Games to Watch: U.S. national teams face big tests

Ghana vs. Algeria

10:55 a.m. Friday (beIN Sports, beIN Sports Español)

The African Cup of Nations, which began last weekend, is always entertaining. This time around, Philadelphia soccer fans have a particular reason to watch, as Union goalkeeper Rais Mbolhi is leading Algeria's attempt to win the tournament for the first time since 1990.

Les Fennecs (The Desert Foxes) beat South Africa in their group stage opener, and now face a team that's plenty familiar to Americans. Ghana's squad includes veteran stars Asamoah Gyan and brothers Jordan and André Ayew, as well as newly-signed Chicago Fire striker David Accam.

Manchester United at Cambridge United

3:00 p.m. Friday (Fox Sports 1, Fox Deportes)

Wayne Rooney and his fellow stars hit the road again in the FA Cup, this time visiting the 9,617-seat Abbey Stadium. Cambridge is known more for academic excellene than soccer excellence 0 the U's are in English soccer's fourth tier, and from 2005 to 2014 were playing in leagues below that. Now they get their day in the spotlight. And it just so happens that their roster includes a former Manchester United prospect in Luke Chadwick.

United States Under-20 men vs. El Salvador

5:00 p.m. Saturday (Fox Soccer Plus, FoxSoccer2Go.com)

The U.S team came into CONCACAF's Under-20 World Cup qualifying tournament expecting to finish first and its group and lock up an automatic trip to New Zealand. They struggled out of the gate, though, and were forced into a do-or-die playoff.

Though the five-game group stage is complete, Tab Ramos' team still hasn't fully clicked on the field. If it's to happen, it had better happen this weekend. The team has the talent - Fulham's Emerson Hyndman, Tottenham's Cameron Carter-Vickers and Borussia Dortmund's Junior Flores are all promising prospects. Now they face a game with real pressure.

It'll be a particularly interesting evening for Flores, whose parents are Salvadoran. And some of you might recall that El Salvador knocked the U.S. out of the qualifying tournament for the 2012 Olympics. If the U.S. wins this time, ti won't quite be revenge, but it'll help put some of those bad memories farther into the past.

Liverpool at Chelsea

2:45 p.m. Tuesday (beIN Sports, beIN Sports Español)

These two English giants were drawn together in the semifinals of the Capital One Cup. In the first leg, Chelsea survived the trip to Anfield and emerged with a 1-1 draw. Now the scene shifts to London, where José Mourinho's Blues are practically unbeatable. Chelsea has the better talent in players such as Eden Hazard, Cesc Fábregas and Diego Costa. But Raheem Sterling, Steven Gerrard and Liverpool are desperate to win a trophy.

Barcelona at Atlético Madrid

3:00 p.m. Wednesday (beIN Sports, beIN Sports Español)

Spain's Copa Del Rey has its own clash of titans, this time in the quarterfinals. Barcelona beat Atlético 1-0 in the first leg at Camp Nou, thanks to a Lionel Messi penalty kick. Now the scene shifts to the Vicente Calderon, as Fernando Torres and Antoine Griezmann look to overcome the slim deficit.

United States men at Chile

5:30 p.m. Wednesday (Fox Sports 1, UniMás, Univision Deportes)

Jurgen Klinsmann has set up a tough test for the U.S. national team's first game of the year. Although La Roja won't have its big-name European stars, they'll still bring a high-pressure defense and a dynamic attack.

The American squad features veterans such as Toronto's Michael Bradley and newly-signed Jozy Altidore, as well as new talents including Los Angeles' Gyasi Zardes, Columbus' Wil Trapp and Real Salt Lake's Luis Gil.