THE World Cup is nearly here and some teams are looking to get in as much preparation as possible.
The last international break came at the end of September when the Nations League group stages were on.
And with the World Cup being held in the middle of the domestic season, there hasn’t been another opportunity for international teams to prepare for the Qatar showpiece.
So most squads will be going into the World Cup without much on-field prep whatsoever.
But there are 19 teams at the World Cup who have opted to arrange friendlies ahead of the tournament.
England are NOT one of those teams, with the Three Lions last game coming against Germany, who they drew 3-3 with at Wembley in the Nations League.
Other sides not participating in friendly games are Brazil, France and the Netherlands.
The list is as follows:
- Saudi Arabia
- Mexico
- Cameroon
- Costa Rica
- Iran
- South Korea
- Canada
- Ecuador
- Belgium
- Argentina
- Germany
- Croatia
- Poland
- Ghana
- Switzerland
- Japan
- Spain
- Portugal
- Serbia
Each of those teams have organised friendlies to take place between Wednesday, November 9 and Friday, November 18 – two days before the World Cup starts.
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World Cup 2022 friendly fixtures
Wednesday, November 9
- Qatar vs Albania – 5.30pm GMT
- Mexico vs Iraq – 8pm GMT
- Cameroon vs Jamaica – 5pm GMT
Thursday, November 10
- Costa Rica vs Nigeria – 2am GMT
- Panama vs Saudi Arabia – 12pm GMT
- Iran vs Nicaragua – 4pm GMT
Friday, November 11
- South Korea vs Iceland – 11am GMT
- Bahrain vs Canada – 4pm GMT
Saturday, November 12
- Iraq vs Ecuador – 5.30pm GMT
Tuesday, November 15
- Iraq vs Belgium – TBC
Wednesday, November 16
- UAE vs Argentina – TBC
- Oman vs Germany – 5pm GMT
- Saudi Arabia vs Croatia – 10am GMT
- Poland vs Chile – 5pm GMT
Thursday, November 17
- Japan vs Canada – 1.40pm GMT
- Iraq vs Costa Rica – 2pm GMT
- Jordan vs Spain – 4pm GMT
- Portugal vs Nigeria – 6.45pm GMT
Friday, November 18
- Cameroon vs Panama – 10am GMT
- Belgium vs Egypt – 3pm GMT
- Bahrain vs Serbia – 4pm GMT
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
