With the end of season run-in ramping up, the footballing world has hit the speed bump that is the March international break. The March international always draw intense debate upon their necessity, with many fans asking: is it necessary to halt domestic and european action for meaningless friendlies?
There is no denying that fans, especially in England, curse international breaks. The March edition especially dumbfounds many. While other international breaks, such as in September and November, serve the purpose of holding tournament qualifiers, in March it sits in a place of contempt-filled limbo, especially prior to a major international tournament.
An Uncesseary Obstacle
Embed from Getty ImagesFor those sides already qualified, friendlies are arranged to warm up the side prior to the summer tournaments. Often these friendlies do offer something different, with teams that rarely face each other squaring off. For example, England are set to take on Brazil at Wembley on Saturday night for the first time since 2017. The two sides have not faced each other in a competitive match since the heartbreaking 2002 World Cup Quarter Finals.
Despite this, fans deem them as totally irrelevant and a frustrating obstacle to the excitement of the run-in.
Many teams which face huge season finales often withdraw their star players from contention. For example, title challengers Arsenal have seen Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Magalhães already return to their club with minor injury concerns. Their title rivals, Manchester City have done the same with their Portuguese duo, Bernardo Silva, and Rúben Dias.
The reigning Premier League champions particularly have a history of this. The Citizens Talisman, Erling Haaland, returned to City from international duty with Norway this past November after reportedly suffering an ‘injury’. Yet, he played the full 99 minutes of City’s next game following the break in a huge, early title clash with Liverpool. He even scored too. Haaland alluded to Pep Guardiola’s ire with international duty injuries joking: “[Pep said], ‘If one of you comes back not fresh, I will come after you.’
This is a completely understandable fear for managers under immense pressure as the end of the season looms. The potential of a key player being injured in a mostly pointless friendly and this impacting any title challenge or relegation battle would be incredibly infuriating.
Do the Ends Justify the Means?
Embed from Getty ImagesHowever, this is not a new dilemma that this generation of football faces. Former Manchester United stalwart, Gary Neville, recently admitted on the Stick to Football podcast that Sir Alex Ferguson would withdraw his players from international duty when facing a crucial run-in. One such example he provided was from March 1999, as United faced an unprecedented treble. He recalls that Sir Alex withdrew himself, David Beckham, and Paul Scholes from England duty that international break. That decision was a crucial one and the ends certainly justified the means, as United won the treble that May.
A Luxury Some Cannot Afford
Embed from Getty ImagesThis belligerent attitude to the March international break is a champagne problem. It is a luxury for the elite national sides to be playing entirely futile friendlies. For many sides, this international break is where crucial play-offs and other qualifying matches take place. For a team like Luxembourg, this international break is the biggest in their history as a footballing nation. The Red Lions had a shockingly stellar Euro Qualfiying group stage, coming third in Group J above recent World Cup appearance makers Iceland and Bosnia.
They were rewarded with a play-off match up against Georgia, giving them the chance to qualify for a major international tournament for the first time in their history. Unfortunately, they were bested 2-0 on Thursday night, meaning their dream has faltered at the first, play-off hurdle.
Therefore, for some national teams, the March international break can be a critical catchpoint in their footballing history. Seeing it as a burden is ultimately a luxury to have, and England does. That cannot be said for our neighbours Wales, who are one play-off win away from booking their place in Germany this summer for the Euros.
The ire drawn to the international break in March can be a fair one. It can provide a troublesome complication for club sides or a bore for some national teams, but for some they are frankly huge.
Ellen Kerbey on Unsplash” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>Photo by Ellen Kerbey on Unsplash
