International Friendly Related Content
Get glued to Galavision and Univision Deportes for the live coverage of the upcoming international friendlies involving USA, Mexico, Panama and Venezuela.

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).
Jonas scored twice to lead Brazil to a comfortable victory over Egypt in Doha on Monday.

Brazil defeated Egypt 2-0 in an international friendly match staged at the Ahmed bin Ali stadium in Doha on Monday. The Selecao put on a good display, ruining Bob Bradley's official Egypt debut by winning their fifth successive match.
As was expected, Brazil dominated their opponents with free-flowing attacking soccer. Valencia striker Jonas put them ahead in the 39th minute when he tapped home a right-sided cross from Hulk that went across goal. The goal was Jonas' first for the Brazilian national team.
Jonas had another opportunity to double Brazil's lead just seconds after the restart, when he met a sublime through ball, before rounding goalkeeper Ahmed El Shenawy and shooting, but his effort was cleared off the line by Ahmed Hergazi.
Brazil will be after their fifth consecutive victory against African champions Egypt in Qatar.

Brazil will look for their fifth straight win when they take on Egypt in an international friendly match at the Ahmed bin Ali Stadium in Qatar on Monday.
Having beaten Gabon 2-0 in Libreville on Thursday, Brazil will face a much stiffer challenge against the African champions. Like against Gabon, Brazil coach Mano Menezes will field a second-string side which includes only European-based players, with such stars like Neymar and Paulo Henrique Ganso missing out, due to club commitments.
Although Brazil have yet to reach fifth gear, they have been in fine form in recent matches. Since the Copa America in July, where Brazil were eliminated in the quarter-finals by Paraguay, Menezes has made several changes to his squad, and against Egypt he will be testing players as he did against Gabon.
England will be hoping to handle Spain like they did 10 years ago. They host the defending world champions at the Wembley Stadium on Saturday.

It was back in February 2001 that England last defeated the Spanish in a friendly. The Three Lions came out 3-0 winners, but subsequent encounters between the two countries proved to be all-Spanish affairs - with La Roja winning thrice in a row and conceding no goal.
Coach Fabio Capello, who lost 2-0 to Coach Del Bosque in 2009, is willing to alternate the situation with a favourable score line that will certainly better England’s position in the COCA COLA World Rankings. To ensure he is ready for battle, the England manager has called up some of the Premier League’s best players.
Last Sunday, the official FA website publicized Capello’s 25-man squad, which involved the likes of Liverpool’s Glen Johnson, Manchester City’s Joleon Lescott and the Chelsea defensive pair Ashley Cole and John Terry.
The weekend ended with some Super Cup football in Portugal, England and Italy in Europe...
But in midweek, football fans across the world will have their attention taken away from club football as national teams will take on the pitch in various cities and stadiums. With the qualification fixtures for the 2014 FIFA World Cup revealed, rehearsal time has already begun. But some teams in Europe are not looking too far ahead to Brazil 2014 as the 2012 European Championship is set to come around much earlier.
There will be 3 all-European encounters among top fixtures on Wednesday, August 10. Italy vs Spain and England vs Netherlands will kick off almost simultaneously only to give neutrals a real headache over which match to follow. Portugal vs Luxembourg, meanwhile, will take place later in the night.
Argentina was lost without Lio Messi. A goalless draw that offered little excitement in San Jose.

A boring game took place this Wednesday in Costa Rica, as Sergio Batista's Gauchos were harmless without Barcelona's top striker. Argentina's coach controlled the midfield thanks to Ever Banega and Javier Mascherano, but was unable to overwhelm the hosts, who could have bagged a victory with a little more luck.
Real Madrid's defender Ezequiel Garay played a phenomenal watch, nullifying most of Tico's attacks. Marcos Rojo and Marcos Angeleri failed to open the game from the wings, and sometimes left far too many spaces for Alvaro Saborio and Bryan Ruiz, keeping Argentina's goalkeeper Mariano Andujar constantly busy.
Jose Sosa engaged in close combat with Costa Rica's goalkeeper Keylor Navas, minutes before Javier Pastore warned with a powerful mid-distance shot. Ever Banega was dangerous, but his efficiency was far below the expected level.
Batista introduced fresh legs for the second half, making way for Eduardo Salvio and Fernando Belluschi in his squad. The later awoke Argentina as soon as he entered the field, but the effect was short-lived. Argentina struggled endlessly to score the opener without much success.
Palermo's Javier Pastore is likely to join Lio Messi in the attack as Sergio Batista looks for alternatives in his scheme.

