(Sporting Alert) — List of friendly international football games taking place around the globe on Wednesday, Mar. 5.
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Among the top teams in action on Wednesday is World Cup hosts, Brazil, who will take on South Africa, as they continue their preparation for the summer tournament, which they start as one of the favourites.
South Africa surprised Spain in November last year after beating them 1-0 and head coach Gordon Igesund is hoping for a similar result at the First National Bank Stadium.
“We want to put up a good performance. We’re playing a very good team – the five-time world champions,” Igesund said.
“I’ve got a squad of players which will be our national team moving forward. We’re looking to pick up where we left off.
“Everyone is fighting for places. We’ve got a good idea of who will be playing for Brazil.
“I’ve got to keep mentioning Spain. We played against the world champions and we dealt with them.”
Top ranked and reigning world champion, Spain, will face Italy, Spain coach Vicente Del Bosque gets a chance to see some of players close up again.
Set to make his debut for Spain in Madrid is Atletico Madrid on form striker Diego Costa.
Last year Costa announced that he would feature for Spain over his birth country Brazil at the World Cup, and he said it was a tough decision.
“It was a complicated decision at the time,” Costa was quoted as tell Spanish TV channel Canal Plus.
“But it was a choice that I gave a lot of thought to and I tried to do the right thing. Spain showed an interest and I felt wanted.
“If they thought that I could be important to them, considering the team they have, then it’s a privilege.”
The 25-year-old added: “Del Bosque has always been crystal clear and never promised me anything,. And this is what I like.
“I need to earn my place through work and effort.
“I would love to play at the World Cup in Brazil and do things just as well as Spain did in the last World Cup.”
Meanwhile, some other game of interest on Wednesday night are United States against Ukraine, Belgium v Ivory Coast, Germany and Chile, as well as France against the Netherlands.
In other games, Argentina and Lionel Messi will tackle Romania, Mexico take on Nigeria, while Uruguay face Austria and Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal face Cameroon.
List of International Football Games on March 5
| 9:00 AM | Georgia | v | Liechtenstein |
| 9:00 AM | Russia | v | Armenia |
| 10:00 AM | Azerbaijan | v | Philippines |
| 10:00 AM | Lithuania | v | Kazakhstan |
| 10:45 AM | Bulgaria | v | Belarus |
| 12:00 PM | South Africa | v | Brazil |
| 12:00 PM | Albania | v | Malta |
| 12:00 PM | Algeria | v | Slovenia |
| 12:00 PM | Greece | v | South Korea |
| 12:00 PM | Hungary | v | Finland |
| 12:00 PM | Montenegro | v | Ghana |
| 12:30 PM | Bosnia-Herzegovina | v | Egypt |
| 12:30 PM | Czech Republic | v | Norway |
| 12:30 PM | Israel | v | Slovakia |
| 1:00 PM | Andorra | v | Moldova |
| 1:00 PM | Colombia | v | Tunisia |
| 1:00 PM | Cyprus | v | Northern Ireland |
| 1:00 PM | Macedonia | v | Latvia |
| 1:30 PM | Luxembourg | v | Cape Verde Islands |
| 1:30 PM | Turkey | v | Sweden |
| 2:00 PM | Gibraltar | v | Estonia |
| 2:00 PM | Romania | v | Argentina |
| 2:00 PM | Ukraine | v | United States |
| 2:30 PM | Austria | v | Uruguay |
| 2:30 PM | Switzerland | v | Croatia |
| 2:45 PM | Belgium | v | Ivory Coast |
| 2:45 PM | Germany | v | Chile |
| 2:45 PM | Poland | v | Scotland |
| 2:45 PM | Republic of Ireland | v | Serbia |
| 2:45 PM | Wales | v | Iceland |
| 3:00 PM | Australia | v | Ecuador |
| 3:00 PM | England | v | Denmark |
| 3:00 PM | France | v | Netherlands |
| 3:45 PM | Portugal | v | Cameroon |
| 4:00 PM | Spain | v | Italy |
| 8:30 PM | Mexico | v | Nigeria |
