LONDON: World champions Germany and group rivals Scotland are among the teams warming up with friendlies on Wednesday before Euro 2016 qualifiers resume on Friday.

Meanwhile Euro 2016 hosts France have a friendly against five-time world champions Brazil Thursday and another test three days later against Denmark.

Germany take on Asian Cup winners Australia in Kaiserslautern Wednesday in the first match of the year for Joachim Loew’s side, who have a Euro 2016 qualifier against Georgia in Tbilisi four days later.

Loew has recalled captain Bastian Schweinsteiger, Bayern Munich team-mate Holger Badstuber and Borussia Dortmund’s Ilkay Guendogan after long injury lay-offs.

Loew will be hoping to settle on his preferred formation ahead of the trip to Georgia after an up-and-down start to the Euro 2016 qualifying campaign.

The Germans have beaten Australia in three of their four previous encounters but lost 2-1 in Moenchengladbach the last time they met four years ago.

More importantly will be the three points against Georgia in Tbilisi on Sunday in Group ‘D’ where Germany are three points behind Poland and level on points with Ireland and Scotland after four matches.

The Socceroos are in Germany without striker Tim Cahill, who has an Achilles tendon problem.

Coach Ange Postecoglou is also without former Nuremberg central defender Matthew Spiranovic, who has a hamstring injury, but seems ready to gamble on Western Sydney Wanderers striker Tom Juric despite a groin strain.

Scotland meanwhile take on Northern Ireland, who have started their Euro 2016 qualifying campaign with three wins and one defeat.

Scotland then meet Gibraltar, while Northern Ireland take on Finland in Belfast on Sunday.

Group ‘I’ leaders Denmark play the US Wednesday in Arhus before a friendly three days later against France, who have only friendlies to play until Euro 2016, where they automatically qualify as hosts.

France coach Didier Deschamps has named 21-year-old Lyon striker Nabil Fekir and 20-year-old Chelsea defender Kurt Zouma in the squad for the two games against Brazil and Denmark, but Saturday lost Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris to a knee injury.

The French Football Federation will meanwhile honour France’s all-time leading scorer Thierry Henry, former midfielder Patrick Vieira and defender Marcel Desailly before the match against Brazil at the Stade de France. All won more than 100 caps and helped Les Bleus win the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000.

Brazil also play Chile at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium in London on Sunday on their Europe trip, and have fixtures lined up against Mexico and Honduras before coach Carlos Dunga takes the side to the Copa America in Chile.

Dunga has been forced to make three late changes to his squad after David Luiz, Marquinhos and Diego Tardelli withdrew with injuries.

Shakhtar Donetsk striker Luiz Adriano and Corinthians defender Gil are recalled, while Arsenal central defender Gabriel Paulista has earned his first call-up to the Selecao.

Vicente del Bosque is also continuing to cast his net wide as he attempts to restore Spain’s status following their ill-fated world title defence in Brazil last year.

Having previously assessed the merits of Jose Callejon, Nolito and Ignacio Camacho, Del Bosque has drafted in the previously uncapped Sevilla midfielder Victor Vitolo Machin and Villarreal goalkeeper Sergio Asenjo for the Group ‘C’ qualifier against Ukraine and the friendly with the Netherlands.

Netherlands, meanwhile, are without strikers Arjen Robben and Robin van Persie for Tuesday’s game against Spain and the Group ‘A’ qualifier against Turkey three days earlier.

International friendly fixtures:

Wednesday: Mauritius v Burundi; Indonesia v Cameroon; Dominican Republic v Cuba; Botswana v Lesotho; Gabon v Mali; Nigeria v Uganda; Swaziland v South Africa; Georgia v Malta; Denmark v USA; Germany v Australia; Scotland v Northern Ireland.

Thursday: Jordan v Syria; Qatar v Algeria; Thailand v Singapore; Costa Rica v Paraguay; Oman v Malaysia; Maldives v Tajikistan; Egypt v Equatorial Guinea; Ivory Coast v Angola; Bahrain v Colombia; Iran v Chile; France v Brazil.

Friday: China v Haiti; Jamaica v Venezuela; Gambia v Mauritania; Japan v Tunisia; South Korea v Uzbekistan; Trinidad & Tobago v Panama; Canada v Guatemala.

Saturday: Mauritius v Togo; Seychelles v Kenya; Hong Kong v Guam; Ghana v Senegal; Morocco v Uruguay; Iraq v Democratic Republic of Congo; Mexico v Ecuador; El Salvador v Argentina.

Sunday: Zambia v Rwanda; Tanzania v Malawi; South Africa v Nigeria; Botswana v Mozambique; Ivory Coast v Equatorial Guinea; Guyana v Grenada; Brazil v Chile; France v Denmark.

Monday: Indonesia v Myanmar; Belarus v Gabon; Oman v Algeria; Thailand v Cameroon; Saudi Arabia v Jordan; Colombia v Kuwait; Jamaica v Cuba; Bahrain v Philippines; Qatar v Slovenia; Macedonia v Australia; Puerto Rico v Canada.

Tuesday: China v Tunisia; Mauritania v Niger; Iraq v Democratic Republic of Congo; Ghana v Mali; Portugal v Cape Verde Islands; Peru v Venezuela; Argentina v Ecuador; Kyrgyzstan v Afghanistan; Russia v Kazakhstan; Panama v Costa Rica; Mexico v Paraguay; El Salvador v Guatemala; Japan v Uzbekistan; South Korea v New Zealand; Singapore v Guam; Tajikistan v Syria; Liechtenstein v San Marino; Estonia v Iceland; Switzerland v USA; Ukraine v Latvia; Austria v Bosnia & Herzegovina; Luxembourg v Turkey; Slovakia v Czech Republic; Sweden v Iran; Netherlands v Spain; Italy v England; Portugal v Cape Verde Islands.

Euro 2016 qualifying fixtures:

Friday (1945 GMT):

Group ‘C’: Macedonia v Belarus; Slovakia v Luxembourg; Spain v Ukraine.

Group ‘E’: England v Lithuania; Slovenia v San Marino; Switzerland v Estonia.

Group ‘G’: Liechtenstein v Austria; Moldova v Sweden; Montenegro v Russia.

Saturday (1945 GMT unless stated):

Group ‘A’: Kazakhstan v Iceland (1500); Czech Republic v Latvia (1700); Netherlands v Turkey.

Group ‘B’: Israel v Wales (1700); Andorra v Bosnia; Belgium v Cyprus.

Group ‘H’: Azerbaijan v Malta (1700); Croatia v Norway (1700) Bulgaria v Italy.

Sunday (1600 GMT unless stated):

Group ‘D’: Georgia v Germany; Scotland v Gibraltar; Ireland v Poland (1845).

Group ‘F’: Northern Ireland v Finland; Romania v Faroe Islands; Hungary v Greece (1845).

Group ‘I’: Albania v Armenia; Portugal v Serbia (1845).

Published in Dawn, March 25th, 2015

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