Oh, and re whether this is replacing friendlies -

In the Q&A at the bottom:

"Will there be no more friendly internationals?

There will certainly be fewer friendly internationals and undoubtedly fewer meaningless friendlies. However, there will still be space in the calendar for friendly internationals – particularly warm-up matches for final tournaments. UEFA is also keen that European teams will still have the chance to play opponents from other confederations."

Posted By: Tricky Hawes, Oct 16, 14:06:12