Prominent figures such as Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, Lamine Yamal, and Vinicius Junior have been chosen to represent their nations in the international contests scheduled for spring 2025.
A plethora of elite footballers globally are expected to participate in this upcoming series of matches, as numerous countries persist with their preparations for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Gianluigi Donnarumma from Manchester City, Riccardo Calafiori representing Arsenal, and Sandro Tonali of Newcastle are likewise aiming to assist Italy in securing qualification via elimination rounds towards the close of March.
101GreatGoals.com presents an overview of the international itinerary for global athletes, detailing their potential match dates and opponents.
Lionel Messi: Argentina squad vs Mauritania, Zambia
Messi’s squad will compete in exhibition games against Mauritania at home on Friday, March 27, and Zambia on March 31. Both contests are set to commence at 23:15 GMT/BST (18:15 ET / 15:15 PT).
| Position | Players |
| Goalkeepers | Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa), Geronimo Rulli (Marseille), Juan Musso (Atletico Madrid) |
| Defenders | Nahuel Molina (Atletico Madrid), Gonzalo Montiel (River Plate), Cristian Romero (Tottenham), Leonardo Balerdi (Marseille), Marcos Senesi (Bournemouth), Nicolas Otamendi (Benfica), Tomas Palacios (Estudiantes de la Plata), Nicolas Tagliafico (Lyon), Gabriel Rojas (Racing Club), Marcos Acuna (River Plate), Valentin Barco (Strasbourg) |
| Midfielders | Leandro Paredes (Boca Juniors), Maximo Perrone (Como), Alexis Mac Allister (Liverpool), Enzo Fernandez (Chelsea), Rodrigo De Paul (Inter Miami), Exequiel Palacios (Leverkusen), Nicolas Paz (Como) |
| Forwards | Lionel Messi (Inter Miami), Gianluca Prestianni (Benfica), Nicolas Gonzalez (Atletico Madrid), Giuliano Simeone (Atletico Madrid), Thiago Almada (Atletico Madrid), Jose Lopez (Palmeiras), Julian Alvarez (Atletico Madrid) |
Lamine Yamal: Spain squad vs Serbia, Egypt
Spain, the current EURO titleholders, will proceed with their World Cup readiness efforts through home encounters against Serbia on Friday, March 27, and Egypt on Tuesday, March 31.
Both contests are scheduled for 20:00 GMT/BST (15:00 ET / 12:00 PT).
| Position | Players |
| Goalkeepers | Unai Simon (Athletic Club), David Raya (Arsenal), Alex Remiro (Real Sociedad), Joan Garcia (Barcelona) |
| Defenders | Pau Cubarsi (Barcelona), Aymeric Laporte (Athletic Club), Marc Cucurella (Chelsea), Alejandro Grimaldo (Leverkusen), Pedro Porro (Tottenham), Marcos Llorente (Atletico Madrid), Dean Huijsen (Real Madrid), Cristhian Mosquera (Arsenal) |
| Midfielders | Rodri (Manchester City), Martin Zubimendi (Arsenal), Pedri (Barcelona), Dani Olmo (Barcelona), Fermin Lopez (Barcelona), Carlos Soler (Real Sociedad), Pablo Fornals (Real Betis) |
| Forwards | Lamine Yamal (Barcelona), Mikel Oyarzabal (Real Sociedad), Ferran Torres (Barcelona), Alex Baena (Atletico Madrid), Yeremy Pino (Crystal Palace), Borja Iglesias (Celta Vigo), Ander Barrenetxea (Real Sociedad), Victor Munoz (Osasuna) |
Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele: France vs Brazil, Colombia
Having reached the final in 2022, France will meet Brazil in Foxborough on Thursday, March 26 (20:00 GMT / 15:00 ET / 12:00 PT), and then play against Colombia in Washington DC on Sunday, March 29 (21:00 BST / 16:00 ET / 13:00 PT).
