The first international break of 2025 is here, with several senior West Ham United players set for action around the globe.
With FIFA 2026 World Cup qualifying ties, CONCACAF Nations League Finals and UEFA Nations League matches set to be played in all corners of the world, a variety of challenges await our Hammers.
Read on for the full lowdown of who will be playing where over the next fortnight...
Who has been called up?
As mentioned, a number of our players have had the call from their nations for this set of international fixtures.
West Ham captain Jarrod Bowen has been named in Thomas Tuchel’s first squad as England manager, for the Three Lions' opening two 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Albania and Latvia.
Bowen - who has scored eight goals in 27 appearances in all competitions for West Ham this season - will be hoping to build on his last display for England, when he scored his first goal on the international stage in a convincing 5-0 win over the Republic of Ireland in the UEFA Nations League in November, and help inspire a strong start to a qualifying campaign in which England will be looking to secure a spot at next year’s finals in Canada, Mexico and the USA.
Continuing in Europe, Tomáš Souček and Vladimír Coufal have been included in the Czech Republic squad for their opening two World Cup qualifying ties. National-team captain and midfield talisman Souček and right-back Coufal have both been regular members of the senior international set-up in recent seasons, and that trend will continue when they take on the Faroe Islands and Gibraltar later this month in UEFA Group L.
Ivan Hašek’s men will be aiming to make a winning start to their qualifying campaign and ultimately earn a spot at the World Cup finals for the first time since 2006.
Forward Evan Ferguson has been named in the Republic of Ireland’s 23-man squad for their two upcoming international clashes later this month. Heimir Hallgrímsson’s side will take on Bulgaria over two legs in the UEFA Nations League B/C play-offs.
After finishing third in Group B2 during the regular running of the Nations League between September and November 2024 - behind England and Greece, and ahead of Finland - the Republic of Ireland are hoping to avoid relegation to League C, where Bulgaria earned a second-place finish in Group C3.
Dinos Mavropanos, meanwhile, will join up with his international teammates for a two-legged UEFA Nations League A/B play-off tie against Scotland.
Our No15 started all six of his nation’s regular Group B2 games between September and November 2024, including the memorable 2-1 win over England at Wembley, as they finished second in the table behind the Three Lions on goal difference. Now, to earn promotion to League A, Ivan Jovanović’s side must overcome Steve Clarke’s Scotland, who finished third in Group A1, behind Portugal and Croatia.
Midfielder Edson Álvarez has been included in Javier Aguirre’s 23-man Mexico squad for two crucial CONCACAF Nations League Finals matches, where they will ultimately look to win the competition for the first time.
Mexico, Nations League runners-up in 2021 and 2024, advanced to this year’s semi-finals with a 4-2 aggregate win over Honduras in the last eight in November, and are now set to take on Canada at the SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, California, for a spot in the 2025 showpiece.
They will play the United States or Panama in their second of two games, in either the final or third-place play-off.
In Africa, Mohammed Kudus has been included in Ghana’s squad for two FIFA World Cup qualifying ties, while Nayef Aguerd has been named in Walid Regragui’s Morocco squad.
Following their disappointment at failing to qualify for the 2025 CAF Africa Cup of Nations back in November, the Black Stars are now looking to get back on track and secure a spot at next year’s World Cup finals.
Currently second in CAF Group I after four games, Kudus and his teammates are set to take on Chad in Accra first this month, before facing Madagascar in Morocco.
Kudus will be looking to add to his impressive record for his country back on the international stage, where he currently boasts eleven goals from 40 caps.
Aguerd - who has made 34 appearances in all competitions on loan at Spanish top-flight side Real Sociedad this season - is set to contest two World Cup qualifiers with Morocco in March, in CAF Group E, first facing Niger before taking on Tanzania.
Elsewhere, forward Callum Marshall has been rewarded for his impressive performances on loan at Huddersfield Town in EFL League One by being named in Michael O’Neill’s senior Northern Ireland squad.
The 20-year-old has scored ten goals in 39 games in all competitions for the promotion-chasing Terriers this term, and he will be looking to add to his eight caps for his country when they contest friendlies against Switzerland and Sweden in Belfast and Stockholm respectively.
Academy goalkeeper Krisztián Hegyi, who is currently on loan at Debreceni VSC in his homeland, has been included in Hungary’s senior squad for their UEFA Nations League A/B play-off two-legged match-up against Turkey.
