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Soccer

Five things to look out for this international football week

Ash Rose
Five things to look out for this international football weekDAZN
Plenty of big matches to look forward to.

This week brings a halt in domestic proceedings as nations begin their countdown to Euro 2024 with a series of friendlies and play-off games. 

England are in action with two high-profile friendlies, while the last places at this summer's tournament are set to be decided. 

Here are five things to look out for in the week's international fixtures.

Who's going to Germany? 

With all the hype heating up ahead of Euro 2024, it's easy to forget that there are still places up for grabs at the tournament via the play-offs. Twelve teams still hope to book their place at the finals, with three spots left to make up the final line-up. On Thursday, the semi-finals will take place, before the final matches to determine the play-off trio are confirmed the following Tuesday. Wales will be hoping that home advantage against Finland will help them through to a final showdown against either Poland or Estonia, while there's still hope for the likes of Ukraine and Luxembourg, too. 

Full play-off line-up

  • Path A - Wales vs. Finland
  • Path A - Poland vs. Estonia 
  • Path B - Bosnia and Herzegovina vs. Ukraine 
  • Path B - Isreal vs. Iceland 
  • Path C - Georgia vs. Luxembourg 
  • Path C - Greece vs. Kazakhstan 

Playing for Places 

The real intention behind March's international friendlies is for national team coaches to whittle down their squads and decide what names will be part of their final 23 for Germany. For England, decisions are still to be made over the centre of defence, with Everton starlet Jarred Branthwaite set to stake his claim over the two matches. Up front, there's still space for Anthony Gordon to put himself in the mix, while Harry Kane's understudy role looks like a straight shootout between Ivan Toney and Ollie Watkins.

New threads 

A new tournament on the horizon means shiny new kits for the competing nations, and they'll get their first outings during these international games. England's more traditional home kit has gone down very well with fans, but we wait to see if they'll also unleash the new purple change colours. Elsewhere, Belgium could parade their away strip, which is based on the classic cartoon series Tin-Tin, Germany have gone for a classic look for their home strip and a bright, bold design on their change kit, while France may have the nicest looking pair of shirts from all of the new sets on show. 

A classic clash 

International friendlies may not be everybody's cup of tea, with the games always lacking that competitive edge, but there are still some mouth-watering fixtures to look forward to. England vs. Brazil is a headline grabber, with plenty of story arcs, however, even that is probably bested by Germany's meeting with the Netherlands. The fixture is rich in history, dating back to the World Cup Final of 1974 and the infamous spat between Rudi Voller and Frank Rijkard at Italia '90. This game may not have the same importance, but as the cliche goes, there's never a 'friendly' when these two teams meet. 

Spain vs. South America

If tiki-taka is your bag, then there's a Latin love-in over the two rounds of fixtures as Spain play both Colombia and Brazil in two standout friendlies. The first of those clashes takes place at West Ham's London Stadium in what feels like a showcase meeting between the talented Spanish side and the South Americans. That is followed by Brazil's trip to the Bernabeu in what's sure to be an entertaining affar. 

Live on DAZN: Watch Dalton Smith vs. Jose Zepeda on March 23.

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