![]() (Can Stoke get it done on a wet night against Orlando City at the Citrus Bowl? We'll find out July 28.) ![]() Oh, and Stoke City and Swansea tag along in their draft. MLS All-Star Game, plus Liverpool-Roma (July 25)Īt the end of July, the entire American continent will become a vast training ground for a selection of Europe's elite soccer teams as Chelsea, Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain and AC Milan seek to burnish their brands in North America. improve its all-time away record against El Tri of 0-23-1?Ĥ. The game will be a litmus test for Jurgen Klinsmann's team before World Cup qualifying resumes in September. will experience its first "friendly" in Mexico, at the Azteca, in 28 years. The United States' opening game July 25 against the ambitious French, led by "The Female Zidane" Louisa Necib, should be a barnstormer. Brazil and Marta also will be looking for revenge. World Cup winner Japan will bring its paper-cut passes, replete with team leader Homare Sawa, who will play in her fourth Olympics. Abby Wambach and Hope Solo will be back in the spotlight, along with the sparkplug that is Megan Rapinoe and the clinical Alex Morgan. Tape that pink headband onto your forehead in anticipation of watching the U.S. Olympics women's soccer (July 25-August 9) The United States and defending champion Argentina did not qualify for the tournament, but do not let that diminish your viewing pleasure, which should revolve mostly around identifying young stars for the future such as Mexico and Chelsea's Ulises Davila and Takashi Usami of Japan.Ģ. Manchester United's Ryan Giggs will make his major-tournament debut at the age of 38, donning one of the worst-designed jerseys in the history of synthetic fabrics, on a squad that includes players such as Bolton's Marvin Sordell and Middlesborough's Jason Steele, who may make you thank God for Google. Political reasons mean the squad is composed solely of English and Welsh players, a little like the poor man's Antigua & Barbuda. Great Britain - the combined might of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland - will make its first Olympics appearance since 1960. Spain, featuring Euro 2012 stars Jordi Alba, Javi Martinez and Juan Mata, as well as Manchester United's David De Gea, plan to stop them. Precocious talents Neymar and Ganso will try to change that. But Olympic soccer is wildly popular in Brazil, mostly because it remains the one tournament the South American power has not won. To ensure the event does not impinge on the dominance of the World Cup juggernaut, the tournament is formatted primarily as an under-23 event (with three overage players), which has tended to dampen its global significance. The countdown to the tournament has been overshadowed by the non-selection of David Beckham to the Great Britain squad, but the Olympics will showcase some of the finest young talents in the game littered across 16 teams from Uruguay to United Arab Emirates. In addition to MLS action, here are five events that should fill you up like a bar of dietetic chocolate before the English Premier League kicks off Aug. Even during soccer's break, there is an abundance of the sport to be found. 12 for the curtain-raising Community Shield, a date that is five torturous weeks away. Worse, the English season does not kick off until Chelsea and Manchester City compete half-heartedly Aug. Snooping through tweeted vacation photographs of Lionel Messi in Ibiza or Wayne Rooney slobbing around Los Angeles quickly wears thin. That European soccer is on its summer break can make this malady feel like an itch that cannot be scratched. Or are you aching for a fix of Alexi Lalas and Michael Ballack, who became America's sweethearts in the mold of Archie and Edith Bunker? You have reached a degraded version of because you're using an unsupported version of Internet Explorer.įor a complete experience, please upgrade or use a supported browserĪfter gorging on the feast that was Euro 2012, are you now suffering the symptoms of withdrawal? Do you find yourself jonesing for the exquisite release of Seven Nation Army? Have you suffered feverish dreams of Gigi Buffon bellowing his national anthem solo in an empty stadium punctuated only by the repetitive Oh-Oh-Oh-ing of Endless Summer.
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