The United States national team will play its first game in the final round of regional World Cup qualifying on Wednesday in Honduras, but many fans will miss out through reasons that are both practical (the 4 p.m. Eastern kickoff is not ideal) and maddening (many have no access to the network broadcasting the game, beIN Sport).
If you can't watch the game, check in on the Goal blog, which will provide updates and analysis — though not straight play by play — during the game.
If you would rather watch something, you're in luck. Wednesday's international schedule offers some excellent matchups.
England vs. Brazil at London, 2:30 p.m., Fox Soccer
Luiz Felipe Scolari was named Brazil's coach in November with a simple mandate: win the World Cup on home soil in 2014. Oh, and play beautifully while doing it. Every game. And try to use Neymar. And maybe Ronaldinho, too. It is unlikely Scolari will be fired if he loses to England at Wembley in the first game of his second term coaching Brazil. Not impossible. Just unlikely. In other news, Ashley Cole will earn his 100th cap for England. Expect it to look a lot like Nos. 56, 87, 91 and 98. Neymar should be in Brazil's lineup. Expect him to do something you've never seen before.
Italy vs. Netherlands at Amsterdam, 2:30 p.m., ESPN Deportes
Mario Balotelli and Stephen El Shaarawy could start together up front, a recently created partnership that has raised the hopes of both their club, A.C. Milan, and of Italy Coach Cesare Prandelli, who vowed to cut his hair into a mohawk, the preferred style of both players, if they can lead the Azzurri to a World Cup title in Brazil next summer. Balotelli, the son of Ghanaian immigrants, sounded excited about the prospect of playing alongside El Shaarawy, the son of an Egyptian father. "Playing with me could work because I'm quite a generous player," Balotelli said, apparently being completely serious. "He could score a lot and so could I." The Dutch stars Wesley Sneijder and Rafael Van der Vaart were left out by Coach Louis Van Gaal, who is expected to test out some young players instead, even if he did sent out a late call for Arjen Robben when Klaas Jan Huntelaar sustained an eye injury. Robben was no doubt annoyed to hear the phone ring, since he always looks annoyed.
Sweden vs. Argentina at Stockholm, 2:30 p.m., Gol TV
Ibrahimovic vs. Messi. Yum. "Both of them are like players you see in those video games," Sweden Coach Erik Hamren told reporters. "They do things you don't think it's possible to do." Things like this, which happened the last time Ibrahimovic played at Friends Arena:
Germany vs. France at Paris, 3 p.m., ESPN2
Germany's roster is almost as notable for the players who have withdrawn from it — Marco Reus, Mario Götze, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Miroslav Klose — than for the ones who did travel, and there are few teams better than France these days to test the Germans' depth. Improving under Coach Didier Deschamps, France's past two games were a 2-1 win over Italy in Parma and a 1-1 tie against Spain in Madrid. "We have a very long road ahead but good results are always welcome," Deschamps said. "Of course it's a friendly, but it's a chance to build on the good things we've been doing recently." There is no truth to the rumor that France had Newcastle United's first team flown in to defend the flag in case its starters couldn't go.
Jamaica vs. Mexico at Mexico City, 9:30 p.m., ESPN2
By 9:30 you will know what happened to the United States in Honduras, so settle in to see ESPN's second favorite team, El Tri, take on the Reggae Boyz at the Azteca.
Best of the Rest
The truly dedicated can seek out the African Cup of Nations semifinals from South Africa online on ESPN3.com. As usual, Ivory Coast had been the tournament favorite, but — also as usual — it was eliminated, this time by Nigeria in the quarters. That leaves Mali-Nigeria in the first semifinal from Durban (10 a.m.) and Burkina Faso-Ghana at 1:30 p.m. in Nelspruit. Nigeria, led by Chelsea's Victor Moses and John Obi Mikel and Spartak Moscow striker Emmanuel Emenike, and Ghana are both seeking to end long title droughts. Nigeria hasn't won the championship since 1994, Ghana since 1982. … One of the day's more intriguing matchups pits Spain, the world and European champion, against Uruguay, the South American champion, in Doha, Qatar (1 p.m., beIN Sport). But then if you had beIN Sport you wouldn't be seeking out other games to watch Wednesday afternoon, would you?
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