In this weekend preview we summarise the best five games to follow on your match feed. And make a couple of suggestions for matches that you may otherwise miss.
🏆 Leagues Cup: Inter Miami vs. Cruz Azul
Friday night sees the start of Project Messi in Miami, aka the mission to rescue Inter Miami’s dire season. Rock bottom of MLS’s Eastern Conference and 29th out of 29 in the league-wide race for the Supporter’s Shield, the club will be glad of a break, with the regular campaign now on hold for the duration of the Leagues Cup.
In previous years this has been a short form tournament pitting the best performing sides from MLS against their counterparts from Mexico’s Liga MX but it has now been expanded to include all teams from both leagues and will be run as a full-blown international cup competition over the next month. For Inter Miami, it’s a great opportunity to start afresh, and bed in a new look squad – the international stars, Messi, Sergio Busquets, and Jordi Alba, being joined by fresh talent such as young Paraguayan midfielder, Diego Gómez.
Their opening tie comes against Cruz Azul, who won a title in Liga MX as recently as 2021, and made the play-offs of the recently completed Clausura season, but have started the new campaign with three straight defeats.
Click the link in the heading above and make sure you follow along as Messi makes his debut in the US.
🏆 FIFA Women’s World Cup: USWNT vs. Vietnam
Saturday’s early kick-off on Day 3 of the 2023 Women’s World Cup tournament is no doubt timed for a Friday TV slot back in the home country of the favourites, and two-time defending champions, the United States.
The USWNT start as the overwhelming favourites for the game against World Cup debutants Vietnam, as you’d imagine (ranked 32nd in the world to their no.1 status.) And as such, we could see a similar dominant performance to that we got from Spain, who racked up over 40 efforts on goal in their 3-0 victory over Costa Rica on Friday. Or that time when the US put 13 past Thailand at the 2019 World Cup.
The US squad is an exciting one: A solid blend of household names from past wins – players such as Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe, and Lindsey Horan, mixed with tournament debutants such as the trio of young forwards, Sophia Smith (pictured above), Trinity Rodman, and Alyssa Thompson, from all of whom we’re expecting big things.
There is stiffer opposition to come for the reigning champions, Netherlands and Portugal are next up in the group, but this game should give us a good indication of just how strong this particular set of players is.
🏆 FIFA Women’s World Cup: England vs. Haiti
European Champions England also start their World Cup campaign on Saturday, with a late kick-off time more suited to morning TV viewers in the UK. And they too face a nation making their first appearance on the world stage. Haiti however, do boast some players who ply their trade in the biggest women’s leagues – Nérilia Mondésir and Melchie Dumornay, for example, both play in France.
That said, this is a game that Sarina Wiegman’s more experienced Lionesses side should win. Nine of our predicted line-up for this game featured in last year’s extra-time victory over Germany in the final of the Euros. And England have only lost once (to Australia) in the 12 games they’ve played since then, a run that includes a 2-1 win over the US when they last met, back in October 2022.
This will be England’s sixth World Cup finals appearance and Wiegman is determined to go one step further than she did in 2019 when she finished as a runner-up while coaching her native Netherlands.
🤝 Manchester United vs. Arsenal
The importance of pre-season friendlies, especially those played relatively early on in the summer, is negligible at best. But for those of you, and us, that do care, they do at least provide a first glimpse of your club’s new summer signings, that new kit that you’ll soon be wearing with pride, and perhaps even a new style of play if your coach is looking to stamp fresh authority on the side.
That is our justification for selecting the US tour match between Manchester United and Arsenal for this column. The game takes place at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, home to NFL sides New York Jets, and New York Giants.
Both United and Arsenal have already started their summer programme – Eric Ten Hag selecting a mixture of youth team and first team players for wins over Leeds United and most recently, Lyon, on Wednesday afternoon. Arsenal, on the other hand, drew with German outfit FC Nürnburg before heading over to the States to take part in the MLS All-Star Skills Challenge and consequent exhibition match against an All-Stars side managed by DC United coach Wayne Rooney. That game ended in a comfortable 5-0 win for a strong Gunners line-up that featured goals from Gabriel Jesus, Leandro Trossard, Jorginho, Gabriel Martinelli and perhaps most notably, new signing Kai Havertz.
Cameroonian goalkeeper André Onana is expected to feature for United in this game despite only travelling to meet up with his new side on Thursday.
🤝 Barcelona vs. Juventus
Over on the west coast of America, also on Saturday night, there’s another match between European giants – this one pitting Xavi’s La Liga champions Barcelona against Juventus, who presumably, are still smarting from the saga surrounding the various points deductions enforced against them in Serie A last season.
As has been typical in recent windows, Barcelona have been heavily involved in the transfer market as they look to overhaul their squad and reduce a bloated wage bill. Without a game since their regular commercially driven end of season match against Japan’s Vissel Kobe at the start of June this will be a first opportunity for fans to watch new signings like İlkay Gündoğan and Iñigo Martínez.
Juve ended the last campaign in seventh, outside of the Champions League places, and therefore unlikely to face this calibre of opposition in their upcoming tilt at the Europa Conference League. But nevertheless, Maxi Allegri’s largely unchanged squad – bar the signing of US international Timothy Weah – should provide a worthy challenge for Barça, along with Milan, and Real Madrid, who they also face while on tour in America over the next week.
Plus two hidden gems from a little deeper in your match feed…
🇧🇪 Belgium Super Cup: Royal Antwerp vs. KV Mechelen
Last weekend, there were signs of life across European football as the winter leagues started in various countries. And this weekend, that smattering of games expands westwards to include this fixture taking place on Sunday – the traditional season opener in Belgium.
As covered extensively in this column, and on our various social channels, Royal Antwerp won their first league title in 66 years thanks to a last minute goal on the very last day of the season from local boy Toby Alderweireld. And they also lifted the Croky Cup after a 2-0 over KV Mechelen just a few weeks earlier.
This game therefore sees the double winners take on the side they defeated in the final. Nothing much has changed at either club in the interim with both still managed by the same coaches as last season – former Dutch international Mark van Bommel at Antwerp, and ex-Belgium midfielder Steven Defour in the dug-out for Mechelen.
🇩🇰 Danish Superliga: Lyngby vs. FC København
The new Danish season got underway on Friday evening with Midtjylland’s 1-0 home win over newly promoted side Hvidovre. And on Saturday, we’ll get a first look at how reigning champions FC København are shaping up for 2023/24.
The capital club don’t have far to travel, as they head to Lyngby, situated in the northern suburbs of the city. The Royal Blues only avoided relegation on goal difference back in May and they haven’t beaten Denmark’s biggest side since back in 2017.
København will need to start strong though as they also begin their Champions League campaign with a second round qualifying match at Icelandic side Breiðablik this coming Tuesday.
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Cover Image from IMAGO