| Position | Players |
| Goalkeepers | Lucas Chevalier (Paris Saint-Germain), Mike Maignan (Milan), Brice Samba (Lens) |
| Defenders | Lucas Digne (Aston Villa), Malo Gusto (Chelsea), Lucas Hernandez (PSG), Theo Hernandez (Al Hilal), Pierre Kalulu (Juventus), Ibrahima Konate (Liverpool), Maxence Lacroix (Crystal Palace), Dayot Upamecano (Bayern Munich) |
| Midfielders | Eduardo Camavinga (Real Madrid), N’Golo Kante (Fenerbahce), Manu Kone (Roma), Adrien Rabiot (Milan), Aurelien Tchouameni (Real Madrid), Warren Zaire-Emery (PSG) |
| Forwards | Maghnes Akliouche (Monaco), Rayan Cherki (Manchester City), Ousmane Dembele (PSG), Desire Doue (PSG), Hugo Ekitike (Liverpool), Randal Kolo Muani (Tottenham), Kylian Mbappe (Madrid), Michael Olise (Bayern), Marcus Thuram (Inter) |
Vinicius Junior: Brazil squad vs Senegal, Tunisia
Following their encounter against France in Foxborough on Thursday, March 26 (20:00 GMT / 15:00 ET / 12:00 PT), Brazil are scheduled to play Croatia in Orlando on Wednesday, April 1 (01:00 BST / 20:00 ET on Tuesday / 17:00 ET on Tuesday).
| Position | Players |
| Goalkeepers | Hugo Souza (Corinthians), Bento (Al Nassr), Ederson (Fenerbahce) |
| Defenders | Bremer (Juventus), Gabriel Magalhaes (Arsenal), Ibanez (Al Ahli), Leo Pereira (Flamengo), Marquinhos (Paris Saint-Germain), Alex Sandro (Flamengo), Danilo (Flamengo), Douglas Santos (Zenit), Wesley (Roma) |
| Midfielders | Andrey Santos (Chelsea), Casemiro (Manchester United), Danilo (Botafogo), Fabinho (Al Ittihad), Gabriel Sara (Galatasaray) |
| Forwards | Endrick (Lyon), Gabriel Martinelli (Arsenal), Igor Thiago (Brentford), Joao Pedro (Chelsea), Luiz Henrique (Zenit), Matheus |
Cunha (Man United), Raphinha (Barcelona), Rayan (Bournemouth), Vinicius Jr (Real Madrid)
Italy’s World Cup Play-off Roster for Northern Ireland Encounter
Acquired by City for £30 million earlier in the current season, Donnarumma anticipates assisting the Azzurri in defeating Northern Ireland in Bergamo. Following this, they aim to secure victory in an away final against either Wales or Bosnia & Herzegovina on March 31, thereby averting a third consecutive World Cup absence.
Goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario of Tottenham has been excluded from the team, and Liverpool forward Federico Chiesa withdrew due to an injury, with Nicolo Cambiaghi taking his place.
| Position | Players |
| Goalkeepers | Gianluigi Donnarumma (Man City), Alex Meret (Napoli), Marco Carnesecchi (Atalanta), Elia Caprile (Cagliari) |
| Defenders | Alessandro Bastoni (Inter), Riccardo Calafiori (Arsenal), Alessandro Buongiorno (Napoli), Federico Dimarco (Inter), Gianluca Mancini (Roma), Federico Gatti (Juventus), Andrea Cambiaso (Juventus), Giorgio Scalvini (Atalanta), Leonardo Spinazzola (Napoli), Marco Palestra (Cagliari), Diego Coppola (Paris FC) |
| Midfielders | Nicolo Barella (Inter), Sandro Tonali (Newcastle), Manuel Locatelli (Juventus), Davide Frattesi (Inter), Bryan Cristante (Roma), Nicolo Pisilli (Roma) |
| Forwards | Mateo Retegui (Al-Qadsiah), Gianluca Scamacca (Atalanta), Giacomo Raspadori (Atalanta), Moise Kean (Fiorentina), Matteo Politano (Napoli), Francesco Pio Esposito (Inter), Nicolo Cambiaghi (Bologna) |
Erling Haaland: Norway’s Team for Matches against Netherlands, Switzerland
After propelling Norway to their fourth World Cup qualification, Erling Haaland, the Premier League’s leading scorer, is expected to participate when his country travels to face the Netherlands on Friday, March 27 (19:45 GMT / 14:45 ET / 11:45 PT) and welcomes Switzerland on Tuesday, March 31 (17:00 BST / 12:00 ET / 09:00 PT).
