ESPN+ to stream 35 international friendlies before World Cup

Teams competing in the 2022 World Cup have a very short window to prepare of the tournament. As the World Cup in Qatar is being held during an unusual time, teams have much less time to train together prior to the competition.

Most European clubs have matches scheduled up until Nov. 13. This is just one week prior to the opening game of the World Cup. Obviously, most of the nations that feature players in European competitions will get less than seven days together before the start of the tournament.

Despite this small window, there will be a plethora of international friendly games prior to the World Cup. There are currently 23 international matchups involving World Cup teams on the schedule. However, a majority of these fixtures will not be streamed on ESPN+.

The first day that the streaming service will air international matches involving World Cup teams is November 16th, as Poland will face Chile in Warsaw. ESPN+ will also stream 10 other international men’s matches on this day that involve nations not competing in the upcoming tournament.

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In all, the streaming service is broadcasting 35 international friendlies between November 15th and November 20th. Two of the available games on ESPN+ involve World Cup nations. Along with the Poland match, Portugal plays Nigeria on November 17th on ESPN+.

Upcoming international friendlies available on ESPN+

Nov. 16

Kosovo vs. Armenia
Andorra vs. Austria
Lithuania vs. Iceland
Cyprus vs. Bulgaria
Latvia vs. Estonia
Czech Republic vs. Faroe Islands
Turkey vs. Scotland
Gibraltar vs. Liechtenstein
Moldova vs. Azerbaijan
Poland vs. Chile, and
Albania vs. Italy.

Nov. 17

Romania vs. Slovenia
North Macedonia vs. Finland
Montenegro vs. Slovakia
Malta vs. Greece
Israel vs. Zambia
Portugal vs. Nigeria
Luxembourg vs. Hungary, and
Republic of Ireland vs. Norway.

Nov. 19

Albania vs. Armenia
Kosovo vs. Faroe Islands
Turkey vs. Czech Republic
Gibraltar vs. Andorra, and
Sweden vs. Algeria.

Nov. 20

Slovakia vs Chile
North Macedonia vs. Azerbaijan
Norway vs. Finland
Slovenia vs. Montenegro
Israel vs. Cyprus
Moldova vs. Romania
Malta vs. Republic of Ireland
Hungary vs. Greece
Luxembourg vs. Bulgaria, and
Austria vs. Italy.

PHOTO: IMAGO / Action Plus