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The October international break commences this midweek as club soccer takes a backseat to games with the national teams. For example, fans can watch qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup. Yet, while those World Cup qualifiers are not consistent among all teams, each of the FIFA confederations has games available. Here, we picked the 10 most interesting fixtures to keep you company until Oct. 15.
Mauricio Pochettino’s tenure will start as the USMNT hosts Panama. This is a rematch of the two’s group-stage meeting from the 2024 Copa America. Panama won after Tim Weah picked up a red card. Both Weah and Folarin Balogun, who scored in that fixture, are off the Argentinian coach’s first roster due to injury. This is Panama’s first fixture since its exit from the Copa America at the quarterfinal stage.
You can watch USA vs. Panama on TNT, Telemundo, Universo, Peacock, and Fubo. For new users to Fubo, Fubo is offering a free 7-day trial.
Pochettino will also experience the heated derby against Mexico for the first time as the head coach of the Americans. Both sides crashed out of the group stage in CONMEBOL’s tournament this past summer. The game will be at Estadio Akron, one of the venues for the 2026 World Cup.
It’s the first away fixture for USMNT in 2024. The United States is undefeated in this rivalry since 2019. The streak of results includes two Nations League and the 2019 Gold Cup final. It will be the first time Pochettino faces Javier Aguirre’s team since their three La Liga encounters 13 years ago.
Watch the game on TNT, Univision, Sling TV, and Fubo.
Lee Carsley started his spell as England’s interim head coach with a 2-0 win over the Republic of Ireland, the national team he represented in his playing days. Despite the national anthem controversy, he’s still in the job for the October International Break with the Three Lions set to play games against Greece and Finland.
It was against Greece that David Beckham scored one of the most famous free-kicks in soccer history. In a tense atmosphere at Old Trafford, his 93rd-minute strike sent England to the 2002 World Cup.
England vs Greece will be live on FS2, ViX, and Fubo.
These two teams aren’t among the best soccer nations by any stretch of the imagination. But their contrasting fortunes showed the importance of team planning more than individual brilliance.
Under Ralf Rangnick, Austria played a fantastic Euro 2024 before losing to Türkiye in one of the best games of last summer. Norway, who missed out on the tournament, revived with a 2-1 win over Austria in the reverse fixture last month thanks to Erling Haaland’s winner.
Watch Austria vs Norway live on FS2, ViX, and Fubo.
The heated rivals met last month in Amsterdam after both teams scored five goals in their opening Nations League fixtures. Ryan Gravenberch provided a standout performance in an entertaining 2-2 draw.
The reverse fixture will now be played at Allianz Arena, a place Liverpool’s midfield engine recalls from his troubled time at Bayern Munich. Germany will be without Kai Havertz as the Arsenal all-rounder suffered a knee injury.
Germany vs Netherlands will be shown live on the Fubo Sports Network as well as ViX.
In the wake of their promotion to Nations League A and an impressive Euro 2024 qualifying campaign, Scotland endured a difficult 2024 so far. Including the humbling 5-1 defeat by Germany in the Euro 2024 opener, Scotland lost six of their nine games since the turn of the year.
Portugal also had an uninspiring time in Germany, but Cristiano Ronaldo scoring his 900th career goal raised their spirit last month. The 39-year-old striker is competing with Aleksandar Mitrović and Karim Benzema to finish top of the Saudi Pro League’s scoring chart.
Scotland against Portugal will stream live on ViX.
September was a historic month for Bolivia’s soccer. For only the second time in the 21st century, they won away from home courtesy of a 3-2 success in Chile. They’re now a single point behind World Cup kings Brazil nearly midpoint to the qualifiers.
Colombia also recorded a memorable victory last month in the repeat fixture of the Copa America final. Beating the world champions was a big achievement, but they’ll now have to cope with the difficulty of playing at an altitude of 4,100 meters above sea level.
Bolivia vs Colombia will be exclusively shown on Fanatiz.
Meanwhile, Argentina will search for a quick reaction after the defeat at Barranquilla. La Albiceleste also bid farewell to Ángel Di María in September’s eventful international window.
Lionel Messi, who won his 46th team trophy last week, returns for his first appearance since the tearful Copa America triumph. Fernando Batista’s Venezuela held Brazil and Uruguay to well-deserved draws since the qualifying stage started last year.
Venezuela vs Argentina will be exclusively shown on Fanatiz.
The ninth matchday of CONMEBOL’s World Cup qualifier will have another cracking game with Chile hosting Brazil. The Selecao lost three of their four away games in the qualifiers, including the defeat at Paraguay a day after Dorival Júnior’s bold claim.
Although he’s yet to shine for the national team, Vinicius Junior will miss this month’s games due to a neck injury. After the trip to the side ninth in the standings, Brazil will host bottom-placed Peru next week.
Chile vs Brazil will be exclusively shown on Fanatiz.
The third round of World Cup qualification started last month for Asian Confederation teams. With automatic qualification spots in contention, Japan scored 12 goals and conceded none in the first two games.
On the contrary, Australia failed to find the net against Bahrain and Indonesia. Before the big one in Saitama, the Socceroos will target a heavy scoreline against China, who lost 7-0 to neighbors Japan last month.
No details have been released yet on where to watch the game on US TV. It may end up on FIFA+.
Photos: Imago
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