When a soccer friendly is not really a friendly

All friendly matches are equal but some are more equal than others, writes David Shonfield.

International football generally involves a compromise between necessity and invention, particularly when competitive matches are immediately followed by games that can turn into souped-up training sessions.

Managers like Guus Hiddink and Antonio Conte, serial winners at club level, are in no position to complain, but it is harder to get an international side to perform well when the warm-up game is the one that matters.