The first two quarterfinal matches of this year’s Africa Nations Cup highlight this busy Saturday in the world of soccer.
Ghana will take on Cape Verde Islands in the opening match in Port Elizabeth. The Black Stars won Group B with very little trouble, netting six goals in their three group stage matches. Cape Verde Islands, playing in their first major international tournament, shocked the world earlier in the week by defeating Angola deep into stoppage time and securing a quarterfinal spot.
In the second quarterfinal, tournament hosts and Group A winners South Africa face a Mali side that only scored twice in the group stage. This is the first time that Bafana Bafana have made it to the knockout stage since 2002, and they will look to use their raucous homefield advantage to get a famous win.
In Germany, Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich will face a challenge as the club travels to face an impressive Mainz club fighting for a European place.
Over in England, striker Demba Ba makes his return to St James’ Park when Chelsea faces Newcastle United. The Blues hope to avoid yet another frustrating draw to a lower-ranked team and keep their lead over Tottenham intact.
Action from Mexico will cap off the day, headlined by a battle between the top two teams in Liga MX. Tigres U.A.N.L. and Tijuana are tied at the top of the Clausura table with perfect 4-0-0 records.
If you will be watching today’s action, please feel free to share your thoughts, opinions and some play-by-play in the comments section below.
Enjoy the action (Today’s TV Schedule is after the jump):
7:45am – ESPN2/ESPN Deportes/ESPN3.com – Queens Park Rangers vs. Norwich City
9:30am – GolTV – Mainz vs. Bayern Munich
10am – ESPN3.com – Ghana vs. Cape Verde Islands
10am – Fox Soccer Channel/Fox Deportes – Newcastle United vs. Chelsea
10am – Fox Soccer Plus/FoxSoccer2Go.com – Arsenal vs. Stoke City
10am – FoxSoccer2Go.com – Everton vs. Aston Villa
10am – FoxSoccer2Go.com – Reading vs. Sunderland
10am – FoxSoccer2Go.com – West Ham United vs. Swansea City
10am – FoxSoccer2Go.com – Wigan Athletic vs. Southampton
10am – BeIN Sport en Español – Osasuna vs. Celta Vigo
12pm – BeIN Sport – Getafe vs. Deportivo La Coruña
12pm – BeIN Sport en Español – Torino vs. Sampdoria
12:30pm – FoxSoccer Channel/Fox Deportes – Fulham vs. Manchester United
1:30pm – ESPN3.com – South Africa vs. Mali
2pm – BeIN Sport en Español – Espanyol vs. Levante
2:45pm – RAI – Napoli vs. Catania
4pm – BeIN Sport/BeIN Sport en Español – Granada vs. Real Madrid
6pm – Univision – América vs. Querétaro
8pm – Univision Deportes – Pachuca vs. Toluca
8pm – UniMás – Tigres U.A.N.L. vs. Tijuana
9pm – Telemundo – León vs. Cruz Azul