Overview
- France sealed direct World Cup qualification with a 4-0 win over Ukraine in Paris, led by a Kylian Mbappé brace plus goals from Michael Olise and Hugo Ekitiké.
- Portugal lost 2-0 in Ireland as Cristiano Ronaldo was sent off for an elbow after VAR review, leaving qualification to be secured on the final day against Armenia and putting his availability at risk depending on any ban.
- Norway moved to the brink of a direct berth with a 4-1 victory over Estonia through doubles from Erling Haaland and Alexander Sørloth, leaving Italy’s late 2-0 win in Moldova likely insufficient to avoid the March play-offs.
- Germany targets two wins to clinch qualification, visits Luxembourg on Nov 14 and hosts Slovakia on Nov 17, and will be captained by Jonathan Tah in place of the injured Joshua Kimmich.
- The DFB’s 2026 warm-up slate includes confirmed friendlies with Ivory Coast on Mar 30 in Stuttgart and Finland on May 31 in Mainz, with reported plans for additional tests against Switzerland in Basel and a final tune-up versus the USA still to be confirmed; meanwhile, Bayern Women rallied past Arsenal 3-2 and Eintracht Frankfurt won 2-1 at PSV in Europe.