The English Football Association last night distanced itself from the Premier League over its plans for an international round of fixtures, expressing "serious reservations" and indicating it would oppose "Game 39" in order to preserve England's chances of hosting the 2018 World Cup.

The FA's position, agreed after consultation between the chairman, Lord Triesman, and the chief executive, Brian Barwick, is a further blow to the Premier League's plans, which require the support of the national governing body to have any chance of coming to fruition.

In a statement issued 24 hours after the Fifa president, Sepp Blatter, vowed to stop the international round and warned that England's 2018 bid could be fundamentally damaged, Triesman said he would not support any proposal that impacted on the FA's international standing.

"I am determined that our international and domestic relations must be sustained at the highest level and I will not countenance any damage to those relations," he said.

While the FA cannot agree a definitive position until the full board meets next week, last night's statement confirms that Triesman and Barwick have no appetite to take on Blatter over the issue and clearly indicates that Game 39 will be opposed by the FA leadership.

Referring to discussions with the Fifa general secretary, Jerome Valcke, on Thursday, the statement said: "It was made clear to Fifa that the Football Association has some serious reservations about the proposal. We have a responsibility to the whole of English football and we have to consider any wider consequences and implications this proposal may create.

"As a national association we also recognise the authority of Fifa and its executive committee. We have heard the criticism from supporters and the objections raised by others in the worldwide football family. The Football Association has worked extremely hard to improve our relationships and standing with Fifa and Uefa and has largely succeeded. Clearly we do not want this extensive work to be damaged. We also do not want the Premier League's proposal to affect England's 2018 World Cup bid in any way."

The FA's statement is likely to spark furious debate when the full board meets next week and will be the first test of Triesman's leadership and the FA's new structure. Under reforms adopted last year Triesman is the FA's first independent chairman and for the first time Barwick has a vote on the board. The Premier League has three representatives and the Football League two, with five drawn from the national or amateur game making up the 12.

With the national game likely to fall in behind Triesman and Barwick, the Premier League will struggle to carry the board. Without endorsement by the national governing body, the plans as set out would be dead in the water.

The FA's concerns over 2018 are echoed in government, where there is significant concern over Blatter's threat to derail the bid. The issue is already straining the normally excellent relations between the Premier League and government.

Richard Caborn, the British prime minister's 2018 ambassador, vowed to push ahead with promoting the bid "irrespective" of the Premier League's proposals.

Despite a chorus of disapproval Premier League officials will press ahead with the plans. While there will be no formal comment until after next week's FA board, they insist this week's announcement was only the start of the consultation process.

The chief executive, Richard Scudamore, will meet Barwick and Triesman before the board meeting and then travel to Zurich for talks with Blatter. He remains confident that, once the scheme is explained, it will gather momentum.