West Ham United Academy midfielder Gabriel Caliste has been called up to the Mauritius squad for two 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers to be played in early September.
The 18-year-old first represented the African island nation in September last year, making his senior international debut in a goalless draw against India. Since then, he has featured in friendly fixtures against Hong Kong and most recently in the COSAFA Cup, a summer tournament for members of the Southern African Football Association.
This time around, Caliste will be primed for his competitive international debut. Mauritius face fellow African island nation Cape Verde on Thursday 4 September and Angola on Tuesday 9 September in the CAF qualifiers for next year’s FIFA World Cup. Still all to play for in Group D, Mauritius have so far picked up five points from six of their ten group games.
FIFA World Cup qualifiers - CAF Group D
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Cape Verde | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 13 |
| 2 | Cameroon | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 12 |
| 3 | Libya | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | -1 | 8 |
| 4 | Angola | 6 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 7 |
| 5 | Mauritius | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -4 | 5 |
| 6 | Eswatini | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | -5 | 2 |
Also in his first year with West Ham United U21s, striker Josh Landers has been recalled to Scotland’s U19s squad.
Neil McFarlane’s side will travel to Slovenia for the Slovenia Nations Cup as preparation for their 2026 European Championship qualifiers in November, where they have been drawn in the same group as England, Lithuania and Latvia.
#SCO19s | Our Men's Under-19s will be taking part in the Slovenia Nations Cup next month 🏴
➡️ Read more about the squad here: https://t.co/q7tsjkFGU3#YoungTeam pic.twitter.com/qq7OUmFgFD— Scotland National Team (@ScotlandNT) August 19, 2025
Landers’ Scotland will kick off their camp on Wednesday 3 September against the hosts, then it’s Kazakhstan on Saturday 6 September before rounding off their camp against United Arab Emirates on Tuesday 9 September.
Fixtures in full
Wednesday 3 September
Josh Landers | Scotland U19s v Slovenia - Slovenia Nations Cup, Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, 4pm BST
Thursday 4 September
Gabriel Caliste | Mauritius v Cape Verde - FIFA World Cup African Qualifiers Group D, Côte d'Or National Sports Complex, St Pierre, Mauritius, 5pm BST
Saturday 6 September
Josh Landers | Scotland U19s v Kazakhstan - Slovenia Nations Cup, Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, 10am BST
Tuesday 9 September
Josh Landers | Scotland U19s v United Arab Emirates - Slovenia Nations Cup, Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, 10am BST
Gabriel Caliste | Angola v Mauritius - FIFA World Cup African Qualifiers Group D, Estádio 11 de Novembro, Luanda, Angola, 8pm BST
