That latter issue has reared its head once more with Thomas Tuchel opting against calling up Alexander-Arnold for England's World Cup qualifiers at home to Andorra and away to Serbia. This was not an outright dispensing with the Real Madrid man,

Brazil play their final home match of their World Cup 2026 qualifying campaign on Thursday, as they take on a Chile team looking to avoid finishing rock bottom in the CONMEBOL standings.

More than 75 years have passed since Nicaragua secured its sole win over Costa Rica, a drought it hopes to break in the 2026 World Cup qualifying on Friday.