This week in sports will be rather interesting, with the Canadian Football League’s Season coming closer to the postseason, rugby across the world heating up once again and the international break for soccer. This all matters because outside of the US, these sports are all very important to their respective nations. As for what will happen, it’s going to be interesting with the varying states of all the teams that will participate this week.
First, it’s the Canadian Football League as the league gets closer to the Grey Cup in November, and the playoffs in late October. This week features four matchups, starting on Friday with the struggling 3-8 Ottawa Redblacks hosting playoff hopefuls BC, with the Lions having a 5-6 record. Saturday’s slate starts with a crucial clash in Montreal, as 6-5 Hamilton takes on the Alouettes, who are 5-6 in a crucial rivalry game. Then, Saskatchewan, with a league’s best 9-2 record, travel to Winnipeg to take on the 6-5 Blue Bombers, who hope to stave off BC for that playoff spot. The last game of the week is the Alberta clash, as 4-7 Edmonton faces 8-3 Calgary.
The international break for soccer has massive implications in Africa and South America, while not so much for Europe. With Asia’s final round not starting until October, and North America’s starting up on Sept. 5, the focus of the media will be on Africa and South America for this 2 weeklong international break.
The qualifications for South America end on Tuesday, Sept. 9, and with two matches left, everyone but Chile can clinch a spot at least in the playoff. For Matchday 17, three teams can clinch the three remaining guaranteed spots in the World Cup with a win, those being Uruguay, Paraguay and Colombia. Bolivia is on the other side of the Colombia clash, a loss against Uruguay spells Peru’s doom and if they want to stave off Bolivia and Peru, Venezuela needs a point against Argentina and a lot of luck.
Africa’s qualifiers end in October, but these matches coming up can tell us a lot about the trajectory of these teams and maybe clinch some World Cup spots in the process. In Group A, if Mohamed Salah and Egypt can take care of Ethiopia and Burkina Faso loses to lowly Djibouti, Egypt can clinch on the ninth with a win over Burkina Faso. DR Congo, Senegal and Sudan are in a fierce clash in Group B, with the matches this break most likely settles the score on how October can go. Group C is South Africa’s to lose, Group D features Cape Verde and Cameroon in a tight fight with Libya potentially playing spoilers and Morocco just needs a win over Niger and they most likely will clinch Group E and a spot in the World Cup. Group F is a nail biter between the Ivory Coast and Gabon, with Burundi able to catch up if they get lucky and Kenya on life support. Group G is still very competitive, but if things go Algeria’s way, they will most likely pull away from Mozambique, Botswana and Uganda. Group H is tight, but like Group G, with Tunisia being able to pull away from Namibia and Liberia. Finally, Group I is a very competitive chase, because, while Ghana is ahead by three points, Comoros, Madagascar and Mali are all in contention, and can absolutely play spoilers if Ghana trips up, even though it’s unlikely as Ghana faces lowly Chad.
Europe’s qualifiers are mostly about positioning, with no one near qualification yet. However, that doesn’t mean that there are not interesting matchups this week, as there absolutely are. Germany kicks off Group A by travelling to Slovakia, Denmark and Scotland clash in the first match of Group C. Group D’s main clash features Ukraine hosting France in Wroclaw due to the war, Turkey hosts Spain in a crucial clash in Group E, Hungary travels to Dublin to fight Ireland in Group F and Poland hosts group leaders Finland in Group G.
As for North America, due to there being no Canada, US, or Mexico, the qualifiers open up heavily. There are three notable clashes this week, one per group. First, Guatemala hosts El Salvador in a heated rivalry renewed, with the winner most likely giving chase to Panama in the group, as Panama faces Suriname. In Group B, Curacao travels south to Trinidad & Tobago, with the winner being able to play chase to Jamaica, who face underdog Bermuda. Group C sees a declining Honduras travel to Haiti, with both teams hoping that a win could help them keep up with Costa Rica, who face Nicaragua on the road.
Alongside some great matches this week, rugby’s women take center stage once again, as the Women’s Rugby World Cup in England concludes its group stage this weekend. The US is heavily behind Australia in Pool A, but if the US stomp Samoa and England stomps Australia, the US could potentially clinch a quarterfinals spot in a shocking upset. Canada and Scotland play for positioning, as Wales and Fiji play for third place in Pool B, as Canada and Scotland already clinched their spots in the knockouts. A similar story is in Pool C, as New Zealand and Ireland play for positioning for the knockouts, as Spain and Japan play for 3rd place. Group D is another similar story, as France and South Africa play to see who gets first, and Brazil takes on Italy for third.
There are three men’s tests this weekend, with all three tests being massive rivalries. Friday’s main event sees Fiji travel to Samoa to take on the Manu Samoa in a heated Oceania rivalry. Saturday’s tests relate to The Rugby Championship, as Australia looks to stifle Argentina’s momentum in Townsville after the latter beat New Zealand on the 23rd in a close fight. In Auckland, New Zealand looks to find their groove again as they take on visiting two-time defending world champions South Africa in a rematch of the 2023 Rugby World Cup Final.
The Top 14, the top league in France is also in action this weekend, with there being crucial matchups on kickoff weekend that could define the entire season early on. Those top matches feature defending champions Bordeaux Begles hosting one of the teams of the decade in La Rochelle in a clash of titans. Newly promoted Montauban travels to Paris to take on Stade Francais in a match that could define the relegation battle early, as Stade struggled heavily last year. Castres takes on Pau in a fight between two mid-table teams last year, and Stade Toulousain, ever the giant they are, travels to Clermont to take on a hungry side that wants the crown that Toulouse wears proudly.
There’s a lot going on outside of America, with these matchups and teams being the defining ones this week in sports outside of the United States.