Every March, club soccer takes a week off to allow its players to represent their respective nations. Countries from around the globe recruit their best players in hopes of forming the winning team. The top-of-mind goal for every team is to qualify for the World Cup. 

The annual event kicked off last week, with most of Europe’s World Cup qualifying matches being played March 21-25. Groups A-F have yet to start their campaign, due to simultaneous UEFA Nations League competition. Nevertheless, groups G-L and the rest of the world gave fans plenty to consider. Let’s recap what happened: 

Tuchel’s 100% Start

Former Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain boss Thomas Tuchel made his international coaching debut this past week. He took over as England boss after the Three Lions’ Euros campaign in 2024 ended with an underwhelming loss to Spain in the final. That loss capped off a mediocre display from England, who scraped past every stage of the 2024 UEFA European Championship tournament. The team showed former head coach Gareth Southgate the door after last year’s match, which marked England’s second consecutive final loss in the Euros. 

England later appointed Tuchel to the head coaching seat. Tuchel came to the team with high expectations on his back: specifically, ending England’s 59-year trophy drought, having seen success at his previous clubs.

The team’s first tests came against Albania and Latvia in the World Cup Qualifiers. An easy 2-0 victory over Albania helped settle nerves for the German boss. England debutant left back Myles Lewis-Skelly secured his first goal for the Three Lions, and all-time scorer striker Harry Kane put the game beyond any doubt. The match against Latvia was more of the same as right back Reece James bagged his first goal for England from a set piece. Kane and left winger Eberechi Eze wrapped the game up, helping the new boss secure a 100% record at the helm.

Argentina 4-1 Brazil

The two soccer giants, Argentina and Brazil, matched up against each other once again last week. Argentina has only experienced success after success in the last decade. Since losing to Germany 1-0 in the 2014 World Cup final in Brazil, the squad has stocked their trophy cabinet with two Copa Americas, one Finalissima and the World Cup. Head Coach Lionel Scaloni has transformed his Argentina side from bottlers to winners and won a key commitment ahead of the upcoming World Cup from superstar Lionel Messi, who expressed his commitment to keeping the cup in Buenos Aires for another four years. 

Brazil, on the other hand, is in a rut. Arguably the most iconic team in the history of soccer, the Brazilians have not won a trophy since their Copa America in 2019. While that was not long ago, this team should have enough resources and raw talent to dominate any tournament they are in. 

The World Cup is another story. The Brazilians have failed to bring the cup back to Sao Paulo since 2002. This has not been for lack of effort; the 2014 World Cup went well for Brazil until their quarterfinal against Colombia, when Colombia left back Juan Zúñiga kneed Brazil’s Neymar Jr., knocking Neymar Jr. out of the tournament and leaving Brazil with a major loss to their squad. Brazil lost the following match 7-1 to Germany. Since then, Brazil has failed to make an impact in the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.

This year’s matchup was significant for both sides, but Argentina appeared more motivated. It only took four minutes for forward Julián Alvarez to break through the Brazil defense and poke the ball past keeper Bento Krepski into the net. Chelsea’s Enzo Fernández fired the ball past Krepski eight minutes later to double the Argentines’ lead after 12 minutes. 

Argentina gifted Brazil a lifeline when defender Cristian Romero accidentally passed the ball to Matheus Cunha, who slotted the ball into the bottom corner for Brazil, but the mistake did not shake Argentina. Argentine forward Giuliano Simeone’s subsequent score put the game to bed.

This result shocked many fans and pundits; unless Brazil sorts out their problems, they may not have a shot at the 2026 World Cup.

Iran and Japan Qualify

The first Asian nations to have qualified for the upcoming World Cup are Iran and Japan. Though both teams were underdogs, they went undefeated during group play.

Japan has surprised in the last two tournaments, reaching the knockout stage in 2018 and 2022. Since then, the squad has only gotten stronger and will want to showcase their talents once again on the big stage. 

Iran is an interesting side; the squad is full of talent, but their World Cup campaigns have been underwhelming. The squad, winless in their group, finished rock bottom in 2014. However, Iran showed more fight in 2018. They opened with a win over Morocco, then played decently in an expected loss to Spain in the next game. In the following game, Iran also staged a hard fight against Portugal. In 2022, Iran saw more of the same; despite a damaging 6-2 loss to England in their opening game, Iran made up for it by beating Wales 2-0. Just like 2018, Iran found themselves in the same predicament in the final group game: avoid a loss to the USA, and they will progress. Once again, Iran bottled it; a low-key performance saw the Iranians lose 1-0. Now that they have qualified, only time will tell if Iran can take the next step into the knockout rounds. 

Goal-Crazy Norway Top Their Group

Despite having a solid squad, Norway has failed to qualify for the last six World Cups. The nation is forming what can only be described as a “golden generation” with Manchester City’s Erling Haaland and Arsenal’s Martin Ødegaard running the show up front. 

Their World Cup qualifying campaign started with a dominant 5-0 against Moldova. The likes of forwards Haaland and Alexander Sørloth made their mark on the scoresheet. Right back Julian Ryerson was the man of the match with a goal, an assist and a solid defensive display. They followed this performance with a 4-2 win against Israel. Ødegaard put on a captain’s performance, assisting three of the goals. Sørloth and Haaland got their goal with defender Kristoffer Ajer getting a surprise goal to cap off another massive win for Norway. 

There are still many qualifiers to go, and fellow group members Italy are yet to start their campaign. Norway’s form suggests they want to return to the big stage and stamp their name on history.

This round of qualifying matches gave fans plenty to think about. While some teams can look at their results with optimism, other nations must go back to the drawing board and prepare for the next round in early June.