Alex Morgan believes World Cup in USA will bring more American eyes
Former soccer pro Alex Morgan believes having the World Cup in U.S. will make Americans more interested in soccer.
Sports Seriously
The 2025-26 Premier League season has only just kicked off, but this weekend diehard fans can skip setting their alarms to catch those early-morning kickoffs.
The global soccer calendar is nothing if not jam-packed with games, and that includes play in professional leagues as well as national-team matches. FIFA, world soccer’s governing body, has mandated a handful of windows throughout the year where the latter takes precedence, meaning the next few days are packed with international matches rather than club play.
The biggest stars in the Premier League will stay busy, but they’ll be donning the colors of their nations instead. In much of the world, these are big games: four continents have qualifying matches for the 2026 World Cup to get through. In a few cases success in this window will spark celebration as some nations are on the brink of clinching their spot at next summer’s massive tournament.
The U.S. men’s national team will be in action as well, though with qualification assured, Mauricio Pochettino’s side will face two friendlies against South Korea and Japan in the coming days.
Here’s what to know about why the FIFA international window means a weekend without the Premier League:
Why is there no Premier League this weekend?
The Premier League season only just began three weeks ago, but is is already on a short break. What gives?
The FIFA international break began on Sept. 1, with professional teams worldwide obliged to allow their players called up for national team duty to depart for games on that front. Given the high volume of top-tier players in the Premier League, the obligation to allow them to represent their nation would make carrying on with matches this weekend difficult at best.
There’s no rule that requires leagues to halt play, and in fact MLS — especially in its first 20 or so years, when venue availability left few options — has taken criticism over the years for playing through these windows. However, no one particularly wants to see consequential games take place with teams significantly short-handed, and the Premier League has never had this kind of venue problem. As such, there are no games scheduled in this window, which runs until Sept. 9.
In the Premier League, that means a weekend off. Crystal Palace’s 3-0 win at Aston Villa on Aug. 31 wrapped up last weekend’s fixtures, and play won’t resume until Arsenal hosts Nottingham Forest on Sept. 13 at 7:30 a.m. ET
The international break doesn’t mean every continental confederation is up to the same thing. In Africa, Europe, South America, and Concacaf (the governing body regulating the sport in North and Central America, as well as the Caribbean), there are World Cup qualifiers beginning on Sept. 4.
In Asia, qualifying is between rounds, with six teams clinching their places at the 2026 World Cup by the conclusion of the region’s third round. However, the fourth round (with two more berths on the line) doesn’t begin until October, so the majority of teams are playing friendly matches.
That includes South Korea and Japan, who are among those to book a place at next year’s World Cup. They’ll both be playing the U.S. men’s national team — who as one of three World Cup hosts don’t have to participate in Concacaf qualifying — in this window.
The USMNT will face South Korea on Saturday at Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison, N.J. at 5 p.m. ET. After that, they’ll meet Japan on Tuesday in Columbus, Ohio, with that game set to start at 7:30 p.m. ET at Lower.com Field.
Premier League table heading into international break
Here’s where things stand in the Premier League heading into the international break, with each team having played three games:
- Liverpool — 9 points
- Chelsea — 7
- Arsenal — 6
- Tottenham Hotspur — 6
- Everton — 6
- Sunderland — 6
- Bournemouth — 6
- Crystal Palace — 5
- Manchester United — 4
- Nottingham Forest — 4
- Brighton & Hove Albion — 4
- Leeds United — 4
- Manchester City — 3
- Burnley — 3
- Brentford — 3
- West Ham — 3
- Newcastle United — 2
- Fulham — 2
- Aston Villa — 1
- Wolverhampton Wanderers — 0
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