Budapest (AFP)
UEFA announced on Thursday that it had released two new dates for selection matches in March and September 2021: these two international breaks will therefore include three matches instead of two.
The European football body, meeting Thursday in Budapest as an executive committee on the sidelines of the European Supercup opposing Bayern Munich to Seville in the evening, will thus allow the federations to catch up with the friendly matches in March and June 2020, postponed due to pandemic.
These three-match international breaks will already be put in place in October and November 2020 to catch up with two first matches.
For example, the France team will host Ukraine in a friendly on October 7, a match initially scheduled for last March, before its two League of Nations duels against Portugal and Croatia on October 11 and 14.
The program will therefore be loaded for the world champions and all the other nations: between September 2020 and July 2021, a selection that would reach the Euro final would have played 20 matches!
The European Football Confederation has also set the dates for the next finals of the League of Nations, this competition created to replace the friendly matches without a stake in the fall.
This "Final Four", bringing together the four group winners of League A (1st division) for semi-finals, a final and a small final, will take place on October 6-7 (semi-finals) and October 10, 2021 (small final and final).
Three countries have expressed their interest in organizing the event: Italy, the Netherlands and Poland.
Initially, this final tournament was to be held in June 2021, but these dates are now blocked by the preparation for Euro 2021. The defending champion of the first edition is the Portugal of Cristiano Ronaldo, also reigning European champion.
© 2020 AFP