Roy Hodgson has told his England players that how they perform in the games against Germany and Netherlands will have a big bearing on their chances of selection for Euro 2016.
England are in Berlin to play the world champions on Saturday, before the Dutch visit Wembley on Tuesday in the second match of the friendly double-header.
Hodgson insisted that while the two games are not the final chance for his players to impress prior to the tournament in France, this international break would be a crucial period for him in assessing the performances of his key options.
I think for all national coaches, this time will be important, he said at his pre-match media conference on Friday.
Especially with the level of opposition we are playing against, so I can t deny that they will be very important occasions.
Hopefully very good footballing occasions too. There is no doubt what I see, what I have seen so far this week and will continue to see after these games will have an impact it must.
They are two further games in our preparations towards the Euros in France. We have three more before the final squad is selected and it is by no means a be-all and end-all selection, but we take the games very seriously and for sure I shall learn some very important lessons.
Hodgson, who confirmed Theo Walcott would miss training on Friday in a bid to ensure he is fit for the Germany game, did not reveal which players would feature in his starting XI.
