The World Cup is increasingly in the distance and the kickoffs of the 2014-15 European league seasons are still on the horizon, but futbol fans can still their appetite for international soccer.
Fox, NBC and ESPN Deportes are ready to step onto the pitch with coverage of a host of friendlies and the second annual Guinness International Champions Cup.
The action begins with a cross-network quadrupleheader on July 23. ESPN2 serves up the first ball with Barclays Premier League’s Tottenham Hotspur visiting Major League Soccer’s Toronto FC at 7 p.m. (ET), trailed by the BPL champion Manchester City at the domestic league’s Sporting Kansas City at 9 p.m.
In between NBCSN will air the “Football at Fenway” friendly between BPL runner-up Liverpool and Series A’s second-place finisher AS Roma at 7:30 p.m. (ET), from the Boston Red Sox’s beloved ballpark. Announcer Arlo White joins NBC Sports’ full U.S.-based Premier League announce team – Rebecca Lowe, Robbie Earle, Kyle Martino and Robbie Mustoe – on the call.
Fox Sports 1 and Fox Sports Deportes follow at 11 p.m., with a friendly from the Rose Bowl, where MLS’s LA Galaxy, led by renowned striker Landon Donovan, battle Louie Van Gaal’s Manchester United, helming his first game for one of the world’s most-heralded clubs. Rob Stone calls the action on-site alongside analysts Eric Wynalda and Warren Barton and sideline reporter Julie Stewart-Binks. John Laguna, Mariano Trujillo and Mauricio Cardenas are on the Fox Deportes mics from the Rose Bowl.
From there, the Guinness International Champions Cup – the eight-team, 13-match bracketed North America.-based soccer tournament – takes center stage, beginning on July 24 with Series A’s A.C. Milan squaring off against Greek side Olympiakos at Citi Field in Queens on FS1 at 7:30 p.m. The tournament, which features a pair of matches on Fox, concludes with the final on Aug. 4 at 7:30 p.m. on FS1 from Sun Life Stadium in Miami (see schedule below)
As part of the tourney’s run of play, NBCSN has sublicensed a pair of matches from Fox: – ManU versus. Inter Milan on July 29 from FedEx Field in Washington, D.C. and Liverpool and AC Milan on Aug. 2 at 6:30 p.m at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C.
For its part, ESPN Deportes will provide Spanish-language TV coverage of the tournament. The network is also in the game with Liga MX action. All told, the worldwide leader's various platforms are home to 30 matches through Aug. 4, encompassing the National Women's Soccer League, games involving BPL stalwart Arsenal versus MLS's New York Red Bulls, and the Gunners in action in the Emirates Cup against SL Beneficia and AS Monaco. Bundesliga powerhouse Bayern Munich will match up with Chivas Guadalaraja on ESPN on July 31 at 8 p.m.
Fox's Summer Soccer Schedule:
