Internationals: Andrich and Germany begin World Cup qualifying

Bayer 04 captain Robert Andrich is in Julian Nagelsmann's Germany squad for the first two World Cup qualifiers. The German national team were still involved in the UEFA Nations League when other teams began their qualifying campaigns.

The DFB Team play Slovakia in Group A on Thursday 4 September (kick-off 20:45*). Three days later, they host Northern Ireland on Sunday 7 September (kick-off 20:45).

spanish duo also start qualifying

Alejandro Grimaldo and Aleix Garcia are also just getting started in World Cup qualifying with Spain during this international break. First up for La Roja in Group E are Bulgaria, followed by Turkiye.

Meanwhile, Mark Flekken and Netherlands play qualifiers three and four against Poland and Lithuania. The Oranje are currently second in Group G behind Finland with six points from the first two games.

top scorer Schick on duty for czechs

Patrik Schick, who together with Erling Haaland (Norway) and Andrej Kramaric (Croatia) is currently the joint top scorer in European World Cup qualifying with four goals, has been called up by Czech Republic, who play another World Cup qualifier as well as a friendly. After a run of eight internationals without defeat, including three wins in a row in qualifying, the Czechs lost for the first time in their fourth qualification match. The Group L leaders now take on third-placed Montenegro before playing a friendly against Saudi Arabia.

Jarell Quansah has been added to the England squad by Thomas Tuchel. The Three Lions, who sit top of Group K with maximum points, play their fourth and fifth qualifiers against Andorra and Serbia. If Quansah plays, he would celebrate his senior debut for England - the U21 EURO winner has previously been selected in the squad a number of times but is yet to feature.

Tapsoba and Ben Seghir also in action

World Cup qualifiers seven and eight await Edmond Tapsoba and Burkina Faso in the African section. The Leverkusen defender faces Djibouti and leaders Egypt in Group A. Burkina Faso currently occupy second spot with 11 points.

Eliesse Ben Seghir is in the Morocco squad for their next two World Cup qualifiers. The North Africans are top of Group E with 15 points from five matches and meet Niger and Zambia next.

The group winners qualify directly from African World Cup qualifying, while the four best second-placed teams from all nine groups contest a second round in November. This will determine the African participant in the World Cup play-off tournament in March 2026, where two more countries will book their place in the finals.

end of qualifying for Palacios and Echeverri

Meanwhile, the qualification process in South America, which - in contrast to Europe and Africa - follows a league format, comes to a close in this international break. The first six of the 10 teams qualify directly, while the seventh-placed team will take part in the aforementioned play-off tournament as the CONMEBOL representative.

Argentina, who are already through as winners of the section with 35 points from 16 games, play Venezuela and Ecuador in their final two encounters. Along with Exequiel Palacios, new Werkself signing Claudio Echeverri has been named in the squad. It's the 19-year-old's first call-up to coach Lionel Scalloni's team. After numerous appearances for the Argentinian youth sides, Echeverri represented La Albiceleste at the Olympics in summer 2024 under Javier Mascherano, scoring once in four games.

All call-ups and fixtures at a glance (*all times CEST):