Cup games take center stage across Europe this week | Soccer on TV

Tuesday, 2:15 p.m. (ESPN+)

All but one of the 16 teams left in England’s men’s FA Cup are from the first or second division, so there aren’t many good underdog stories. But this one definitely is. Peterborough was in England’s third tier from 2013 through last season, and has one of English soccer’s all-time nicknames: “the Posh.” Now they get to host the country’s most posh team of all, in the clubs’ first matchup since 1981.

Downingtown’s Zack Steffen is likely to be tasked with helping Man City stave off the upset bid, as he traditionally starts in the club’s domestic cup games.

» READ MORE: Why Zack Steffen is still atop the USMNT's goalkeeper depth chart

Tuesday, 3 p.m. (CBS Sports Network, Paramount+)

Italy’s Coppa Italia semifinals start this week. They’re both two-legged series, and they’re both classic rivalries. Cup clashes aren’t as big as the ones in Serie A, but any Derby della Madonnina is worth watching.

Tuesday, 7:30 p.m. (beIN Sports, beIN Sports Español)

This matchup between two of South America’s most popular teams highlights the second round of the qualifying stage for this season’s Copa Libertadores.

Unfortunately, there might not be much drama in it. Fluminense, of Brazil, won at Colombian juggernaut Millionarios 2-1 in the first leg of the series. Now the scene shifts to Rio de Janeiro, where former Inter Milan and Juventus midfielder Felipe Melo will try help Fluminense finish the job.

» READ MORE: The rest of this week's Copa Libertadores schedule

Tuesday, 10 p.m. (TUDN)

América is in next-to-last place in Liga MX, with just five points through seven games, and manager Santiago Solari’s seat is scorching hot. It will take much more than just winning this game to cool the critics.

Wednesday, 12:30 p.m. (ESPN+)

Let’s now go to Germany for the DFB Pokal quarterfinals. This is a matchup of teams that longtime U.S. men’s national team fans know well. Hannover was the home for many years of Steve Cherundolo, a U.S. stalwart at right back who’s now Los Angeles FC’s manager. Leipzig features current U.S. star Tyler Adams.

» READ MORE: The rest of this week's German Cup schedule

Wednesday, 2:15 p.m. (ESPN+)

Here’s the other big FA Cup round of 16 underdog story. Luton, a London exurb some 30 miles to the northwest, is best-known for two things: its airport, which is a hub for European low-cost airlines; and its soccer team.

Luton Town was down in England’s fifth tier from 2009-14, beset by financial calamities that led to the brink of insolvency in 2008. That summer, England’s Football League ordered a 30-point deduction for the start of the 2008-09 season. But since returning to the fourth tier in 2014, the club has slowly made its way back up, and is now in the second tier for the third straight season.

In fact, the Hatters (nicknamed for Luton’s long history of hatmaking) are now in sixth place in the Championship standings, the last place that gets a berth in the promotion playoffs. Luton hasn’t been in the top flight since 1996.

Chelsea, meanwhile, is Chelsea — and Christian Pulisic is playing very well lately. The Blues beat Luton in last season’s FA Cup fourth round, and haven’t lost to Luton since 1991.

» READ MORE: The rest of this week's FA Cup schedule

Wednesday, 3 p.m. (CBS Sports Network, Paramount+)

Here’s the other Coppa Italia semifinal. It’s always a big deal when these teams get together, but this game is a monster. It will be Dušan Vlahović's first return to Florence since Fiorentina sold him to Juventus in late January for just short of $90 million. Vlahović already has four goals and assist in his first six gamese for the Bianconeri.

Wednesday, 3:15 p.m. (beIN Sports, beIN Sports Español)

Nantes, Alejandro Bedoya’s old club, is in its first Coupe de France semifinal since 2019, and two wins from its first major trophy since 2001. Three years ago, Les Canaris had to play Paris Saint-Germain, and lost. This time, they get Monaco, currently ninth in Ligue 1.

The winner will face third-place Nice or fourth-tier amateur team Versailles FC in the title game. Nice hosts Versailles on Tuesday (3 p.m., beIN Sports, beIN Sports Español).

Wednesday, 3:30 p.m. (ESPN+)

After Valencia earned a 1-1 tie at Bilbao while down a man, Yunus Musah and Los Che come home for the second leg of the Copa del Rey semifinals. There’s no away goals tiebreaker, so this game has to produce a winner. That team will face Real Betis or Rayo Vallecano in the final. It’s likely to be Betis, which hosts Rayo on Thursday (3 p.m., ESPN+) after a 2-1 win in the first leg.

» READ MORE: Q&A: ESPN’s Martín Ainstein on Sergiño Dest, Yunus Musah, and biking around Spain to tell stories of La Liga

Wednesday, 8 p.m. (TUDN)

We finish with two Liga MX giants that are playing like they should. Tigres, starring prolific striker André-Pierre Gignac, is in third place; Cruz Azul, with a big-time young striker prospect in Santiago Giménez, is in fourth.

» READ MORE: The rest of this week's Liga MX schedule