager Jon Dahl Tomasson has tried to adopt an attacking mantra and certainly has the players at his disposal, but it just hasn’t worked. With Alexander Isak and Viktor Gyökeres up top, goals shouldn’t be hard to come by, yet they’ve only mustered up two goals in three games.
This Swedish team is far more than just the strikers up top. Dejan Kulusevski, Yasin Ayari, Lucas Bergvall, Anthony Elanga, Roony Bardghji, Isak Hien, Hugo Larsson; these are genuine stars who would walk into most national team squads.
After two defeats and a draw, Sweden’s qualification hopes are slim at best. Anything less than three points against Kosovo at home will be a failure.
Is Norway a Dark Horse?
Six wins out of six and a goal difference of 26; Norway are storming the qualifiers.
Whilst Moldova, Estonia and Israel aren’t the hardest challengers, Norway convincingly beat Italy to ensure a perfect record to date.
Haaland looks unstoppable, while other top players like Martin Ødegaard, Antonio Nusa and Alexander Sørloth are delivering when it matters.
Whilst they won’t ever be favourites, no one will want to be drawn against this in-form Norway team.
Don’t Overreact To One Poor Ronaldo Performance
Whenever Cristiano Ronaldo has a poor performance, discussions start regarding whether he should still be starting for Portugal and whether the team performs better without him.
Against Ireland, he missed a penalty and had little impact on the game. On this one showing, you could make a case to drop him. But CR7 has scored in almost every match for Portugal over the past year, including the equaliser in the Nations League final.
Whilst certain parts of his game might now be lacking, Ronaldo still has the goalscoring and experience to lead Portugal into another World Cup.
Turkey Bounce Back In Style
Turkey took a beating in the last international break, losing 6-0 to a dominant Spanish side. They quickly put this behind them and scored six goals for themselves, stuffing Bulgaria 6-1 away from home.
This looks to be the start of a golden generation for Turkey, with the emergence of starboys such as Arda Güler and Kenan Yıldız.
With two victories out of three, Turkey look well-placed to qualify. The experience of captain Hakan Çalhanoğlu will be vital to lead this young team.
Italy Risk Missing A Third World Cup In A Row
The play-offs could be Italy’s only route to the 2026 World Cup. Having missed 2018 and 2022, Italy are six points behind group leaders Norway – albeit with a game in hand.
Italy’s Group I features five teams of which only one will automatically qualify. Second place will enter a knockout play-off.
Failure to reach the World Cup for the third consecutive time would be the latest in an increasingly long line of international humiliations for the Azzurri.
Mbappé Is Still The Main Man For France
Another goal and assist for Kylian Mbappé.
It is now ten consecutive games for club and country that Mbappé has found the back of the net. His goal against Azerbaijan was his 53rd international goal and his 17th of the season.
Whilst Haaland and Kane are also in red-hot scoring form, Mbappé remains the best player in the world and among a handful of players who could singlehandedly decide the fate of next year’s World Cup.
