The international break is finally upon us – a football fan’s worst nightmare.
Running from March 20 to April 1, this break sees all domestic play stopped for players to play internationally in the Euro 2024 qualifiers. This list will help you stay occupied during these troubling times…
- Follow your favourite local footballers
The England squad contains a number of Manchester United and Manchester City football players. Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw will be representing Man United and Manchester City have five representatives in Kyle Walker, John Stones, Jack Grelaish, Phil Foden and Kalvin Phillips.
Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford has pulled himself from the starting squad after suffering a knock during the FA cup quarter final match against Fulham on Sunday 19th March.
The squad also has a number of popular returning players including Harry Kane, Kieran Trippier and Jude Bellingham.
2. Watch the England fixtures
England are playing two matches during the international break. They are travelling to Napels to play against Italy on Thursday March 23 at 7:45pm. The team are returning to Wembley on Sunday March 26 to play against Ukraine, kick-off is at 5pm. Both matches will be broadcasted on Channel 4.
3. Build and refine your fantasy team
Premier League Fantasy is an online game popular amongst football fans where you create your own virtual team based on a £100million transfer budget.
You recieve points based on the perfromance of your real life counterparts. During the international break would be prime time to organise your team ready for the leagues to resume.
4. Play FIFA 23
FIFA 2023 is a football video game created by Electronic Arts, this version is the 29th of the sort. Playing FIFA is the closest you can get to real life football and could be helpful in keeping you occupied until the Premier League returns.
5. Stay in the loop with team news
Just because there is an international break, does not mean that there is a break in politics. Keep in the loop by downloading news apps such as Sky Sports and BBC to keep yourself busy with the team and player news. Key changes could be in the team managers or the selling on Manchester United.
This could lead to a number of memes you can also keep yourself entertained with!
6. Revisit your favourite football videos and matches
Revisiting the most popular goals, football matches and team performances is a good way to keep yourself occupied while waiting for the international break to finish. Watch your favourite footballers again and again on apps such as Youtube and TikTok.
Main image courtesy @focusmitch from Unsplash
