Five pivotal World Cup qualifiers: Where to watch England, Spain, Italy and Portugal
The international break tends to be met with an apathetic response by everyday football fans but in the final week of UEFA World Cup qualifying there is plenty to look forward to.
Indeed, here we pick out five crucial matches from the penultimate round of fixtures, with some of the biggest nations in European football still at risk of missing out on automatic qualification for Qatar 2022.
Greece vs Spain - Full Match Preview
Thursday 11th November, 19:45 GMT
Where to watch (UK): Sky Sports Mix
A huge match for both teams, Greece must win to keep their hopes of a second place finish and subsquent play off spot alive and would move to within one point of Luis Enrique's side with a victory. They finish their campaign hosting bottom of the group Kosovo, while Spain host group toppers Sweden.
The reverse fixture in Spain ended in a 1-1 draw, which is an outcome that could condemn La Roja to second spot themselves should Sweden win in Georgia.
Key absentees
Greece: Anastasios Bakasetas, Pantelis Hatzidiakos, Kostas Fortounis, Dinos Mavropanos, Zeca
Spain: Eric Garcia, Pedri, Ansu Fati, Marcos Llorente, Yeremy Pino
Potential debutants
Greece: Dimitris Goutas, Gerasimos Mitoglou
Spain: Raul de Tomas
Rep. of Ireland vs Portugal - Full Match Preview
Thursday 11th November, 19:45 GMT
Where to watch (UK): Sky Sports Football / Main Event
With group leaders Serbia not in action having played an extra game than these two sides, a a win or draw for Portugal would see them leapfrog the table toppers ahead of a guaranteed showdown for top spot on Sunday. That would mean they could afford to draw said match, as they did in the reverse fixture, currently one point off the Serbians' lead but with a superior goal difference.
It's by no means guaranteed, however, having needed a last gasp brace from Cristiano Ronaldo to avoid what would have been a hugely damaging defeat on home soil in the reverse fixture back in September. It's been a rotten campaign for Ireland, but they have picked up notably since and indeed including said fixture, picking up five points from their following three matches, including a draw against Serbia in their last home match.
Key absentees
Ireland: Darren Randolph, Dara O'Shea, James Collins
Portugal: Anthony Lopes, Joao Mario, Rafa Silva, Raphael Guerreiro, Nuno Mendes, Bernardo Silva
Potential debutants
Ireland: Will Keane
Portugal: Jose Sa
Moldova vs Scotland - Full Match Preview
Friday 12th November, 17:00 GMT
Where to watch (UK): Sky Sports Football / Main Event
Victory for Scotland against bottom side Moldova would ensure Steve Clarke's side a place in a World Cup play-off ahead of Israel having failed to qualify for the tournament proper in five attempts since 1998. They won't be taking the result for granted, however, having laboured to a narrow 1-0 win on home soil in the reverse fixture.
Fail to win and if Israel were to do so in Austria then the Tartan Army would in all likelihood need a win over the top now faultless group leaders Denmark in their final game, with Israel hosting the Faroe Islands.
Key absentees
Moldova: Oleg Reabciuk, Vadim Rata
Scotland: Grant Hanley, Ryan Fraser
Potential debutants
Moldova: N/A
Scotland: Zander Clark, Jacob Brown
Italy vs Switzerland - Full Match Preview
Friday 12th November, 19:45 KO
Where to watch (UK): Sky Sports Premier League
Perhaps the biggest game of the opening round of UEFA qualifiers, European Champions Italy host neighbouring Switzerland in what is likely to be a direct shoot out for top spot in the group and automatic qualification for the 2022 World Cup.
Both are tied on 14 points after six matches having played out a 0-0 stalemate in the reverse fixture and drawn with Bulgaria and Northern Ireland respectively. Should they draw once again, those are their final group stage opponents too, with Italy travelling to Northern Ireland and Switzerland hosting Bulgaria.
The Swiss will be out for revenge after the Azzurri dumped them out of the Euros in the quarter-finals, with the three meetings beforehand all ending in draws. Having not qualified for the tournament in 2018, Italy have previous at being a reigning champion only to fail to qualify for the next major tournament, winning the World Cup in 1984 and failing to qualify for Euro 1986...
Key absentees
Italy: Lorenzo Pellegrini, Nicolo Zaniolo, Marco Verratti, Leonardo Spinazzola, Rafael Toloi, Moise Kean, Giorgio Chiellini, Ciro Immobile
Switzerland: Gregor Kobel, Nico Elvedi, Steven Zuber, Breel Embolo, Christian Fassnacht, Granit Xhaka
Potential debutants
Italy: Danilo Cataldi, Tomasso Pobega
Switzerland: Philipp Kohn, Bryan Okoh, Katriot Imeri
England vs Albania - Full Match Preview
Friday 12th November, 19:45 GMT
Where to watch (UK): ITV1
England only need a point against Albania to secure top spot in Group I but face a team that aren't mathematically out of the running for a top two place of their own yet. Indeed, victory for Albania would give them a genuine shot of ousting Poland in second ahead of a final meeting with Andorra, while Poland face a much tougher assignment against Hungary.
The reverse fixture ended in a relatively underwhelming 2-0 win for Gareth Southgate's side but should they lose on Friday night, there's every chance Poland could top the group ahead of the final round of matches.
England do face bottom side San Marino in their last match, but with results against the sixth placed side in the group discounted in the event of a tie for points, meaning any goal tally racked up against the minnows would be redundant. That said, 11 of Poland's current +17 goal difference was accrued against San Marino, so it would take two thumping wins over Andorra and Hungary to swing in their favour.
Key absentees
England: Luke Shaw, Mason Mount, James Ward-Prowse, Marcus Rashford, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Declan Rice
Albania: Berat Djimsiti, Amir Abrashi
Potential debutants
England: Aaron Ramsdale, Emile Smith Rowe
Albania: Ernest Muci
