The Weekend Guide is back after a short break. This time we're at the North American Super Cup, an independent league in a disputed territory and the historical moments of a new nation in the African World Cup qualifiers.
(All times are in CET local time)
Amateur (Like this guy)
What? United States – Mexico (CONCACAF Cup)
When? Sunday, 03:00
Where? Rose Bowl, Pasadena
Why? It's going to be a special North American Super Cup. The winner of the 2013 Gold Cup and the winner of the 2015 Gold Cup will face each other in order to decide which team is the best in the region. There is special prize for the winners: a place at the 2017 Confederations Cup in Russia.
Key Players: As we know the big stars of the teams, let's take a look at the next generation of youngsters. Sunderland’s DeAndre Yedlin is just 23 years old and already has 25 international caps for the USA. In Mexico, we have another talented Latino youngster, Jesús Corona, known as Tecatito, who has already scored 4 goals in 4 matches as a Porto player this season.
This is our guy: The referee in the match will be the Salvadoran Joel Aguilar, who has officiated at the last 3 Gold Cups, including the 4:2 win for Mexico against USA in 2011.
Professional (like this guy)
What? Simferopol – Sevastopol (Crimea Premier League)
When? Saturday, 17:00
Where? Lokomotiv Stadium, Simferopol
Why? Since Crimea is still a disputed territory, the local clubs decided to neither play in the Ukraine, nor register for the Russian leagues. They decided to run their own independent league. Simferopol are the league leaders, Sevastopol are in 2nd place, with only 7 points between them.
Key Players: Yevhen Odyntsov is the man to watch for Simferopol, as he is the league’s top scorer with 5 goals. Sevastopol's talisman is Aleksandr Danishevsky, a local born veteran striker who has previously won the Russian title with Spartak Moscow.
Back in the the day: As a Ukrainian club, Tavriya Simferopol was the only club to win the championship other than Dynamo Kiyv and Shakhtar Donetsk. They won the title in 1992, after a 1:0 victory against Dynamo at the end of the season.
World Class (like this guy)
What? Mauritania – South Sudan (2018 World Cup qualifiers)
When? Tuesday, 19:00
Where? Stade Olympique, Nouakchott
Why? South Sudan made a history last week when they played their first ever World Cup qualification match. This match started on Wednesday, was abandoned after 15 minutes and resumed the next day. The sensational result, 1:1, give South Sudan hopes for the future, but playing in Mauritania would be extremely difficult.
Key Players: The leading player for Mauritania is Oumar N'Diaye, who left France after 6 years and now plays for the Algerian side MO Béjaïa. The best of player for South Sudan is Athir Thomas, who even played twice for the Sudan national team before independence. He still plays for Al-Ahli Khartoum in the Sudanese league.
History in the making: In the last month, after 2 draws and 10 losses, South Sudan achieved their first ever win. It was a 1:0 win against Equatorial Guinea in the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.