International Break Call-Ups, Schedule for Dortmund

After much anticipation, the Bundesliga is back underway. And just like that, we have a two week hiatus for international break. Other than sleeping in this weekend for fans in the U.S., there’s nothing to keep soccer fans occupied during this two week lull.

Not to worry, as some Dortmund players, 13 of them to be precise, will have plenty to do as they gear up to represent their countries as World Cup Qualification begins.

Here’s the BVB-specific International Break Schedule below (all times Eastern Standard Time):

EUROPE (UEFA)

TURKEY - Emre Mor, Nuri Sahin

• Friendly: August 31 vs. Russia, 2:15 p.m.
• World Cup Qualifying: September 5 at Croatia, 2:45 p.m.

SPAIN - Marc Bartra

• Friendly: September 1 at Belgium, 2:45 p.m.
• World Cup Qualifying: Septmeber 6 vs. Liechtenstein, 2:45 p.m.

PORTUGAL - Raphael Guerreiro

• Friendly: September 1 vs. Gibraltar, 2:45 p.m.
• World Cup Qualifying: September 6 at Switzerland, 2:45 p.m.

FRANCE - Ousmane Dembele (first call-up)

• Friendly: September 1 at Italy, 3:00 p.m.
• World Cup Qualifying: September 6 at Belarus, 2:45 p.m.

GREECE - Sokratis Papastathopolous

• Friendly: September 1 at Netherlands, 2:45 p.m.
• World Cup Qualifying: September 6 at Gibraltar, 2:45 p.m.

SWITZERLAND - Roman Burki

• World Cup Qualifying: Septmeber 6 vs. Portugal, 2:45 p.m.

POLAND - Lukasz Piszczek

• World Cup Qualifying: September 4 at Kazakhstan, 12:00 p.m.

GERMANY - Julian Weigl, Mario Gotze

• Friendly: August 31 vs. Finland, 2:45 p.m.
• World Cup Qualifying: September 4 at Norway, 2:45 p.m.

NORTH AMERICA (CONCACAF)

UNITED STATES - Christian Pulisic

• World Cup Qualifying: September 2 at St. Vincent & The Grenadines, 3:30 p.m.
• World Cup Qualifying: September 6 vs. Trinidad & Tobago, 8:00 p.m.

ASIA (AFC)

JAPAN - Shinji Kagawa

• World Cup Qualifying: September 1 vs. United Arab Emirates, 6:35 a.m.
• World Cup Qualifying: September 6 at Thailand, 8:15 a.m.

AFRICA (CAF)

GABON - Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

• African Cup of Nations Friendly: September 2 at Sudan, 1:00 p.m.
• Friendly: September 6 at Cameroon, 2:00 p.m.

NOTE: Gabon has qualified for the 2017 African Cup of Nations as host and plays in a friendly matches to occupy a slot in group stage qualifying.

NOTABLE SNUBS

• Adrian Ramos has been left off Colombia’s squad ahead of next week’s highly touted World Cup qualifier against Brazil. Ramos was not the only striker given the cold shoulder as Radamel Falcao was also omitted from the team.
• Marcel Schmelzer has not been capped by Germany since 2014, but if ever there were a time to bring him back, it would be now. For whatever reason, Joachim Low continues to ignore Schmelzer’s prowess. Granted, Jonas Hector’s emergence isn’t helpful to Schmelzer’s case, but the BVB captain still deserves a look.

Look for coverage of these games next week.