The complete guide to Manchester United's international break

On Thursday, Matteo Darmian's Italy take on Spain, which could mean he'll be facing David de Gea. However, given Vicente del Bosque's peculiar devotion to the shambling corpse of Iker Casillas, he may not. Juan Mata is also in the Spanish squad. Paddy McNair — remember him? — may get the nod for Northern Ireland's game against Wales.

Over in South America, they're playing World Cup qualifiers. Sergio Romero and Marcos Rojo will likely start for Argentina against Chile, while the fit-again Antonio Valencia has the chance to reinjure himself for Ecuador against Paraguay.

Friday evening sees the Netherlands, whose squad features Daley Blind and Memphis Depay, take on Anthony Martial's France. We reckon United's players are good for cameos at the very least, and so do the club: this game is live on MUTV. Guillermo Varela, meanwhile, may make his senior debut for Uruguay against Brazil. Best of luck with Neymar, Guillermo.

The weekend is fairly sparse. On Saturday, Germany play England. Or Bastian Schweinsteiger vs. Chris Smalling, as nobody's calling it. Spain play again on Sunday against Romania, and Northern Ireland take on Slovenia on Monday.

But come Tuesday, things get a bit busier. Marouane Fellaini's Belgium are scheduled to play Portugal at home, though that game might be in doubt after the recent terrorist attacks. Elsewhere in Europe Germany take on Italy, England face the Netherlands, and France face Russia.

And over in South America, in the games that actually matter, we've got Argentina-Bolivia, Colombia-Ecuador and Uruguay-Peru. Quite nice to say, that last one. "Uruguay-Peru. Uruguay-Peru. Uruguay-Peru."