If you’re not much of a soccer fan, you may have missed the fact that the United States recently hosted two of the biggest international soccer tournaments. This has been a dress rehearsal for the U.S. along with Canada and Mexico, to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup next summer.
From June 14 to July 6, the U.S. and Canada hosted the CONCACAF Gold Cup, featuring national teams from North America, Central America and the Caribbean, plus guest nation Saudi Arabia.
The U.S. men’s national team was not stellar, but somehow, they managed their way through the tournament undefeated until the final match. The U.S. beat Guatemala 2-1 in the semifinals to advance to the championship. While Mexico shutout Honduras, 1-0, to reach the final, setting up a huge showdown for the two North American rivals.
In the championship, the U.S. got a goal from Chris Richards just four minutes into the match and it appeared the host team was in control. However, momentum shifted just 23 minutes later when Raul Jimenez tied the game for Mexico. They went into the break at halftime, tied 1-1.
In the 76th minute, Edson Alvarez put Mexico ahead for good, 2-1, and that’s how it ended. The U.S. could not handle the speed and precision of the Mexican squad.
Concurrently, the U.S. hosted the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup from June 14-July13. This tournament was made up of 32 teams from six confederations (or leagues). The teams were professional clubs from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), CONCACAF (North American clubs), Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), Confederation of African Football (CAF), Oceania Football Confederation, and CONMEBOL (South American clubs).
There were three U.S. based teams that compete in Major League Soccer (MLS); Inter Miami FC, Los Angeles FC, and the Seattle Sounders FC.
Manchester City came into the tournament as the defending champs, having won their first title in the last Club World Cup in 2023.
The final match was played on Sunday at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., in front of an announced crowd of 81,118 people that included President Donald Trump.
Chelsea FC, who finished fourth the in the British Premier League this past season, faced Paris Saint-Germain who won the French Ligue 1 and the Champions League titles in the past year.
Chelsea won the match 3-0, in what is considered a sizeable upset. The Blue Lions from Fulham, West London, were led by Cole Palmer who scored two goals in the first half. Joao Pedro also scored in the first half, and the two teams played scoreless in the second half.
This was Chelsea’s second straight international tournament victory this season after winning the UEFA Conference League in May.
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