This is Argentina's last game prior to the Copa America debut next July against Bolivia in La Plata. The Gauchos showed great understanding of the inner workings of the team last week in New Jersey, but they lacked efficiency in the last meters of the field.
Napoli's Ezequiel Lavezzi will be making way for Javier Pastore, while Angel Di Maria's replacement in Benfica, Gonzalo Gaitan, might lead the attack from the left wing.
Sergio Batista said he'll introduce six modifications in his formation, though he didn't give many details about them. Valencia's midfielder Ever Banega -one of team's coach favorites- will be assisted by Javier Mascherano and Lucas Biglia, giving Internazionale's Esteban Cambiasso -scorer of the opener against USA last week- an opportunity to rest.
Costa Rica's Argentinean coach Ricardo La Volpe has only been able to celebrate one victory with the squad (2-0 against Guatemala) in the seven matches played so far. He's aware Lio Messi can wreak havoc in his back line if given enough room to create, but it'd be unwise to focus all the defense against Barcelona's striker.
Pastore, Gaitan and Banega himself will be a thorn for the Central American defenders, and it'd be increasingly difficult if the Albiceleste manages to score an early goal.
Esteban Cambiasso gave the advantage to Argentina, before Juan Agudelo found the unexpected equalizer.

"The result is not important, it won't affect our quest. We know what we want. We deserved to win, but we needed another goal" said Cambiasso right after the match. Argentina opened the score in the last minutes of the first half, before Agudelo evened the score, taking full advantage of Mariano Andujar's misstep in a cross.
Batista's classic 4-3-3 formation found Javier Zanetti in excellent form, while Estudiantes' winger Marcos Rojo played far below the expectations of Albiceleste's coach. Lio Messi formed a dangerous partnership with Angel Di Maria and Ezequiel Lavezzi, demonstrating Batista's search for alternatives in the squad is likely to bear fruits.
The draw was celebrated as a victory for the local team, as the crowds seemed to be more enthusiastic about watching Lio Messi on the field than anything else. The Stars and Stripes fell back on violence as a means for survival with relative success.
Sergio Batista looks forward to celebrate his sixth victory with the Albiceleste at the New Meadowlands Stadium.

Argentina prepares for two important friendly matches prior to hosting the Copa America next July. Batista's Albiceleste visits New Jersey this Saturday to take on USA before visiting San Jose in Costa Rica next week.
Martin Demichelis, Gabriel Heinze, Carlos Tevez and Sergio Aguero are among the most startling absentees in the Gaucho squad.
"They're important players, I know. Carlos (Tevez) is going through an excellent moment in Manchester.. But I want to give an opportunity to different players" said Argentina's coach.
Valencia's Ever Banega will be joining Esteban Cambiasso and Javier Mascherano in the midfield. Batista will be playing his seventh game as Argentina's coach, falling only against Japan back in October, and defeating major rivals like Brazil, Spain and Portugal.
Excitement is increasing ahead of the USA vs Argentina friendly match with the return of Barcelona’s Lionel Messi; but the Americans have sadly lost Whitbread, their promising defender.

