National teams will take centre stage Wednesday, as a host of high profile countries square off in friendlies on FIFA’s international date.
The 2014 FIFA World Cup is less than 100 days away and countries are trying to get as many preparatory games in as they can before flying off to Brazil.
Wednesday’s highlights will likely include Diego Costa making his debut for Spain (vs. Italy) and Toronto FC’s Jermain Defoe suiting up for England (vs. Denmark).
Here are five key games to keep close tabs on.
Wednesday programming alert: Watch England vs. Denmark on Sportsnet World at 3 pm ET. Also, watch these three games at 3 pm ET exclusively on Sportsnet World Online: Spain vs. Italy, France vs. Netherlands and Germany vs. Chile. | TV schedule
England vs. Denmark
Liverpool and Manchester United players combine to make up one-third of Roy Hodgson’s 30-man roster to face the Danes at Wembley. Given the Merseysiders’ dominant form in the calendar year, it’s no surprise that Daniel Sturridge, Jordan Henderson and Rahim Sterling join Steven Gerrard in the squad. The same can’t be said for Glen Johnson, as his inclusion speaks more to a lack of options at right-back. Staying on the topic of head scratchers, Hodgson’s decision to include Tom Cleverley and Chris Smalling is bizarre. It would have made more sense to fill those spots on the roster with in-form players such as John Flanagan and Adam Johnson.
Despite Flanangan missing out, Hodgson decided to stoke the competition at left-back by bringing in Luke Shaw. The 18 year-old was in tears when first made aware of being selected, and is deserving of his first call-up. On the opposite side of the spectrum, Jermain Defoe was chosen ahead of the injury-prone Andy Carroll. Many expect the former Spurs front-man to be overlooked by Hodgson once he joins Toronto FC. That’s not to say it’s impossible for Defoe to be on the plane for Brazil. However, England has no love for the MLS, and given a catastrophic injury, Defoe’s international career ended after signing his lucrative contract with TFC. The Danes have won two of the last three meetings (all friendlies), but lost the most recent fixture three years ago in Copenhagen.
Spain vs. Italy
Having already pledged his international loyalty to Spain instead of his native Brazil, Diego Costa’s much anticipated La Roja debut will take place in his backyard, at Atletico Madrid’s Vicente Calderon Stadium. Interestingly, the focus has centered around some key names that are absent from Vicente Del Bosque’s 22-man roster: David Villa and Fernando Torres being the most notable snubs, with Juan Mata and Alvaro Arbeloa also being overlooked. A sign of the times? Maybe. Spain’s success in the last six years has been driven by an almost bottomless talent pool of players and the innate ability to overcome adversity. However, Del Bosque was adamant that the squad facing Italy does not reflect his final decisions for the World Cup. The emergence of Cesar Azpilicueta, Koke, Thiago Alcantara and Costa will ultimately test his loyalty to the old guard.
The Azzurri have won only twice in almost two decades against Spain. Roberto and Dino Baggio scored to knock out the Spaniards in the quarterfinal stage at USA ’94, and more recently Alberto Aquilani netted the match-winner to give Italy a 2-1 friendly victory in 2011. Aside from those results, La Roja have won five (with three draws), including at the 2012 European Cup final.
Germany vs. Chile
All the usual suspects will be present at Stuttgart’s Mercedes-Benz Arena, including Miroslav Klose who is one goal shy of surpassing Gerd Muller (67) for the all-time German record. The Lazio striker’s last appearance for the national side was a brief 10 minute cameo versus the Faroe Islands in September. History could be made even if the match itself is nothing more than an audition for some fringe players on both benches. One of those World Cup hopefuls is Hamburg’s Pierre-Michel Lagossa. He is one four debutants on Joachim Low’s roster, and is making the strongest case to be included onto Germany’s provisional World Cup squad. The 22 year-old has netted 11 times in 17 Bundesliga matches for Die Rothosen.
If anyone is under the impression that Chile won’t put up much of a fight against a tough German side, take note that they’ve only lost twice (versus Brazil and Peru) in 15 matches, boasting the attacking threat of Juventus’ Arturo Vidal and Alexis Sanchez of Barcelona. What the Chileans may lack in name recognition they make up for with a strong spine that has the necessary European pedigree to possibly depart with another confidence building result, having recently earned a famous Wembley victory against England.
France vs. Netherlands
The Netherlands will bring a rather inexperienced group to the Stade De France. Manager Louis Van Gaal has handed debuts to three players—Davy Klaassen, Quincy Promes and Jean-Paul Boetius—to go along with eight players that have combined for just 28 caps with the national team. Klaas-Jan Huntelaar returns to the set-up, having not been involved since August, and will join other veteran forwards Dirk Kuyt, Robin Van Persie and Arjen Robben to add experience and balance out the squad.
Didier Deschamps decided to announce a stronger French squad than his counterpart, with all the normal faces expected to make an appearance at some point in the match. The hot topic of conversation was the exclusion of Samir Nasri, despite a recent run of good form. Deschamps has hinted there is more to the story, but was adamant his decision did not stem from Nasri’s poor performance in France’s first leg 2-0 playoff defeat in Ukraine. Keep an eye out for FC Porto defender Eliaquim Mangala, as he might be the next high-priced foreign import gracing the Premier League next season. Antoine Griezmann and Lucas Digne will be taking their first steps with the senior team, with the former being chosen ahead of Nasri and the latter taking the place of Gael Clichy.
Ukraine vs. United States
Security concerns forced FIFA to move the location of this fixture to Cyprus, as continued political unrest in Ukraine made safety at Kharkiv’s Metalist Stadium an issue. Three days later, an explosive device targeting Cypriot referee Leontios Trattos’ was detonated on the hood of his car. Luckily no one was injured in the blast. It’s been an on again and off again scenario, with Ukraine’s national football federation president Anatoliy Konkov abruptly pulling the plug on the match Monday morning. However, the fixture will go ahead as scheduled. Late Monday, Konkov contradicted his previous statement by saying, “(We) reached a consensus to play the USA after all,” he said. The US Soccer Federation also confirmed the team will fly out Tuesday morning from Germany to Cyprus, as the squad has been training in Frankfurt in preparation for this key warm-up match.
Besides holding a mini-training camp in Brazil last month, Jurgen Klinsmann only has a small window to get a glimpse at some of his on-the-bubble players. The U.S. have only one fixture left on the schedule (April 2nd vs. Mexico) before the deadline (May 13th) to submit their 30-man provisional World Cup roster. The decision to invite 18 year-old Bayern Munich prospect Julian Green could be a stroke of genius by Klinsmann, as the national program attempts to sway the youngster into committing his international future to the country of his birth. The forward moved to Germany with his family as a toddler and is eligible to play for both nations. Michael Bradley is a late withdrawal, which leaves Clint Dempsey as the only player representing MLS.
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