- Key game between top-two teams in the FIFA World Cup CONCACAF qualifying standings
- Countdown Live, and Fútbol Americas on ESPN+ to stream from TQL Stadium
- ABC, ESPN+ and ESPN2 to showcase additional 49 UEFA World Cup qualifying matches
ESPN2 and ESPN+ will both present the U.S. Men’s National Team World Cup qualifying match against its archrival the Mexican National Team on Friday, Nov. 12 at 9 p.m. ET (kick-off at 9:10 p.m.), live from the new TQL Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio. Mexico (14 points) and USA (11 points) rank No. 1 and 2 respectively in the FIFA World Cup CONCACAF Qualifiers standings after six matches.
Schedule for USA-Mexico World Cup qualifying match:
| Date | Time (ET) | Show/Matchup | Location | Platforms |
| Fri, Nov 12 | 6 p.m. | ESPN FC | Bristol, CT | ESPN+ |
| 8 p.m. | Countdown Live: USA-Mexico Pregame Special
Sebastian Salazar, Jermaine Jones, Kasey Keller and Herculez Gomez |
TQL Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio | ESPN App, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube | |
| 9 p.m. | USA vs. Mexico Pregame | TQL Stadium | ESPN2, ESPN+ | |
| 9:10 p.m. | USA vs. Mexico
Jon Champion, Taylor Twellman and Sam Borden |
TQL Stadium | ESPN2, ESPN+ | |
| 11:30 p.m. | Fútbol Americas
Salazar and Gomez |
TQL Stadium | ESPN+ |
*Subject to change
Commentators
ESPN’s analysts for Friday’s USA-Mexico match are former U.S. Men’s National Team players who participated in this rivalry throughout their careers.
- Match commentators: play-by-play announcer Jon Champion, analyst Taylor Twellman and sideline reporter Sam Borden
- Studio commentators: Host Sebastian Salazar and former U.S. Men’s National Team players Herculez Gomez, Jermaine Jones and Kasey Keller will host pregame, halftime and post-game segments. The trio will present the one-hour Countdown Live: USA-Mexico Pregame Special on ESPN digital platforms
- Postgame studio: Salazar and Gomez will host a post-game edition of Fútbol Americas on ESPN+, at the conclusion of the match (approx. 11:30 p.m.)
Countdown Live: USA-Mexico Pregame Special (Friday, 8 p.m. ET)
Countdown Live – the digital live soccer pregame series available on the ESPN App and ESPN Social platforms – will preview USA-Mexico World Cup qualifying match on Friday with Salazar, Gomez, Jones and Keller, live from TQL Stadium. Countdown Live: USA-Mexico Pregame Special will be available on ESPN’s Twitter, YouTube and Facebook along with the ESPN App. Countdown Live offers up-to-the-minute team news, player interviews, matchup previews, special guests and more.
Previous Countdown Live editions include live shows from the US Men’s National Team home World Cup qualifying matches from Austin, Texas on Thursday, Oct. 7, and Columbus, Ohio on Wednesday, Oct. 13; the 2019 FA Cup Final in Wembley Stadium; 2019 MLS Cup in Seattle; several El Tráfico – LAFC vs. LA Galaxy – matches; and other marquee MLS rivalry contests.
Exclusively on ESPN+: ESPN FC and Fútbol Americas
- Friday at 6 p.m., ESPN FC, the signature ESPN+ soccer news, highlights and information program, will preview the matchup
- Fútbol Americas with Salazar and Gomez will originate live from TQL Stadium immediately following the conclusion of the USA-Mexico World Cup match (approx. 11:30 p.m.). The special show will cover live post-game press conferences from the team managers and players as well as match reactions. Launched in March and available exclusively on ESPN+, Fútbol Americas focuses on players of the United States and Mexican national teams.
ESPN Deportes: Expansive News and Information Coverage Beginning Thursday
Beginning Thursday, ESPN Deportes will provide expansive news and information coverage of USA vs. Mexico from different locations in Cincinnati. Headlining the coverage are reporters Pilar Perez (U.S. Men’s National Team), and John Sutcliffe and Mauricio Ymay (Mexican National Team). Additional ESPN Deportes personalities on the USA vs. Mexico assignment are David Faitelson and Jose Del Valle. Highlights:
- The sports and pop-culture show Ahora o Nunca with cohosts Mauricio Pedroza and Gomez will originate from Cincinnati
- The networks signature shows – SportsCenter, Cronometro, Fuera de Juego, Futbol Picante, Jorge Ramos y su Banda (also on ESPN+), and others – will feature segments from Cincinnati focusing on the USA-Mexico match.
