A significant of West Ham United players have been called-up for international duty by their respective nations.
Ten players - Demba Ba, Pablo Barrera, Danny Gabbidon, Robert Green, Herita Ilunga, Lars Jacobsen, Robbie Keane, Victor Obinna, Scott Parker and Jonathan Spector - are away with senior sides, while James Tomkins, Holmar Orn Eyjolfsson and Marek Stech are on Under-21 duty.
Five scholars - Matthias Fanimo, Blair Turgott, Sebastian Lletget, Danny Purdy, Eoin Wearen - will turn out for their nations at age-group level, while schoolboy Leo Chambers has been included by England at U16 level.
On Saturday, Gabbidon's Wales host England - for whom Green and Parker could both feature - in an eagerly-anticipated Group G tie at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium.
England sit second in the standings with seven points from three matches, while Wales are pointless and bottom of the group. However, the Welsh will be hopeful of pulling off an upset under the guidance of new manager Gary Speed.
Republic of Ireland captain Keane will be hoping to lead his country to a Group B victory over FYR Macedonia on the same day at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. The Irish sit second in the Group B table, two points behind leaders Russia. The Irish then play Uruguay in a Tuesday friendly.
Jacobsen's Denmark face a vital trip to Oslo to face Norway on Saturday. The Danes sit third in Group H, three points behind leaders Norway, with both teams having contested three matches.
Spector has been included in the United States squad for their home friendly matches against Argentina in East Rutherford, New Jersey on Saturday and Paraguay in Nashville, Tennessee, on Tuesday.
Further afield, Ba will be part of the Senegal squad that receives Cameroon in Dakar for a CAF 2012 Africa Cup of Nations Group E qualifier on Saturday. In the same group, Ilunga's DR Congo host Mauritius in Kinshasa on Sunday.
In Group B, Obinna's Nigeria will be hoping to overhaul leaders Guinea when they entertain Ethiopia in Abuja on Sunday.
Barrera will turn out for Mexico in two friendly matches being held in the American state of California. Mexico will face Paraguay in Oakland on Saturday before taking on Venezuela in San Diego on Tuesday.
At U21 level, Eyjolfsson and Stech will continue their preparations for this summer's UEFA European U21 Championship finals.
Eyjolfsson's Iceland travel to Preston take on James Tomkins' England for a friendly on Monday, while Stech's Czech Republic host Belarus and France on Friday and Tuesday respectively. Tomkins helped the Young Lions to a 4-0 triumph in Denmark on Thursday night, playing 85 minutes after coming off the bench early in the contest, as Eyjolfsson appeared for Iceland in a 3-2 loss in Ukraine.
Lletget is in the United States squad for the 2011 CONCACAF U20 Championship in Guatemala. The Americans will face Surinam and Panama in the group stage, with the four semi-finalists qualifying for the 2011 FIFA U20 World Cup in Colombia in July.
Second-year scholars Wearen and Purdy in Republic of Ireland's U19 squad for a trip to Cyprus, where they will take on the Cyrpiot U19s and a Paralimni U21 side on Saturday and Tuesday respectively.
At U17 level, Fanimo and Turgott will travel to Belgium as England continues their defence of the UEFA European U17 Championship title. The first-year scholars face Elite Round qualifying matches against Northern Ireland, Belgium and Spain between Saturday and Thursday.
Finally, schoolboy Chambers will hope to be involved when England U16s take on Scotland in a re-arranged Victory Shield tie at Morecambe FC's Globe Arena on Wednesday.