The Norwich City player obtained his wound over the weekend, during his side’s 1-1 draw away to Hull City in the English Championship. Whitbread got his name on the scoring sheet for the first time for his club in that particular encounter, but an unfortunate injury sustained now rules him out of USA’s friendlies against Argentina and Paraguay on March 26 and March 29, respectively.
He was nonetheless expected to make his very first appearance for his country at senior level; yet, reports suggest that he will only be fit for Norwich’s next game against Scunthorpe United on April 2. Meanwhile, Argentina’s Lionel Messi appears to have made a shockingly rapid recovery, which eventually enables him to lead the Albicelestes against the North Americans in East Rutherford, N.J.
Turkey will host Korea Rebuplic in a friendly match between two great friends and rivals at the Trabzon’s Hüseyin Avni Aker Stadium today.
The Koreans and Turks have faced each other for 6 times with the famous encounter at the 2002 World Cup Third Placing Playoff being the best.
The Turks also defeated the Koreans 7-0 in the 1954 World Cup and besides beating the Koreans 3-2 in 2002, they also set a new record when Hakan Şükür scored after just 10.8 seconds.
The best part was that Guus Hiddink was in charge of Korea when they faced Turkey in 2002 and it will be an emotional night as his current Turkey team take on his former employers, the Korea Republic.
Sweden drew 0-0 at home against a very youthful Germany side.

Germany and Sweden played to a 0-0 draw.
The affair was a dull one where Germany at some points seemed to be the only side which wanted to attack. A lot of youngsters, though, earned their debuts. Mats Hummels and Kevin Grosskreutz came in for their second appearances while Lewis Holtby, Marcel Schmelzer, Andre Schuerrle and Mario Goetze made their debuts.
Georgios Samaras had a goal and an assist as Greece defeated Austria 2-1 in Vienna on Wednesday evening in an absorbing international friendly.

Both teams combined to produce a decent match that featured plenty of chances especially in a wide-open second half. Austria were the better side for most of the game putting the Greek backline under some good pressure throughout. Greece meanwhile did better finishing off the few chances they had and the victory keeps Fernando Santos undefeated in his tenure as Greek boss.
Lio Messi score the winning goal in the last minute of the game with a brilliant individual maneuver

Sergio Checho Batista's Argentina obtained an important victory in Qatar over a harmless Brazil. Ronaldinho was the most creative Scratch player, while Robinho's contributions to the attack were far below the expectations.
Messi outrun three Brazilian defenders as he associated with Ezequiel Lavezzi and found the opener on injury time with a perfectly placed ball that finds its way through Victor's net in slow motion.
AC Milan Ronaldinho kept Argentina goalkeeper Sergio Romero constantly busy, oftentimes joining Neymar on the attack. Dani Alves was a constant threat in the right wing but Gabriel Heinze managed to keep him under control. Barcelona winger was always at the right place but his lack of accuracy stopped him from securing the game.
Young Palermo Javier Pastore played a decent game as the main playmaker. Gabriel Heinze and Angel Di Maria lead Argentina advance from the left wing, associating with great success with Pastore and Lio Messi.
Lavezzi played a decisive role strengthening Albiceleste attack and multiplying the offensive possibilities.
Diego Maradona and Dunga have made way for Sergio Batista and Mano Menezes respectively. Is Argentina ready to defy Brazil for South American leadership?

Things have worked out pretty well for Sergio Batista under a classic 4-3-3 formation in the few friendly matches he's played so far. Javier Pastore's excellent form has earned Palermo midfielder an opportunity in the starting squad, responsible for feeding Argentina's Trio of Doom (Angel Di Maria, Gonzalo Higuain and Lio Messi).
Sergio Batista's scheme resembles the one that lead Argentina to claim Olympic gold six years ago.
Brazil prepares for what could be an early Copa America final. Ronaldinho returns to the National Football Team after over 500 days and will be joining his fellow team mates Robinho and Thiago Silva against Albiceleste Gauchos.
"We won't centre our strategy in Ronaldinho, he'll have to play along. The crowds love the things he can do.. I do too, but I'll demand him to feed the strikers and build powerful offenses just like any other player." Said Dunga when asked about Dinho.
He never confirmed his presence on the starting eleven neither which role he'd occupy.
"We've only been together for a few days so far.. It'd be unfair for me to anticipate anything yet", he added.
Argentina misses many important players due to injuries: Carlos Tevez, Sergio Aguero, Walter Samuel, Fernando Gago and Gabriel and Diego Milito are all ruled out of the game.
Germany takes on Sweden in a bid to allow more youngsters to show off their talent on the international stage.

