While many dread the international break and the subsequent lack of club football, there is one thing the March break proved good for: weighing up how teams may perform in upcoming tournaments.
There were some surprise results this month, as some of the biggest nations in the world went head to head for some good old ‘friendly’ football. Germany impressed with two wins, whereas England went without a victory.
Without further ado, here are 90min’s four takeaways from the March internationals.
It’s hard to believe this star is just 17 years old, but the world has now been given their first taste of Endrick and it certainly won’t be the last we see of him.
He scored the only goal of the game at Wembley against the Three Lions and then confessed his admiration for legend Sir Bobby Charlton, capturing the hearts of football fans everywhere.
Both his performances were outstanding during the break, but his real moment came when he bagged a goal just five minutes into his Santiago Bernabeu debut. He’s set to arrive at Real Madrid in summer, so expect that goal to be his first of many in the famous old stadium.
Another youngster bursting with talent, Lamine Yamal deserved a goal after his impeccable performances for Spain against both Colombia and Brazil.
He won his sixth cap for his country when facing Brazil on Tuesday, and then received a standing ovation as he left the Bernabeu – a gesture that doesn’t happen often, particular when you’re on the books at Barcelona.
After these outings, Yamal has to be starting in Spain’s attack for Euro 2024.
Germany established themselves as a force to be reckoned with before they host Euro 2024 in summer. Wins over both Spain and Netherlands signified a potential revival under new boss Julian Nagelsmann.
The team lacks a world class striker, sure, but Niclas Fullkrug does have a good record for the nation. Goals also came from Florian Wirtz, Kai Havertz and Maximilian Mittelstadt proving that there are plenty of routes to goal for the current Germany side.
Their recent tournament have been are pretty dire, but it seems that Die Mannschaft might finally be turning a corner.
England have the talent, the experience and the skill to win Euro 2024. Their performances during the break didn’t show that, but they were without key players that largely impact their games.
There’s a chance we’ll all be singing ‘Southgate you’re the one’ in a few months time, at least throughout the group stages.
However, Gareth Southgate‘s side still have a poor record in big games against strong opposition, adding the loss to Brazil and draw with Belgium to that tally. They have arguably the most exciting selection of attackers in the world, and will need to pull out all the stops if they are to finally win a major tournament this summer.
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