Messi, Ronaldo and plenty more

Football fans in Bangladesh will wake up bright and early today and stay up way past their usual bedtime, enjoying three mouthwatering knockout matches across two continents in a dream weekend of international football.

Football-loving officegoers and students, who usually get a few extra hours of sleep on Friday mornings, will set their alarms earlier than they do on weekdays, gluing themselves in front of a screen, preferably with a hot beverage in hand, to catch Lionel Messi's Argentina take the field in their Copa America quarterfinal clash against Ecuador.

The match, taking place at the NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, will start at 7:00 am Bangladesh time.

However, this sacrifice of sleep could go in vain for Messi fans, as there is uncertainty whether the Argentine maestro will turn up on the field.

Messi had hurt his right hamstring and skipped Argentina's final Group A match against Peru, which the defending champions won 2-0 to qualify for the last eight as group champions.

Even if Messi ends up a no-show, Albiceleste fans will feel optimistic about their side's chances of progressing to the semifinals as the reigning world champions are playing like a well-oiled machine under long-serving coach Lionel Scaloni.

After watching some of the best football action South America has to offer, football fans are set to tune in at night to watch four heavyweights clashing in two high-stakes matches of the Euro Championship.

First up, two former World Cup and Euros champions, hosts Germany and Spain, will face off in Stuttgart at 10:00 pm.

Both teams topped their respective groups before Germany broke down a resolute Denmark to pick up a 2-0 win, while Spain came from behind to trounce Georgia 4-1 in their respective Round of 16 fixtures.

The weekend of fascinating football fixtures will end with Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal taking on Kylian Mbappe's France in Hamburg, starting at 1:00 am (Saturday).

While Ronaldo and Mbappe are at starkly different points in their careers, they find themselves in a similar position in this Euros: both, so far, have failed to really deliver for their sides in the ongoing edition.

With the coveted trophy just three victories away, this is the ideal time for the duo to step up and lead their teams into the penultimate hurdle.