The last international match before the start of the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico is approaching: several Bayern players will play against their respective national teams, and some will even go head-to-head. Find out here who will be playing international matches with their respective national teams.
In December, the German team defeated Slovakia 6-0 to secure a spot in the World Cup finals. National team coach Julian Nagelsmann’s side will now hope to continue that momentum and build on their success in their first two friendlies of the new year. First up is the away match against Switzerland in Basel on Friday 27 March (20:45 CET). Three days later, the German Football Association team will face Ghana in Stuttgart (March 30, 20:45 CET). FCB’s Jonathan Tach, Joshua Kimmich, Serge Gnabry, Leon Goretzka and Aleksandar Pavlovich are back in the squad, while Jonas Urbig and Lennart Karl have received call-ups for the first time.
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Dayot Upamecano and Michael Olise will compete with Blues in the United States. On Thursday, March 26, France, top of their World Cup qualifying group, will face Brazil in Boston (Foxborough). Kick-off time is 21:00 CET. Three days later, France will face Colombia, led by Bayern forward Luis Díaz, on Sunday, March 29, at 21:00 CET in Washington (Landover).
Harry Kane and the England national team also qualified for this summer’s tournament by finishing first in their group. The Three Lions will face Uruguay in the first of two friendlies at Wembley Stadium in London on Friday 27 March at 20:45 CET. Thomas Tuchel’s side will face Japan at the same venue on Tuesday 31 March at 20:45 CET, starring FCB defender Hiroki Ito.
Austria returns to the World Cup finals for the first time since 1998. On the last match day of the qualifiers, they defeated Bosnia and Herzegovina 1-1 at the last moment, locking in the top spot in the group and qualifying for this summer’s World Cup. Head coach Ralf Rangnick’s side will face Ghana on Friday 27 March during the upcoming international break. The match in Vienna will start at 18:00 CET. Austria will then face Minjae Kim and the South Korean national team on Tuesday, March 31 at 20:45 CET. Also included in the squad for the two friendlies is Munich’s defensive specialist Konrad Laimer.
Josip Stanisic will feature with the Croatian national team during the upcoming international break. Coach Zlako Dalic’s team will prepare for the World Cup final in a friendly match against Luis Diaz’s Colombia on Friday, March 27, at 00:30 CET in Orlando (Florida). Stanisic and his teammates will then face Brazil at Camping World Stadium on Wednesday 1 April at 02:00 CET. Croatia will look to continue their impressive run in qualifying in the new year, which saw them finish as undefeated group winners.
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This summer, Senegal will compete in the World Cup finals for the fourth time. Nicholas Jackson and his teammates won the championship by finishing first in their group in the qualifiers. Senegal is currently preparing for two friendlies in the finals against the United States, Canada and Mexico. The third match will be against Peru on Saturday, March 28 at 17:00 CET at the Stade de France in Paris. Three days later, on Tuesday, March 31, Senegal hosted the Gambia national team in Diamnyadio. The match starts at 21:00 CET.
Luis Dias and Colombia secured their place in this summer’s finals by finishing third in the South American qualifiers. During the upcoming international break, Colombia will play two friendly matches against European teams in the United States: first against Josip Stanisic and Croatia on Friday, March 27 at 00:30 CET in Orlando (Florida). Dias then faced two other Bayern team-mates, Michael Olise and Dayot Upamecano, against France on Sunday, March 29. The match starts at 21:00 CET in Washington (Landover).
The South Korean national team, represented by Kim Minjae, kicked off preparations for the 2026 World Cup with a friendly match. The FCB defender will face Austria on Tuesday, March 31, at 20:45 CET in Vienna with Bayern teammate Konrad Laimer
Hiroki Ito is about to return to the Japanese national team. The FCB defender has not played for Samurai Blue for about a year due to injury – in March 2025, when Japan became the first team to qualify for this year’s World Cup. Ito has now been named in the squad for Japan’s upcoming friendlies. First up is Scotland on March 28 (18:00 CET), followed three days later by England in London on March 31 (20:45 CET).
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Tom Bischoff will be part of the Germany U21 squad for the upcoming international break. Head coach Antonio Di Salvo’s side have two crucial matches remaining in the race to qualify for the Euro 2027 finals in Albania and Serbia. Currently, Bischof ranks second in the group with 12 points. He and his teammates will face the third-placed Northern Ireland team (7 points) in Braunschweig on Friday, March 27 at 18:00 CET. They will then face table-toppers Greece (15 points) in Athens on Tuesday 31 March at 18:00 CET.
After the international break, Bayern will play Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-finals:
Bayern will face Real Madrid in the quarter-finals