Go to the window: the first and last chance to get to Qatar | Israel today

Less than two months left until the opening whistle of the World Cup in Qatar.

The time is short and the work is a lot - especially for the national team coaches who will soon have to decide who they take to the tournament and who they leave at home.

For this reason, the September international game window that opens today (Wednesday) and provides each team with two games, is also a window of opportunity.

There are quite a few players who have been called up to their national team squad for the first time or after a few times, and they have one and only chance to try and get the ticket to the World Cup.

Ivan Toney (England) - The Brentford striker is the only player in the squad called by Gareth Southgate for the Nations League games against Italy and Germany who has not yet made appearances for the national team.

The English coach is closed on most of the squad, but what the star of Brentford is doing probably could not be ignored.

Ivan Tony.

Will the Brentford striker stay in the English basket?, Photo: Reuters

After scoring 31 Championship goals two years ago, 12 last year and 5 in seven games this season, Toni earned his audition for the role of Cinderella (the previous player, Jamie Vardy, retired from the national team).

From someone who has never played for the England national teams at any age and in the 2018 World Cup he was still playing in the third division in the Scunthorpe uniform, Tony has become a versatile Premier League striker who will try to convince Southgate of his place in the squad.

"This is my opportunity and I will take it with both hands" he said this week;

"I work very hard and I'm not going to give up."

Enso Fernandez (Argentina) - The secret of Argentina's current success is that they don't touch what works.

Coach Lionel Scoloni found the method, the way and the squad and it seemed that as long as the players who brought the Copa America remained healthy - they would be on the plane in Qatar.

It doesn't matter how well they play, or if they play at all, the main thing is that they stand on their feet.

This was definitely Scoloni's direction, but then Enso Fernandez burst into the picture.

Enso Fernandez.

Burst into the picture, photo: AP

The Benfica midfielder has always been on the radar - while he played at River Plate he was marked as the one who should lead the team in the future - but his present deserves attention.

The start of the season in Benfica, where he was selected as the outstanding midfielder of the month of August in the Portuguese league, earned him a debut call-up to the squad and a real opportunity to prove himself.

According to the reports, Enso will play against both Honduras and Jamaica and if he impresses he will be on the final list.

If this happens, Scoloni will have to give up a midfielder (perhaps Esquiel Palacios from Leverkusen) or maybe an attacking player, but he will gain a midfielder who is excellent in the center of the field.

Borja Iglesias (Spain) - If the World Cup was held in the summer, the striker of Real Betis would not make this list.

He did help Manuel Pellegrini's side win the trophy with goals in the semi-final and final, but overall he had another disappointing season.

In 2019, Betis bought him from Espanyol for 28 million euros, but he provided 3 goals in the debut season, 11 in the second and only 10 last year.

This season, Iglesias exploded.

Iglesias runs away.

The striker of Real Betis is knocking on the door,

With the help of professionals - a personal fitness trainer and a psychologist - and within Pellegrini's pampering set-up, the 28-year-old striker opened the season with six goals in six games and won a first call-up to Luis Enrique's squad.

With Iago Espas left out, as well as Raul de Thomas, Iglesias will try to prove in the matches against Portugal and Switzerland that he has a place in the suitcase for Qatar.

Netherlands goalkeepers: Excluding the experienced Jesper Silsen, the three other goalkeepers called up to the Dutch national team for the matches against Poland and Belgium - Mark Felken from Freiburg, Remko Rasbir from Ajax and Andreas Neufert from Hirnbein - have four international appearances, all of Felken.

For the last two, it is a debut summons, and an entrance ticket to the very special world of Louis van Hahn.

"We've seen in the past what an important role penalties have in the World Cup," explained the Dutch coach who in 2014 passed the quarter-finals against Costa Rica only after changing goalkeepers in penalties - Cielsen out, Tim Carroll in;

"I'm looking for the best penalty keeper and I'm going to test them on that."

Mark Falken.

The goalkeeper of Fayborg, photo: Reuters

Since there is no way to produce penalties (certainly not quantities) in the Nations League games, the goalkeepers were mainly summoned to training sessions, where Van Gaal intends to conduct penalty checks.

"I'm looking for my penalty killer," announced the veteran coach, who for some reason did not invite the previous killer - Carroll.

Brazil's brakes: While the front part of Brazil is bursting with talent to such an extent that Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli were left out of the squad for the games against Ghana and Tunisia, in the back there is room for attempts, improvement, new faces.

And on August 27, at the Allianz Stadium in Turin, the two assistants of the Selecao coach Chiche came to watch two such: Juventus's Bremer, and Roma's Roger Ibanez.

The match ended 1:1, both showed satisfactory ability, and the decision was made: the two were invited to the upcoming preparatory games, at the end of which there will probably be room for only one in the World Cup squad.

Roger Ibanez celebrates.

Will the Rome stopper enter the Italian squad?, Photo: Reuters

"It's a huge opportunity for me and I'll do everything to show that I'm fit," said the 25-year-old Bremer, who has never represented Brazil at the youth level.

"It's hard to explain the feeling that this shirt creates" added Ibanez who managed to play in the national team until the age of 23.

After good seasons last year and a less good start to the current season, Ibanez and Bremer get a golden opportunity: to impress Chicha and become the Selsao players.

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