GENEVA (AP) — This week sees Champions League‑trophy coaches Zinedine Zidane and Jürgen Klopp launch their national‑team reigns as Europe’s soccer calendar reopens after the World Cup, and 41‑year‑old Cristiano Ronaldo is still firing on all cylinders. Ready for the drama?
The Nations League fills the first four‑game, two‑weekend window on FIFA’s calendar, spotlighting fresh coaching narratives as much as star players. Zidane kicks off with France in Turkey, while Klopp’s Germany opens in the Netherlands.
Thomas Tuchel joins the elite, becoming the third Champions League winner among the 54 European nations in action, as England host Spain on Saturday in a clash that once felt like a World Cup final.
Not shabby for a 65‑year‑old whose only senior club stint comprised 11 matches in Spain’s second division with Alavés fifteen years ago.
New FIFA‑backed calendar for early‑season international break
This autumn pause marks the inaugural club‑free interval in FIFA’s revamped international calendar, dictating when clubs must release players to their countries.
For years club executives pressed for fewer, longer breaks to curb season disruption and spare overseas players endless long‑haul flights.
FIFA first floated the concept in 2021 with a failed biennial World Cup plan, then in 2023 merged September and October’s two‑game windows into a single four‑match block.
Zidane’s patient wait to coach France
Zidane dazzled as a player and later as a coach, clinching three consecutive Champions League crowns during his initial 2½‑year spell at Real Madrid, ending in 2018.
Now he follows former teammate Didier Deschamps, and expectations run high for his guidance of a talent‑rich Les Bleus led by Kylian Mbappé.
“I’ve waited five years for this chance, so I’m a bit emotional,” the 54‑year‑old Zidane said in July after landing the role that seemed inevitable since his second Madrid stint ended in 2021.
Zidane inherits a side that fell twice at the semifinals to Spain under De la Fuente in the last two tournaments.
France avenged Spain in the 2021 Nations League final. Their road begins Friday versus Turkey in İzmit, then Belgium in Brussels three days later, with Italy and Belgium slated for the Stade de France.
Klopp waving the flag for a Germany united
Klopp missed out on a 2018 Champions League triumph with Liverpool, losing to Zidane’s Madrid hat‑trick in Kyiv; he secured the title a year later against Tottenham.
Two years after departing Anfield, Klopp assumes Germany’s helm, injecting fresh vigor into a side that last won a World Cup knockout in the 2014 final and has not reached a Euros final since 2008. In my view, his energetic approach could revive Germany’s stalled fortunes.
Klopp’s debut squad features 44 players split into two groups for the twin fixtures, and he sported a cap bearing a slogan aimed at reclaiming the national flag from extremist misuse.
His era kicks off in neighboring Netherlands on Thursday, with Germany hosting Greece in Augsburg and Serbia in Munich before heading to Greece on Oct. 4.
Tuchel 2.0 for England looks beyond World Cup semifinal loss
The other German mastermind, Tuchel, saw England within ten minutes of a first World Cup final in six decades.
He recently claimed that 99.9 % of fans ignore his substitution tweaks and late‑game tactics after Argentina edged England 2‑1 in the semifinal—a moment etched in Three Lions lore.
Tuchel can begin rewriting England’s story at Wembley on Saturday against reigning World Cup champions Spain, with Croatia and the Czech Republic also in the group.
Ronaldo’s Portugal career goes on and finally faces Haaland
Any doubt that 41‑year‑old Cristiano Ronaldo will keep playing for Portugal after another World Cup exit should have vanished long ago. The federation appointed 72‑year‑old Jorge Jesus, who guided Ronaldo and Al Nassr to a Saudi league title in May.
Ronaldo made the inaugural Jesus roster last week, eyeing a boost to his tally of 233 caps and 146 goals for Portugal.
Portugal, the reigning Nations League champions, open their defense Thursday at home against Wales.
A historic clash looms: Erling Haaland versus Ronaldo on Sunday in Oslo. Ronaldo faced Norway only once, in 2011 when Haaland was ten. Now 26, Haaland boasts 62 international goals, including seven across five World Cup games.
New coaching eras for World Cup teams
Scotland now turns to Belgian boss Sebastian Pocognoli, Belgium to Dutch manager Mark van Bommel, and the Netherlands to Spanish tactician Xavi Hernández.
Xavi, returning for a second stint after replacing Ronald Koeman, follows the Dutch legend into Barcelona’s dugout in 2021 and now leads the side he helped defeat in the 2010 World Cup final.
Italy, absent from the World Cup for 12 years, looked back to its 2021 European Championship triumph when rehiring Roberto Mancini for a second spell.
The revamped format is set to crown a surprise champion in the June Final Four.
The 16 top‑ranked nations compete in four round‑robin groups through November, with the two best from each advancing to two‑leg quarterfinals in March.
A Final Four mini‑tournament scheduled for June 9‑13 will be hosted by one of the semifinalists.
Meanwhile, 16 teams contest each of League B and League C, while six lower‑ranked sides sit in League D; Russia remains barred from international play.
Final rankings will determine which squads enter the March 2028 qualifying playoffs for that year’s European Championship.
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