France coach Didier Deschamps has praised Olivier Giroud's mental toughness and high standards of professionalism as he confirmed the striker will start in Wednesday's friendly against Ukraine to claim his 100th cap for the national team.

Giroud will become the eighth player to join France's exclusive club of centurions alongside Lilian Thuram, Thierry Henry, Marcel Desailly, Hugo Lloris, Zinedine Zidane, Patrick Vieira and Les Bleus boss Deschamps.

New Netherlands manager Frank de Boer will have a tough job over the next fortnight trying to convince the doubters he is the right man to lead the national team after Ronald Koeman.

De Boer, 50, took over last month from Koeman, who left to join Barcelona, and will make his debut on Wednesday when the Dutch host Mexico in a friendly followed by two Nations League games away to Bosnia on Sunday and Italy three days later.

MADRID — Wolverhampton Wanderers winger Adama Traoré was named in the Spain squad by coach Luis Enrique on Friday, three days after also being called up by Mali.

Traoré, who was born in Barcelona to Malian parents, has been at the center of a tug-of-war between the two federations over the past 18 months.

He can still represent either nation as he has not yet played senior international football.

The winger was selected by Luis Enrique for last month's fixtures against Germany and Ukraine, but was forced to withdraw from the squad following a positive COVID-19 test.

In-form Everton striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin has earned his first call-up to the senior England squad while Phil Foden and Mason Greenwood were dropped for disciplinary reasons.

England host a friendly with Wales on Oct. 8 before Nations League matches at home to Belgium and Denmark.

Calvert-Lewin has scored eight goals this season in all competitions, including a hat-trick against West Ham United in the League Cup fourth round on Wednesday.

It’s flown under the radar since it’s not within the FIFA International Match Calendar — meaning European clubs aren’t obligated to release players — but the Mexico national team returns to action on Wednesday night with a friendly against Guatemala at the Azteca. 

It’s been almost a year since we last saw El Tri (a 2-1 victory over Bermuda back on Nov. 19, 2019), but the likes of Miguel Layún, Uriel Antuna and José Juan Macías are finally back in action for the world’s 11th-ranked nation.

To understand how Euro qualifying works these days you need a mastery of calculus, knowledge of four different languages and a degree in astrophysics, and that's before you even consider the UEFA Nations League implications. 

To add to the confusion, the playoffs were supposed to be played back in March but were postponed until October because of COVID-19.

Luckily, we've simplified it all for you.

The first ever Gold Cup Group Stage Draw has pitted the USMNT against the foes from up north, Canada. Joining the U.S. and Canada in Group B is Martinique and the winner of a play-in round that will be one of the following teams: Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Bermuda, Barbados or Haiti.

In case you are unfamiliar with the structure of the 2021 Gold Cup, I refer you here. 

FIFA has suspended Trinidad and Tobago from international soccer after its football association (TTFA) pursued a dispute through the country's High Court in contravention of the world governing body's statutes.

The TTFA and FIFA have been at loggerheads since March after the world governing body dissolved the executive of the cash-strapped association.

Carli Lloyd, one of the world’s best footballers of the 2010s, turned 38 this summer. With the Covid-19 pandemic postponing the Olympics, she missed out on a potential curtain-call tournament, one last chance to strive for gold before riding off into the sunset. In March, after the Olympics were postponed, Lloyd announced she would put off retirement to work toward making the 2021 Olympic team.

Now Lloyd has all but confirmed that she will retire after next summer’s Olympics in Tokyo.