Welcome to the weekend! Another big few days of soccer action around the globe as the Africa Cup of Nations and AFC Asian Cup reach their climax and the Bundesliga as well as La Liga witness top of the table tussles. Jonathan Johnson here to tee you up for it all.
📺 Footy fix
All times U.S./Eastern
Friday, Feb. 9
🇩🇪 Bundesliga: Borussia Dortmund vs. Freiburg, 2:30 p.m. ➡️ ESPN+
🇮🇹 Serie A: Salernitana vs. Empoli, 2:45 p.m. ➡️ CBS Sports Golazo Network
Saturday, Feb. 10
🏆 AFC Asian Cup final: Qatar vs. Jordan, 10 a.m. ➡️ CBS Sports Golazo Network
🇮🇹 Serie A: Roma vs. Inter, 12 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+
🇩🇪 Bundesliga: Bayer Leverkusen vs. Bayern Munich, 12:30 p.m. ➡️ ESPN+
🇪🇸 La Liga: Real Madrid vs. Girona, 3 p.m. ➡️ beIN Sports USA
Sunday, Feb. 11
🏴 EPL: West Ham United vs. Arsenal, 9 a.m. ➡️ USA Network
🏴 EPL: Aston Villa vs. Manchester United, 11:30 a.m. ➡️ USA Network
🇮🇹 Serie A: Milan vs. Napoli, 2:45 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+
🏆 AFCON final: Ivory Coast vs. Nigeria, 10 a.m. ➡️ beIN Sports USA
⚽ The Forward Line
🏆 AFCON and AFC Asian Cup finals
This will be a huge international weekend with the AFC Asian Cup final between host nation Qatar and ultimate underdog story Jordan coming up on the Saturday live via Paramount+ and CBS Sports Golazo Network from Lusail before the Africa Cup of Nations hosts Ivory Coast and a fancied Nigeria side meet in Abidjan on Sunday. Both finals promise to be unmissable encounters and fitting finales to what have been two extremely entertaining and absorbing international tournaments given the routes of some of these sides to the respective finals. Two nations will triumph and two will fall short but everybody has already won in many ways given some of the phenomenal stories that these two trophies have produced over the past few weeks. Chuck Booth looks at how Qatar and Jordan as well as Ivory Coast and Nigeria have reached this weekend's showpiece events for a shot at being crowned continental kings.
AFC Asian Cup
- Qatar: "Winning Group A with a flawless record, Qatar kicked off their Asian Cup defense in style before meeting Palestine in the round of 16. With goals on either side of halftime, including a penalty by Afif, they were able to avoid a slipup in that match, but their next clashes wouldn't be so simple. Tied 1-1 after 120 minutes of play, it would take a penalty shootout to get past Uzbekistan which Qatar won 3-2. But the shootout featured just as many missed penalties (five) as made ones to secure passage. Hanging on by a thread, Qatar clawed past Iran surviving the post being hit and shots raining down as the match was being closed out but they were able to grab a signature win while keeping the run going in their home country."
- Jordan: "Finishing third in their group, Jordan were able to advance based on being one of the best placed third-place finishers before quite the match facing Iraq in the round of 16. Just the five goals and two red cards would've seemed like enough, but trailing 2-1, Jordan were able to score two stoppage-time goals in the 95th and 97th minute of play to meet Tajikistan in the quarterfinals. That match was a little less eventful with Jordan winning 1-0, setting them up for a second date with South Korea. Attacking that match with more aggression due to the suspension of Kim Min-jae, Jordan were able to dominate from start to finish, winning 2-0."
Africa Cup of Nations
- Ivory Coast: "Entering AFCON with key players injured, the group stage was expected to be a struggle for the Elephants, but it was unexpected for them to be so poor under Gasset out of the gate, even with the team struggling against South Africa and Morocco in pretournament friendlies in the lead up to AFCON. But Ivory Coast were able to make it through at the death with a little help from other teams and the round of 16 welcome for their efforts was a date with Senegal. Franck Kessie would convert an 86th-minute penalty to tie the game before Ivory Coast eventually won on a penalty shootout knocking out the reigning champions of AFCON. The Elephants upped the drama factor going down to 10 men during the first half of their match with Mali before scoring in the 90th minute to force extra time and the 123rd minute to avoid penalties. Finally, against DR Congo, the Elephants played a simple game winning 1-0 behind a goal from Haller, but they've had enough drama along the way to begin picking up the team of destiny label."
- Nigeria: "Coming in second during group stage play, Nigeria's attack let them down as the Super Eagles only allowed one goal during group stage play. It was expected for their attack to be the strength of the team, but even facing top attacks on the continent, it was down to the defense to limit chances in order to secure passage to the knockout stages. The defense went back to work with shutout victories over Cameroon and Angola until a date with South Africa in the semifinals. In that match, it seemed like Nigeria would cruise to another victory until Osimhen had a goal ruled out and subsequently VAR awarded South Africa a penalty which was converted to tie the game. Nigeria would emerge victoriously after a penalty shootout, but it wasn't without twists and turns along the way."
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🔗 Midfield Link Play
🇪🇺 UCL coming back post-Superbowl
Despite some mouthwatering games on offer in the soccer world this Sunday, it is hard to imagine that the focus Stateside will be anywhere other than Super Bowl LVIII with Kansas City Chiefs going up against San Francisco 49ers in Nevada. As everyone gears up for the pregame and halftime shows not to mention the game itself, there will be more focus on soccer than usual given that we are about to blast right back into the UEFA Champions League round of 16 next week. Football Meets Football will be airing live from 1 p.m. ET on Saturday, Feb. 10 on CBS Sports Golazo Network for free. This one-hour show will also be available on demand on Paramount+ and the CBS Sports app. Next week's slate which includes defending champions Manchester City, Spanish giants Real Madrid, French powerhouse Paris Saint-Germain and German juggernaut Bayern Munich who will be fresh from a massive Bundesliga clash with Bayer Leverkusen this weekend -- more on that later. Pardeep Cattry with more for you on Football Meets Football.
- Cattry: "UEFA Champions League Today host Kate Abdo will be joined by analysts Thierry Henry and Micah Richards for Football Meets Football, an hour-long special on Saturday from Las Vegas that will preview the return of Champions League action. It is one part of CBS Sports' build-up for the resumption of play on Tuesday, with the Champions League trio also set to join the NFL Today pregame show from Las Vegas on Super Bowl Sunday. Here's what you need to know about Football Meets Football, which will set the tone before the round of 16 begins. Abdo, Henry and Richards will preview the round of 16 matchups from the famed Bellagio Hotel and Casino. Play begins Tuesday with the first legs of Manchester City's tie with Copenhagen and Real Madrid's clash with RB Leipzig, while other high-profile matchups that will play out over the course of the next few weeks include Barcelona's faceoff with Napoli and Inter's meeting with Atletico Madrid."
🔗 Top Stories
🥅 From one keeper to another: Tony Meola picked his best goalkeepers from across Europe on Morning Footy.
🔜 UCL round of 16: As Europe's top competition returns, we ask if the likes of Arsenal, Manchester City, Real Madrid, Barcelona and other Champions League sides are really Europe's best -- turns out they are not.
🤕 Kylian Mbappe injury: It has been a busy few days for the French superstar after scoring a banger vs. Brest in the Coupe de France, he also picked up an ankle injury which is not thought to be too serious and also saw PSG's president issue an update on his future.
⛔ The Duncan McGuire saga: Inside the USMNT man's failed move from Orlando City to Blackburn Rovers which now sees him returning to Major League Soccer after a failed appeal against a paperwork error.
🔚 UEFA supremo to leave after 2027: Aleksander Ceferin will not lead European soccer's governing body beyond his current mandate despite recent rule changes which would have enabled that.
🔵 Blue cards: We detail the new 10-minute sin bin innovation which is expected to be trialed in professional soccer in the comng year.
⚖️ Dani Alves trial: Former Brazil international testifies as trial over sexual assault accusations end with a verdict expected within weeks.
❓ USWNT questions: Three posers pre-Olympics and Gold Cup with Mal Swanson and Catarina Macario's roster roles up for debate.
💰 The Back Line
💵 Best bet
- Bundesliga: Bayer Leverkusen vs. Bayern Munich, Saturday, 12:30 p.m.
💰THE PICK: Draw with both to score (+333) -- The Bundesliga's top two meet this weekend with Bayer Leverkusen hosting Bayern Munich at BayArena with a two-point advantage for the hosts. Xabi Alonso's men are unbeaten, while Thomas Tuchel's side are defending champions with this the first time in history that two team have 50 points or more after 20 rounds of games. Tuesday's DFB Pokal win over Stuttgart meant not only a semifinals berth for Die Werkself but also a 30-game unbeaten run across all competitions which was earned by fighting back from 1-0 and 2-1 down. Bayern's 32-game run is the longest in history and a draw or better here would see this Leverkusen side move within one game of levelling that. A win for Bayern could put them back in the driver's seat and they have won four of their last five visits to BayArena despite losing the last one.
📺 What's on CBS Sports Golazo Network
☀️ Morning Footy (Weekdays 8-10 a.m.): Hosts Susannah Collins, Charlie Davies, Nico Cantor and Alexis Guerreros help fans get their day started on the network's flagship morning show with highlights, interviews and the biggest soccer storylines. Morning Footy is also available in podcast form, so you'll never have to miss an episode.
📦 Box 2 Box (Weekday afternoons): The news-driven show quickly recaps all the latest headlines from around the world with panelists previewing the top matchups of the day. Catch Box 2 Box on CBS Sports Golazo Network on the CBS Sports app, PlutoTV and Paramount+.
3️⃣ Attacking Third (Monday, Wednesday and Friday evening): The leading women's soccer podcast and social brand is now a live studio show. Just because the NWSL season is over doesn't mean that our coverage of the women's game is going anywhere. Our analysts will be breaking down the USWNT. NWSL offseason and European domestic season all winter long.
👟 Kickin' It (Tuesday, 7 p.m.): CBS Sports Golazo Network's new unfiltered interview show returns Tuesday Hosted by Kate Abdo, Clint Dempsey, Mo Edu and Charlie Davies, the group chat candidly with the biggest names from the Beautiful Game and share their stories from on and off the pitch.
⚽ Call it What You Want (Monday night): A weekly podcast where Jimmy Conrad, Jesse Marsch and Charlie Davies cover all things USMNT and the state of the beautiful game in the United States.
🥅 Scoreline (Daily): Scoreline is the newest place for fans to catch up on all the biggest news and results impacting global football, match highlights from the top soccer competitions and all the can't-miss goals from the day's action, starting Thursday and airing seven days a week.
📺 How to watch: CBS Sports Golazo Network is a free 24/7 channel exclusively dedicated to offering unparalleled coverage of all the top soccer competitions worldwide. You can stream for free on the CBS Sports app, Pluto TV and Paramount+.
