International football games to look forward to this weekend

There are some international football games that will wet your appetite this weekend as we get into the international break.

Below are some of the games to look forward to:

France vs Ivory Coast

The home side have not been in action since beating Finland 2-0 in their final 2022 World Cup qualifier last November, but Ivory Coast featured two months ago at the Africa Cup of Nations, reaching the round of 16 before losing to finalists Egypt on penalties.

Republic of Ireland vs Belgium

The Republic of Ireland face Belgium in a glamour friendly this weekend in what will be their first game of 2022.

Stephen Kenny was named a 25-man squad for this game and next week’s friendly with Lithuania, but Darragh Lenihan has since withdrawn through injury.

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Oxford United midfielder Mark Sykes has received his first call-up to the Ireland squad. Same thing goes for as Connor Ronan, who is currently on loan with St Mirren from Wolverhampton Wanderers.

But Ireland are without a number of players, such as Adam Idah, Andrew Omobamidele, Enda Stevens and Callum O’Dowda.

Meanwhile, Roberto Martinez has only named players with less than 50 caps in his squad. He aims to give others a chance, but it is still a high-quality group for the world’s number one ranked side.

England vs Switzerland

England will host Switzerland in a friendly at Wembley this weekend in the Three Lions’ first match of the year.

Gareth Southgate’s side have not been in action since a 10-0 demolition of San Marino secured World Cup qualification back in November.

Scoring the winner: @KWPeters! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/H2yJT5sEj5

— England (@England) March 24, 2022

England last hosted Switzerland to Wembley back in 2015 when Wayne Rooney became the country’s all-time record goalscorer in a 2-0 win.

Trent Alexander-Arnold became the first player to pull out of England’s squad after suffering a hamstring injury for Liverpool. A replacement is yet to be announced. Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale is also out following a muscle issue.

Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel has also told talkSPORT that Reece James is not ready to feature in the upcoming international break for England.

Spain vs Albania

Spain are set to play Albania at the Estadi Cornellà-El Prat on Saturday for an international friendly fixture.

The two clubs last faced each other in 2017, with Spain beating Albania 3-0. First-half goals from attacker Rodrigo Moreno and midfielders Isco and Thiago Alcantara ensured victory for Spain.

Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea and Barcelona midfielder Sergio Busquets have both been excluded from the current squad. Leeds United centre-back Diego Llorente is out injured.

There could be potential debuts for Cittadella goalkeeper Elhan Kastrati and Empoli midfielder Kristjan Asllani. Empoli midfielder Nedim Bajrami is out injured.

There you have it for the international games to look forward to. We will return with the review of the games with Italy’s shocking loss to North Macedonia being the major topic.