September 2018 international break: Every match, kick-off times & competition details
The top European leagues take a breather for a week as the first international break of the 2018-19 domestic season takes place
Following a month of World Cup action over the summer, the first international break of the 2018-19 season has arrived.
Premier League and Ligue 1 teams have so far played out four fixtures each, La Liga and Serie A three, while the new Bundesliga campaign is only two games in as we head into a 10-day rest period.
The 2018 September break sees the introduction of the new, bi-yearly UEFA Nations League, where 55 teams are split into four leagues (A-D), each consisting of four groups.
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The winners of Group B, C and D will win promotion, while those who finish bottom of Groups A, B and C will be relegated. Then, in June 2019, the four league winners of Group A will contest the semi-finals, a third-place play-off and a final for the title of Nations League champions.
The England national team will meet for the first time since their World Cup semi-final run at the Russia World Cup ahead of their opener against Spain at Wembley on Saturday, before travelling to face Switzerland in a friendly on Tuesday.
And while manager Gareth Southgate has explained the tournament format to his Three Lions squad, not all of them are yet familiar with the system.
“It is quite confusing – I don’t know what you guys think of it?” said Harry Maguire when asked for his opinion of the new concept. “The boss tried to explain it to us the best he could the other day. I think he has got his head around it now, but it took a lot of studying.
“It is confusing, but we are trying to get our heads round it. For us players, we just go into each game trying to win it and see where it takes us. So we will see after the game.”
There are also a host of friendlies across the international break, as well as the second round of fixtures from the African Cup of Nations qualifying.
Goal runs through a day-by-day guide of which games are being played before the return of domestic football next weekend.