The international break is sometimes an annoyance to those who love club football but it shouldn’t be. These are the rare moments throughout the year where a country can put together arguably its best talent, and prepare for the next big tournament in World Football.

With the 2015 African Cup of Nations(possibly), Copa America 2015 next year, and Euro 2016 around the corner, there’s plenty of games of varying interest.  The South American sides are preparing for their tournament with some high-profile friendlies but if you want more competitive play the qualification for Euro 2016 is ongoing, and African Cup of Nation qualifying is in its final stage.

As far as the African Cup of Nations is concerned reports from AlJazeera.com state the initial hosts, Morocco, have been kicked out of the tournament after refusing to host the competition due to concerns about the recent Ebola outbreak. We’ll see who the next host is soon.

So let’s take at the fantastic football on display, shall we?

 

International Friendly Matches

Turkey vs. Brazil(Today)

This Turkish side isn’t the same team that troubled Brazil in the 2002 FIFA World Cup but there is usually a good amount of quality and solid work ethic in the squad. Brazil’s play during the early part of Dunga’s second reign has been good so far but this is the first European team they’ll face. With the Copa America drawing ever closer, Dunga will be trying to get more productivity out of his other attackers so that Neymar gets some help.

USA vs. Colombia

The progress of the US national team will be interesting to watch during the next few years, and Jurgen Klinsmann’s side has a tough test in their next friendly. Radamel Falcao will still be missing from Colombian ranks but the World Cup showed this team is extremely potent. The in-form James(Ham-ez) Rodriguez and the likes of Jackson Martinez and Carlos Bacca could run riot against an inexperienced defense.

Argentina vs. Croati(Today)

This is a mouth-watering clash on paper. Croatia were disappointing at the World Cup but have been undefeated in Euro 2016 qualifiers so far. Argentina is a work in progress under Gerardo Martino but Sergio Aguero is on fire in club football. The European side will have one eye on an important qualifier against Italy but the quality on display should make this fun to watch.

Netherlands vs.  Mexico(Today)

The Netherlands have been poor under Guus Hiddink since the end of the 2014 World Cup. Mexico was one of the teams they beat on their surprising run to the semifinals, and the Oranje will be hoping history repeats itself. A boost of confidence is definitely needed with another important qualifier after the friendly. The main talking point for Mexico is the return of a certain Carlos Vela to the national setup. I’ve always liked him since his time at Arsenal, and it’s sad it took this long for the differences to be sorted but hopefully he can help Mexico push on now.

Uruguay vs. Costa Rica

Anybody willing to pass up a rematch of the biggest surprise in the World Cup? Maybe Joel Campbell can put himself back in the limelight with a repeat performance, and then Arsenal will be able to sell him as Arsene Wenger seemingly wants to do. Costa Rica may be out of the mind of most nations since the World Cup concluded but they showed they should be respected, and many of their players are still available for years.

Spain vs. Germany

What’s there to say about this one. Germany  has taken over the mantle of best team in the World and all Spain can do  is tryto regain some credibility with a victory. Neither side is at full strength but given the vast amount of talent available there will still be lots of quality on display.

Argentina vs. Portugal

Lionel Messi vs. Cristiano Ronaldo. Really don’t need to say much more than that. Ronaldo has wrestled the World’s best player title back from the Argentinian so it’ll be interesting to see if they try to one-up each other in their second meeting of the season. Both sides are in transition, and Carlos Tevez is finally back for Argentina.

France vs. Sweden

These games just advertise themselves, don’t they? The return of Zlatan Ibrahimovic in a Swedish shirt should be fun but France, the Euro 2016 hosts, have continued their good World Cup form in recent friendlies.

Chile vs. Uruguay

Most of the South American teams seem to be playing each other leading up to Copa America 2015. This friendly is interesting on paper but won’t be indicative of what happens when they meet in the tournament proper. Alexis Sanchez and Edinson Cavani are the men on fire for their respective clubs but with Luis Suarez working his way back to form the edge may go to Uruguay.

Scotland vs. England –

The oldest game, and rivalry, in world football deserves a watch doesn’t it? Well, maybe. Wonder if we’ll here about anymore tired English players.

UEFA Euro 2016 Championship Qualifying

Czech Republic vs. Iceland

Both these teams have won against the big boy in the group, Netherlands, and sit with perfect records. One of them will want to get a good lead on the sleeping giant as you really would except the Netherlands to at least nab the second spot and avoid the playoffs. Some decent quality in these teams as well.

Belgium vs. Wales

These two sides are battling it out for a Euro 2016 spot along  with Bosnia and Herzegovina. I really would like to see all three of them there, so hopefully one gets the “best third-place team” spot. Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey will lead Wales against a very talented Belgian side but with Ramsey off-form it may be up to Bale to drive his side to a win.

Italy vs. Croatia

Italy had a good start with life under Antonio Conte and Croatia is keeping pace, with both sides winning three out of three. They’ll want to avoid the playoffs, and with Norway lurking, a good result in this match could go a long way. These two sides are favored to go through automatically but avoiding the playoffs is the name of the game. It will be interesting to see how Conte makes use of Mario Balotelli, if he does at all.

 

CAF: 2015 African Cup of Nations Qualifying

Cameroon vs DR Congo

DR Congo, surprisingly, has a chance to get into the African Cup of Nations ahead of the Ivory coast. They’ll need to match Ivory Coast’s expected win over Sierra Leone by beating Cameroon though. Should they then get a tie against the Elephants then they should go through.

Congo vs Nigeria

Nigeria needs win to get level with Congo and tie for second place, as South Africa may be wrapping up first place with an expected victory over Sudan. A draw or loss against Congo could well see the defending champions out of the competition as they would find it difficult to catch Congo, who face the less challenging test of Sudan in their last game.

Senegal vs Egypt

There’s a one-point difference between Senegal and Egypt right now, with Tunisia three points ahead and looking to effectively put themselves into the competition with a win over Botswana. Senegal can do with draw, at least, versus Egypt as they face Botswana next and should feel confident beating them again to make sure they progress. Egypt’s need for a win should make this game interesting.