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International preview: World Cup places at stake and friendlies

Jason Steelewill be sharing all he knows onKaoru Mitoma’s qualities when England take on Japan at Wembley during the upcoming international break.

The goalkeeper received his first Three Lions call-up on Friday, with boss Thomas Tuchel outlining the role he foresees for Jason.

“Jason is a particular one because we’re planning to take four goalkeepers to the World Cup and the fourth goalkeeper has a special role.

“The three goalkeepers will compete and support each other for the matches but they will also compete for a place in goal.

Included in a #ThreeLions squad for the first time in his career.

Congratulations, Jason Steele! 👏 pic.twitter.com/H32qU59Pnc

— England (@England) March 20, 2026

“The fourth goalkeeper in a World Cup is then a specialist. He will support the goalkeeper group, he will support the goalkeeper coach, he will support a penalty-taking group and take a lot of workload off the other shoulders and that’s why we need an experienced guy.

“We need a guy with quality, with experience and with the right energy and attitude and we believe that Jason is this guy, so this is kind of a trial to find out how this group works together for the World Cup.”

England take on Uruguay at Wembley on Friday, before facing Samurai Blue on 31 March.

Japan will play Scotland at Hampden Park on 27 March.

Dünya Kupası Play-Off’unda mücadele edecek #BizimÇocuklar’ın aday kadrosu açıklandı! 🇹🇷🔥

Finallere giden yolda, Ay-Yıldızlılar hazırlıklarına bugünden başlıyor! 💪 pic.twitter.com/cuf6yiaArW

— Türkiye #BizimÇocuklar 🇹🇷 (@MilliTakimlar) March 20, 2026

Yasin Ayari, Ferdi KadiogluandDiego Coppolawill be aiming to help Sweden, Türkiye and Italy qualify for this summer’s World Cup.

Former Albion head coach Graham Potter recently signed a new contract that runs until 2030, but his focus will very much be on Thursday's match against Ukraine. Should they win they will face either Poland or Albania next Wednesday for a place at the finals.

Ferdi's Türkiye take on Romania on Thursday, and a win would see them face either Slovakia or Kosovo for their World Cup spot.

Diego will be hoping to start his country’s play-off match against Northern Ireland on Thursday. Should they win they will face Andrew Crofts’ Wales or Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Maxim De Cuyper’s Belgium play two friendlies. First they head to Atlanta – where Albion played in pre-season in 2023 – to take on the USA on Saturday, before playing Mexico in Chicago on Wednesday 1 April.

Pascal Grossis aiming to add to his 16 caps and stake his claim for a place inDie Mannschaft’sWorld Cup squad. They face Switzerland on 27 March before taking on Ghana three days later in friendlies.

Unser Kader für die anstehenden Länderspiele gegen die Schweiz und Ghana 🤝

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🇨🇭🇩🇪 27. März - 20:45 Uhr - RTL

🇩🇪🇬🇭 31. März - 20:45 Uhr - ARD#dfbteam pic.twitter.com/2J3D8WC1Mm

— DFB-Team (@DFB_Team) March 19, 2026

Were it not for injury, Stef Tzimas may well have been lining up for Greece againstDiego Gomez’s Paraguay on Thursday. Our South American will then take on Morocco on Tuesday 30 March.

Yankuba Minteh’s Gambia face neighbours Senegal in their first match since Senegal had their Africa Cup of Nations title taken off them retrospectively and given to Morocco.

Also in friendly action are the Netherlands.Bart VerbruggenandJan Paul van Heckewill be aiming to be involved against Norway (27 March) and Ecuador (31 March).

Youth call-ups

Under-23s

Malick Yalcouye– Ivory Coast Under-23s

Morocco v Ivory Coast – 26 March

Morocco v Ivory Coast – 30 March

Yoon Doyoung– South Korea Under-23s

Training camp

Under-21s

James Beadle, Jack Hinshelwood– England Under-21s

Andorra v England – 27 March

England v Moldova – 31 March

Babis Kostoulas– Greece Under-21s

Greece v Malta – 27 March

Greece v Germany – 31 March

Harry Mills– Cyprus Under-21s

Cyprus v Spain – 27 March

Finland v Cyprus – 31 March

Under-20s

Tommy Watson– England Under-20s

Italy v England – 27 March

Under-19s

Henry Kasvosve –Wales Under-19s

Wales v USA – 28 March

Under-18s

Adam Brett –Wales Under-18s

Wales v USA – 28 March

Harry Howell, Freddie Simmonds– England Under-18s

England v Bulgaria – 25 March

England v Spain – 28 March

England v Moldova – 31 March

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