It’s a new day, it’s a new dawn, it’s a new year of international soccer, and as Nina Simone might say after a sentence like that, I’m feeling good. The 2025 MLS season is only four weeks old, but our first international window is already here! Elsewhere in the world, leagues are taking breaks in action to accommodate their traveling employees, but not here. Major League Soccer is a MACHINE, people; we stop for NOTHING. The show must go on!

That said, there are going to be a whole lot of extra shows to watch in the coming week and a halfish, so I’ve put together your regularly scheduled international soccer watch guide once again. If you get a chance to tune into any of these exciting competitions, I can’t recommend it enough. The games listed are just my personal picks, not an exhaustive list. If you don’t see anything you like—which I highly doubt will happen—you’ll have to fill in the research gap I left for you. It makes for good geography lesson when you go through these things, so for all you lifelong learners out there, it could be fun.

Loons

Six — you read that right, SIX — Loons have been called up to their respective national teams. Once again, we are victims of our own success. We love that our boys are among the best players to come out of their home countries, but we’ll certainly miss them all while they’re gone. And, with World Cup Qualifiers and Nations League showdowns awaiting them in the week ahead, they’ll need our support as much as ever. Per usual, look for bolded games in the guide to see which games your Loons will be featuring in while they’re away. Without further ado, here’s the list:

• Michael Boxall - New Zealand
• Dayne St. Clair - Canada
• Tani Oluwaseyi - Canada
• Carlos Harvey - Panama
• Robin Lod - Finland
• Alejandro Bran - Costa Rica

Concacaf: Nations League and Gold Cup Qualifiers

We’ll start close to home. It just feels right, doesn’t it? The Concacaf Nations League is back and ready to crown a new champion. We’ll get to see both the semi-finals and the medal matches this week, and with three Loons fighting for the trophy, we’ve got some skin in the game up here. Can Mauricio Pochettino guide the USMNT to his first trophy in charge? Do Dayne, Tani, or Carlos have something to say about that? One way or another, it’s going to be exciting.

Semi-Finals

• USA vs. Panama, Thursday, March 20, at 6:00 p.m.

• Canada vs. Mexico, Thursday, March 20, at 9:30 p.m.

Third-Place Match

• Sunday, March 23, at 5:00 p.m.

Final

• Sunday, March 23, at 8:30 p.m.

But that’s not the only Concacaf action during this window. The preliminary round of Gold Cup qualifiers for this summer’s tournament are also kicking off, with two-legged matchups deciding who will join the nine teams that have already qualified. I’ve picked out some of the most intriguing qualifying matchups to help you stay up to date on your Concacaf soccer!

First Leg

• Cuba vs. Trinidad and Tobago, Friday, March 21, at 3:00 p.m.
• Saint Vincent and Grenadines vs. Jamaica, Friday, March 21, at 6:00 p.m.
• Bermuda vs. Honduras, Friday, March 21, at 6:00 p.m.
• Belize vs. Costa Rica, Friday, March 21, at 9:00 p.m.

Second Leg

• Cuba vs. Trinidad and Tobago, Tuesday, March 25, at 6:00 p.m.
• Saint Vincent and Grenadines vs. Jamaica, Tuesday, March 25, at 7:00 p.m
• Belize vs. Costa Rica, Tuesday, March 25, at 8:00 p.m.
• Honduras vs. Bermuda, Tuesday, March 25, at 9:00 p.m.

Nations League matches will be available on CBS and Paramount+, while the Gold Cup qualifiers will be available across the FOX Sports network.

World Cup Qualifiers: AFC, CAF, CONMEBOL, OFC, UEFA

Funny enough, World Cup Qualifiers are going on in every region aside from where the World Cup will be hosted. In addition to host nations Mexico, Canada, and the USA, as few as three and as many as five more Concacaf nations will qualify for next summer’s big dance, but that’s not what we’re dealing with in this window. Let’s do a speedrun through each confederation to give you the lay of the land as we continue to get closer and closer to cementing the final field for 2026.

AFC

The Asian Football Confederation is in their third round of qualifiers. We’ll get to see Matchdays 7 and 8 of 10 during this window, all in the buildup to the final two rounds of qualifying that will be played in late 2025. The top two teams from each group will automatically qualify for the World Cup after this round, with the third and fourth-placed teams moving to Round Four to earn one of the remaining three AFC spots. We’ve got some games for the early risers — or the night owls — because soccer is perfect for any lifestyle. Take that, every other sport!

Matchday 7

• Australia vs. Indonesia, Thursday, March 20, at 4:10 a.m.
• South Korea vs. Oman, Thursday, March 20, at 6:00 a.m.
• Iran vs. United Arab Emirates, Thursday, March 20, at 11:00 a.m.
• Saudi Arabia vs. China, Thursday, March 20, at 1:15 p.m.

