Mbappé missing from Nations League

Associated Press Geneva: In a congested soccer season where elite players have aired the idea of going on strike, the Nations League returns this week looking less than a top priority. France captain Kylian Mbappé opted to stay away, his probable deputy Antoine Griezmann retired from the national team, and Romelu Lukaku asked to work on his fitness at new club Napoli rather than join the Belgium camp. Add a wave of injury call-offs in Germany and elsewhere some of them serious, for Spain defender Dani Carvajal and German goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen and the Nations League will open an international door for newcomers.

Belgium coach Domenico Tedesco called up four potential debutants to experiment in games in what is the third-tier competition for European teams. “We will not do it during the important World Cup qualification,” said Tedesco, looking ahead to that important next stage in 2025. The 2026 World Cup in North America is, however, already now in play for teams targeting that tournament and each has two Nations League games from Thursday through Tuesday. Results in the next week, and two more games in November, are the last chance to gain a better seeding in the Dec. 13 draw in Zurich for European qualifying groups for the World Cup. Two teams pushing to raise their FIFA ranking and go into the draw pot of second-seeded teams are Norway and Slovenia. Haaland vs. SeskoEurope's most feared striker and one of its emerging stars are due to meet again on Thursday in Oslo.

Erling Haaland and Benjamin Šeško, once club mates at Salzburg, are the main attractions when Norway hosts Slovenia in their second- tier League B group. Haaland has 11 goals in 10 games for Manchester City this season plus a winning goal in the Nations League, sealing a 2-1 victory over Austria last month. Šeško has six in nine games for Leipzig including three in the Champions League plus four in two Nations League games. The tall striker got a hat trick in a 3-0 win over Kazakhstan.