Reds on International duty

A GUIDE TO THE INTERNATIONAL REDS

Preparations for the World Cup finals will step up this week, 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.

MUTV are showing France's match against this summer's hosts Russia live on Tuesday, with Paul Pogba and Anthony Martial named in the squad for Les Bleus.

ARGENTINA: Sergio Romero and Marcos 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.

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 before facing another Scandinavian side in Denmark on Tuesday.

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 France group for games against Colombia and Russia. The match in St Petersburg, kicking off at 16:50 BST on Tuesday, will be shown live on MUTV.

IVORY COAST: Fit-again defender Eric Bailly could play for the Elephants against Togo and Moldova, as his country attempts to move on from the disappointment of not qualifying for Russia 2018.

NETHERLANDS: Dutch international Tim Fosu-Mensah could line up against his aforementioned United team-mates in the England squad, before Holland 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, when 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 Nigeria, hopefully continuing the excellent form that our summer signing has shown for United in recent weeks.

SWEDEN: As mentioned above, Lindelof could face Alexis on Saturday night as the Swedes hope to continue their recent good run, having qualified for the World Cup by defeating Italy in a play-off.

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

It is worth reminding you that the clocks will change on Sunday evening, from GMT to BST, so make sure you read the below kick-off times carefully…

FRI 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

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

MON 26 MARCH
Portugal v Netherlands 19:30 BST

TUES 27 MARCH
Russia v France 16:50 BST - Live on MUTV
Denmark v Chile 19:00 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