Although the main focus of the national teams break is the UEFA European Championship qualifiers, during this period there will also be friendly matches where the strongest national teams in the world will test their strengths. "Eurofootball.com" presents you three most interesting friendlies of today, which are definitely worth watching.
21:45 Belgium - Italy
Recently, like a skyrocket, Belgium national team's ranking reached record highs, and the team settled in the first place of the FIFA national team rankings. In the match against the Italy national team, Belgians will be ready to experiment and give a chance to new and perhaps unheard of talents. Yesterday it was announced that Vincent Kompany will not be able to help the team, so it will be interesting to see how Belgians will look without their defensive anchor.
The Italy national team also won their qualifying group, surpassing the closest competitors by a four-point margin. With no losses in all ten qualifying matches, inexperienced Italians are determined to prove that they can compete with the strongest national teams in the world. The team currently leading the world rankings should be a tough challenge for Italy, as veteran Andrea Pirlo will not be among them. The team's strategist will be inclined to look at Italy's attack without an experienced guard and try to find more strength for the criticized offensive line. With 16 goals in the qualifiers not being the result that pleased the team's fans, it can be expected that the visitors will try to be more active and strive to play a more attacking game.
21:45 Spain - England
Spain national team invited all possible players to their ranks, but they will be without injured Sergio Ramos, David Silva, and Isco, who arrived at the camp but got injured. A chance in the team is once again given to Diego Costa, and he and Cesc Fabregas will have another opportunity to prove that they are not as bad as they seem playing for Chelsea. Without Isco and Silva, in-form Nolito should have a chance to shine.
In the opponents camp, there are quite different news. There are many injured players here, and at least seven players who played in the qualifiers will not help the team. Neither Rooney nor Vardy will appear in the starting lineup, so Harry Kane should get another chance. With ten wins in the qualifiers, this is a great opportunity for the English to play against opponents who exceed their team. To achieve good results in the European Championships, they choose one of the elite teams in football as their friendly opponents. The choice is good, but what result the injury-ridden team will demonstrate in Spain, we will see this evening.
22:00 France - Germany
France national team did not play in this qualification cycle because they are the hosts of the tournament. Therefore, they tried to choose the strongest opponents for friendly matches, but they did not always have such opponents. The opportunity to play against Germany is important because these matches will be the first opportunity to try themselves without Karim Benzema. It is not excluded that the player with legal troubles will not be able to help his national team in the European Championships. Seeing how the team looks without him in attack in the match against Germany might be even more important than avenging the opponents for the loss in the World Cup quarterfinals.
World champions Germany did not look as impressive in this qualification cycle and suffered two defeats. However, everyone knows the capabilities of the Germany national team, and the key players of the team are also very well connected with each other. Julian Drexler will have the opportunity to return to the team and prove his abilities, as he is one of the candidates to take injured Marco Reus's place in the match.