Matchday 8

• South Korea vs. Jordan, Tuesday, March 25, at 6:00 a.m.
• Indonesia vs. Bahrain, Tuesday, March 25, at 8:45 a.m.
• Iran vs. Uzbekistan, Tuesday, March 25, at 11:00 a.m.

For now, all you really need to know is that while some teams could be mathematically eliminated from advancing during this window, they’ll all be coming back for more games in June. Beyond runaway group-leaders Japan, Group C is extremely tight at the moment, so I’d keep an eye on those matches for maximum drama. Select matches will be available on FIFA+.

CAF

In Africa, we’re midway through the group stage of the qualifying process. It’s still pretty wide open across the board, though a handful of undefeated starts to the campaign have put several nations in pole position to win their groups and earn automatic qualification. We’ve got 53 teams fighting for a total of 10 spots, making this one of the world’s most entertaining qualification processes to follow.

Matchday 5

• South Africa vs. Lesotho, Friday, March 21, at 11:00 a.m.
• Niger vs. Morocco, Friday, March 221, at 4:30 p.m.
• Sudan vs. Senegal, Saturday, March 22, at 2:00 p.m.

Matchday 6

• Madagascar vs. Ghana, Monday, March 25, at 2:00 p.m.
• Benin vs. South Africa, Tuesday, March 24, at 11:00 a.m.
• Egypt vs. Sierra Leone, Tuesday, March 24, at 2:00 p.m.

In a fun coincidence, Group C is the most entertaining group in CAF as well as AFC. Check out how the Bafana Bafana of South Africa fare as they look to return to the biggest stage in our sport. Just like the AFC, select CAF qualifying matches will be available on FIFA+.

CONMEBOL

Take a breath. Just three confederations to go; you got this. You still have time to fill on that schedule, I know it! Let’s add some more American games, this time of the southern variation. The World Cup qualification process in South America is one giant round-robin, where all 10 teams play each other home and away, with the top six point-earners securing automatic bids to the USA in 2026. Messi is reportedly out against Uruguay, but every game in CONMEBOL is worth a watch, with or without the GOAT.

Matchday 13

• Brazil vs. Colombia, Thursday, March 20, at 7:45 p.m.
• Uruguay vs. Argentina, Friday, March 21, at 6:30 p.m.

Matchday 14

• Argentina vs. Brazil, Tuesday, March 25, at 7:00 p.m.

I went for the low-hanging fruit here, but come on, you know you want to watch these games. I’ll pick the niche storylines out for you next time, when I’m not distracted by the rivalry match. Catch CONMEBOL action on Fanatiz.com.

OFC

Ah, the OFC, the tiny but mighty. Only one OFC nation will earn an automatic spot to World Cup 2026, and we’ll know who that is by the end of this window. The final four teams are facing off for the coveted spot, with favorites New Zealand still the only current OFC team to appear in a World Cup. Boxy will be hoping to keep that record going this week, so let’s all stay up for a late night on Friday to give him support from Minnesota. Matches will be available on FIFA+.

Semi-Finals

• New Caledonia vs. Tahiti, Thursday, March 26, at 9:00 p.m.
• New Zealand vs. Fiji, Friday, March 27, at 1:00 a.m.

Final

• Monday, March 24, at 1:00 a.m.

UEFA

Now, for my least favorite federation. Why’s that, you ask? Well, they just win a lot in Europe, and I’m a sucker for the underdog. Just you wait, folks; they won’t be on top forever! Personal feelings aside, we’ve got one last regional qualifying structure to run through. We’re at the beginning of the group stage of UEFA World Cup Qualifying, with Matchdays 1 and 2 set to take place during this window. The winners of each group will get automatic bids, but that’s a long way off, so I’ll delve into that thicket of weeds in a future watch guide. We’ve also got a few Nations League games to cover here, so I’ve sprinkled a few of those in as well. Finally, here’s your last batch of games that I think will be worth a watch, available across the FOX Sports network:

WCQ

• Malta vs. Finland, Friday, March 21, at 2:45 p.m.

• England vs. Albania, Friday, March 21, at 2:45 p.m.

• Lithuania vs. Finland, Monday, March 24, at 12:00 p.m.

Nations League

• Netherlands vs. Spain, Thursday, March 20, at 2:45 p.m.
• Germany vs. Italy, Sunday, March 23, at 2:45 p.m.

There you have it: your official March International Window watch guide. Did I miss a few things? Certainly. Will I be watching all of these games? Maybe, maybe not, we’ll have to see if I can get to the grocery store and then lock myself in my apartment before the people at work figure out that I’m playing hooky. Watching soccer is a full-time job these days, and I’m just here to give you the tools to do it. Let’s enjoy the weeks ahead!