Just when the domestic leagues were getting into full swing, everything is on hold this week as attention switches to the final autumn leg in the race to qualify for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
For once, among the usual mismatches that make betting on international football so difficult, there are some potential bets that catch the eye.
England, a big draw in international football just as the Premier League is around the globe, will not be in competitive action until Wednesday, when they can seal their place in South Africa with a home win over Croatia.
That is something they should manage, as long as they avoid the sort of defensive mistakes that led to home-and-away defeats against Croatia, and failure to qualify in the Euro 2008 campaign.
Under Fabio Capello, England have been less error-prone and a more reliable attacking force, as they showed with a 4-1 win in Croatia 12 months ago, and it is unlikely they will slip up again. As for today's friendly against Slovenia, they should win by two or more goals, as they have in nine of their 16 games under Capello, though England's clear superiority is well reflected in the odds.
Like England, Spain and Holland have cruised through their qualifying campaigns, but life has been much more difficult for some of the other countries expected to qualify from the European zone.
Portugal, semi-finalists at the 2006 World Cup, are in real peril in group one, lying seven points behind leaders Denmark and four points off second-placed Hungary with four games to play, and they must take at least four points this week from away games against those two countries.