Though the August round of international friendlies is habitually a pre-season warm-up, this week’s match-ups have a decidedly competitive look about them. Twenty-five of the week’s 44 games are taking place in Europe, where three matches featuring six of the leading eight sides in the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking will top the bill: Italy-Spain, Germany-Brazil and England-Netherlands. As the statistics show, there has been very little to choose between these two rivals over the years. Both have claimed seven wins apiece in their 24 meetings, with the remaining ten games drawn and Italy scoring 27 goals to Spain’s 24. Deciding to make a few changes, Azzurri coach Cesare Prandelli with the team soccer jerseys will run the rule over diminutive playmaker Sebastian Giovinco and the mercurial Mario Balotelli, while resting Alberto Gilardino and Alessandro Matri.

 Ever-presents Giampaolo Pazzini, Antonio Cassano and Giuseppe Rossi will be in the line-up, however.The reigning European and world champions will be without two first-choice players: Carles Puyol, who is still struggling with a knee injury, and Cesc Fabregas, while Barcelona’s latest discovery, Thiago Alcantara, could well make his international debut. The son of Brazilian midfielder Mazinho, a FIFA World Cup™-winner at USA 1994, Thiago with the World Cup Soccer Jersey will be making the step-up after helping Spain win the UEFA Under-21 European Championship back in June. Barely a month after being unceremoniously dumped out of the 2011 Copa America quarter-finals on penalties by Paraguay, Brazil are back in action, with coach Mano Menezes deciding to keep faith with the same 23-man squad for the trip to Stuttgart to face Germany. A further defeat, albeit in a friendly, could have consequences for Menezes, especially with Brazil 2014 beginning to loom large.Opposite number Joachim Low has called on his usual squad members, with the exception of Samuel Khedira and Mesut Ozil, still fatigued by their recent globetrotting exploits with Real Madrid.

No fewer than eight Bayern Munich players have been called up by Low, while Brazilian-born Stuttgart striker Cacau returns to the national fold for the first time since late 2010. Highly promising 20-year-old midfielder Ilkay Gundogan is also in with a chance of making his first appearance for Germany.In a bid to thwart the irrepressible Netherlands, who recently put nine goals past Hungary in two games, England boss Fabio Capello with the England Soccer Jersey has turned to Manchester, calling up six players from City and five from United. The Italian could well be handing out maiden caps to Fulham goalkeeper David Stockdale and Tottenham Hotspur defender Kyle Walker as well. The days when England had the measure of the Dutch, including an 8-2 thrashing in 1946, are long gone, though the English still have the edge in the fixture, with five wins to the Oranje’s four in 18 meetings.Making his return for Portugal against Luxembourg is front man Nuno Gomes, who has 77 international appearances to his name. He is his country’s fourth-highest scorer behind Luis Figo, Eusebio and Pauleta, but he has not been called up since 2009. Also on the comeback trail is goalkeeper Quim, who has not been seen between the posts for Portugal since a 6-2 friendly defeat to Brazil in November 2008.

Meanwhile, France continue their rebuilding programme with a game against Chile, with coach Laurent Blanc yet to decide on a full-time captain. “Just because you play with a different captain each time doesn’t mean to say you can’t win every game,” said the Bleus boss. “If there had been an obvious candidate, I would have made the choice by now.”It was in March this year that 20-year-old Danny Welbeck, a member of Sir Alex Ferguson’s latest flock of fledglings, made his debut for England against Ghana with the England Soccer Shirt , the country of his ancestors. An England international at every level from U-17 upwards, Welbeck was on duty for Manchester United in Sunday’s Community Shield match against Manchester City at Wembley, playing a part in the superbly worked Nani goal that brought United level at 2-2.The number of times Germany have beaten Brazil over the years. The two have not faced each other since A Seleçao prevailed 3-2 in the semi-finals of the FIFA Confederations Cup Germany 2005, and in their 20 meetings Die Mannschaft have lost 12 times to the five-time world champions, while drawing five. The most recent of their hat-trick of victories was a 2-1 triumph back on 17 November 1993.