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ESPN to show more than 20 friendlies across the summer
ESPN is to broadcast more than 20 club and international friendlies over the summer, featuring a host of top British club sides plus key international clashes.The line-up will give viewers a chance to scout England’s first opponents in UEFA Euro 2012 as ESPN broadcasts France’s remaining two warm-up games. The Brazilian national side will feature three times on ESPN, starting with its clash against the USA on Wednesday 30th May. And live at 7.45pm on Sunday 9th June, ESPN brings fans one of the biggest international friendlies on the football calendar: Brazil v Argentina.
Euro 2012 participants Germany, Russia, Portugal, Spain & co. in friendly action
Russia vs Uruguay
Euro 2012 participants Russia will lock horns with South American champions Uruguay in an international friendly on May 25.
Russia are actively preparing for the 2012 European Championship which will be their first major tournament since Euro 2008. They dramatically failed to reach the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.
The Russians are now willing to test their strength to the maximum ahead of this summer’s Euro 2012 tournament in Poland and Ukraine. Before their game against Lithuania later this month, Russia will face Uruguay on May 25.
England vs Netherlands Preview
Team news
Darren Bent has been ruled out and so have Tom Cleverley, Kyle Walker and Manchester United talisman Wayne Rooney. Without these players, caretaker manager will be forced to give a bigger role to Danny Welbeck, Ashley Young and Theo Walcott in attack.
James Milner could start but 2012 Carling Cup winner Steven Gerrard will probably not play the full 90 minutes following last weekend’s exhausting encounter against Cardiff City. Liverpool’s Glen Johnson has also been replaced by Manchester City’s Joleon Lescott.
Germany vs France Preview
Team news
The situation is somewhat disastrous for German coach Joachim Löw as he’ll be without 4 key players. Striker Lukas Podolski, midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger and defenders Philipp Lahm and Per Mertesacker won’t face France due to injury. In addition to these big blows, Löw has lost Sven Bender. The player suffered a terrible bruise to his face last weekend.
Meanwhile, Lars Bender and Mario Gomez may play the entire match as Sami Khedira and Miroslav Klose are doubtful. Monchengladbach’s Marco Reus, who will be under the spotlight, could be used as a right winger.
Mexico vs Colombia Preview
Team News
Jose Pekerman, who replaced Leonel Alvarez as the new coach of Colombia in January, will keep the base of his predecessor's squad in his official debut. The only two modifications that he will make are the inclusions of Aldo Leao Ramirez and Bernardo Espinosa, who play for Morelia and Racing Santander, respectively.
Meanwhile, Jose Manuel...
Ecuador vs Honduras Preview
Team News
The biggest blow for Ecuador coach Reinaldo Rueda is that Manchester United winger Antonio Valencia will be unavailable after sustaining a hamstring injury during a recent Europa League outing against Ajax Amsterdam. While only two European-based players were called up by Rueda, seven players ply their trade in the Mexican First Division, with the...
Italy vs USA Preview
Team News
Cesare Prandelli will make a number of changes to his side since they were beaten by Uruguay in their latest friendly match. The Azzurri will have quite a face-lift, as Andrea Barzagli and Domenico Criscito will replace Andrea Ranocchia and Federico Balzaretti in defense and Antonio Nocerino will receive the nod ahead of Claudio Marchisio in the midfield...
Romania vs Uruguay Preview
Team News
Uruguay coach, Oscar Washington Tabarez, has practically called-up an identical squad as to the one which won a record 15th Copa America in Argentina last year and finished in fourth position of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
The only modification from their usual starting eleven is that Bologna attacking midfielder Gaston Ramirez will...
Switzerland vs Argentina Preview
Team News
Alejandro Sabella, the coach of Argentina, will field a close to full-strength squad on their visit to Bern to take on hosts Switzerland. Three regulars who have been forced out of contention due to injuries are Angel Di Maria, Ever Banega and Nicolas Burdisso, while in-form Napoli striker Ezequiel Lavezzi was overlooked by the coach.
Sabella...
FIFA International Match Day Content on ESPN Platforms on Wednesday, Feb. 29
Highlights include:
Italy vs.USA live on ESPN2 and ESPN3 beginning at 2:30 p.m. and matches with FIFA No. 1 team Spain and No. 2 Germany, both on ESPN3.
ESPN Deportes, the 24-hour Spanish-language sports network, will provide comprehensive coverage of the FIFA match day with a seven-hour block of live programming that includes two matches – Montenegro vs. Iceland at 11:55 a.m., and Spain vs. Venezuela at 3:30 p.m. – and one-hour editions of ESPN Futbol Center (11 a.m.) and Los Capitanes (2 p.m.).
Spain vs Venezuela Preview
Team news
The one whose lone goal won the cup for La Roja against Germany, Fernando Torres, is not in the squad that will face Venezuela on Wednesday night. The truth is that the Chelsea striker is going through a horrific spell that has seen him score only once in 18 months for Spain’s national team.
Euro 2008 star striker David Villa is recovering from a long-term injury and won’t participate in the friendly. Sevilla’s Alvaro Negredo and Barcelona’s Pedro Rodriguez are also on Spain’s injury list. David Silva has developed into an even better player since the past few years. The Manchester City talisman is expected to start the match against Venezuela. Alongside him could be new face Iker Muniain from Athletic Bilbao.
