The Daily Bee: Away We Go

Happy International Break #3. Dortmund will be heading off to national duty this week in the final rounds of preparation before the 2026 World Cup. It’s a big break for European clubs, as these are the final two matchdays in the qualifiers before the World Cup draw.

Here are some of the big matches to keep an eye out for:

Thursday Nov. 13th

England v. Serbia

France v. Ukraine

Norway v. Estonia

England have already wrapped up qualification, having smashed the qualifying round. With two free matches for this international break, it will be interesting to see how Thomas Tuchel approaches the task. Will he rest the stars to ensure no untimely injuries (admittedly, the summer is a long way away), or will he continue to build confidence among his preferred squad? A good win against England could also enable Serbia to leapfrog Albania in the qualification standings.

France and Ukraine are only separated by three points, but France will want to maintain control of the group. With Iceland sitting three points behind Ukraine, a loss for the Ukrainians could be disastrous in their qualification pursuit, should Iceland pick up a few favorable results.

Norway and blasting through this qualification period. They are unbeaten in 5, and Erling Haaland is certain to prevent a repeat of his nation’s missed qualification in 2022.

Friday Nov. 14th

Germany v. Luxembourg

Poland v. Netherlands

Slovakia v. Northern Ireland

Germany and Slovakia are tied at the top of Group A, and all four Group A teams play on Friday. With Northern Ireland only three points behind the tied leaders, all of these matches will be of extreme importance for the participating nations. Most importantly to BVB, Germany’s qualification is far from secured.

Poland and the Netherlands are also neck and neck as the two European heavyweights will duke it out for the top of their group. Holland leads the group, but a win for Poland would allow them to pull level on points.

Okay, that’s enough of that. Maybe I’ll talk about some of the other games later. Happy Monday!