International football: 10 things to look out for in this round of friendlies

France and England debutants stake their claims, Ronaldo v Salah, Dembélé seeks to convince Martínez and another new start for Scotland

Zurich is not an obvious venue for Portugal to face Egypt but may, at least, afford Fifa bigwigs the opportunity to pop out of the office and watch two of the players they hope will offer good news stories at their tournament. Mohamed Salah has, on numerous occasions during a remarkable season with Liverpool, looked the nearest thing the Premier League has seen to Cristiano Ronaldo since the latter joined Real Madrid in 2009; Ronaldo has modified his game now but this is still a welcome chance to see them spar. There are broader similarities, too, in how their national teams rely on them: until Euro 2016 Ronaldo’s eminence sometimes verged on a curse for Portugal and, while that is not quite the case for Egypt, their hopes of a run to the latter stages this summer would be starkly reduced were it not for the influence of Salah. Here is a chance for both teams, then, to prove they have the better hitman as well as the superior support network; if it all clicks for one of them then a few mouths may start to water. NA

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