Razeen Gutta
As club football takes its final pause before the Fifa World Cup, national teams have one more opportunity to make it all count ahead of Qatar 2022. Here are the key match ups as teams draw up their final battle plans before the tournament.
Headlined by the Uefa Nations League, this international break will also see African sides contest friendly matches with some of the giants of South America.
The final two rounds of Nations League fixtures will be played from midweek through to the end of next weekend, with sides in the various leagues looking to take their opportunities at sealing promotion or preventing relegation.
Apart from the competitive nature of the Uefa competition, managers who will send their teams out in Qatar at year-end will want to start locking in their best combinations for the Fifa spectacle.
In the pick of the action on Thursday 22 September, Belgium and Wales collide, with both sides needing something from the game.
The Belgians will still have their sights set on overtaking Netherlands at the top of the table, while the Welsh will want to keep their chances of League A survival on the cards. That one will be live on Supersport 3 from 8.35pm.
On Friday 23 September, the group of death sees its penultimate round of fixtures as Italy host England in a Euro 2020 rematch on Supersport 3, while Germany take on Hungary on Supersport 2. Both games will be broadcast from 8:35pm.
On Sunday, group A1 will be decided when Austria take on Croatia and world champions France travel to Denmark. Both games will also be live on Supersport 2 and 3 respectively from 8:35pm.
It all culminates early next week as rivals England and Germany face off on Monday night football, while Portugal face Spain to decide group A2 on Tuesday (both on Supersport 3 at 8:35pm).
On an African front, an array of international friendlies have been lined up over the coming days, with Bafana Bafana taking on Sierra Leone and Botswana on Saturday (24 September) and Tuesday (27 September).
Ghana and Tunisia will both take on Brazil on Friday (23 September) and Tuesday (27
September) while Paraguay host Morocco on Tuesday (27 September) as well, to name a few.
Image source: @SportBible
