World Cup hosts Russia take on five-time champions Brazil, holders Germany meet the 2010 winners Spain, and Argentina are up against Italy in some of the top games in a big day of friendly internationals tomorrow.
With the World Cup now less than three months away, national team coaches are fine-tuning their squads. Some teams at the June 14-July 15 tournament have gone out of their way to pick tough opponents in the last two rounds of friendlies before the May 14 deadline for naming provisional squads.
Germany take on Spain in Duesseldorf before a meeting against Brazil in Berlin on Tuesday, two matches which will be key to coach Joachim Loew’s final squad thinking.
Loew has picked 26 players for the two matches, but left out Dortmund midfielders Marco Reus and Mario Goetze who will still be hoping to be in the mix in Russia.
He still has injured keeper Manuel Neuer unavailable.
“For me these games are not about results, which mean nothing other than prestige,” Loew said. However the coach will be hoping to continue a 21-match undefeated run since losing 2-0 to France in the semi-finals of Euro 2016.
For Spain, Gerard Pique missed training earlier in the week with a fever so Nacho could partner his Real Madrid teammate Sergio Ramos in central defence. Chelsea’s Marcos Alonso could make his debut at left-back.
Atletico Madrid striker Diego Costa is welcomed back after missing the tail end of Spain’s qualifying campaign because he was out of the team at Chelsea.
England coach Gareth Southgate also has some thinking to do, especially in the goalkeeping position, ahead of the game against the Netherlands in Amsterdam. He has brought four keepers into camp – with long-time No. 1 Joe Hart joined by Jordan Pickford, Jack Butland and newcomer Nick Pope – for the games against the Dutch and Italy on Tuesday.
“We want to learn things from the games about individual players and also get back reconnected with how we train, how we work and how we play because we’re only 90 days away from the first game of a World Cup,” Southgate said.
Argentina are meanwhile at Manchester’s Etihad Stadium to meet Italy, who are beginning their recovery from failure to reach the World Cup finals for the first time since 1958.
After losing a play-off against Sweden and dismissing coach Gian Piero Ventura in November, the Italian football federation in February appointed Luigi Di Biagio to an interim tenure.
Di Biagio, who for five years steered the Azzurri’s youth team, called up young strikers Patrick Cutrone and Federico Chiesa, while retaining the backbone of Ventura’s squad.
“[The youngsters] must show to be ready for games of a certain level. Now it’s the time to do it,” Di Biagio said.
France meet fellow World Cup finalists Colombia in Saint-Denis before Didier Deschamps’ squad heads to Saint Petersburg to take on Russia.
A number of other World Cup finalists are meanwhile up against each other on Friday: Portugal face Egypt in Zurich, Poland meet Nigeria, Serbia greet Morocco in Turin, and Tunisia entertain Iran.
Other World Cup teams in action tomorrow are Japan (v Mali in Liege), Senegal (v Uzbekistan), Saudi Arabia (v Ukraine in Marbella), Switzerland (at Greece), Australia (at Norway), Costa Rica (at Scotland), and Uruguay (against Czech Republic in Nanjing).
On Saturday, finalists Mexico and Iceland meet in San Francisco, while also in action are Peru (against Croatia in Miami), South Korea (at Northern Ireland) and Sweden (against Chile). Finalists Denmark and Panama play in Brondby today.
World Cup absentees Italy begin recovery with Argentina friendly
Given the circumstances, Argentina don’t look like ideal opponents for Italy, the four-time champions who are looking to pick up the pieces after missing the World Cup finals for the first time in 60 years.
Tomorrow’s friendly at Manchester’s Etihad Stadium was supposed to be a high-level fixture between two key participants at the finals, which begin in June in Russia. Instead, it will feature an Azzurri side still reeling from a shock elimination against Sweden in a November
play-off.
“Unfortunately, the failure to qualify for the World Cup is a stain that is still there,” La Nazionale sporting director Gabriele Oriali said. “But we now have two big matches waiting for us and, whenever the national team plays, you cannot talk about friendlies.
“Especially not when you’re going to play two teams like Argentina and England [next Tuesday in London].”
Oriali, who lifted Italy’s third World Cup in 1982, stayed on the Azzurri staff after the dismissal in November of coach Gian Piero Ventura, which preceded the resignation of Carlo Tavecchio as president of Italian football federation (FIGC).
The overhaul continued as the FIGC appointed Roberto Fabbricini extraordinary FIGC commissioner until July, while Luigi Di Biagio was chosen as interim coach in early February.
With Antonio Conte, who steered Italy from 2014 to 2016, Roberto Mancini, Carlo Ancelotti and Claudio Ranieri being mooted as next manager, La Nazionale appear in midstream as they prepare to meet two-time champions Argentina. But Di Biagio, a former international who has coached Italy’s under-21 side since 2013, did not hide his ambition of holding onto the job.
“I cannot deny having something at stake,” Di Biagio said. “I admit that I do want to complicate matters for FIGC [as they scout for a new coach].
“However, this is not a priority. What matters is relaunching the squad and recreating enthusiasm around La Nazionale.”
Enthusiasm brimmed from Patrick Cutrone, who received a first call-up along with Federico Chiesa, who in February attended a camp for youth prospects at Coverciano. Both have appeared with Italy’s youth teams.
“I’m 20 years old and I haven’t stopped dreaming,” Cutrone said. “Last year I was in the [AC Milan youth-team] and I didn’t think I’d be here now.”
Cutrone, on 15 goals in his debut season with Milan, said he was looking forward to playing against Argentina star Lionel Messi.
“So far he has been a player from the PlayStation, but Leo truly represents football. I’m very excited to see him up close,” the Rossoneri striker said.
Di Biagio has retained the backbone of Ventura’s squad and Andrea Belotti and Ciro Immobile are the likely starters up front. But the six substitutions allowed in friendlies could give the newcomers a chance.
Veteran goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, who is twice Cutrone’s age, looked set to retire from La Nazionale but Di Biagio convinced him to stay on at least for the next two friendlies. Leonardo Bonucci, 30, is the most experienced defender as Giorgio Chiellini missed out due to injury.
Di Biagio found no room for Mario Balotelli, who last appeared with the Azzurri in 2014 and has impressed at French side Nice, but the coach said that the striker is not off his radar.
Argentina’s Lionel Messi, Federico Fazio, Leandro Paredes and Gonzalo Higuain during a training session in Manchester yesterday. (Reuters)
