The season ahead presents a challenge for football clubs and coaches like no other, and the way they pilot their players through the World Cup period could prove the difference between success and failure.
About a quarter of all Premier League players will be bound for Qatar in November, representing their countries in what could become a campaign crammed with more than 60 games, but the majority will not be involved.
Clubs such as Manchester City and Chelsea are braced to lose well over half of their first-team squad of 25.