With the expanded fall international break coming to a close, coaches and players — and fans, too — are itching to get club soccer back in action once again.
With the final matches on Tuesday, players will return to their clubs to continue the 2026/27 season, fresh off a lengthy international break that spanned both September and October.
However, that is far from the end of international football in 2026. There will be one more FIFA match window before the calendar year is out, plus another one early next year before the long wait until the summer begins.
The Sporting News brings you a look at when the next international break is, as well as an overview of what the 2027 match calendar looks like.
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When is the next international break?
Following the merged September-October international break, the next international window will begin on November 9, 2026 and continue through November 17.
This will see the calendar go back to the normal two games for this regular-sized international break.
2027 FIFA international match calendar
For the 2027 international calendar,
| Dates | Confederations | Matches per team (max) |
| Jan. 7-Feb. 5 | AFC | AFC Asian Cup only |
| Mar. 22-30 | All | 2 |
| Jun. 7-15 | All | 2 |
| Jun. 19-July 11 | CONCACAF CAF |
CONCACAF Gold Cup only CAF Africa Cup of Nations only |
| Sep. 20-Oct. 5 | All | 4 |
| Nov. 8-16 | All | 2 |
Why were the September and October international breaks merged?
In the recent past, the FIFA international match calendar has allocated one week in September and one week in October for two different international breaks.
However, in 2026, that has changed in a significant way.
Due to the length of the World Cup in 2026, which expanded to 48 teams for the first time in history and took six weeks to contest through the summer, FIFA has decided to give players a little more time for recovery and re-integration at their club teams before returning to international duty.
To do so, they combined the September and October international breaks into one, giving national teams two weeks for camp across the two months during which they were given the opportunity to play up to four games. However, many teams decided to play only two or three as to not put the full wear and tear on their players.
National team coaching staffs will love the chunk of time with their players, as they rarely get so long to implement their philosophies with a squad.
This will continue in 2027 as well, as FIFA seems to be keeping the change.
