International Werkself: Germany and Andrich in next World Cup qualifiers

Robert Andrich has been called up to the Germany squad by coach Julian Nagelsmann. The Werkself captain is set to play in Germany’s third and fourth World Cup qualifiers. First up is Luxembourg on Friday, 10 October (kick-off: 20:45 CEST/live on ARD). This will be followed by the match against Northern Ireland on Monday, 13 October (kick-off: 20:45 CEST/live on RTL). Germany are currently in third place in Group A. The two matches in the previous international break in September brought a 2-0 defeat to Slovakia and a 3-1 victory against Northern Ireland.

Alejandro Grimaldo and Aleix Garcia will also play matches three and four in the World Cup qualifiers with Spain during this international break. La Furia Roja will face Georgia and Bulgaria in Group E. European champions Spain are currently top of their group on six points.

Mark Flekken and the Netherlands have World Cup qualifiers five and six ahead of them. They face Malta and Finland. After four games, the Netherlands are level on points with Poland in first place in Group G but they have one game in hand. Flekken's Leverkusen team-mate Ernest Poku is in action for the Netherlands U21s. For him, the second match of the U21 European Championship qualifiers is against Bosnia and Herzegovina, followed by a friendly against Lithuania.

​Jarell Quansah and England first have a friendly against Wales, followed by World Cup qualifier number six against Latvia. The Three Lions lead Group K with 15 points after five games, seven points ahead of Albania.

The teams in the European World Cup qualifiers have played different numbers of games so far, as they started the qualifiers at different times. Andrich's Germany and Grimaldo's Spain, for example, were still playing in the UEFA Nations League in the summer, while other teams such as England and Co. had already started their World Cup qualifying campaigns.

Trio in African World cup qualifiers

Edmond Tapsoba and Burkina Faso now play matches nine and ten in the African World Cup qualifiers. Sierra Leone and Ethiopia await. After eight games, Tapsoba and Co. are in second place in Group A with 15 points behind Egypt (20 points).

Ibrahim Maza and Algeria will also play their ninth and tenth World Cup qualifiers. They will first face Somalia and then the Republic of Congo. Algeria lead Group G with 19 points, four points ahead of Uganda.

Eliesse Ben Seghir and Morocco will face Bahrain in a friendly, followed by World Cup qualifier number eight. Morocco have a healthy lead in Group E after winning all seven games so far and clocking up a goal difference of plus 19 (21:2). Behind Morocco, with eleven points less, is Tanzania.

The group winners qualify for the World Cup finals, while the four best runners-up from all nine groups will compete in a second round in November. In this round, one African team will qualify for the World Cup play-offs in March 2026, where another two national sides will earn a ticket to the World Cup finals.

Malik Tillman will play for the USA in two friendlies against Ecuador and Australia.

Alejo Sarco is currently on duty with the Argentina U20 team at the U20 World Cup in Chile and has already played two matches. In the opening game against Cuba, he scored twice in a 3-1 victory. This was followed by a 4-1 win against Australia in the second match where he netted the opener. Next up is the third and final group match against Italy with Andrea Natali, who is currently on loan from Bayer 04 at AZ Alkmaar (Netherlands).

Overview of call-ups and fixtures: