Even though it’s the first international break of the season and we just had a World Cup last December, Euro qualification is firmly underway. There’s also a semifinals and finals of the NWSL Challenge Cup and the regular season of the MLS mixed in. Hell, I’ve even thrown in some Brazilian games at the end of the window in case you want to broaden your horizons.

Wednesday, September 6th
7:00 PM NWSL Challenge Cup Semifinals (CBS Sports Network). While the international break proper doesn’t start until Thursday, don’t miss this double-header from the National Women’s Soccer League. The Challenge Cup was originally invented as a COVID era stop-gap, but has continued as a US equivalent to the FA Cup. The semis are scheduled back-to-back: 7:00 PM Kansas City Current – North Carolina Courage, 9:00 PM OL Reign – Racing Louisville. The second of these games will be a more star-studded affair, with the Reign featuring US stars Megan Rapinoe, Rose Lavelle, Emily Sonnett, Sofia Huerta, and Alana Cook, as well as Canadian Quinn and Wales’s Jess Fishlock in midfield. Racing also boast seve World Cup stars in South African Thembi Kgatlana, Brazilian Ary Borges, and Kiwi Abby Erceg. In the early game, Brazilian star Debinha plays for the Current, while her international teammate Kerolin and Ireland’s Denise O’Sullivan play for the Courage.

Thursday, September 7th
9:00 AM Finland – Kazakhstan (Fox Sports 2). I was going to say “don’t watch this” before I checked the Group H table for qualification to the 2024 Euros. But Finland and Kazakhstan are tied at the top of their group entering the midway point of qualification, with Denmark and Slovenia (both of whom play later in the day) sitting two points behind them. I probably still won’t watch, but this a more meaningful game than I would have thought, with the potential for some Teemu Pukki magic thrown in to boot.
11:00 AM Lithuania – Montenegro (Fox Sports 2). This one, old the other hand, is a hard pass.
1:45 PM Serbia – Hungary (Fox Soccer Plus) or Netherlands – Greece (Fubo). Fox Sports 2 will be airing France – Northern Ireland, but the best game in this window will likely be the showdown between Serbia and Hungary, tied atop Group G, a group that one of them should probably win (If you don’t have Fox Soccer Plus, this game will be rebroadcast at 11:00 PM on Fox Sports 1). If you hate Central Europe, your next best bet is probably Netherlands – Greece, who are in Group B with France. Greece is currently in second on six points, while the Dutch only have three, though the Dutch have played one less game than Greece. Even so, Ronald Koeman will want his side to rectify matters.
5:30 PM Paraguay – Peru (Fubo PPV). I will confess to not fully understanding the situation with CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying. The generally reliable World Soccer Talk lists the games as Pay-per-View, and I think (but haven’t confirmed) that Fubo is hosting them, though I may be wrong about that. In any case, this is the best available game in this time slot, as well as kicking off the international break in South America.
7:00 PM Argentina -Ecuador (Fubo PPV). This looks like a better game than Paraguay-Peru, and if you can find it I would check it out.

Friday, September 8th
11:00 AM Georgia – Spain (Fox Sports 2). This shouldn’t be a competitive match, but it’s kind of exciting that Spain are trailing an undefeated Scotland in Group A.
1:45 PM Slovakia – Portugal (Fubo). It’s a measure of the limited draw of the games on tap that Fox Sports 2 has chosen to show Turkey – Armenia, nominally a battle at the top of Group D (Croatia have 1-2 games in hand, and are overwhelming favorites to win the group). I don’t hold out great hopes for Slovakia, but they do trail Portugal at the top of Group x by only two points, so this is the one I’ll be opting for.
6:00 PM Uruguay – Chile (Paramount+). This is the one CONMEBOL World Cup qualifier that is available on a general streaming service. It probably would have been a better game 5 years ago, but it’s still worth watching.
7:45 PM Brazil – Bolivia (Fubo PPV). This one is probably less worth watching.

Saturday, September 9th
8:00 AM Azerbaijan – Belgium (Fox Sports 1). It’s what’s on.
11:30 AM NWSL Challenge Cup Final (CBS Sports Network). If you want to stick with the European qualifiers, then Ukraine – England at 11:00 AM on Fox Sports 2 is your best bet. England has the group well in hand, but Ukraine are in second–plus, it’s Ukraine. Do you hate freedom? While I don’t hate freedom, I also don’t hate women or trophies, so I’ll be tuning in for this final in the NWSL’s effort to create a US equivalent to the women’s FA Cup. If the higher seeds win, it will be the Reign against KC, but I wouldn’t count on it.
1:45 PM North Macedonia – Italy (Fubo) or Germany – Japan (For Sports 2). This is a tough call. Germany and Japan was one of the most exciting games of the World Cup group stage, setting up Germany’s failure to advance to the Round of Sixteen. On the other hand, a friendly is still just a friendly, while Italy and North Macedonia meet in a qualifier for the 2024 Euros–less than 18 months after North Macedonia eliminated Italy in a play-off semifinal to keep them from reaching last winter’s World Cup. Both games are worth a watch, and I hope you can record whichever one you don’t watch.
4:30 PM United States – Uzbekistan (TNT). What can I say? We’re stoopid Americans over here. USA! USA!
6:30 PM Inter Miami CF – Sporting Kansas City (AppleTV). Still stoopid Americans, but with Messi!
9:00 PM Mexico – Australia (TUDN, Univision) or 9:30 PM Portland Timbers – LAFC (AppleTV). Mexico and Australia could be a decent friendly if the teams take it seriously–which isn’t guaranteed. Portland is a traditional powerhouse, but appear to be going through a transitional period at the moment, so that game is also a questionable one. Maybe it’s just time for a good night’s rest?

Sunday, September 10th
8:00 AM Kazakhstan – Northern Ireland (Fox Sports 2). Honestly, I would stay in bed.
11:00 AM Finland – Denmark (Fox Sports 2). This is the game of the day. Worth a watch.
1:45 PM Albania – Poland (Fox Sports 1) or Ireland – Netherlands (Fubo). The truth is that this is a weak batch of games. Albania is actually leading an underperforming Poland in Group E, which may be why Fox has opted for this match. Netherlands currently trail Ireland in Group B, though there’s a good chance that won’t be the case by the time this game rolls around (and regardless, they will have a game in hand on them).
7:00 PM LA Galaxy – St. Louis City (AppleTV). It’s Sunday Night Football!

Monday, September 11th
11:00 AM Armenia – Croatia (???). I’m not sure this game has US coverage, and honestly that’s just as well.
1:45 PM Iceland – Bosnia and Herzegovina (Fubo). With the international window winding down, this is probably the best game on offer.

Tuesday, September 12th
7:20 AM Japan – Turkey (???). There are also international friendlies in the 10:00-11:00 AM window, but this is the only match I’m going to list here. I don’t think it’s on US TV, but who knows.
2:00 PM Germany – France (Fubo). There are a number of tempting options in this window, but I’m going to give this friendly a tip of my hat. If you’d rather see a qualifier, Sweden – Austria at 1:45 PM (also on Fubo) is your best bet, with Austria currently leading Group F. For anglophiles, there’s also a Scotland – England friendly on Fox Sports 2 at 1:45 PM, and Senegal – Algeria also face off in a 2:00 PM friendly, but I’m not sure it has US coverage.
4:00 PM Ecuador – Uruguay (Fubo PPV). This looks to be an appetizing game.
7:30 PM Chile – Colombia (Fubo PPV). As a stoopid American, I’ll probably be watch the United States – Oman on TNT, but I’m not going to pretend that’s the right game to be watching.
9:00 PM Peru – Brazil (Fubo PPV). This will likely be the least competitive CONMEBOL match of the evening, but it involves Brazilians.

Wednesday, September 13th
7:30 PM Flamengo – Athletico Paranaense (Paramount+). The international window closes on Tuesday, but if you’re feeling adventurous and want to stretch out, you could check out this game from the Brasileiro Série A. It’s 4th versus 7th, just over halfway through the season.

Thursday, September 14th
7:30 PM Red Bull Bragantino – Gremio (Paramount+). This one is 6th versus 3rd. If you’d like to stay closer to home, you could also try out Forward Madison – Richmond Kickers at 7:00 PM on ESPN+. It’s the third tier of US soccer, but people seem to like Forward Madison, so there’s that.