Germany is a youthful side with plenty of potential to win future major tournaments. Their youngsters were on show at the World Cup, and, on Wednesday night, more German youngsters will get their chance to shine on the international stage.
Sweden failed to qualify for the 2010 World Cup and coach Erik Hamren has to build a side which will qualify for the Euros in 2012.
If anyone thinks that Wednesday’s friendly between Brazil and Argentina in Qatar is going to be friendly, think again. There is just too much at stake.

The game may be part of Qatar’s promotional campaign to secure the hosting of the of the 2022 World Cup, but pitting these two nations together on a soccer field becomes a matter of South American national pride. As AC Milan’s uncompromising defender Thiago Silva says, “Facing Argentina is special, not just because of the quality of their team, but also because of the rivalry that always makes these games classics.”
Brazil coach Mano Menezes has been putting together a new young squad following the team’s failure at the World Cup in South Africa last summer. However, AC Milan’s 30-year-old Ronaldinho has been brought back into the squad after being surprisingly left out by former coach Dunga for the last few months and is delighted with his return to the fold. After the lows of utter dejection, Ronaldinho commented, “It’s a great joy for me to return. Now I am motivated to stay in the squad. The next World Cup is in Brazil and we all dream about playing in our own country.”
Austria and Greece lock horns at the Ernst Happel Stadion on Wednesday as two in-form teams meet.

Austria are in the midst of a three-match unbeaten run, while Greece have not lost under new coach Fernando Santos in five matches, ever since the Portuguese manager succeeded Otto Rehhagel after the 2010 World Cup.
While this is only an international friendly and not a competitive fixture, for the teams’ managers Dietmar Constantini and Santos this match represents the final time this calendar year they can gather their sides together.
Both countries have made bright starts to their EURO 2012 qualifying campaigns. In Group 1, Austria have command of 2nd place at the moment with 7 points from 3 matches, a point ahead of Turkey and with a match in hand. Germany have seized control of the group right from the start with a maximum 12 points from their first 4 matches.
Scotland will face the Faroe Islands in an International Friendly on Tuesday. Scotland have had some extremely tough games in their UEFA Euro 2012 Qualifying group of late.

During the month of October, a hard fought 1-0 defeat in the Czech Republic was followed up with a heartbreaking 3-2 loss at home to World Champions Spain. The Tartan Army will hope this game provides the fans with a victory and a few goals to celebrate.
The Faroe Islands are perennial strugglers and will be underdogs going onto this game. They are rock bottom of their UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying group, but have had some success against British opposition when they held Northern Ireland to a 1-1 draw.
Scotland will field a number of new faces as fatigue and injuries have taken a toll on who is available for selection by Craig Levein. Glasgow Rangers have a heavy schedule and as a result all Rangers have been omitted or withdrawn from the squad for this friendly. This means star players such as Kenny Miller, Allan McGregor and David Weir will not feature.
Portugal vs Spain will see Cristiano Ronaldo and Coach Paulo Bento put to the test. This international friendly match is meant to reveal a lot concerning Portugal’s current status.
The sack of Carlos Queiroz – which was preceded by Portugal’s unimpressive showing at the 2010 FIFA World Cup – put an end to the national team’s frustrating run which begun to build itself after the departure of the retired Luis Figo. In the early moments of this embarrassing period for the former European Championship runners-up, Captain Cristiano Ronaldo was key to Portugal’s acceptable results as ex-boss Luiz Felipe Scolari managed to compensate Figo’s loss through different tactics.
The Selecção weren’t displaying the best football that any fan could dream of, but they did just enough to reach Euro 2008 with Cristiano Ronaldo emerging as the team’s top scorer in the qualifiers. But just as the star winger was expected to power Portugal to more success ahead of the competition in Switzerland and Austria, his fitness suffered a setback.