The biggest shock results in the October international break

In partnership with

The Football Faithful

·15 October 2025

The biggest shock results in the October international break

International breaks are often derided for being too predictable and boring (particularly in Europe), but they often throw up massive upsets and shock results.

This week was no exception, with three of the bigger European nations humbled by far weaker opposition in FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

OneFootball Videos

The biggest shock results in the October international break

Sweden 0-1 Kosovo

Given Kosovo’s win in the reverse fixture featured in our September piece perhaps this shouldn’t be considered all that much of a shock. Still, these two sides are separated by 59 places in the FIFA World Rankings, illustrating the supposed gap in quality.

That Kosovo repeated the feat shows the progress they have made in recent years while highlighting just how badly Sweden have played in this campaign. Fisnik Asllani’s first-half goal condemned them to a third straight defeat and ultimately led to Jon Dahl Tomasson becoming the first ever Sweden manager to get the sack.

There is still a chance the Swedes can reach the play-offs if they win both of their final two matches. But that is looking like a tall order right now.

Read – Former Chelsea boss ‘open’ to Sweden job after Tomasson sacked

Iceland 2-2 France

Having collected just three wins in their previous ten outings, there was not much hope for Iceland when they hosted France on Monday night, even with Kylian Mbappe absent.

And yet, against the run of play, they took the lead through Victor Palsson shortly before the interval. They were inevitably reeled back in by the visitors, who equalised through Christopher Nkunku before Jean-Philippe Mateta put them ahead in the 68th minute.

From there this contest should really have only gone one way, but Iceland hit back immediately. Substitute Kristian Hlynsson raced through before finishing coolly beyond Mike Maignan, keeping their hopes of a play-off spot alive.

Read – The 28 nations to have qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup

Faroe Islands 2-1 Czechia

There is a genuine (albeit highly unlikely) chance that the Faroe Islands could be at the next World Cup after they secured the biggest win in the small nation’s history.

On Monday night they managed to beat Czechia at home thanks to second-half goals from Hanus Sorensen and Martin Agnarsson either side of an equaliser from Adam Karabec.

The Sheep Islands are now third in the Group L table, just one point behind Czechia with one game remaining. Unfortunately, their final match sees them travel to leaders Croatia next month while the Czechs face Gibraltar.

Read – Premier League players who shone in the international break