This copious first day also addresses geopolitical issues with the boiling Armenia-Turkey, Saturday (18:00), and even that of the retirement age with the 41 years of Zlatan Ibrahimovic for Sweden-Belgium, Friday (20:45).

The first poster is played at the Maradona stadium in Naples, a name always cursed for the "Three Lions" since the "hand of God" in the quarter-finals of the 1986 World Cup.

England have not beaten Italy in competition since 1977 and a 2-0 qualifier for the Argentine World Cup.

To ward off these bad trends, England captain Harry Kane hopes to overtake Wayne Rooney to become the top scorer of the England team. They are both at 53 goals.

It is to themselves that the Italians owe a revenge, after missing the last two World Cups, a unique absence in their glorious history, but Roberto Mancini still desperately lacks world-class top strikers: only three Italians have surpassed ten goals throughout 2022 against eleven English and 21 French.

Captain Mbappé

With its offensive power, the France team of new captain Kylian Mbappé begins its qualification phase with a formidable duel against the "Oranjes".

Kylian Mbappé and Aurélien Tchouaméni discuss before a training session of Les Bleus in Clairefontaine-en-Yvelines on March 21, 2023 © FRANCK FIFE / AFP

The challenge is very high for the return of Ronald Koeman on the Dutch bench, after a first stint (2018-2020), and defender Daley Blind, who should honor his 100th selection at Saint-Denis.

In the other matches, Armenia receives Turkey, a hot duel because of relations poisoned in particular by the issue of the genocide of Armenians of 1915 under the Ottoman Empire, which Turkey denies.

The two teams have only faced each other twice, in the 2010 World Cup qualifiers, and Turkey won 2-0 in both the first leg and the second leg.

In Sweden, the "God" Zlatan Ibrahimovic faces the Belgian Red Devils in transition, since the international retirement of Eden Hazard.

Among the other legends of the game, the top scorer in the history of the Euro finals, Cristiano Ronaldo, returns briefly from Saudi Arabia to expand his record of goals in selection (118) against the very modest team of Liechtenstein, Thursday (20:45).

Luka Modric's Croatia, third in the last World Cup, hosts Wales on Saturday (20:45) for the start of the post-Gareth Bale era, retired "dragon".

And in the young wolves, the Norway of phenomena Erling Haaland and Martin Odegaard rubs against Spain and its new coach Luis de la Fuente, Saturday in Malaga (20:45).

Finally a new Denmark-Finland is played Saturday (20:45) at the Parken in Copenhagen, where Christian Eriksen collapsed at Euro 2020, but the midfield is forfeited.

The program:

Thursday:

Group C

(20:45) North Macedonia - Malta

Italy vs England

Group H

(16:00) Kazakhstan - Slovenia

(20:45) Denmark - Finland

San Marino - Northern Ireland

Group J

(20:45) Slovakia - Luxembourg

Bosnia and Herzegovina vs Iceland

Portugal - Liechtenstein

Friday:

Group B

(20:45) France - Netherlands

Gibraltar vs Greece

Group E

Moldova - Faroe Islands

Czech Republic vs Poland

Group F

Suède - Belgique

Austria vs Azerbaijan

Group G

(18:00) Bulgaria - Montenegro

(20:45) Serbia - Lithuania

Saturday

Group A

(15:00) Scotland - Cyprus

(20h45) Spain - Norway

Group D

(18:00) Armenia - Turkey

(20:45) Croatia v Wales

Group I

(18:00) Israel - Kosovo

Belarus vs Switzerland

(20:45) Andorra - Romania

© 2023 AFP