The football calendar is about to changeplaceholder image
The football calendar is about to change | Getty Images
The international break schedule will undergo a major shake-up for the 2026-27 season
Manchester United and Manchester City will be impacted by a major change in the international calendar from the 2026-27 campaign.
FIFA have confirmed changes from next year that will see the number of international breaks during the season reduced from four to three. The March and November international breaks will remain as normal but the October and September breaks will be condensed into one longer break.
Countries will be able to play four games during a prolonged break from September 21, 2026 to early October 6, 2026 while the other two breaks will be two games. November’s break will be from November 9-17 and March 22-30. It marks a big change in the FIFA scheduling and avoids constant disruption from international breaks in the early part of the campaign.
The current international break started with just three Premier League games played. The new changes will allow for less fixture congestion for clubs while also allowing the same number of international games to be played during a season.
The changes have been confirmed by FIFA’s international match calendar. A statement read: “FIFA’s objective in this process is to make a football calendar that is “fit-for-purpose” for modern needs, contributing for the improvement of the quality of players, clubs and national teams and giving both incentive and opportunity for the detection and development of talent outside a small number of countries.”
United and City have several players out on international duty currently, with players from across the globe playing at both clubs.
This September is the last time that both clubs will have to release players for international duty in early September with the new changes to stay in place until 2030. Below are the remaining games this break involving United players.
Man Utd players in action for remainder of international break
SUNDAY 7 SEPTEMBER
Lithuania v Netherlands – 17:00 (De Ligt)
Turkey v Spain – 19:45 (Bayindir)
MONDAY 8 SEPTEMBER
Wales U21s v Denmark U21s – 19:30 (Obi)
Gibraltar v Faroe Islands – 19:45 (Scanlon)
Greece v Denmark – 19:45 (Dorgu, Hojlund)
Switzerland v Slovenia – 19:45 (Sesko)
France U21s v Serbia U21s – 20:00 (Yoro)
TUESDAY 9 SEPTEMBER
England U19s v Netherlands U19s – 11:30 (Amass)
Cape Verde v Cameroon – 17:00 (Onana, Mbeumo)
Hungary v Portugal – 19:45 (Fernandes)
Gabon v Ivory Coast – 20:00 (Amad)
WEDNESDAY 10 SEPTEMBER
Bolivia v Brazil – 00:30 (Casemiro)
Chile v Uruguay – 00:30 (Ugarte)
Continue Reading