Man Utd teen and England hopeful Mainoo among potential international debutants
The first international break of the year is here, and a number of players have been rewarded with the chance to win a first senior cap for their fine form in recent months. Here we pick out 10 looking to make the international bow with stars from Real Madrid, Manchester United, Newcastle, Barcelona and Besiktas all featuring.
A call-up to the England squad is richly deserved for Jarrad Branthwaite, who ranks fourth for interceptions (41) of players aged 21 and under in Europe's top five leagues this season. Everton may be lingering towards the relegation zone but Branthwaite's performances mean the Toffees have conceded just 39 league goals, the joint-fourth fewest in the division.
With nine goals and five assists to his name, Anthony Gordon is enjoying his most prolific Premier League campaign to date. Many felt the Newcastle forward should have been called up to the England squad back in November and it wouldn't be a huge shock if he were handed his first cap by Gareth Southgate against Brazil or Belgium.
Having been called up to the England squad from the U21s on Tuesday, many believe Kobbie Mainoo should have been in the initial selection last week. The Manchester United midfielder is enjoying a whirlwind campaign for Erik ten Hag's side and is one of the shining lights of a somewhat disappointing campaign so far. With the Euros on the horizon, Mainoo will hope to give a good account of himself in the March internationals.
Moving over to Germany now, and Jan-Niklas Beste has become the first ever Heidenheim player to receive a Germany call up in the club's history. Heidenheim are enjoying a wonderful debut Bundesliga campaign and are currently 10 points clear of the relegation playoff spot with Beste key. Indeed, the 25-year-old ranks sixth for assists (8) in the division to more than justify his chance under Julian Nagelsmann.
Deniz Undav has been directly involved in 20 league goals this season, scoring 14, which is a fine feat when you consider he's registered just 1414 minutes of game time in the Bundesliga this season. Undav deputised well for VfB Stuttgart top scorer Serhou Guirassy was sidelined due to injury or on AFCON duty and his place in the Germany squad is well deserved.
Spain have a knack for running young players into the ground - both Pedri and Gavi are currently sidelined due to injury - and Barcelona are hoping the same doesn't happen to centre-back Pau Cubarsi. The 17-year-old is enjoying a wonderful breakout campaign for the Blaugrana and his form hasn't gone unnoticed with Luis de la Fuente electing to hand the teenager his chance for the national team. Here's hoping Spain take better care of Cubarsi than they have Pedri and Gavi...
Besiktas are enduring a poor season by their standards - they are currently closer to the relegation zone than they are league leaders and rivals Galatasaray following a three-game losing streak - but a ray of sunshine in a dreary season is the performances of Semih Kilicsoy. Handed a call up by Vincenzo Montella, the 18-year-old has nine goals and two assists from just 14 league starts this term and he'll hope to feature in some capacity against either Hungary or Austria in the coming days.
Torino are languishing in mid-table in Serie A but the performances of Raoul Bellanova haven't gone unnoticed by Italy boss Luciano Spalletti. Only Inter's Federico Dimarco (6) has registered more assists than Bellanova (5) of defenders in Italy's top tier this term and he could prove the long-term solution to any potential right-back issues for the Azzurri further down the line.
Brazil's squad for the international break isn't quite so appealing, with the likes of Gabriel Jesus, Neymar and Casemiro all absent, but that's presented Porto's Galeno with the chance to nail down a spot for the Selecao ahead of the Copa America. The 26-year-old has shone for FC Porto this season, scoring six and providing another six, and he'll hope to be handed a Brazil debut against England or Spain.
Brahim Diaz had initially planned to switch allegiance from Spain to Morocco last January but he's had to wait until now to receive a first call up for the Atlas Lions. The 24-year-old has been a handy squad player for Carlo Ancelotti's Real Madrid side this season, scoring five and assisting two assists, filling in out wide or through the middle for Los Blancos, and he swells an already impressive Morocco attack.
