The international break: where are your Villans?

Well, one round of the international break is over, but there's still another set of matches to get through before the Aston Villa players come back to Birmingham and we can all breathe a sigh of relief that they managed not to get broken in half.

They won't end up broken, right?

Here are the matches to keep an eye on for Tuesday night:

Armenia - Denmark (6 p.m. CET)

So Jores Okore didn't see any playing time against Malta, but we can still hope, right? Denmark and Armenia are level with nine points, same as Czech Republic, and all three sit just one point behind Bulgaria. But with Bulgaria facing a nearly-eliminated Malta, it seems unlikely that Denmark will make a dramatic comeback to find themselves in the playoffs.

Malta - Bulgaria (8 p.m. CET)

After you've finished hoping Okore will make an appearance, you can catch Aleksandar Tonev helping to ensure Bulgaria remains in second place in Group B. The Bulgarians may have lost 1-0 to Italy last time out, but it was only thanks to the heroics of Gigi Buffon that the azzurri came away with the win -- and yes, the goalkeeper was forced to stop a screamer from Tonev.

Andorra - Netherlands (8:30 p.m. CET)

Holland is one of four UEFA countries that can qualify for the World Cup on Tuesday night -- the others being Italy, Germany, and, somewhat oddly, Switzerland. The Netherlands need a win against Andorra, who've yet to record a single goal, never mind a point, but they also need Romania to fail to get a win against Turkey. They could also advance with a draw as long as Romania lose and Hungary don't get three points. This makes my head hurt.

But with Ron Vlaar not starting last time around, I think we should all root for lowly Andorra to grab their first point. Why not?

Italy - Czech Republic (8:45 p.m. CET)

Oh my gosh, guys, we've got ourselves a starter! Well, Libor Kozak started in the 2-1 loss to Armenia, anyway. And played the entire match. He didn't score, but that would be way too much to expect. Anyway, a win in Turin puts Italy through to Brazil, so don't go expecting an upset. Even if Cesare Prandelli was busy trying out a 3-5-2 formation for some incomprehensible reason.

Austria - Republic of Ireland (8:45 p.m. CET)

Hey, didn't we just see this match? No, it's actually been six months since Andi Weimann and Ciaran Clark faced off for exactly four minutes after Andi came on and before Clark came off. Probably with a gushing head wound. Austria snatched an equalizer in stoppage time last time out, so let's hope for some similar drama this time around. In the matches on Friday, Weimann played the entire 90 minutes against Germany, while Clark sat on the bench while Ireland fell to Sweden. Probably with a gushing head wound.

The two sides are even on 11 points, just three behind second place Sweden. But Zlatan and Co. face an already eliminated Kazakhstan, so it's unlikely either of these two will make the playoff round.

Ukraine - England (8:45 p.m. CET)

Oh wait, no. Roy Hodgson is only permitted to choose players from six clubs and Aston Villa is not on that list. Sorry, Gabby Agbonlahor, Fabian Delph and Ashley Westwood. If you want to see Brazil, best find yourself another side. (Please don't find yourself another side)

United States - Mexico (2 a.m. CET on Wednesday)

I could've sworn I saw a tweet from Brad Guzan saying he was on his way back, but I guess that "back" must've meant to the United States because he's definitely still on duty with the USMNT. Jurgen Klinsmann may be getting plenty of adoration from U.S. fans recently, but he started Tim Howard against Costa Rica so he's not getting any love from Villa fans. Hey, Timmy, how's that Joel Campbell goal looking? Good thing the Ticos already put two in before that, because otherwise you'd likely still be crying yourself to sleep tonight.

Also, some guy named Alan Hutton is likely starting in a pointless match between Macedonia and Scotland, both of which can no longer qualify.

Finally, as far as I can tell, Belgium don't play on Tuesday night (they don't have a qualifier and I see nothing about a friendly) so at least we won't have to worry about Christian Benteke doing his knee or something horrific like that.