Mexico vs Portugal headlines a football-packed week on ViX
The week of 23 to 29 March 2026 promises a full schedule for anyone following football and baseball on ViX. The friendly between Mexico and Portugal, set for Saturday at 20:30 US eastern time, is the main course, but it shares the bill with a huge round of European World Cup qualifiers, the Clásico Tapatío between Atlas and Chivas de Guadalajara, and the opening of the 2026 Major League Baseball season.
European qualifiers take over Thursday
On Thursday 26 March the European schedule turns into something close to a marathon. From 12:45 come Georgia against Israel, Cyprus against Belarus, plus Gibraltar versus Latvia and Malta against Luxembourg, already under the newly created 2026-2027 UEFA Nations League. But the bulk of the football arrives at 15:30, with seven simultaneous fixtures in the European qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup: Ukraine host Sweden, Poland take on Albania, and Italy, still trying to avoid another humiliating absence from the tournament, face Northern Ireland. Denmark against North Macedonia, Slovakia against Kosovo and Wales against Bosnia and Herzegovina complete the package.
It is worth remembering that these qualifiers decide the last European places at the World Cup, a tournament that already promises to be the biggest in history with 48 teams. Every point counts, and traditional sides such as Italy remain under pressure after missing the previous editions.
Friday and Saturday: heavyweight friendlies and Mexican women’s football
Friday brings high-level fixtures outside the official qualifiers. The Netherlands and Norway meet at 15:30, the same slot as Switzerland against Germany and England against Uruguay. Argentina, the reigning world champions, visit Mauritania at 19:00 in a gentler calendar friendly. The same day also sees Mexican women’s football in action: Pumas UNAM host León in the Liga MX Femenil Clausura at 19:40.
Saturday’s schedule spans three different fronts. At 15:00 the weekly programme MLB Esta Semana debuts, covering the 2026 Major League Baseball season, which once again puts stars such as Shohei Ohtani in front of millions of Latino fans in the United States and Mexico. Later, Cruz Azul and Puebla meet in the Liga MX Femenil at 17:25, before the round’s main event: Mexico against Portugal at 20:30, an important test for the Mexican coach to assess his options ahead of the World Cup his country will co-host with the United States and Canada.
Sunday closes with the Clásico Tapatío
Sunday 29 March starts early with Lithuania hosting Georgia at 08:45 and Armenia against Belarus in the evening, both European friendlies. But the most anticipated chapter in the Americas is another one: Atlas and Chivas de Guadalajara contest the traditional Clásico Tapatío at 20:30, one of the oldest and most passionate duels in Mexican football, driven by decades of rivalry inside Guadalajara.
With seven days of almost uninterrupted football, the week works as a small rehearsal for what is coming in 2026. The approaching World Cup is already making itself felt in the calendar, and every friendly, every qualifier, becomes a chance for fine-tuning by the national teams and clubs that will headline the busiest year in world football for a long time.
