The club season may be over, but fear not football-addicts, there’s still plenty of international action coming your way this summer to pass the time between now and August.
This article is your complete guide, looking ahead at what’s to come.
Don’t forget, we’ll be covering all of these competitions right here on 101 Great Goals, so stay tuned.
FIFA Women’s World Cup: 20 July- 20 August
This summer’s main event is of course the Women’s World Cup, taking place in Australia and New Zealand.
The United States are targeting an unprecedented three-peat, aiming to become the first team, men’s or women’s, to win three successive World Cups.
There are plenty of teams seeking to dethrone the U.S. though, including two-times winners Germany, the emerging forces of France and Spain as well as European champions England and Copa América winners Brazil.
European fans will primarily be watching this tournament with their breakfast as matches, mostly, kick off between 8am and 11am BST, with a few exceptions.
Thus, stateside, committed supporters may be staying up through the night, although USA’s first two group matches kick off at 9pm (ET) but their third game, against Portugal, is a 3am (ET) start.
The Women’s World Cup Final, taking place at Stadium Australia in Sydney on 20 August, kicks off at 8pm local time, midday in Paris and Berlin, 11am in London, 6am in New York and 3am in LA.
Everything you need to know ahead of the tournament will be coming to 101 Great Goals, including team profiles, group-by-group guides and more, very soon.
UEFA Nations League Finals: 14-18 June
Switching to men’s football, kicking off this Wednesday is the third edition of the UEFA Nations League Finals.
Four years ago, Portugal were crowned the inaugural Nations League winners before, in 2021, France got their hands on the trophy, beating Spain 2-1 in the final at San Siro.
This summer, Netherlands will host the tournament, taking on Croatia in the semi-final at De Kuip, before Spain and Italy go head-to-head at De Grolsch Veste the following night.
The Dutch are seeking to end their 35-year wait for major silverware, while three-times World Cup semi-finals Croatia have never won a major trophy since gaining independence from Yugoslavia in 1992.
Italy meanwhile will be looking to add to their Euros title won two years ago, while Spain are aiming to go one better in this tournament, having lost in the most-recent final, ousting Gli Azzurri in Milan to get there.
The final, taking place in Rotterdam on Sunday 18 June, will be a big occasion, and is the men’s international match not to be missed this summer, in the absence of a World Cup, Euros or Copa América.
Euro 2024 qualifiers: 16-20 June
Whilst four of Europe’s top teams are battling for silverware in Rotterdam and Enschede, UEFA’s other 50 members will be continuing their push for Euro 2024 qualification.
England, who have maximum points after two games, face Malta in Ta’ Qali on Friday before welcoming North Macedonia to Old Trafford on Monday night.
While juggernauts such as the Three Lions, Portugal, France and Belgium will face little difficulty making it to Germany 2024, there are plenty of key match-ups in the fight to join them there.
With Spain also in Group A, Saturday’s clash between Norway and Scotland in Oslo could be decisive, as both battle for the other automatic qualification spot.
Similarly, over in Group D, most would expect Croatia to qualify no problem, making Monday’s match between Türkiye and Wales in Samsun massive for both.
In total, 46 Euro 2024 qualifiers are being played on 16, 17, 19 & 20 June, with other highlights including Austria vs Sweden, Slovenia vs Denmark, Portugal vs Bosnia, France vs Greece and plenty more besides.
CONCACAF Nations League Finals: 15-18 June
Turning our attention to North America, CONCACAF are holding their own Nations League Finals, taking place in Las Vegas no less.
Two years ago, United States won the inaugural edition of this competition, beating Mexico 3-2, with Christian Pulisic converting an extra time spot-kick, before Ethan Horvath saved a 124th minute penalty, denying Andrés Guardado and claiming the win.
This time, the confederation’s big two will go head-to-head at the semi-final stage, both under new management, with Diego Cocca leading el Tri, while B. J. Callaghan is now interim Head Coach of the U.S.
USA are currently unbeaten in five meetings with their historic rivals, a sequence they’ll be seeking to continue at Allegiant Stadium on Thursday night.
Earlier, at the same venue in Paradise, the other semi-final will take place, featuring a Canada team who are targeting their first major silverware since the year 2000.
