By DAN KARELL
The final international break of the year continues on Friday with the commencement of the UEFA World Cup qualifying playoff round.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal take on Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Sweden in the highest-profile game of the day, though Greece vs. Romania and Ukraine vs. France both carry plenty of story lines as well. Iceland, which has never made the World Cup and would be the smallest nation to do so, hosts Croatia in the first leg in a game expected to played in near-freezing temperatures.
Also in action on Friday, Germany faces a recent international nemesis with a trip to play Italy in Milan. The Italian side defeated the Germans in the Euro 2012 semifinals, a loss that the Germans haven’t forgotten. Other friendly matches on tap on Friday include England hosting an attack-minded Chile squad and Argentina facing Ecuador from New Meadowlands Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.
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):
2pm – Turkey vs. Northern Ireland – ESPN3
2:15pm – Italy vs. Germany – Univision Deportes
2:45pm – Portugal vs. Sweden – ESPN Deportes/ESPN3
2:45pm – Ukraine vs. France – ESPN3
2:45pm – Greece vs. Romania – ESPN3
3pm – Scotland vs. USA – ESPN2/UniMas
3pm – England vs. Chile – Fox Sports 1/Fox Deportes
8pm – Ecuador vs. Argentina – beIN Sport USA/beIN Sport en Español