Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have retired from international football, marking a new era. Rising stars like Kylian Mbappe, Lamine Yamal, and Ballon d'Or winner Harry Kane are now prominent. Portugal, under coach Jorge Jesus, secured a Nations League quarter-final spot with a perfect record, showcasing talents like Bruno Fernandes, Joao Neves, and Vitinha. Spain also qualified for the Nations League quarter-finals.

Harry Kane is set to become England's all-time appearance maker with 126 caps, surpassing Wayne Rooney's record, and is already their top scorer. Coach Thomas Tuchel confirmed Kane's start against Croatia. Jurgen Klopp's Germany faces challenges, having won only one of four games, leading to squad changes including dropping Barcelona's Karim Adeyemi and Juventus' Nick Woltemade, while calling up Wael Mohya. Zinedine Zidane's France leads Group A1, securing a quarter-final berth, while Roberto Mancini begins his second spell with Italy, and Marc van Bommel coaches Belgium.