Non-stop football: Top stars face grueling schedule until World Cup 2026

Thomas Tuchel is worried. Tuchel, the new coach of the England men’s national football team, is concerned that his players will be burned out by the time they arrive in North America next summer for the 2026 World Cup. “I am not so concerned about the number of games the players play in total,” Tuchel said. “I am more concerned that they never have a real break of three to four weeks.”

Tuchel is not the first to raise the issue. Last year, FIFPro, the international players union, made its feelings known about the demands placed on athletes in the men’s game, echoing concerns expressed by a range of players — including Kylian Mbappé, Jude Bellingham and Rodri — about the lack of breaks from the physical demands of competitive matches.

It will be worse for some than others

Take Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson. He has been out injured since February but is expected to be available again soon.

It is unlikely that he will play every game possible and also that Chelsea and his national team, Senegal, will go the distance in every competition they are in, but if they did, he could theoretically be involved in more than 100 matches from now to the end of the 2026 World Cup.

Paris St.-Germain defender Achraf Hakimi could be in a similar position. His most recent significant break from action came last summer — about a month between a couple World Cup qualifying matches for Morocco and the start of preseason with his club.

He is unlikely to have another lengthy breather from top-level action for over a year, with club and international commitments filling his calendar well into the 2026-27 campaign if Morocco qualifies for the 2026 World Cup. He could also surpass 100 games in the 475 days from now to the World Cup final.

FIFPro’s workload monitoring tool, which keeps track of 1,500 football players spread across the globe, reported that 54% of players experienced “excessive or high workload demands” during the 2023-24 season. It highlighted Argentina striker Julian Alvarez, who was involved in 83 matchday squads for club and country across the campaign.

The union is calling for action to prevent player burnout. But there will be no letup for the foreseeable future. The sport is preparing for a 16-month slog, which includes an Africa Cup of Nations, an expanded Club World Cup, huge matches in domestic and European competitions, and the biggest World Cup ever.

The next 16 months will be dizzying for fans and exhausting for players. Here is an outline of what that schedule will look like for men’s football.