PARIS: Half a season on from a World Cup where their respective teams largely failed to impress, England, Germany, Italy and France will use midweek friendlies to chart a course for happier times which they hope can materialise at Euro 2012.
England boss Fabio Capello, and German, Italian and French counterparts Joachim Loew, Laurent Blanc and Cesare Prandelli will be out to show that they are building solid foundations for the end of next season.
And the unavailability of several experienced names brings an opportunity to nurture young blood.
Europe’s traditional powerhouses had won nine World Cups between them before Spain put them in the shade last summer in breaking their duck in South Africa.
Capello’s charges, chastened in South Africa, now head to Copen-hagen to meet Denmark today.
And the Italian knows he has his work cut out as summer blues lingered into autumn with a 2-1 defeat against France at Wembley in October, which did little to restore English morale while suggesting France have recovered from their travails under Blanc’s predecessor Raymond Romenech.
With a Euro 2012 qualifier against Wales a month away, Capello will use the game against the Danes to see if young starlets such as Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere are ready to step up to the plate.
Wilshere is set to start alongside Chelsea veteran Frank Lampard with the latter’s habitual sidekick Steven Gerrard missing out after injuring his groin in Liverpool’s 1-0 win over Chelsea on Sunday.
With regular skipper Rio Ferdinand also injured Capello will likely choose Lampard or Wayne Rooney to wear the armband.
In attack, Rooney with partner Darren Bent, who has quickly found his feet with Villa since his big-money move from Sunderland.
Other attractive friendly dates include France meeting Brazil in a repeat of the 1998 World Cup final, while Germany go up against Italy, who suffered a debacle in South Africa, failing to get out of their group.
Germany at least finished third and will want to shine against the team that deprived them of a 2006 World Cup final on home soil in their most recent meeting
Prandelli brings back veteran goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon less than a month after making his injury comeback to bring some experience to the side and has also called in Inter Milan’s Brazilian-born midfielder Thiago Motta.
Loew will have a pacy attack including wingers Mesut Ozil of Real Madrid and Bayern Munich’s Thomas Mueller but Bayern Munich striker Mario Gomez is missing with a knee injury and ex-captain Michael Ballack is also sidelined so Bayern defender Philipp Lahm is set to skipper the side.
France bombed as badly as Italy at the World Cup but under Blanc the seedlings of recovery are taking root as witnessed by the win over England while he has stressed his authority by refusing to bow to political pressure regarding bringing back – or not – ringleaders of the summer rebellion protesting the disciplining of Nicolas Anelka.
Brazil are also getting to grips with a new man at the helm after Mano Menezes replaced Dunga.
The auriverde lost 1-0 to arch-rivals Argentina in their last friendly outing – but France winger Florent Malouda insists the five-time world champions are “a point of reference at the global level.”
Menezes named a squad of Europe-based players and there was no place for livewire Santos forward Neymar, headlining the Under-20 South American championship in Peru.
Spain, without gastroenteritis-stricken Cesc Fabregas, meanwhile welcome Colombia, while their conquered World Cup final rivals Holland host Austria and Argentina take on Portugal in Geneva.
International Friendlies
TODAY
DENMARK vs ENGLAND
(Live on SuperSport, 3.10am tomorrow)
HOLLAND vs AUSTRIA
POLAND vs NORWAY
GERMANY vs ITALY
ARGENTINA vs PORTUGAL
FRANCE vs BRAZIL
(Live on SuperSport2, 3.55am tomorrow)
SPAIN vs COLOMBIA
(Live on SuperSport3, 4.25am tomorrow)
ANDORRA vs MOLDOVA
ARMENIA vs GEORGIA
BELARUS vs KAZAKHSTAN
GREECE vs CANADA
IRAN vs RUSSIA
LATVIA vs BOLIVIA
TURKEY vs SOUTH KOREA
CROATIA vs CZECH REP
AZERBAIJAN vs HUNGARY
EGYPT vs USA
ISRAEL vs SERBIA
ALBANIA vs SLOVENIA
ESTONIA vs BULGARIA
LUXEMBOURG vs SLOVAKIA
BELGIUM vs FINLAND
MALTA vs SWITZERLAND
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