Copy linkFacebookXPinterestEmailShare this article 0Join the conversationFollow usAdd us as a preferred source on GoogleNewsletterSubscribe to our newsletterSixty-nine days after they lifted the World Cup trophy in New Jersey, Spain faced England last night. It was only one of several mouthwatering fixtures in this fortnight-long international break, which also brings us the Netherlands vs Germany, Belgium vs France and Norway vs Portugal.The UEFA Nations League is back for a fifth edition, and while there have been the usual grumblings about an untimely disruption to the Premier League season (although not from Tottenham fans, who are glad of the break), you would be hard-pressed to find anyone who would prefer to see meaningless friendlies over the next two weeks.Anyone in Europe, that is. For while the Nations League has been a success for the old continent, it is not viewed quite so favourably outside it. Brazil and Argentina, for instance, must curse the day it was introduced to the calendar."There is a danger that international football is going the way of the club game"For who are those two giants, with eight World Cups between them, facing in this extended international break?Such is the paucity of available opponents, Brazil are taking on Australia not once but twice, before a trip to Kolkata to face India, the side ranked 138th in the world, sandwiched between Latvia and the Central African Republic. Argentina have fixed up friendlies with Bolivia, Burkina Faso and Benin, a trio of challengers which might please alliteration aficionados but will do little to set pulses racing in Buenos Aires (aside from Lionel Messi playing his final international fixture for the Albiceleste). You may like These World Cup 2026 trends MUST continue this season The 2026 World Cup highlighted huge problems in modern football - and who's at the heart of them How to watch World Cup 2026: FREE live streams, groups, next matches None of this is ideal for the wider international game. By the time the Nations League and tournament qualifiers are taken care of, there are very few opportunities for non-European powers to pit their wits against the nations that have dominated the World Cup over the last two decades.And dominate they have. Five of the last six world champions have been European. This summer, Argentina and Morocco were the only quarter-finalists from other continents. Since their last triumph in 2002, Brazil have been eliminated from the World Cup by the first European team they have met in the knockout stage. First, that was France, the Netherlands and Germany. Then it was Belgium, Croatia and Norway. There is a danger that international football is going the way of the club game, with Europe pulling further ahead of the rest of the world.Get FourFourTwo NewsletterThe best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.That might seem overblown when you consider the quality of players that Brazil and Argentina continue to produce. Besides, Argentina have not exactly done badly in recent years, reaching three of the last four World Cup finals.Other nations have benefited from Europes development programmes. Moroccos World Cup squad contained 19 players born overseas, mostly in France, Spain, Belgium and the Netherlands. Japanese players, now a common sight in the Premier League, the Bundesliga and LaLiga, are leaving home at an increasingly young age.Yet all those countries would welcome the chance to butt heads with the likes of Spain, France, Germany and England more often. Unfortunately, few roads lead to Rome. Since the launch of the Nations League in 2018, Brazil have played just five games against European sides outside of tournaments. In the eight years before that, they played 25. What to read next UEFA arent the good guys in FIFAs failed World Cup sell-off as locked-away blueprint proves UEFA boycotting the World Cup: Everything you need to know about football's new war World Cup 2026 power rankings: Are Lionel Messi and Argentina still the team to beat? It is a similar situation for Argentina. In the last seven years, the only European sides they have faced in a non-competitive environment are Estonia and Iceland. Some of their friendly slots last season were filled by such gruelling assignments as Puerto Rico, Angola and Mauritania. It is a far cry from 2014, when they played Germany, Croatia and Portugal in the space of a few months.European nations take for granted the sort of regular, competitive, well-matched games the Nations League affords them. Familiarity breeds not contempt but raised standards.The problem is, there is no easy solution. Amid the latest FIFA debacle, there was tentative talk of Brazil and Argentina joining the Nations League. A UEFA official claimed back in 2021 that their admission was imminent. Yet FIFA and CONMEBOL would be bitterly opposed to such interconfederation crossover, and Colombia, Ecuador and Uruguay - not to mention Japan, Morocco, Senegal et al. - would surely demand tickets to the party.In fact, things could get worse before they get better. The ludicrously structured 2030 World Cup will begin in Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay before continuing in Spain, Portugal and Morocco, with all six hosts qualifying automatically. The expansion to a 48-team tournament had already made CONMEBOL qualification a doddle for the major powers. With three out of 10 teams already through, the upcoming edition will be even less exacting.You could argue that none of this is Europes problem - and you would have a point. Every confederation is out to look after its own. But for fans of the global game, the Nations League is a double-edged sword.TOPICSArgentinaBrazilEnglandGermanyNetherlandsFranceGreg LeaSocial Links NavigationGreg Lea is a freelance football journalist who's filled in wherever FourFourTwo needs him since 2014. He became a Crystal Palace fan after watching a 1-0 loss to Port Vale in 1998, and once got on the scoresheet in a primary school game against Wilfried Zaha's Whitehorse Manor (an own goal in an 8-0 defeat).