Where can I watch the games?
Coverage of this round of international fixtures appears to be fairly limited on UK television screens. However, England's 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Albania and Latvia will both be broadcast live in the UK on ITV1.
Meanwhile, Hammers fans in the UK will be able to watch Greece’s two-legged UEFA Nations League A/B play-off tie against Scotland on the BBC.
Listings around the world can be found by clicking HERE.
How about our young Hammers?
A total of 12 Academy stars have been called up for their countries at their various age groups for this international window. Kaelan Casey, George Earthy and Ollie Scarles have all been selected for international duty by England Elite Squad lead coach Ben Futcher ahead of the upcoming March clashes.
Midfielder Lewis Orford and goalkeeper Fin Herrick have been named in Will Antwi’s 21-man England U19 squad for the Elite Round qualifiers that will determine whether the Young Lions secure a place at this summer’s UEFA U19 European Championship in Romania.
Emeka Adiele and Airidas Golambeckis have been recalled by Liam Bramley to represent the England U18s for an international tournament in Porto, Portugal, while first-year scholars Lanre Awesu and Chinaza Nwosu have been recalled to Neil Young’s U17s squad, who will face Israel, Slovenia and Northern Ireland in UEFA Euro Elite Qualifying action.
Elsewhere, Patrick Kelly and Josh Briggs have been called up by Northern Ireland U21s for friendlies against Ukraine U20s, Uzbekistan U21s and Turkmenistan U21s, and Josh Landers, who has hit a rich vein of form since arriving in east London from Hibernian in January, travels to Spain with Scotland U19s to face Sweden U19s and Poland U19s.
Fixtures in full
Thursday 20 March
Krisztián Hegyi | Turkey v Hungary - UEFA Nations League A/B play-off - Rams Park, Istanbul, Turkey, 5pm GMT
Evan Ferguson | Bulgaria v Republic of Ireland - UEFA Nations League B/C play-off - Stadion Hristo Botev, Plovdiv, Bulgaria, 7.45pm GMT
Dinos Mavropanos | Greece v Scotland - UEFA Nations League A/B play-off - Karaiskakis Stadium, Piraeus, Greece, 7.45pm GMT
Friday 21 March
Edson Álvarez | Canada v Mexico - CONCACAF Nations League Finals - SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, California, USA, 2.30am GMT
Mohammed Kudus | Ghana v Chad - FIFA World Cup qualifying - Accra Sports Stadium, Accra, Ghana, 7pm GMT
Jarrod Bowen | England v Albania - FIFA World Cup qualifying - Wembley Stadium, London, England, 7.45pm GMT
Callum Marshall | Northern Ireland v Switzerland - International Friendly - Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland, 7.45pm GMT
Nayef Aguerd | Niger v Morocco - FIFA World Cup qualifying - Honor Stadium, Oujda, Morocco, 9.30pm GMT
Saturday 22 March
Tomáš Souček and Vladimír Coufal | Czech Republic v Faroe Islands - FIFA World Cup qualifying - Malšovická Aréna, Hradec Králové, Czech Republic, 7.45pm GMT
Sunday 23 March
Krisztián Hegyi | Hungary v Turkey - UEFA Nations League A/B play-off - Puskás Aréna, Budapest, Hungary, 5pm GMT
Dinos Mavropanos | Scotland v Greece - UEFA Nations League A/B play-off - Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland, 5pm GMT
Evan Ferguson | Republic of Ireland v Bulgaria - UEFA Nations League B/C play-off - Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Republic of Ireland, 7.45pm GMT
Monday 24 March
Mohammed Kudus | Madagascar v Ghana - FIFA World Cup qualifying - Mimoun Al Arsi Stadium, Hoceima, Morocco, 7pm GMT
Jarrod Bowen | England v Latvia - FIFA World Cup qualifying - Wembley Stadium, London, England, 7.45pm GMT
Tuesday 25 March
Callum Marshall | Sweden v Northern Ireland - International Friendly - Strawberry Arena, Stockholm, Sweden, 6pm GMT
Tomáš Souček and Vladimír Coufal | Gibraltar v Czech Republic - FIFA World Cup qualifying - Estádio Algarve, Algarve, Portugal, 7.45pm GMT
Nayef Aguerd | Morocco v Tanzania - FIFA World Cup qualifying - Honor Stadium, Oujda, Morocco, 9.30pm GMT