Meanings of pre-tournament friendlies in English

Your team will be booed by its own fans in many of its qualifiers and most of its pre-tournament friendlies.

Serbia have been poor in pre-tournament friendlies and will be looking for a confidence boost before taking on Germany in their next game.

Portugal's pre-tournament friendlies: A 0-0 draw with Macedonia, followed by a 3-1 home reverse at the hands of Turkey.

Germany's pre-tournament friendlies: A preposterous 5-3 tonking in Switzerland, followed by a scrappy 2-0 win at home over Israel.

BAG The obvious pick is Serbia, who are loaded with NBA talent and in form, unbeaten since February and a perfect 9-0 in pre-tournament friendlies.

Combine that with their issues in checking opposing counterattacks -damningly highlighted in pre-tournamentfriendlies -and the only outcome can be disappointment.