The International Break Isn’t Boring — You Are

For many fans, the international break is a fortnight of hell as the twists and turns of the club football season are abruptly put on hold. As the season is coming to a climax, there are so many fascinating storylines to explore. Will Manchester City’s Carabao Cup triumph lead to an unlikely resurgence in the title race? Will Tottenham Hotspur suffer a shock relegation in their worst ever Premier League season? Could PSG shockingly fall short of a fifth consecutive Ligue 1 title? Or, most importantly, will Tonda Eckert’s Southampton secure a stunning promotion back to the Premier League in what would surely be the most remarkable turnaround in decades (come on guys, we’re all thinking it)? To slam on the brakes just to watch James Garner get his England debut in a meaningless friendly against Uruguay seems…pointless.

Well, here’s my dirty little secret: I quite enjoy the international break. Not to watch England – as interesting as the battle to make Thomas Tuchel’s World Cup squad may be, I would much rather watch club football than relatively meaningless friendlies. However, this is all the football – if that – that those who love to malign the international break watch. Of course, the break is immensely frustrating when you’re going from the high octane action of knockout football, promotion pushes, and relegation six pointers to comparatively low-stakes games. If you look outside England, however, there is so much at stake this international break, with the final few spots at this Summer’s World Cup up for grabs.

[The UEFA Playoffs] mean 12 do or die games in the space of a week where both sides have everything to play for – and everything to lose

The previous international break, in November, was filled with drama in the race to get to North America this Summer. Having appeared dead and buried at the start of the window, Heimir Hallgrímsson’s Ireland side pulled off a shock 2-0 win at home to Portugal to give themselves a lifeline. Troy Parrott’s winner with the last kick of the game to beat Hungary in Budapest gave the Irish an unlikely shot at making the World Cup, with the reactions to the goal in the ground and around Ireland going viral after the game. Ireland’s stunning comeback earned them a place in this month’s UEFA playoffs, where 16 European teams who missed out during qualifying will compete for four places in the World Cup. This means 12 do or die games in the space of a week where both sides have everything to play for – and everything to lose.

The task ahead of Ireland is a trip to Prague, where, should they beat Czechia, they will most likely host Denmark in Dublin in a winner-takes-all clash for the World Cup. North of the border, Michael O’Neill will attempt to take Northern Ireland to the World Cup whilst simultaneously managing Blackburn to championship survival. The Green and White Army face perhaps the toughest draw any nation does this month, with Italy awaiting in Rome. However, despite winning the World Cup on four occasions, the 2021 European champions have failed to make the two last editions of the tournament, on both occasions losing crunch games to 66th in the world North Macedonia, whilst it’s been 20 (TWENTY!) years since they played a knockout game at a World Cup. Wales will have the chance to take on the winners of that clash should the likes of the in-form Harry Wilson carry them past Bosnia and Herzegovina. Although the quality of the teams in these games might not be of the truly elite standard on show from England, France, and Spain (although the likes of Viktor Gyökores, Hakan Çalhanoğlu and Robert Lewandowski are hardly amateurs), these matches should more than make up for what they lack in pedigree with fight, desire, and drama.

But if Europe doesn’t tickle your fancy, don’t worry – it’s called the World Cup for a reason. FIFA is also hosting its intercontinental playoffs to decide the final two qualifiers for the World Cup. Having incredulously lost out on qualification to the island nation of Curacao in November, Jamaica (who boast multiple English dual nationals such as Rico Henry, Ethan Pinnock, and Demarai Gray) will have to beat DR Congo (who boast dual nationals like Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Axel Tunazebe) for their World Cup birth – presuming the latter avoid a cataclysmic upset by New Caledonia. Congo themselves came through a bruising qualification process, seeing off a star studded Nigeria side to reach this playoff game.

You just have eleven players out on the pitch, who may not be the best, playing their heart out for their country

Now, I’m not one to judge other people’s tastes, but as a football fan if the prospect of watching two mismatched teams filled with top end players like Yoanne Wissa and Leon Bailey, dual nationals who weren’t good enough for England parachuted in like Gray and Wan-Bissaka, and footballers who are, to put it bluntly, objectively bad in comparison like Edo Kayembe and Jamal Lowe doesn’t appeal to you, I think you’re a really weird person (no, seriously – YOU’RE the weird one). This game might genuinely be the highlight of the international break for me. It promises to be really weird, tense and unlike any game you’ll watch in the Premier League this season – which is why I love it. I mean, is there ANY better way to spend a Tuesday night?

Ultimately, this is why I love international football. I’m as big a fan of the club game as the next person, and I’m very much looking forward to watching Saints romp to a play-off/FA cup double when the season restarts in April. But in an era when football has become so robotic, data-driven, and – let’s face it – predictable, there is something wonderfully pure about the international game. You can’t sign players, you don’t have six week long pre-seasons to drill intricate passages of play, and there are very few English referees around to ruin things. You just have eleven players out on the pitch, who may not be the best, playing their heart out for their country, now more than ever. And if that doesn’t excite you, I’m not sure how much you really like football.

To me, that sounds like the game in its purest, most raw, and most human form. If you’re feeling the need to get your football fix over the break, don’t watch England. Find a game that actually matters, sit back, and enjoy the carnage that inevitably unfolds before you. And you never know, maybe you’ll accidentally find a way to enjoy the international break.

*Since the writing of this article, Ireland, Wales, and Northern Ireland have failed to progress to the next round of the World Coup Qualification Playoffs. Instead, the teams who knocked them out  – Italy and Bosnia and Herzegovina – will face each other, while Czechia and Denmark will also go up against one another.