Standing in the Canucks’ way are the competition’s rank-outsiders Panama, with los Canaleros supporters dreaming of lifting a major trophy for the very first time.
The final, taking place on Sunday at 5:30pm local and 8:30pm (ET), is not to be missed, nor is the semi-final between USA and Mexico, if the astonishingly eventful 2021 final in Denver is anything to go by.
CONCACAF Gold Cup: 24 June- 16 July (prelims 16-20 July)
CONCACAF isn’t done there though because, straight after the Nations League Finals, attention turns to the Gold Cup.
First up, the Preliminary Round takes place in Fort Lauderdale, future home of the GOAT himself Lionel Messi.
12 teams are competing for the three remaining spots in the group stages, attempting to negotiate two rounds of qualifying, with a trio of prelim finals taking place on Tuesday 20 June at DRV PNK Stadium.
The Gold Cup then gets underway in earnest on 24 June, with defending champions USA facing 2015 and 2017 finalists Jamaica in Chicago.
Reigning Asian champions Qatar are once again making a guest appearance for, you know…. money reasons, aiming to go one better, having actually got the semi-finals two summer ago.
The 17th CONCACAF Gold Cup Final will take place on Sunday 16 July at SoFi Stadium, with plenty of teams, Mexico and Canada the leading contenders, aiming to dethrone the U.S. in Los Angeles.
Under-21 European Championship: 21 June- 8 July
Returning to Europe, the 24th edition of the Under-21 European Championships is being held in Romania and Georgia this summer.
Alongside the co-hosts, all of Europe’s heayvweights will be there, including reigning champions Germany as well as other former winners Spain, Italy, England, Netherlands, France and more.
On 21, 22, 24, 25, 27 & 28 June, there are four matches taking place everyday, as the group stages gets wrapped up rather switfly.
Lee Carsley’s England are in Group C alongside Czechia, Israel and Germany, with the Three Lions hoping to win this tournament for the first time since 1984.
The quarter-finals then get going on 1 July, with the final itself scheduled for 8 July at Batumi Stadium in Georgia.
Some stars to look out for include Loïs Openda, Ryan Gravenberch, Rayan Cherki, Fábio Vieira, Oihan Sancet, Youssoufa Moukoko, Sandro Tonali, Noni Madueke, Harvey Elliott, Emile Smith Rowe and dozens more.
With one of the most prestigious trophies in youth football, and spots at next summer’s Olympic Games up for grabs, there’s plenty to play for in this tournament.
Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers: 14 June- 20 June
Over in Africa, the countdown to Africa Cup of Nations 2024 is on, with the finals, taking place in Côte d’Ivoire, getting underway on 13 January next year.
Hosts les Éléphants will be there, while Morocco, Algeria, South Africa, Senegal, Burkina Faso and Tunisia have all also booked their spots.
This though means 17 places are up for grabs, with crucial fixtures taking place between 14 and 20 June, all across the continent, ahead of the final matchday in September.
Nigeria, Cape Verde, Cameroon, Egypt, Ghana, Mali, Gabon and many more can rubber stamp their qualification with wins this month, while many more smaller nations need points to keep the dream alive.
International friendlies: 12 June- 20 June
For those not involved in competitive action, this FIFA window will see many nations feature in international friendly action.
Reigning World Champions Argentina are going on a mini-tour of Asia, facing Australia in Běijīng before hopping over to Jakarta where they’ll go up against Indonesia.
Fierce rivals Brazil meanwhile are in Europe, taking on Guinea in Barcelona before meeting AFCON champions Senegal in Lisbon.
In fact, all ten South American nations are in friendly action this month, ahead of CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying getting underway in September.
Marcelo Bielsa will take charge of Uruguay for the very first time, with la Celeste welcoming Nicaragua and Cuba to Montevideo.
Meantime, having qualified as hosts, Germany will continue their Euro 2024 preparations with a trio of friendlies, taking on Ukraine on Monday, Poland on Friday night and then Colombia the following Tuesday.
In total, well over 50 international friendlies are taking place all over the world this month.
Aside from games that haven’t already been mentioned, some of the fixtures to look out for include Korea Republic vs Peru, Sweden vs New Zealand, Serbia vs Jordan, and Japan vs El Salvador.
