Planning your soccer Sunday (this one is easy)

If you like soccer (you do, because you’re reading this blog) and if you have a TV (you do, because this is 2012), then today sets up about as sweet as an all-day sucker.

2:45 p.m. ET, time for the last Euro 2012 quarterfinal: England meets Italy in a clash of global soccer biggies. Well, mostly, anyway. Italy has done its part, with four World Cup trophies, the most recent in 2006. England? Well, that’s a sore point lately, as more and more have pointed out that England has a real shortage of wins against “major nations” outside of London. ProSoccerTalk’s Richard Farley tells you the rest of the plots and subplots here. So, it’s on ESPN and it’s game on …!

(Don’t forget: Fingers of Fury Farley will tell you all about the game a little while after final whistle, here at PST.)

5 p.m. ET, time for the best rivalry in Major League Soccer: I wrote before about faux rivalries in the league, about inorganic feuds cooked-up by marketing mavens and PR types to help sell tickets. Well, this Portland-Seattle set-to is not one of them. This Cascadia Cup feature has real history – and real animosity. Super-fast game prep can be found here, in this great info-graphic thingy. Enjoy. It’s also on ESPN.

7 p.m. ET, time for the oldest, great rivalry in Major League Soccer: I know some will argue that New York and D.C. United represents the best rivalry mash-up in MLS, and fair enough. Either way, the teams are right at the top of the Eastern Conference standings, so there is ample history between them in addition to quality aplenty. Latest word has Thierry Henry and Rafa Marquez available for the contest at sold-out Red Bull Arena (pictured). This one is on NBC Sports Network.