Sergio Romero in action for Argentina

When and where are our internationals in action?

Tuesday 20 March 2018 06:00

Preparations for the FIFA World Cup will step up over the next fortnight, with international sides set to play the first round of friendlies since the group-stage draw was made in December.

This is the last chance for the respective national team managers to work with their squads before the end of the domestic season and, as ever, a host of Manchester United players are involved...

ARGENTINA: Sergio Romero and Marcus Rojo could face Matteo Darmian when Argentina face Italy at the Etihad Stadium on Friday. The duo will then meet Spain and David De Gea on Tuesday. 

BELGIUM: Roberto Martinez’s team only have one fixture during the break, against Saudi Arabia, with Romelu Lukaku and Marouane Fellaini both in the squad and set to feature.
Romelu Lukaku will look to take his goalscoring form onto the international stage with Belgium

CHILE: Alexis Sanchez and his international colleagues will not be at the World Cup, after missing out on qualification, yet they’re in action on Saturday against Victor Lindelof’s Sweden in Stockholm. 

ENGLAND: 
Ashley Young, Jesse Lingard and Marcus Rashford are all in Gareth Southgate’s squad. The Three Lions travel to Netherlands on Friday night and then host Italy at Wembley on Tuesday.

FRANCE:
Paul Pogba and Anthony Martial are in the French squad for games against Columbia and Russia. The match in St Petersburg, kicking off at 16:50 on Tuesday, will be shown live on MUTV in the UK and Ireland.


Anthony Martial and Pogba both hope to feature in France's fixtures against Colombia and Russia
IVORY COAST: Fit-again defender Eric Bailly could play for his nation against Togo and then Moldova, as his country attempts to move on from the disappointment of not qualifying for Russia 2018.

NETHERLANDS: 
Tim Fosu-Mensah could line up against his aforementioned United team-mates in the England squad, before the Dutch travel to Portugal to face the European champions on Monday. Daley Blind has not been called up due to injury.

SCOTLAND:
One of the big talking points from this international break will be Scott McTominay and his two opportunities to make a much-discussed Scotland debut, against Costa Rica or Hungary, while new manager Alex McLeish begins his second reign in charge of the national team.

SERBIA: Nemanja Matic is expected to feature for Serbia against Morocco and subsequently Nigeria, hopefully continuing the excellent form that our summer signing has shown for the club in recent weeks. 

SWEDEN: As mentioned above, Lindelof could face Alexis on Saturday night as the Swede’s hope to continue their recent good form, having qualified for the World Cup by defeating Italy in a play-off. 
Victor Lindelof could face his United team-mate Alexis when Sweden take on Chile

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

Don't forget, the UK's timezone will change from GMT to BST in the early hours of Sunday morning…

FRIDAY 23 MARCH 
Serbia v Morocco 19:30 GMT
Argentina v Italy 19:45 GMT
Germany v Spain 19:45 GMT
Netherlands v England 19:45 GMT
Scotland v Costa Rica 19:45 GMT
France v Colombia 20:00 GMT

SATURDAY 24 MARCH
Sweden v Chile 17:00 GMT
Togo v Ivory Coast 19:00 GMT

MONDAY 26 MARCH
Portugal v Netherlands 19:30 BST

TUESDAY 27 MARCH
Russia v France 16:50 BST
Ivory Coast v Moldova 19:00 BST
Hungary v Scotland 19:00 BST
Belgium v Saudi Arabia 19:45 BST
England v Italy 20:00 BST
Nigeria v Serbia 20:00 BST
Spain v Argentina 20:30 BST