'A football party': 3 days full of titanic football matches on the programme

DÜSSELDORF, Germany Football fans, you are really going to be 'spoiled' over the next few days.

And while that's not always a pretty word, that's what you call it when you throw in Lionel Messi's Argentina, add a dash of Spain vs. Germany, add some Kylian Mbappé vs. Cristiano Ronaldo, then England try to revive their Euro 2024 campaign, ending with a South American swashbuckler in Brazil vs. Uruguay.

Football overload is coming and there is no room for error. With the Euros and Copa America both in the quarter-finals, this is the moment for the superstars to shine or face a demoralising sense of what-might-have-been and a hasty trip to the airport.

To save you the trouble, here's a rundown of all the action.

• Thursday: Argentina vs. Ecuador, 9:00 p.m. ET on FOX
• Friday: Spain vs. Germany, 12:00 p.m. ET on FOX
• Friday: Portugal vs. France, 3pm ET on FOX
• Friday: Venezuela vs. Canada, 9:00pm ET on FS1
• Saturday: England vs. Switzerland, 12:00pm ET on FOX
• Saturday: Netherlands vs. Turkey, 3pm ET on FOX
• Saturday: Colombia vs. Panama, 6:00pm ET on FS1
• Saturday: Uruguay vs. Brazil, 9:00pm ET on FS1

It's a lot of football, and that idea was something that really appealed to FOX Euro 2024 reporter Darren Fletcher when I spoke to him by phone in Hamburg on Thursday.

“I'm actually quite jealous of the American crowd,” said Fletcher, who lives in the United Kingdom. “For European fans, if you're watching the Copa America, you're watching it in the early hours of the morning.

“In America you get this overdose of the sport that we love. It's great to start with Lionel Messi, and then go on to a day at the European Championship on Friday with the four best teams, which I think will also produce the winner of the tournament.”

Fletcher's jealousy will probably be tempered by the fact that he himself is in a particularly enviable position.

He will play a dual role on Friday and Saturday alongside former England midfielder and Champions League winner Owen Hargreaves.

The duo will be in attendance at Hamburg’s Volksparkstadion for the blockbuster clash between France and Portugal (and their respective megastars) in a repeat of the 2016 final, and will follow up on Saturday with perhaps the loudest and most energetic match of the tournament. Turkey vs. Netherlands takes place in the German capital Berlin, home to a Turkish community of 700,000.

Do you have plans for the holiday weekend? Maybe you should reconsider them.

When Argentina take on Ecuador in Houston on Thursday night, Messi is expected to return from the right groin injury that sidelined him against Peru. Head coach Lionel Scaloni was coy about whether he would start or come off the bench.

The Friday part of the Euros puzzle is simply mouth-watering. There is an almost undeniable argument that, with the exception of several finals over the years, there has never been a tastier day in the history of the tournament.

Spain v Germany is being described here as the 'real' final, featuring the two teams with the most goals so far and a wealth of talent, highlighted by young superstars Nico Williams, Lamine Yamal and Jamal Musiala.

An hour after the end (or even less if it goes into extra time), France will be looking to improve their scoring record and Portugal will be hoping to prevent Cristiano Ronaldo from breaking down into even more tears.

“Spain, Germany, France and Portugal are the four teams that should be there and were expected to be there,” Fletcher added. “That's not always the case and you normally get a weaker team at this stage.

“For them all to play on the same day is rare. It's a celebration of football, a huge day. And the coaches and players of those teams will feel that now that they've come this far, they have to go on and win it all.”

Monumentally important knockout rounds with such a star level in such a short space of time is actually unprecedented. For Euro 2020, the last quarter-finals were held on different days. Last time, the best double-header was Spain vs. Switzerland and eventual champions Italy vs. Belgium. Fine, but not like this.

With FOX and FS1 covering tournaments on opposite sides of the Atlantic, Fletcher feels more invested in the Copa this year. Like many neutral spectators, he is quietly hoping that Argentina and Brazil reach the final, creating the most exciting clash the region has to offer.

While England continue to produce unconvincing performances against Switzerland and Netherlands-Turkey on Saturday, a rest day awaits them on Sunday.

The biggest heavyweight match yet in the Copa concludes in the quarter-finals, as Uruguay, who just helped eliminate the United States, take on Vini Jr. and a mighty Brazil, who struggled through the group stage.

Fletcher has enjoyed the emergence of new, young stars during both tournaments and he feels that there is a new wave of talent coming up that can take the sport forward in a positive direction.

In person, he has also enjoyed the impact of European footballing nations that traditionally do not shine. Georgia's surprise against Portugal, Albania's valiant efforts in the Group of Death, Austria finishing ahead of France and the Netherlands in Group D were all worthy of praise.

“These countries have said to some of the more established countries, we are now your equal, we want to make you better,” Fletcher added.

But for now, the biggest names are still active and ready to assert their authority.

After covering the match in Hamburg, Fletcher and Hargreaves head to Berlin the next morning to make their voices heard again.

As he prepares for his pre-match preparations, Fletcher had one final piece of advice for fans preparing for the most intense and important three-day period of the football summer.

“There’s only one thing to do,” he said. “Sit down and enjoy it.”

Martin Rogers is a columnist for FOX Sports. Follow him on Twitter @MRogersFOX And subscribe to the daily newsletter.

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