France's forward Kylian Mbappe (L) speaks with France's forward Ousmane Dembele during a training session at the Algarve stadium, in Faro on June 15, 2023, on the eve of their UEFA Euro 2024 group B qualification football match against Gibraltar. (Photo by FRANCK FIFE / AFP) (Photo by FRANCK FIFE/AFP via Getty Images)
In a congested soccer season where elite players have aired the idea of going on strike, the Nations League returns this week looking less than a top priority.
France captain Kylian Mbappé opted to stay away, his probable deputy Antoine Griezmann retired from the national team, and Romelu Lukaku asked to work on his fitness at new club Napoli rather than join the Belgium camp.
Belgium coach Domenico Tedesco called up four potential debutants to experiment in games in what is the third-tier competition for European teams.
“We will not do it during the important World Cup qualification,” said Tedesco, looking ahead to that important next stage in 2025.
The 2026 World Cup in North America is, however, already now in play for teams targeting that tournament and each has two Nations League games from Thursday through Tuesday.
Results in the next week, and two more games in November, are the last chance to gain a better seeding in the Dec. 13 draw in Zurich for European qualifying groups for the World Cup.
Two teams pushing to raise their FIFA ranking and go into the draw pot of second-seeded teams are Norway and Slovenia.
Europe’s most feared striker and one of its emerging stars are due to meet again on Thursday in Oslo.
Erling Haaland and Benjamin Šeško, once club mates at Salzburg, are the main attractions when Norway hosts Slovenia in their second-tier League B group.
Haaland has 11 goals in 10 games for Manchester City this season plus a winning goal in the Nations League, sealing a 2-1 victory over Austria last month.
Šeško has six in nine games for Leipzig — including three in the Champions League — plus four in two Nations League games. The tall striker got a hat trick in a 3-0 win over Kazakhstan.
Thursday’s game will not be decisive in the group but it will decide who leads at the midway point and is set for promotion to the top tier. The return game in Ljubljana is Nov. 14.
The last time France played a game with neither Mbappé nor Griezmann on the field? November 2016, in a 0-0 draw with Ivory Coast in a friendly.
It will happen again Thursday when France faces Israel in Budapest. The Hungarian capital is the neutral venue chosen since Israel’s conflict with Hamas started one year ago.
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