World Cup warm-up time
The excitement is mounting as the 32 finalists for the World Cup in Russia begin preparations.
The hiatus between the end of the Premier Soccer League season domestically, the conclusion of European club competitions and the start of the World Cup offers a chance to focus on club football in the United States, Ireland and in Scandinavia, where the leagues are now in full swing and heading towards the midway point.
TAB soccer punters have already been betting on games in Major League Soccer, the Irish league and in Finland, Norway and Sweden, whose long winters mean they start the season in March and go through until October.
But the primary focus over the next weeks will be the warm-ups for the World Cup with all the major contenders playing preparatory friendlies to fine tune their teams and strategies.
The likes of Brazil, England, France and Germany have already finalised their 23-man squads for the tournament in Russia, although the deadline for the submission of final names is only next week Monday.
It means that their work in the time left before the start of the tournament on 14 June can be spent on honing tactics with their players, rather than still trying to make up their minds over who to take and who to leave out.
The emphatic nature of Brazil’s qualification, in the South American group, means they are expected to do better than when they hosted four years ago. They have fixed two friendlies, starting with Croatia at Anfield on Sunday and against Austria next week.
The Croatia game will be testing and offer a decent glimpse at how slick the Brazilians look ahead of their arrival in Russia.
Germany are taking a softer approach, with a game against Austria away at Klagenfurt this weekend and then home to Saudi Arabia before they depart.
England’s game against Nigeria at Wembley on Saturday is going to be a tough test and could well backfire on Gareth Southgate. England can ill-afford the pressure that a setback will inevitably add to them.
France, my tip to win the World Cup, have arguably the toughest schedule of warm-up fixtures. After last night’s match against Ireland, they play Italy in Nice on Friday as Didier Deschamps puts an exciting side through their paces.
There are warm-up friendlies every day until the final days before the opening game. Many are of an unpredictable nature, offering some great chances to land a big win on a TAB soccer pool.