Football writer Alex Keble reflects on the international break and selects 10 key takeaways featuring Premier League stars.
Jimenez’s late penalty wins Mexico the CONCACAF Nations League
Mexico are CONCACAF Nations League winners for the very first time, and although it was West Ham United’s Edson Alvarez who captained the side and lifted the trophy, it’s a Fulham player who takes the plaudits.
Raul Jimenez played a starring role, scoring both goals in a 2-1 victory over Panama, the second a penalty in the second minute of second-half stoppage time, to snatch victory.
Jimenez's second goal v Panama
It’s the feel-good story of the year so far.
Jimenez was playing for Wolverhampton Wanderers when a serious head injury in 2020 derailed his career. He has endured a long road back to the top, even missing out on Mexico’s Gold Cup victory of 2023.
He deserves this moment, and in fact could go on to even greater things for his country.
Jimenez is now just 13 goals short of Javier Hernandez’s record of 52 goals for Mexico. The 33-year-old just about has time to get there.
Premier League players star in classic between Spain and Netherlands
The standout game of the international break was surely Spain’s penalty shootout victory over the Netherlands in the UEFA Nations League quarter-final following an aggregate 5-5 draw across a four-day period.
There were so many Premier League stars on display it’s hard to know where to start.
In the first leg in Feyenoord, AFC Bournemouth’s Justin Kluivert assisted Cody Gakpo for the hosts’ first goal, although Spain – with Tottenham Hotspur's Pedro Porro and Chelsea's Marc Cucurella in the full-back positions - managed to salvage the draw.
Things went to another level in the second leg. In a topsy-turvy match, Spain took the lead three times only to be pegged back on each occasion, with Aston Villa’s Ian Maatsen scoring on his international debut - a goal that should do his confidence a world of good after a difficult debut season at Villa Park.
But perhaps the most significant aspect of this tie was a Spain debut for Bournemouth’s 19-year-old centre-back Dean Huijsen, who came off the bench in the first leg before playing 120 minutes in the second.
Lewis-Skelly, Eze, Rogers, Jones and James are early winners under Tuchel
For all the talk of tactical changes the new England head coach wished to make, only to oversee slow performances reminiscent of qualifiers during the Gareth Southgate era, the real change was in Thomas Tuchel's squad selection.
Eberechi Eze’s mazy run and goal will have gone down very well with Tuchel, who between matches against Albania and Latvia had bemoaned that England’s wingers were being too cagey in their attacking play.
Another highlight was a superb free-kick from Reece James, winning his first England cap for two years and perhaps a signal that he can rediscover his best form reunited with the former Chelsea boss.
Watch: James's spectacular strike here
Elsewhere, Myles Lewis-Skelly’s goalscoring debut was a fantastic moment for an 18-year-old who already looks like England’s first-choice left-back, while Curtis Jones and Morgan Rogers impressed in central midfield.
All in all, a solid first camp for Tuchel, with several fringe players showing that England possess better strength in depth than almost any other nation.
Kamada goal helps Japan become first nation to qualify for World Cup
After an unbeaten qualifying campaign, Japan became the first nation to seal their place at the 2026 World Cup in the US, Canada and Mexico with a 2-0 victory over Bahrain.
They have Crystal Palace’s Daichi Kamada to thank.
He scored within three minutes of coming off the bench, a lovely dinked finish over the goalkeeper to finally break the deadlock in a surprisingly tight contest in Saitama.
Brighton’s Kaoru Mitoma and Liverpool’s Wataru Endo, who also featured against Bahrain, can both be wrapped up in cotton wool now, with nothing on the line for Japan in their final qualifiers in June.
Wood scores hat-trick before getting injured
It was a busy international window for Nottingham Forest forward Chris Wood, and not all of it is good news.
He scored a hat-trick in New Zealand’s 7-0 victory over Fiji in the semi-final, and although his nation went on to beat New Caledonia 3-0 in the final and book their place at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Wood hobbled off with an injury after 54 minutes.
Forest supporters anxiously await news of a scan, although Wood seems optimistic.