Poland vs Portugal Preview
Team News
In an interesting clash, Arsenal goalkeeper Szczesny will be up against one of the world’s sharpest forwards, Cristiano Ronaldo. There’s good news for Sebastian Boenisch who’s recovered from a terrible knee injury. The Werder Bremen defender makes his return in Poland’s national team after a year out.
For Portugal, Carlos Martins and Varela are ruled out but 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup star Nelson Oliveira could make his debut. Paulo Bento could lose or benefit from the Real Madrid trio composed of Pepe, Fabio Coentrao and Cristiano Ronaldo in Portugal's starting XI.
Chile vs Ghana Preview
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Team News
Chile's Argentine boss Claudio Borghi will field a close to full-strength side against the Africans, which include the likes of exciting Barcelona winger Alexis Sanchez, Matias Fernandez, Humberto Suazo, Gary Medel and recent Napoli signing Eduardo Vargas.
But Borghi will be unable to count with the presence of five key players who are completing...
Brazil vs Bosnia-Herzegovina Preview
Team News
Mano Menezes will yet again field an experimental Brazil squad for Tuesday's friendly match against Bosnia & Herzegovina. Milan-based players Alexandre Pato, Robinho, Lucio and Maicon have all been overlooked by the coach, as have Real Madrid's Kaka and Manchester United twins Fabio and Rafael.
The biggest news in the Brazil camp is that...
Big Chelsea flop Fernando Torres not in Spain squad for Venezuela friendly
International football returns next week but there will be no playing time for Chelsea’s £50M flop Fernando Torres. The Spanish striker, who is on a terrible run of form since quitting Liverpool for the Bridge in January 2011, has been left out of Vicente del Bosque’s squad for Wednesday's friendly match against Venezuela. “Torres isn't doing well and we've decided that in this case he won't be involved,” 2010 FIFA World Cup winning coach Del Bosque explained during a press conference.
“It hurts me to leave out Fernando but I cannot be unfair and hold back those who have been pushing to get in. This is a break for him, no doubt, but it should serve as encouragement.
Univision Deportes and Galavision to broadcast USA and Mexico international friendly matches live
The USA Men’s National Team will be in action against Venezuela on Saturday, January 21. The match is scheduled to kick off at 9:00pm EST (6:00pm PT and 8:00pm CT). Watch it live on Galavision. Galavision will also broadcast Panama vs USA live on Wednesday, January 25. The United States’ encounter with Panama will start at 8:30pm EST (5:30pm PT and 7:30pm CT). Viewers can catch Mexico vs Venezuela on Wednesday as well.
This Latino affair will be live online on UnivisionDeportes.com. Kick-off time for the Mexico vs Venezuela international friendly is at 8:50pm EST (5:50pm CT and 7:50pm PT).
Brazil set to meet the United States, Mexico in upcoming friendly matches
The Brazilian Football Association (CBF) announced that the South Americans have confirmed five friendly matches against Bosnia, Denmark, the United States, Mexico and Argentina.The first match for the Selecao in 2012 will be against Bosnia in Saint Gallen, Switzerland, on February 28. Denmark will be Brazil's next opponents, with the fixture scheduled for May 26 in the German city of Hamburg.
Brazil will then travel to the United States, where they will take part in three relatively high-profile friendly matches. They will face the United States on either May 30 or 31 in Boston or Washington. The last time the teams met in 2010 Brazil cruised to a comfortable 2-0 win courtesy of goals from Neymar and Alexandre Pato.
Arch-rivals Argentina and Brazil set to meet in high-profile friendly match in June
The Argentine Football Association confirmed on Tuesday that South American heavyweights Argentina and Brazil will lock horns in a high-profile friendly match in the United States on June 9.Widely regarded as the biggest international derby in the world, the one-off match will be staged at a fitting venue: the impressive $1.6 billion 83,000-capacity MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
The match will serve both sides as preparation for the 2014 World Cup, which will be held in Brazil. While Brazil have already qualified for the tournament as being the hosts, Argentina will have to fight it out during the South American World Cup qualifiers for a berth in the finals.
Italy vs Uruguay Report
Uruguay defeated Italy 1-0 in a high-profile international friendly match at the Stadio Olimpico of Rome on Tuesday. Once again the Copa America champions proved that they are amongst the strongest teams in the world at the moment with a sweet victory.Despite the absence of key strikers Diego Forlan and Luis Suarez, Uruguay took the game to Italy, and they went ahead as early as in the 3rd minute when Malaga striker Sebastian Fernandez met a low right-wing cross from Martin Caceres with a precise finish from the middle of the area.
Fresh from a 4-0 rout of Chile on Friday, the Uruguayans continually stringed together crisp passes in the midfield allowing them to push forward down the wings with a great deal of efficiency, with Napoli striker Edinson Cavani looking as dangerous as ever.
Costa Rica vs Spain Preview
Spain’s short winning streak came to an end after they lost 1-0 to England on Saturday. They however had a decent squad, but the problem seemed to lie in the defensive techniques of The Three Lions.Luckily for them, Costa Rica are not as good as Fabio Capello’s men, neither tactically nor physically. The South Americans have had a terrible run since their 3-0 defeat to Argentina in the 2011 Copa America.
They have lost four of their last five friendly games - their only victory being against USA, early in September. They were again humbled 2-0 at the weekend against Panama. Their current form does not give them much hope of winning against the world champions, but Spain nevertheless have no reason to be complaisant.