| Position | Players |
| Goalkeepers | Orjan Nyland (Sevilla), Mathias Dyngeland (Brann), Sander Tangvik (Rosenborg), Egil Selvik (Watford) |
| Defenders | Julian Ryerson (Dortmund), Kristoffer Ajer (Brentford), Leo Ostigard (Genoa), David Moller Wolfe (Wolves), Fredrik Andre Bjorkan (Bodo/Glimt), Marcus Holmgren Pedersen (Torino), Torbjorn Heggem (Bologna), Andreas Hanche-Olsen (Mainz), Eivind Helland (Bologna) |
| Midfielders | Martin Odegaard (Arsenal), Sander Berge (Fulham), Patrick Berg (Bodo/Glimt), Morten Thorsby (Cremonese), Kristian Thorstvedt (Sassuolo), Sverre Nypan (Manchester City), Felix Horn Myhre (Brann), Antonio Nusa (Leipzig), Oscar Bobb (Fulham), Thelo Aasgaard (Rangers), Aron Donnum (Toulouse), Kristian Arnstad (Aarhus) |
| Forwards | Erling Haaland (Man City), Alexander Sorloth (Atletico Madrid), Jorgen Strand Larsen (Crystal Palace), Andreas Schjelderup (Benfica) |
Cristiano Ronaldo: Portugal’s Team Against Mexico and USA
Portugal’s captain, Cristiano Ronaldo, is sidelined with a hamstring injury and will be absent from Portugal’s match in Mexico on Sunday, March 29 (02:00 BST / 21:00 ET on Saturday / 18:00 PT on Saturday), as well as their fixture against the USA in Atlanta on Wednesday, April 1 (00:00 BST / 19:00 ET on Tuesday / 16:00 PT on Tuesday).
The attacker provided an optimistic update on his recovery process via social media. His earliest potential return to play would be for his club team, Al-Nassr, at home versus Al-Najma on Friday, April 3, or away to Al-Akhdoud on Saturday, April 11.
| Position | Players |
| Goalkeepers | Diogo Costa (Porto), Jose Sa (Wolves), Rui Silva (Sporting) |
| Defenders | Matheus Nunes (Manchester City), Diogo Dalot (Manchester United), Joao Cancelo (Barcelona), Nuno Mendes (PSG), Goncalo Inacio (Sporting), Renato Veiga (Villarreal), Antonio Silva (Benfica), Tomas Araujo (Benfica) |
| Midfielders | Ruben Neves (Al Hilal), Samu Costa (Mallorca), Mateus Fernandes (West Ham), Joao Neves (PSG), Vitinha (PSG), Bruno Fernandes (Man United) |
| Forwards | Paulinho (Toluca), Ricardo Horta (Braga), Pedro Goncalves (Sporting), Joao Felix (Al Nassr), Francisco Trincao (Sporting), Francisco Conceicao (Juventus), Pedro Neto (Chelsea), Goncalo Guedes (Real Sociedad), Goncalo Ramos (PSG) |
When is the Commencement of the 2026 FIFA World Cup?
The World Cup commences on Thursday, June 11, when Mexico encounters South Africa in Mexico City (20:00 BST / 15:00 ET / 12:00 PT).
The complete tournament agenda is available on FIFA’s website.