When are the international breaks this season?

When are the international breaks this season? Bukayo Saka of England celebrates with Phil Foden and Harry Kane after scoring the team's third goal during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Round of 16 match between England and Senegal at Al Bayt Stadium on December 04, 2022 in Al Khor, Qatar.
(Image credit: Michael Regan - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)

The international break comes just weeks into the Premier League season – and there are plenty across the season.

They're some of the dates football fans look for most when the fixtures come out every season, to find out just when their beloved clubs will be out of action for two weeks as international football takes centre stage. 

The international breaks always come thick and fast once the Premier League season gets underway, and there will be just four weekends of action before the first break in September for a mixture of competitive Euro 2024 qualifiers and friendly matches, which will see Gareth Southgate’s England cross the border to face Scotland in a tantalising friendly encounter. 

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When are the international breaks this season?

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International breaks during 2023/24
GamesStart dateEnd date
European Championship qualifiersSeptember 4 2023September 12, 2023
European Championship qualifiersOctober 9, 2023October 17, 2023
European Championship qualifiersNovember 13, 2023November 21, 2023
AFC Asian Cup 2023January 12, 2024February 10, 2024
Africa Cup of Nations 2023January 13, 2024Fabruary 11, 2024
European Championship qualifiersMarch 18, 2024March 26, 2024
European Championship 2024June 14, 2024July 14, 2024

In among the start of the UEFA Champions League, Europa League and Conference League group stages, further breaks follow between October 9 and 17 – and November 13 and 21, when England will host both Italy and Australia in the former. 

One major disruption for clubs around Europe this season is the Asia Cup and Africa Cup of Nations early in 2024, running from January 12 to February 11, meaning several clubs will be without key players. 

Son Heung-Min of South Korea celebrates after scoring his team's first goal during the South Korea v Cameroon - International friendly match at Seoul World Cup Stadium on September 27, 2022 in Seoul, South Korea.

The Asian Cup takes place early next year (Image credit: Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)

This will have an effect on the likes of Tottenham with Son Heung-Min, Liverpool with Mo Salah and Arsenal with Thomas Partey, as well as a whole host of other stars around the league. 

The last international break comes between March 18 and 26 as national teams around Europe will be in final preparations for next summer Euro 2024 in Germany, which kicks off on June 14 and will end on July 14 – the same dates as the Copa America in the United States. 

Vinicius Junior of Brazil walks in the field during the international friendly match between Brazil and Tunisia at Parc des Princes on September 27, 2022 in Paris, France.

The Copa America returns next summer – in the United States (Image credit: Antonio Borga/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images)

In what is set to be another busy season, players around the world will once again find themselves juggling club and country responsibilities a-plenty throughout the campaign, but it will be a bigger year than most with major competitions set to take place across the globe, culminating next summer. 

The Premier League season ends on May 19 2024.

FourFourTwo have season previews for plenty of other leagues too, including the Premier League, where we rate each of England's top 20 clubs in detail.

Our Ligue 1 Season Preview looks at whether Paris Saint-Germain's stranglehold on French football will continue, while our Bundesliga Season Preview poses a similar question of Bayern Munich and German football. In Italy, it’s a wide-open race between the top teams as we delve deep with our Serie A Season Preview and in Spain, we assess whether Barcelona or Real Madrid will come out on top in our La Liga Season Preview.

We also have the Championship season preview, the League One season Preview and the League Two Season Preview for you to get stuck into.

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Rich Laverty has been a women’s football writer for a decade now, covering the game across the FA WSL, several FA Cup finals and live from the 2017 European Championships and 2019 World Cup. He has written regularly for publications in the UK and USA, including The Times, Guardian, Independent, iSport, FourFourTwo, Bleacher Report, The Blizzard, These Football Times and Our Game Magazine.