The highlights of the summer 2023 soccer schedule in the United States
By Clemente Lisi – NEW YORK, NY (May 29, 2023) US Soccer Players – At a time when Europe’s top leagues finish their seasons, the game rolls on in North America. From Major League Soccer’s summer schedule that includes the expanded Leagues Cup, National Team competitions such as the Concacaf Nations League and Gold Cup, and clubs on tour, another summer of soccer is upon us. Here are five things to look forward to in the summer of 2023.
MLS
Some big games to watch for this summer in Major League Soccer includes LAFC hosting the Seattle Sounders on June 21 in a battle of Western Conference heavyweights. Then there’s the LA Galaxy vs LAFC in a special edition of El Trafico at the Rose Bowl on July 4, a game that was scheduled to be the season opener but was postponed due to bad weather.
The end of the summer is when teams often peak ahead of the playoffs, but this season could be different since the league will take a month-long break starting in mid-July for the Leagues Cup. Another game to look forward to will be the annual All-Star Game that will feature a team of MLS players take on Premier League side Arsenal on July 19 at Audi Field.
Concacaf Nations League
The Nations League is the first of two tournaments that will occupy much of the USMNT’s time this summer. The semifinals on June 15 in Las Vegas have Panama vs Canada and the USMNT vs Mexico with the 3rd-place game and final on June 18. The United States is the defending Nations League champions after capturing the inaugural edition in 2021.
In an interview posted on US Soccer’s website, Matt Crocker, the US Soccer Federation’s newly appointed sporting director, said coach Anthony Hudson and the staff “have done a fantastic job keeping the program moving forward. There has been no drop in standard, and as you’ve seen several players who had a choice to represent more than one country have chosen the United States during their tenure and Anthony and his staff deserve tremendous credit for that.”
Gold Cup
This will be the second of two tournaments that will see the US defend a title. Winners of the Gold Cup in 2021, the United States is in group A with Jamaica, Nicaragua and a team to be determined, opening the tournament on June 24 against Jamaica.
The US has won the Gold Cup seven times, one less than Mexico. The Gold Cup will be a chance to see both veteran players and younger stars. Like 2021, the US will be looking to sweep both tournaments this summer but will face challenges from rivals Mexico and a surging Canada side. Other contenders include Costa Rica and Honduras, although no team other than the US, Mexico, or Canada has ever won the Gold Cup since its inaugural edition in 1991. The 2023 final is slated for July 16 at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.
Leagues Cup
The expanded tournament featuring all of the MLS and Liga MX clubs will have both domestic leagues suspending their seasons for a month from July 21 to August 19. The Leagues Cup is the first major soccer tournament ever to feature every club from two topflight leagues.
With a group stage followed by knockout rounds, the tournament includes four regions with 77 games in all hosted at MLS stadiums throughout the US and Canada. The Leagues Cup also features a different format. There will be no draws. Each team gets one point if the game is tied after 90 minutes. Tied games still go to penalties, with the winner earning an additional point.
Clubs on tour
British and European clubs are once again going to tour the United States this summer, and it’s an impressive lineup. That includes six Premier League teams, Aston Villa, Brentford, Brighton, Chelsea, Fulham, and Newcastle United, participating in the Premier League Summer Series (Jul 22-30). Then there’s The Soccer Champions Tour (Jul 22-Aug 2) with Arsenal, Barcelona, Juventus, Manchester United, Real Madrid, and AC Milan. There’s also a La Liga Tour (Aug 2-5) featuring Atletico Madrid, Sevilla, Real Sociedad, and Real Betis.
There are a lot of choices for American fans, both to watch on TV and games to attend in person, over the next three months. It is another example of how important the US market is to the global game. Three years before the World Cup is set to be played in North America, there is plenty of evidence that shows this is a market that can sustain a variety of competitions over such a short period of time.
Clemente Lisi is a regular contributor to US Soccer Players. He is also the author of the new book “The FIFA World Cup: A History of the Planet’s Biggest Sporting Event.”
More from Clemente Lisi:
- Using the US Open Cup round of 16 to push forward in MLS
- New England coach Bruce Arena’s focus on quality, culture, and development
- Bedoya: “It’s always about the next game.”
- Landon Donovan: “We also are ambassadors all the time”
Photo by Concacaf
