A new international break is upon us, with some crunch World Cup qualifiers for some of the FC Barcelona players while others will be involved in friendlies. Here are the fixtures with blaugrana interest over the coming days:

Thursday 13 November

England v Serbia (7.45pm local, 8.45pm CET)
Marcus Rashford's side are already safely through to the finals, and now host a team that they ripped apart, 6-0, in Belgrade earlier this year.

France v Ukraine (8.45pm CET)
Jules Kounde and co are on good course for a place in the finals. In fact, win this game and job done, with a second fixture later this week if they fail. But Ukraine are also in contention for top spot, and anything but a win could complicate things considerably.

Friday 14 November

Poland v Netherlands (8.45pm CET
A direct head-to-head between Robert Lewandowski and Frenkie de Jong, with a lot riding on the outcome. The Dutch are currently three points clear of the Poles, and a win would ensure their place in the finals. Poland need to win to have any realistic chance of making the finals directly, but a draw would guarantee a playoff berth, with a game against Malta still to come if they don't.

Saturday 15 November

Switzerland v Sweden (8.45pm CET)
It's been a rotten qualification campaign for Sweden, for whom Roony Bardghji is now becoming a regular feature, but they do still have at least a mathematical hope of nabbing a playoff spot. To do that, not only do they need to win both their remaining fixtures, but they will also need Kosovo to lose both of their own. Not impossible, but highly improbable.

Denmark v Belarus (8.45pm CET)
Andreas Christensen's side are already assured at least a playoff, but whatever happens in this game, direct qualification is going to depend on the outcome of a huge clash with Scotland later in the week.

Georgia v Spain (9pm local time, 6pm CET)
Spain, with Olmo, Cubarsí, Fermín and Ferran in the squad, have won every game so far. A win in Georgia could secure a place in the finals already. If not, it will all come down to the final game at home to Turkey.

Mexico v Uruguay (7pm local, 2am Sunday CET)
Ronald Araujo's side have successfully completed their qualification for the finals, and for this friendly will be visiting one of the countries hosting next year's tournament.

Sunday 16 November

Albania v England (5pm local, 6pm CET)
Rashford and colleagues complete their campaign with nothing at stake after already securing top spot in the group.

Azerbaijan v France (9pm local, 6pm CET)
France could have already qualified by Sunday, but if not they'll be under pressure, with both Ukraine and Iceland still involved in the battle for the top two spots.

Monday 17 November

Malta v Poland (8.45pm CET)
On paper this is a simple win for Lewandowski and his countrymen, but they'll need to make sure because they won't want Finland to pip them to a playoff spot.

Netherlands v Lithuania (8.45pm CET)
If they haven't already done the job, then Frenkie de Jong and his colleagues have a chance to make sure of things with a home fixture against one of Europe's lowest ranked teams at the Amsterdam Arena.

Tuesday 18 November

Spain v Turkey (8.45pm CET)
Extraordinarily, despite an impeccable campaign, Spain may not be guaranteed qualification when they host this final game in Seville. Their opposition could still top the group, but the Turks have their work cut out to overcome a team who beat them 6-0 just a little while ago.

Sweden v Slovenia (8.45pm CET)
It would be some escape act if Roony Bardghji and co can claim a playoff spot by winning this game in Solna. In fact, depending on how results turned out earlier in the week, they might already be eliminated. 

Scotland v Denmark (8.45pm CET)
This looks like the biggest game of all for the Barça internationals this week. Andreas Christensen and Denmark go to Glasgow for a direct head-to-head, where the winners will be through to the 2026 finals, while the losers will need to negotiate the playoffs.

USA v Uruguay (7pm local, 1am Wednesday CET)
Having already visited Mexico, Araujo's team now check out another of next year's host countries, the USA, for what promises to be a thrilling experience for the people of Tampa Bay.

Força Barça