The five biggest friendlies in international week
Wednesday, March 23, 2016
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A repeat of the UEFA EURO 2012 final between Italy and Spain helps kick-start a busy few days of international friendlies, with Germany-England and France-Russia also high on the bill.
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Thursday: Italy v Spain, Udine
Vicente del Bosque will use this game and Sunday's match in Romania as an opportunity to fine-tune his squad for UEFA EURO 2016, with Barcelona's uncapped Sergi Roberto and Athletic Club's in-form Aritz Aduriz given the chance to make a late impression. David de Gea will hope his outstanding club form is enough to displace Iker Casillas as Spain's No1.
Marco Verratti, Andrea Barzagli and Ciro Immobile, meanwhile, have all withdrawn from the Italy squad but versatile midfielder Alessandro Florenzi believes the Azzurri remain competitive. "We are all pushing in the same direction, it's a great adventure for us. Spain are the best in the world when it comes to possession, but we don't only have to focus on limiting their game – we must try to attack them as well."
Saturday: Germany v England, Berlin
Joachim Löw has highlighted the significance of this England fixture: "The battle for a place in the squad begins in earnest. It's important that every player shows he wants to go to the European Championship and will do everything for that." That also applies to captain Bastian Schweinsteiger, sidelined with a knee injury. "Obviously he needs to recover physically," said Löw. "There's still a fair bit of time before the EURO. He knows his body well and knows what he needs to do. His ambition remains extremely high, he wants to produce his best performances again."
Tuesday: France v Russia, Saint-Denis
This final friendly before Didier Deschamps names his squad – most probably on 12 May – is one last opportunity for players to press their claims. France and Russia have met six times with two wins each, Russia ending Les Bleus' 27-match, six-year unbeaten run at the Stade de France in 1999, when Deschamps was in the France side. "In our preparations, we've aimed to test ourselves against only high-level teams," said the France coach.
Tuesday: Germany v Italy, Munich
This encounter came about at the behest of Löw, who knows well that Die Mannschaft have never beaten their bogey team at a FIFA World Cup or UEFA European Championship. Furthermore, Germany's displays have been severely inconsistent since their World Cup triumph in Brazil, though that does not trouble Löw: "Every one of us knows that the team are capable of extraordinary performances if we are fully focused on the tournament. When the EURO begins, I know we will be capable of stepping up a gear."
Tuesday: Belgium v Portugal, Leiria
The terrorist attacks in Brussels meant this fixture was switched from Belgium to Portugal on Wednesday. The Red Devils' November's match against Spain was called off folllowing the Paris atrocities.
On the pitch, Belgium are chasing a sixth straight victory since losing to Wales last June but boss Marc Wilmots is without injured captain Vincent Kompany, Jan Vertonghen, Eden Hazard and Kevin De Bruyne, opening the door for debutant Björn Engels, Jason Denayer and Thorgan Hazard. Goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois said: "We still have room to improve. We have to learn to create more chances against defensive opponents and beat top nations in a big tournament."