ESPN.com Soccer
Reporters Jeff Carlisle and Danny Guerra will provide on-site coverage of the match from Cincinnati throughout the week. Highlights:
- Borden on “Cherish USA vs. Mexico; World Cup’s future will change the rivalry forever”
- Kyle Bonagura and Eric Gomez on USA vs. Mexico “Tale of the Tape” and squad talking points
- Carlisle and Gomez explore how United States and Mexican national teams recruit dual nationals.
ESPN Marketing – Aspiring Musician King Kell to Sing National Anthem at USA-Mexico
As part of its promotional support for ESPN’s coverage of the U.S. Men’s National Team’s World Cup qualifying campaign, the award-winning ESPN Marketing Team, US Soccer and The Dream Machine Foundation are collaborating to make the music dream of young King Kell become a reality. A Greensboro, N.C. native, the 22-year-old Kell has struggled with homelessness as he tries to become a professional singer. Kell will sing the national anthem at the USA-Mexico match in front of a sold-out crowd inside TQL Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio, and a national audience on ESPN2 and ESPN+. Kell’s story.
Musician, songwriter, and philanthropist Aloe Blacc serves as Kell’s mentor. Blacc’s music “Made From The Stars” (spot) is ESPN’s first musical anthem for the coverage and marketing of a USMNT World Cup qualifying campaign.
FIFA International Match Week: 49 World Cup Qualifying Matches from Europe on ESPN+, ABC and ESPN2
ABC, ESPN2, and ESPN+ will continue coverage of the 2022 World Cup qualifying campaigns in Europe with 49 matches beginning Thursday through Tuesday. Twenty-two of the 49 matches feature national teams ranked in the top-25 of the current FIFA Men’s World Rankings (October 2021), including Sunday’s matchup of top-20 teams – Spain vs. Sweden – at 2:30 p.m. on ABC. Schedule.
UEFA World Cup Qualifying Schedule (Nov. 11– 16) on ESPN+, ABC and ESPN2:
| Date | Time (ET) | Matchup | Network(s) |
| Thu, Nov 11 | 12 p.m. | Georgia vs. (#17) Sweden (World Cup Qualifying Match) | ESPN+ |
| 2:45 p.m. | Republic of Ireland vs. (8) Portugal (World Cup Qualifying Match) | ESPN+ | |
| 2:45 p.m. | Greece vs. (7) Spain (World Cup Qualifying Match) | ESPN+ | |
| 2:45 p.m. | Malta vs. (18) Croatia (World Cup Qualifying Match) | ESPN+ | |
| 2:45 p.m. | (12) Germany vs. Liechtenstein (World Cup Qualifying Match) | ESPN+ | |
| Fri, Nov. 12 | 2:30 p.m. | (4) Italy vs. (14) Switzerland (World Cup Qualifying Match) | ESPN2 |
| 2:45 p.m. | (10) Denmark vs. Faroe Island (World Cup Qualifying Match) | ESPN+ | |
| 2:45 p.m. | (5) England vs. Albania (World Cup Qualifying Match) | ESPN+ | |
| Sat, Nov 13 | 2:45 p.m. | (3) France vs. Kazakhstan (World Cup Qualifying Match) | ESPN+ |
| 2:45 p.m. | (1) Belgium vs. Estonia (World Cup Qualifying Match) | ESPN+ | |
| 2:45 p.m. | Montenegro vs. (11) Netherlands (World Cup Qualifying Match) | ESPN+ | |
| Sun, Oct 14 | 9 a.m. | (18) Croatia vs. Russia (World Cup Qualifying Match) | ESPN+ |
| 12 p.m. | Armenia vs. (12) Germany (World Cup Qualifying Match) | ESPN+ | |
| 2:30 p.m. | (7) Spain vs. (17) Sweden (World Cup Qualifying Match) | ABC | |
| 2:45 p.m. | (8) Portugal vs. Serbia (World Cup Qualifying Match) | ESPN+ | |
| Mon, Oct 15 | 2:45p.m. | Northern Ireland vs. (4) Italy (World Cup Qualifying Match) | ESPN+ |
| 2:45 p.m. | (14) Switzerland vs. Bulgaria (World Cup Qualifying Match) | ESPN+ | |
| 2:45 p.m. | Scotland vs. (10) Denmark (World Cup Qualifying Match) | ESPN+ | |
| 2:45 p.m. | San Marino vs. (5) England (World Cup Qualifying Match) | ESPN+ | |
| Tue, Oct 16 | 2:45 p.m. | Finland vs. (3) France (World Cup Qualifying Match) | ESPN+ |
| 2:30 p.m. | (19 ) Wales vs. (1) Belgium (World Cup Qualifying Match) | ESPN2 | |
| 2:45 p.m. | (11) Netherlands vs. Norway (World Cup Qualifying Match) | ESPN+ |
*Subject to change
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