Are you ready for an International Friendly break from the pressures of domestic strife? Whether your team is battling for a title or promotion, tussling for a European spot, or scrapping to avoid relegation, much like this SBOTOP writer’s team, next week you can take a much needed breather.
But fear not friends because there’s plenty of footy action to tide us over as the top international teams will be on show. And next Saturday we have two blockbuster clashes, featuring three of the top five nations in FIFA’s latest rankings and the hosts of Euro 2024.
So let’s take a look at four mouth-watering fixtures to keep us entertained next week.
France vs Germany
They are two of the favourites for Euro 2024, and France and Germany will come face to face next Saturday at the Stade des Lumieres in Lyon.
Les Bleus have been the best European team over the past six years, and in Kylian Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann, they have two of the best forwards in world football.
Didier Deschamps will fancy his chances of delivering another trophy this year, and he has quality dripping through his multi-talented squad, and Arsenal centre-back William Saliba and Real Madrid midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni will be two players to watch next Saturday.
Euro 2024 hosts Germany are skippered by Barcelona’s midfield ace Ilkay Gundogan, and Julian Nagelsmann’s team has a chance to shake off the disappointments of the last few years and sluggish recent form by winning the Euros on home soil.
Bayer’s highly-rated Florian Wirtz at 20 and Bayern’s Jamal Musiala at 21 are two of the most exciting young forwards in world football, while Arsenal’s Kai Havertz has hit a hot streak of form.
England vs Brazil
Harry Kane will be hopeful of finally leading England to some glory thus summer, and the Three Lions have a chance to test themselves against the highest ranked team in the world on Saturday.
Kane’s first season at Bayern Munich has been bittersweet as the reigning champions’ Bundesliga results have not been as good as he hoped, but he has had a stellar campaign in terms of goals.
The former Spurs man scored a hat-trick in Bayern’s 8-1 win over Mainz last week, and that took his tally to a whopping 30 league goals for the season, nine ahead of Serhou Guirassy in the race for the Bundesliga Golden Boot.
Kane will line up alongside Manchester City’s Phil Foden and Arsenal’s Declan Rice, who are both banging in form, and I’m hopeful of seeing Brighton centre-back Lewis Dunk stake a claim for a starting position.
Brazil coach Junior took over in January after the Selecao suffered three defeats at the end of 2023, and he is taking the opportunity to look at some of his younger stars.
The Real Madrid pair of Rodrygo and Vinicius Junior are well established on the international stage, but Brazil have an inexperienced defence with only Juventus star Danilo holding double figure caps, and of the other seven, Arsenal centre-back Gabriel has the most with six.
Kane will be licking his lips!
Portugal vs Sweden
On Thursday, we have the chance to see Portugal, now managed by former Belgium boss Robert Martinez. They won every match in 2023, and the early International Friendly 2024 betting odds make the European Selecao fifth favourites to win the Euro 2024 title after England, France, Germany, and Spain.
The legend Cristiano Ronaldo is still strutting his stuff, while the Manchester City pair of Bernardo Silva and Ruben Dias know all about winning trophies.
Sweden head coach Jon Daal Thomasson has a rather more modest group of players captained by Manchester United’s Victor Lindelof, but in Alexander Isak of Newcastle and Dejan Kulusevski of Spurs, the Swedes have two real goal threats capable of creating International Friendly 2024 highlights.
This is a clash of styles, flair versus steel, and it will be a good test of Portugal’s Euro 2024 credentials.
Spain vs Colombia
Another of Europe’s top nations are in action of Friday when Spain welcome Colombia to the London Stadium. La Roja have six wins on the bounce, and with Manchester City’s Rodri and Sociedad’s Martin Zubimendi in midfield, they will look to dominate the center of the park.
The in-form Alvaro Morata and exciting young guns Lamine Yamal and Athletic Bilbao’s Nico Williams plenty of ammunition.
La Tricolor will arrive on the back of four consecutive wins, and they were unbeaten throughout 2023, and in Liverpool’s Luis Diaz, they have one of football’s most lively customers.
For a long time, James Rodriguez was the star, now playing for Sao Paolo after an impressive career with Monaco, Real Madrid, and Bayern Munich. James is a leader and playmaker, but Diaz is a match winner.
And look out for Bologna’s Jhon Lucumi in the Colombia defence. He’s a touch tackler with a good range of passing, and he’ll relish the chance to take on Morata.
●●●
CHECK OUT OUR BLOG FOR MORE FOOTBALL STORIES & ODDS
Stay updated with everything sports and betting.
Follow us on social Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
