The final international break of the 2025/26 season is officially in the books. Several Arsenal players will be very pleased with how it went, and others, slightly more heartbroken. Here’s how the 11 senior mens players who featured for their countries fared:
🇸🇪 Viktor Gyökeres (Sweden): Arsenal’s number 14 scored a hat-trick in Sweden’s 3-1 win vs Ukraine to send them to the play-off final, where he then scored an 88th-minute winner in his country’s crucial 3-2 win vs Poland to send his side to the 2026 World Cup! I think it’s fair to say that the break couldn’t have gone much better for the 27-year-old. Take a bow, Viktor.
🏴 Ben White (England): The right-back scored the opener off the bench in England’s 1-1 draw vs Uruguay just minutes into his first appearance for the national side since 2022. Unfortunately, he went on to give away the stoppage time penalty which Federico Valverde converted at Wembley to prevent the Three Lions from winning the game. He also started and played the full game in England’s disappointing 1-0 home loss to Japan. It seems like Thomas Tuchel is a fan of White, and has tried his best to integrate him back into the England set-up. Despite him featuring the least he has in a single season of his Arsenal career, it looks likely that he will be on the plane to America this summer.
🇩🇰 Christian Norgaard (Denmark): The Dane scored a late goal in Denmark’s 4-0 thrashing of North Macedonia and came on for 30 minutes in his country’s 1-1 draw vs Czechia. Unfortunately, Denmark lost on penalties to Czechia and so have not qualified for the 2026 World Cup. A disappointing end to the break for the Arsenal midfielder.
🇩🇪 Kai Havertz (Germany): The Arsenal forward scored a first-half penalty in Germany’s 2-1 win vs Ghana and played 62 minutes in his country’s 4-3 win vs Switzerland. A positive couple of starts for Arsenal’s number 29 which hopefully give him a confidence boost to take into his club side for the business end of the season.
🇪🇸 Christhian Mosquera (Spain): The 21-year-old made his full international debut for Spain as a substitute in the 83rd minute in a 3-0 win vs Serbia and then made his first start for his country, keeping a clean sheet in a goalless draw vs Egypt. A very memorable break for Arsenal’s promising young centre-half.
🇪🇸 David Raya (Spain): The Arsenal number 1 was an unused substitute in Spain’s 3-0 win vs Serbia and kept a clean sheet before coming off in the 62nd minute in his country’s 0-0 draw vs Egypt.
🇪🇸 Martin Zubimendi (Spain): Zubi came on for 13 minutes in Spain’s 3-0 win vs Serbia and subsequently withdrew from international duty. Mikel is taking no risks with one of his most important players ahead of the business end of the season.
🇮🇹 Riccardo Calafiori (Italy): Richy kept a clean sheet in Italy’s important 2-0 win vs Northern Ireland, playing as a left centre-back in a back three. He then played 120 minutes in Italy’s 1-1 draw vs Bosnia, but unfortunately his side went on to lose the shootout, meaning Italy have not qualified for a third successive World Cup. An international break to forget for the Arsenal number 33.
🇧🇷 Gabriel Martinelli (Brazil): Martinelli played 62 minutes in Brazil’s 2-1 loss vs France and came off the bench to score the third with a great finish in his country’s 3-1 win vs Croatia. Gabi has continued his off-the-bench goalscoring this season for his country.
🇪🇨 Piero Hincapie (Ecuador): The Arsenal defender played 72 minutes in Ecuador’s 1-1 draw vs Morocco and was subsequently withdrawn from international duty. Again, smart move from the boss.
🏴 Noni Madueke (England): Noni came off with an injury after 38 minutes in England’s 1-1 draw with Uruguay at Wembley and was spotted leaving the stadium in a knee brace. He subsequently withdrew from international duty. We will have to wait for Arteta’s pre-Southampton press conference for an update, but thankfully it’s suspected that the injury isn’t as bad as first thought.
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