By MICHAEL PENG
International competition dominates this weekend’s soccer action with Matchday 7 of the 2016 Euro Qualifiers taking center stage, while several other countries will take part in friendlies to prep for their respective upcoming consequential competition.
Germany and Poland will clash in Frankfurt Friday in a battle for Group D supremacy, while England and Slovakia — the only two countries to have picked up a maximum of 18 points so far in the group stage of the qualifiers — look to keep the trend rolling on Saturday in respective away games, with the Three Lions facing San Marino and Slovakia taking on the defending Euro champion Spain.
Host nation France will warm up Portugal in a friendly ahead of the latter’s qualifier match next week, while the United States and Mexico will prepare for their Oct. 10 Confederations Cup playoff showdown against the likes of Peru and Trinidad and Tobago, respectively.
And while U.S. Men’s National Team regulars Clint Dempsey and Michael Bradley will not take part in the Peru friendly, the two could square off in domestic action as the Seattle Sounders host Toronto FC with both clubs looking to make a late playoff push.
Here is a rundown of all the weekend’s soccer action on TV:
FRIDAY
12:00 p.m. — ESPN Deportes TV/ESPN3 — Georgia vs. Scotland
2:45 p.m. — Fox Sports 1/Fox Soccer 2Go — Germany vs. Poland
2:45 p.m. — ESPN3/WatchESPN — Gibraltar vs. Ireland
2:45 p.m. — Fox Soccer 2Go — Faroe Islands vs. Northern Ireland
2:45 p.m. — ESPN3/WatchESPN — Greece vs. Finland
2:45 p.m. — Fox Sports 2/Fox Soccer 2Go — Hungary vs. Romania
2:45 p.m. — ESPN Deportes TV/ESPN3 — Denmark vs. Albania
2:45 p.m. — Fox Soccer 2Go — Serbia vs. Armenia
2:45 p.m. — ESPN2/Fox Soccer 2Go — Portugal vs. France
3:30 p.m. — beIN Sports Connect — St. Vincent/Grenadines vs. Aruba
4:15 p.m. — beIN Sports USA — Grenada vs. Haiti
5 p.m. — ESPN3 — North Carolina vs. California
7 p.m. — Big Ten Network — Maryland vs. UCLA
7 p.m. — beIN Sports USA — Curaçao vs. El Salvador
7:30 p.m. — ESPN3/WatchESPN — Carolina RailHawks vs. Atlanta Silverbacks
7:30 p.m. — Fox Sports 1/Fox Soccer 2Go — United States vs. Peru
8:05 p.m. — beIN Sports Connect — Antigua and Barbuda vs. Guatemala
9 p.m. — beIN Sports USA — Jamaica vs. Nicaragua
9:30 p.m. — beIN Sports Connect — Panama vs. Uruguay
11 p.m. — Univision Deportes/WatchESPN/ESPN3 — Mexico vs. Trinidad and Tobago
SATURDAY
9:30 a.m. — beIN Sports USA — Rwanda vs. Ghana
9:30 p.m. — beIN Sports Connect — São Tomé and Príncipe vs. Morocco
10 a.m. — beIN Sports USA — Liberia vs. Tunisia
Noon — ESPN3/WatchESPN — Estonia vs. Lithuania
Noon — Fox Soccer 2Go — Luxembourg vs. Macedonia
Noon — ESPN3/ESPN Deportes TV/WatchESPN — Russia vs. Sweden
Noon — Fox Sports 2/Fox Soccer 2Go — San Marino vs. England
Noon — ESPN3 — Ukraine vs. Belarus
2:45 p.m. — Fox Soccer 2Go — Austria vs. Moldova
2:45 p.m. — ESPN3/WatchESPN — Montenegro vs. Liechtenstein
2:45 p.m. — ESPN3/ESPN Deportes TV/WatchESPN — Spain vs. Slovakia
2:45 p.m. — Fox Sports 2/Fox Soccer 2Go — Switzerland vs. Slovenia
4 p.m. — beIN Sports Connect — Brazil vs. Costa Rica
6:30 p.m. — ESPN3 — São Paulo vs. Internacional
7:30 p.m. — MLS Live — New England Revolution vs. Orlando City
7:30 p.m. — ESPN3/WatchESPN — Indy Eleven vs. Jacksonville Armada
7:30 p.m. — ESPN3/WatchESPN — Tampa Bay Rowdies vs. New York Cosmos
8 p.m. — MLS Live/CSN Chicago — Montreal Impact vs. Chicago Fire
8 p.m. — ESPN3/WatchESPN — San Antonio Scorpions vs. Ottawa Fury
10 p.m. — MLS Live/TSN2 — Seattle Sounders vs. Toronto FC
10:30 p.m. — MLS Live — San Jose Earthquakes vs. Philadelphia Union
10:30 p.m. — Univision Deportes — Chivas vs. León
SUNDAY
9 a.m. — beIN Sports Connect — Zimbabwe vs. Guinea
9:30 a.m. — beIN Sports en Español — Lesotho vs. Algeria
9:30 a.m. — beIN Sports USA — Chad vs. Egypt
10:30 a.m. — beIN Sports USA — Gambia vs. Cameroon
11 a.m. — ESPN3 — North Carolina vs. USC
Noon — Fox Soccer 2Go — Latvia vs. Czech Republic
Noon — ESPN2/ESPN Deportes TV — Turkey vs. Netherlands
Noon — Fox Sports 2/Fox Soccer 2Go — Wales vs. Israel
Noon — Fox Soccer 2Go — Malta vs. Azerbaijan
Noon — ESPN3/WatchESPN — Norway vs. Croatia
1 p.m. — beIN Sports USA — Libya vs. Cape Verde Islands
2:45 p.m. — Fox Soccer 2Go — Iceland vs. Kazakhstan
2:45 p.m. — Fox Sports 2/Fox Soccer 2Go — Bosnia and Herzegovina vs. Andorra
2:45 p.m. — ESPN3/WatchESPN — Cyprus vs. Belgium
2:45 p.m. — ESPN Deportes TV/ESPN3 — Italy vs. Bulgaria
4 p.m. — ESPN3/WatchESPN — Edmonton vs. Minnesota United
7 p.m. — Fox Sports 1/Fox Sports Go/Fox Deportes — Columbus Crew vs. FC Dallas
The US U-23 vs England U-21 match is today (kickoff is very shortly) on WatchESPN.com. I hope to catch the replay which should be available a few hours after the conclusion.
Here are the starting lineups:
England U21: Pickford, Gomez, Targett, Loftus-Cheek, Chambers, Dier, Ibe, Ward-Prowse, Woodrow, Alli, Redmond
United States U23: Cropper, Okwuonu, O’Neill, Trapp, Hyndman, Hernandez, Pelosi, Miller, Kiesewetter, Rodriguez, Miazga
Good looking out, but don’t waste your time…