Soccer fans in America can go nuts this summer, the US Women's National team is providing great drama in Germany as part of the Women's World Cup, Major League Soccer action is heating up as teams start to position themselves for the playoffs this fall, the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup is in full swing, oh and it is time for what has become an annual event the World Football Challenge as clubs from around the world come to various venues around the US to take part in friendly matches.
Those matches kick off this week as Manchester United will make their first appearance on Wednesday night at Gillette Stadium against the New England Revolution. Now I have become a fan of the #TrophiesNotFriendlies movement that says MLS should focus their attentions on matches with meaning instead of friendlies, but I do understand that for some teams this is a huge chance to make some money and provide their fans a chance to see top international teams.
So do you want to see that match on Wednesday night? After the jump find out what channel the match is on and if you are in the area how to get tickets to see the match live:
Here is a listing of all the World Football Challenge matches and other friendlies:
Date |
Game |
Venue |
Time (ET) |
TV/Radio |
Tickets |
7/13 |
NE Revolution vs. Manchester United |
Gillette Stadium |
8:00 PM |
ESPN2/ ESPN3?TSN |
|
7/16 |
Manchester City vs. Club America |
AT&T Park |
8:00 PM |
TeleFutura/Gol TV Canada |
|
7/16 |
LA Galaxy vs. Real Madrid |
LA Coliseum |
10:00 p.m. |
ESPN2/ ESPN3?TSN2 |
|
7/18 |
Vancouver Whitecaps FC vs. Manchester City |
Empire Field |
10:00 p.m. |
ESPN2 /ESPN3?TSN |
|
7/20 |
Real Madrid vs. CD Guadalajara |
Qualcomm Stadium |
11:00 p.m. |
ESPN2/ ESPN3D?GOL TV Canada |
|
7/20 |
Seattle Sounders vs. Manchester United |
CenturyLink Field |
10:00 PM |
Fox Soccer | |
7/20 |
LIVESTRONG Sporting Park |
8:30 PM |
|
||
7/20 |
PPL Park |
7:30 PM |
Fox Soccer | ||
7/20 |
Portland Timbers vs. West Browmwich |
JELD-WEN Field |
10:00 PM |
||
7/23 |
Chicago Fire vs. Manchester United |
Soldier Field |
5:00 p.m. |
ESPN2/ ESPN3?GOL TV Canada |
|
7/23 |
D.C. United vs. Everton |
RFK Stadium |
7:30 PM |
Fox Soccer |
|
7/23 |
Juventus FC vs. Sporting Clube de Portugal |
BMO Field |
7:00 p.m. |
ESPN Deportes/ |
|
7/23 |
Philadelphia Union vs. Real Madrid |
Lincoln Financial Field |
9:00 p.m. |
ESPN Deportes/ ESPN3 |
|
7/24 |
LA Galaxy vs. Manchester City |
Home Depot Center |
4:00 p.m. |
ESPN/ ESPN3/TSN2 |
|
7/26 |
Columbus Crew vs. Newcastle |
Columbus Crew Stadium |
7:30 PM |
||
7/26 |
Portland Timbers vs. Club Independiente |
JELD-WEN Field |
10:00 PM |
||
7/26 |
Club America vs. Juventus FC |
Citi Field |
7:30 p.m. |
ESPN2/ ESPN3?GOL TV Canada |
|
7/27 |
MLS All Stars vs Manchester United |
Red Bull Arena |
8:30 PM |
||
7/28 |
CD Guadalajara vs. Juventus FC |
Carter-Finley Stadium |
8:00 p.m. |
ESPN2/ESPN3?GOL TV Canada |
|
7/30 |
Manchester United vs. FC Barcelona |
FedExField |
7:00 p.m. |
ESPN2/ ESPN3/GOL TV Canada |
|
8/3 |
FC Barcelona vs. CD Guadalajara |
Sun Life Stadium |
8:00 p.m. |
ESPN2/ ESPN3/GOL TV Canada |
|
8/6 |
FC Barcelona vs. Club América |
Cowboys Stadium |
4:00 p.m. |
ESPN/ ESPN3/GOL TV Canada |
If you know of other TV Coverage options in the US or Canada, please let me know and I will update them.
Folks that is 22 incredible matches being offered up, along with the regular season MLS matches. That is a whole lot of soccer options for people. The ticket links I have included are for TiqIQ, a service that searches the top ticket resale sites (Stub Hub, eBay, TicketsNow, and more). Now I will tell you that prices on the secondary market are always changing, and when using TiqIQ you want to check the Market tab as well as the Auction tab to find the best deal.
Here is what the event ticket pages look like:
Folks if you live in a market that is hosting one of these matches, or even close to one, you owe it to yourself to check it out and be a part of this years "Summer of Soccer" because this is huge. The names are huge: Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka, Wayne Rooney, Gareth Barry, David Silva, Ryan Giggs, Rio Ferdinand, Xavi Alonso, Iker Casillas, Luca Toni, and more.
This the is most recent information I have so if you have updates please just let me know and I will update the list.
OFF MY SOAPBOX