International updates: Maza shines with Algeria – Poku provides assist

+++ 27/03: Grimaldo and Spain defeat Serbia +++

In the style of a candidate for the World Cup title in the summer, Spain showed no weakness in the friendly against Serbia. A brace from Mikel Oyarzabal (Real Sociedad) and a goal from Victor Munoz (CA Osasuna) secured a comfortable 3-0 win - Alejandro Grimaldo did not feature. The Spaniards will continue with their second friendly against Egypt on Monday 30 March.

+++ 27/03: Netherlands with Mark Flekken pass test against Norway +++

The Oranje defeated the Norwegian team 2:1 and thus mastered another real test on the way to the World Cup in the USA. With Mark Flekken in the squad, the Dutch initially fell behind, but turned the game around with goals from Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool FC) and Tijjani Reijnders (Manchester City). On Tuesday, 31 March, the team will face Ecuador in their next test match.

+++ 27/03: Maza’s Algeria beat Guatemala 7-0 +++

The Algeria team with Ibrahim Maza gave Guatemala no chance in their preparations for the World Cup in the summer. In the end, the North African side won 7-0, with six different players scoring. Maza came on as a substitute on 77 minutes and helped to increase the score by another goal. Algeria will face a presumably more difficult opponent in Uruguay in the second friendly in this international break on Tuesday, 31 March.

+++ 27/03: Kofane starts in Cameroon's 1-0 defeat down under +++

In the first of two friendlies for the Cameroon national team, Christian Kofane played the full 90 minutes on the pitch. Nevertheless, the team with the Leverkusen striker narrowly lost 1-0 to Australia, with Feyenoord player Jordan Bos scoring the only goal of the game on 85 minutes. Cameroon's next chance of success will be against China on Tuesday, 31 March.

+++ 27/03: Poku assist - Netherlands U21s narrowly defeated +++

In the European Championship qualifier against Norway, Ernest Poku's Netherlands suffered a narrow 3-2 defeat in the last minute. After trailing at the start, the Oranje turned the game around - partly with the help of Poku making it 2-1 - but conceded two more goals on 77 minutes and in the second minute of added time. It was the only game for the young Dutch side in the current international break.

+++ 26/03: Schick converts two penalties - next opponents Italy +++

Midway through the first half, Czechia and Werkself player Patrik Schick were already 2-0 down in the play-off semi-final against Ireland. However, the Leverkusen forward pulled a goal back from the penalty spot on 27 minutes and then captain Ladislav Krejci (Wolverhampton Wanderers) forced extra time shortly before the end of normal time. There were no more goals so the game went to a penalty shoot-out. Schick was the fourth Czechia penalty taker to keep his cool in the shoot-out - and in the end he and his compatriots progressed to the all-important duel for participation in the World Cup. They will face Denmark, who defeated North Macedonia 4-0, on Tuesday, 31 March (kick-off: 20:45 CEST)

+++ 25/03: Tape plays full game in France U19 draw +++

In Germany's parallel group, the France U19 team faced Norway in their opener. Axel Tape, who played for 90 minutes, and his compatriots were all square at 1-1 at the break. The Scandinavians even took the lead in the second half, before Les Bleus netted a penalty in the closing stages to make the final score 2-2. The tournament continues on Saturday 28 March with a game against Switzerland.

+++ 25/03: Culbreath scores, but Germany U19s miss out on opening win +++

The Germany U19 team could only draw 2-2 with Sweden at the start of the second stage of the European Championship qualifiers. With Montrell Culbreath, from Leverkusen playing the full 90 minutes, Germany took a 1-0 lead at the break. Sweden equalised after the restart before Culbreath put his side back in front on 80 minutes. However, Germany then conceded the final goal in stoppage time. Their next opponents on Saturday 28 March are Greece.

International fixtures at a glance: