More than 80 World Cup 2022 players return to action beginning Thursday
LaLiga will return to live action after its World Cup 2022 break with matchday 15 games beginning Thursday, Dec. 29 – through Saturday, Dec. 31. All 10 matches will stream live on ESPN+ in English and Spanish, and eight will simulcast on ESPN Deportes.
After World Cup 2022 in Qatar on Sunday, Dec. 18, the 80-plus LaLiga players who represented their national teams in the campaign are expected back in the league for the final stretch of the 2022-2023 season. U.S. World Cup players returning to their LaLiga clubs are Yunus Musah (Valencia) and Luca de la Torre (Celta Vigo).
Players from the Argentina-France World Cup Final, which has been rated the best Final in the history of the competition, who will feature on ESPN+ and ESPN Deportes weekly are Argentina’s Rodrigo De Paul, Nahuel Molina (Atlético Madrid), Gerónimo Rulli, Juan Foyth (Villareal), Marcos Acuña, Gonzalo Montiel, and Alejandro “Papu” Gómez (Sevilla). For France: Antoine Griezmann (Atlético Madrid), Ousmane Dembele (FC Barcelona), Aurelien Tchouaméni, and Eduardo Camavinga (Real Madrid).
Daily editions of ESPN FC, exclusively on ESPN+, will provide LaLiga news, highlights, analysis, and opinion. LaLiga coverage on Futbol Americas with Herculez Gomez and Sebastian Salazar on ESPN+ (Monday and Thursday) will focus more on players from the CONCACAF region – Yunus Musah, Luca de la Torre (USA), Andres Guardado, and Tecatito Corona (Mexico).
Matchday 15 – Thursday, Dec. 29 – Saturday, Dec. 31:
- On Thursday, Mexican National Team midfielder Andres Guardadoand Real Betis host Athletic Club, led by brothers Iñaki Williams (Ghana) and Nico Williams (Spain), who made their World Cup debut in Qatar, representing two countries.
- S. Men’s National Team midfielder Luca de la Torreand Celta Vigo host Sevilla FC with three World Cup winners – Acuña, Montiel, and Gómez – and Moroccan goalkeeper Yassine Bounou on Friday.
- Atlético Madrid and its topline World Cup 2022 players Antoine Griezmann(France), João Félix (Portugal) and Alvaro Morata (Spain) host Elche CF on Thursday.
- World Cup 2022 defender Jawad El Yamiq(Morocco) and midfielder Gonzalo Plata (Ecuador) join Real Valladolid as they host LaLiga champion Real Madrid, led by 2022 men’s Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema on Friday. Key Qatar 2022 players at Real Madrid include Luca Modric (Croatia), Vinicius Jr., Rodrygo and Eder Militao (Brazil), goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois (Belgium), and others.
- The season’s first match of ElDerbi de Barcelona between FC Barcelona and RCD Espanyol, the most played local derby in LaLiga, will be on Saturday at Camp Nou. FC Barcelona’s led Laliga with players at Qatar 2022, led by Polish striker Robert Lewandowski, and Spain National Team’s trio of young players Pedri, Gavi, and Ansu Fati.
- Qatar 2022 defenders Pau Torres(Spain), Juan Foyth (Argentina) lead Villareal FC as they host U.S. Men’s National Team’s World Cup star Yunus Musah on Saturday in the Valencian County Derby.
Matchday 16 Top Games – Friday, Jan. 6 – Monday, Jan. 9, 2022:
- Atlético Madrid hosts FC Barcelona on Sunday, Jan. 8, at 3 p.m. ET on ESPN+ and ESPN Deportes, in a matchup of top-five LaLiga teams that will feature no less than 16 World Cup 2022 players.
- Villareal FC host Real Madrid on Saturday, Jan. 7, at 10:15 a.m. on ESPN+ and ESPN Deportes.
- Fourth-ranked Athletic Club hosts CA Osasuna in a matchup of two top-10 teams on Monday, Jan. 9, 2022.
Schedule:
| Date | Time (ET) | Match | Platform(s) |
| Thu, Dec 29 | 11 a.m. | Girona FC vs Rayo Vallecano | ESPN+, ESPN Deportes |
| 1:15 p.m. | Real Betis vs Athletic Club
Spanish: Jesus Humberto Lopez and Eugenio Diaz |
ESPN+, ESPN Deportes | |
| 3:30 p.m. | Atlético de Madrid vs Elche CF
Fernando Palomo, Barak Fever, and Rodrigo Faez English: Mark Donaldson and Kasey Keller |
ESPN+, ESPN Deportes | |
| Fri, Dec 30 | 11:15 a.m. | Getafe CF vs RCD Mallorca | ESPN+, ESPN Deportes |
| 1:15 p.m. | RC Celta vs Sevilla FC
Lopez and Diaz |
ESPN+, ESPN Deportes | |
| 1:15 p.m. | Cádiz CF vs UD Almería | ESPN+ | |
| 3:30 p.m. | Real Valladolid vs Real Madrid
Palomo, Mario Kempes and Faez Rob Palmer, Stewart Robson, and Sid Lowe |
ESPN+, ESPN Deportes | |
| Sat, Dec 31 | 8 a.m. | FC Barcelona vs RCD Espanyol
Palomo, Pablo Zabaleta, and Moises Llorens Derek Rae, Alejandro Moreno, and Gemma Soler |
ESPN+, ESPN Deportes |
| 10:15 a.m. | Real Sociedad vs CA Osasuna | ESPN+ | |
| 10:15 a.m. | Villareal CF vs Valencia CF
Lopez and Diaz |
ESPN+, ESPN Deportes | |
| Fri, Jan 6 | 12:30 p.m. | Elche CF vs RC Celta | ESPN+, ESPN Deportes |
| 3 p.m. | Valencia CF vs Cádiz CF | ESPN+, ESPN Deportes | |
| Sat, Jan 7 | 10:15 a.m. | Villareal CF vs Real Madrid | ESPN+, ESPN Deportes |
| 12:30 p.m. | RCD Mallorca vs Real Valladolid CF | ESPN+, ESPN Deportes | |
| 3 p.m. | RCD Espanyol vs Girona FC | ESPN+ | |
| Sun, Jan 8 | 8 a.m. | UD Almería vs Real Sociedad | ESPN+, ESPN Deportes |
| 10:15 a.m. | Rayo Vallecano vs Real Betis | ESPN+, ESPN Deportes | |
| 12:30 p.m. | Sevilla FC vs Getafe CF | ESPN+, ESPN Deportes | |
| 3 p.m. | Atlético de Madrid vs FC Barcelona | ESPN+, ESPN Deportes | |
| Mon, Jan 9 | 3 p.m. | Athletic Club vs CA Osasuna | ESPN+, ESPN Deportes |
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