Four key highlights from the final international break of the 2024/25 season | OneFootball

You will scarcely find a football fan who leaps for joy whenever an international break rolls around, especially one that falls in the middle of a league season.

For nearly two weeks, club football was on hold as players jetted off to represent their respective countries in the Nations League and 2026 World Cup qualifiers.

While many would be happy to see the end of this brief hiatus, the international break produced plenty of drama and talking points.

Here are four key highlights from the final international break of the 2024/25 season.

Myles Lewis-Skelly makes dream England debut

Arsenal star Myles Lewis-Skelly announced himself on the international stage with a dream debut for England in their World Cup qualifying curtain-raiser against Albania.

The teenager opened the scoring for the Three Lions after latching onto a perfect pass from Jude Bellingham before slotting home to become the youngest player to score on his senior England debut.

Lewis-Skelly’s historic 20th-minute strike also set the tone for a winning start to life for new manager Thomas Tuchel as England went on to win 2-0 at Wembley Stadium.

At just 18 years and 176 days old, the Arsenal prodigy broke a record that had stood for nearly a decade – one previously set by Marcus Rashford.

Lewis-Skelly became the youngest player to score on his senior England debut since the Manchester United star – on loan at Aston Villa – netted against Australia in 2016 at 18 years and 209 days.

Raul Jimenez’s brace helps Mexico win first-ever CONCACAF Nations League title

In what was perhaps the feel-good story of the 2024/25 season, Fulham striker Raul Jimenez scored a brace to spur Mexico to their first-ever CONCACAF Nations League title.

While West Ham United’s Edson Alvarez wore the armband, the spotlight was firmly on his Fulham counterpart, who fired Mexico to a narrow win against Panama.

Jimenez opened the scoring eight minutes into the game, but Javier Aguirre’s side were pegged back on the stroke of half-time when Adalberto Carrasquilla slotted home a penalty.

However, Jimenez struck the final blow with a penalty two minutes into stoppage time.

Jimenez has come a long way from a serious head injury that derailed his career during his days at Wolverhampton Wanderers.

The 33-year-old is now 13 goals away from matching Javier Hernandez’s record of 52 goals for Mexico.

Japan became the first team to qualify for the 2026 World Cup

Japan became the first nation to qualify for the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico after a comfortable 2-0 win against continental minnows Bahrain.

The Asian powerhouse steamrolled to the showpiece after enjoying an unbeaten campaign, winning eight out of six games (D2).

Crystal Palace ace Daichi Kamada played a starring role despite starting the game on the bench.

Just three minutes into his cameo, the 28-year-old broke the deadlock with a lovely dinked finish to unlock a dogged Bahrain defence that refused to give anything away.

Real Sociedad’s Takefusa Kubo, who set up Kamada for the opener, then put the contest to bed late in the game, rendering Japan’s remaining games inconsequential.

Japan’s subsequent game against Saudi Arabia was a goalless draw. They will wrap up the qualifiers campaign with fixtures against Australia and Indonesia.

Bad news for Nottingham Forest as Chris Wood suffers injury on international duty

Chris Wood has been in sensational form for Nottingham Forest this season and is enjoying the most prolific campaign of his career.

The 32-year-old is one of the most lethal strikers in the Premier League. He currently sits fourth in the goals rankings, having netted 18 times for the Tricky Trees.

Only Manchester City’s Erling Braut Haaland, Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah and Newcastle United’s Alexander Isak have scored more goals than Forest’s number nine.

Wood carried that form to international duty with New Zealand and picked up where he left off, scoring a hat-trick in the 7-0 demolition of Fiji.

However, he picked up a hip injury in New Zealand’s subsequent 3-0 win against New Caledonia, leaving his club side sweating over his long-term fitness.

Wood has already been ruled out of this weekend’s FA Cup quarter-final clash against Brighton & Hove Albion.

With Forest chasing a spot in the Champions League, they can’t afford to lose their talisman with nine Premier League games remaining this season.