Live coverage: USA v Mexico, Nations League fixtures, F1 in Malaysia and the NFL this weekend
On 2 October 2026 our live coverage will follow the international friendly between USA and Mexico at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, a full round of Nations League matches across Europe, Formula 1 racing in Malaysia and a series of NFL games in the United States. Reporters including David Tindall, John Brewin, Billy Munday and Jeff Rueter will provide minute-by-minute updates throughout the weekend.
England travel to Rijeka to face Croatia at 5pm before concluding their international run against Czechia at Wembley next Tuesday, while Scotland go to Skopje for their League B Group 1 tie with North Macedonia and Spain meet Czechia in Oviedo; coverage will also include League One and League Two fixtures. Fans travelling to National League matches are invited to send observations to matchday.live@theguardian.com, and F1 qualifying will be covered early by Billy Munday on our live blog.
England arrive in Croatia having lost to Spain and beaten Czechia 2-0, with Harry Kane and Anthony Gordon singled out as standout performers; that victory represented England’s eighth straight away win in all competitions and offered the prospect of a ninth consecutive away win. The last time England recorded nine away wins in a row came between December 1965 and October 1967 under Sir Alf Ramsey, and Kane could become only the fourth England player to score in six consecutive away games, joining James Windridge (six from March to June 1908), Tom Finney (seven from September 1946 to May 1948) and Stan Mortensen (six from May 1947 to October 1948).
Scotland’s preparations were dented by a 3-0 defeat by Switzerland at Hampden in which an early red card for Jack Hendry rendered Sebastien Pocognoli’s home debut effectively a write-off, and the Scots have now gone four matches without a goal for the first time in 55 years. North Macedonia have conceded five goals without reply in their opening two Nations League games and have not scored in six matches since a 7-1 defeat to Wales last November; with one point and no goals from their first two fixtures after a 0-0 draw in Slovenia, the match in North Macedonia carries added weight for the new manager and his squad. The Republic of Ireland sit third in their group at the halfway point after a 2-2 draw with Austria, three points behind Austria and level on four with second-placed Kosovo following a 3-0 win over Israel in the reverse fixture in Debrecen, Hungary, while the behind-closed-doors meeting with Israel in Serbia is expected to be dogged by political fallout over the conflict in Gaza. Wales upset Norway 2-1 in Nations League A and next face Denmark in Cardiff after their recent 2-0 defeat in Copenhagen.
The USA meet Mexico in an international friendly in Arizona as Mauricio Pochettino’s USMNT seek continuity after a World Cup in which they fizzled in the group stage and came to a shuddering halt against Belgium; recent wins of 4–1 over Peru and 4–2 against Chile in St Louis have featured teenagers Julian Hall and Mathis Albert. Rafael Márquez’s El Tri arrive in Arizona following a pair of 1–1 draws against Colombia and Peru, and Jeff Rueter will be on duty live-blogging the match.
Formula 1 returns to Sepang after a hiatus since 2017, the circuit having been dropped when the Malaysian government said it could no longer justify hosting costs given declining returns, and the original Bahrain race was relocated from Sakhir because of the Iran war and tensions elsewhere in the Middle East. Mercedes teammates Kimi Antonelli and George Russell renew their rivalry at the Malaysian venue as Lewis Hamilton trails Antonelli by 103 points in third; Russell’s weekend in Baku produced a grand slam — pole, leading every lap, fastest lap and victory, his third of the season — and the championship battle has narrowed to a straight duel with eight rounds remaining in the 23-race season, while Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc charged hard in practice. Yara El-Shaboury will provide lap-by-lap updates.
After covering the Indianapolis Colts v Washington Commanders at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium — the first of nine NFL games being played outside the United States this season — Graham Searles resumes his blog for Sunday evening’s slate of clashes, which includes winless Miami Dolphins against unbeaten Minnesota Vikings and matches between Denver Broncos v San Francisco 49ers, Kansas City Chiefs v Las Vegas Raiders and Los Angeles Chargers v Seattle Seahawks. Live reports and analysis across the weekend will be supplied by our team of correspondents.
Coverage continues through England’s fixture against Czechia at Wembley next Tuesday and across the remaining eight rounds of the 23-race F1 season, with live blogging from Jeff Rueter, Billy Munday, Yara El-Shaboury and others available for readers following the action.