“I'll get it checked over and hopefully it is nothing too major, and hopefully it's just impact,” he told New Zealand radio station RNZ.
Salah returns to form after slight Liverpool dip
A goal in an Egypt shirt is just what Mohamed Salah needed.
The only goals Salah has scored in his last five Liverpool appearances were two against bottom side Southampton at Anfield.
None in the other four – including both legs of the UEFA Champions League defeat to Paris Saint-Germain and the EFL Cup final against Newcastle United – raised a slight worry that Salah’s form is on the decline.
For Salah to break the Premier League assist record and the Premier League goal involvement record – feats that could culminate in winning the Ballon d’Or later this year – he needs an upswing.
A goal in Egypt’s 2-0 victory over Ethiopa, even though he followed with a blank in the 1-0 win against Sierra Leone, might be just the confidence boost Salah needs to get back in his groove.
Ferguson scores his first goal since November
Things haven’t been easy for 20-year-old Evan Ferguson.
The Brighton & Hove Albion striker, currently on loan at West Ham, looked like a prodigal talent when he burst on to the scene in 2022/23, but the goals have dried up since then.
Even being reunited with Graham Potter at West Ham hasn’t helped, and so a first goal since November will feel like a huge weight off his shoulders.
Ferguson helped preserve Ireland’s Nations League B status by scoring their first goal in the second leg of their 4-2 aggregate victory over Bulgaria, blasting the ball into the roof of the net after a neat one-two with Finn Azaz.
Ferguson's goal v Bulgaria
“The past year, I’ve learned to deal with frustration,” Ferguson said after the match. “Wipe it out of your head and move on.
“There have been ups and downs so you learn to live with it and move on. That is just how football is.”
Joao Pedro makes his full debut to spare Brazil's blushes...
No fewer than six Premier League players featured for Brazil in their crucial 2-1 victory over Colombia, in which a winner in the ninth minute of second-half stoppage time from Vinicius Junior saved a faltering Selecao from further ignominy.
Brazil are now just about back on track, thanks to Vini Jr – but also Alisson, Gabriel and Bruno Guimaraes, the new all-Premier League spine.
Yet from a Premier League perspective the most interesting detail was a full debut for Brighton’s Joao Pedro, who got his first start and his third cap, flanked by Vini Jr, Rodrygo and Raphinha.
That’s pretty good company to keep, and a testament to his form in a Brighton shirt this season.
…but Brazil are then humiliated as Argentina qualify
Brazil’s victory over Colombia became all the more important after Argentina thrashed them 4-1 in Buenos Aires early on Wednesday morning.
Argentina, with Chelsea's Enzo Fernandez and Liverpool's Alexis Mac Allister in midfield, became the first South American side to qualify for the World Cup hours earlier thanks to a 0-0 draw between Uruguay and Bolivia, and celebrated that fact in style.
Premier League players were at the heart of this one.
Former Manchester City striker Julian Alvarez gave Argentina the lead and Fernandez scored the second, before Wolves' top scorer Matheus Cunha capitalised on an error from Cristian Romero to halve the deficit for Brazil, only for Fernandez to assist Mac Allister for Argentina’s third goal before the break.
Brazil are still six points clear of Venezuela in seventh and, thanks to their win over Colombia earlier in this international break, should still make it to 2026.
Brooks rescues a crucial point for Wales
After failing to qualify for UEFA Euro 2024 and winning just a single point at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the very last thing Wales needed was to kick off Craig Bellamy's first qualifying campaign with a damaging defeat at North Macedonia.
Thankfully they did not, because in the sixth minute of second-half stoppage time, Bournemouth’s David Brooks – on as a substitute – equalised barely five minutes after the hosts appeared to have won the match.
It was a huge moment in the Bellamy project, extending the new manager’s unbeaten start to eight matches and ensuring Wales, after their 3-1 victory against Kazakhstan earlier in the week, are in the fight for qualification.
In a group that also contains Belgium, Wales will need their Premier League stars – Neco Williams, Brennan Johnson and Brooks – at their best to at least finish above North Macedonia and claim a playoff spot.
