The top six EPL clubs will be competing against the best teams in Europe in the biggest preseason tournament. Here is your 2018 ICC guide.
The International Champions Cup has become the biggest preseason tournament in the world of football, with numerous amounts of the top European clubs convening across the world. For 2018, 18 teams will each play three matches and they will be in the US, Europe, and Singapore for the next three weeks. Six of those teams are from the EPL.
Man City, Man United, Liverpool, Tottenham, Arsenal, and Chelsea will represent the EPL in the tournament. PSG, Lyon, Bayern, Dortmund, Inter, Juventus, AC Milan, Roma, Benfica, Atletico, Barcelona, and Real Madrid make up the rest of the field. The top players of each club usually don’t show up, with Cristiano Ronaldo being the most notable absence right now.
#ICC2018 @IntChampionsCup International Champions Cup 2018 - Schedule #ChampionsMeetHere https://t.co/OKXpj8MVvu via @48Footy
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It’s also likely that the French World Cup winners will take the tournament off to continue their celebrations of winning the world’s biggest prize. Some of the best players will be at the ICC and young guns looking to break through in the team will have a chance to make a name for themselves.
America’s taste of the EPL
The ICC will begin tomorrow evening in Chicago, Illinois where the EPL champions Manchester City will face Borussia Dortmund to kick things off. Each of the 18 teams will play three matches and the team with the most points will be crowned the ICC champions. Man City will continue to stay in the States and play Liverpool in New Jersey on July 25th. The champions will close in Miami against Bayern Munich on July 31st.
The biggest game in the United States will be the North West Derby on July 28th. Manchester United and Liverpool will convene at The Big House in Ann Arbor, the biggest college football stadium in America. The home of the Michigan Wolverines broke the record for an American soccer crowd when 109, 318 went to see Man United beat Real Madrid 3-1.
Both United and Liverpool will stay in the US for their three matches. Liverpool starts in Charlotte against Dortmund while United plays at the StubHub Center in Los Angeles against AC Milan. The North West Derby will be Liverpool’s final match and United’s second as the Red Devils will conclude in Miami against Real Madrid.
The last team playing in the states will be Tottenham. They start in San Diego against Roma on July 25th, then to Pasadena to face the defending USA ICC champions Barcelona, and conclude in Minneapolis versus AC Milan.
The US will host a majority of the top-billed games of the ICC. Juve will play Bayern in Philly, Barca will play Roma in Arlington for a UCL quarterfinal rematch, and Landover, Maryland will pit Real Madrid against Juventus. Sadly, no Ronaldo against his old club.
Londoners don’t get American passports
Arsenal and Chelsea will play all three of their matches outside the United States. The Gunners will be in Singapore for their two matches against Atletico Madrid and PSG. They will fly to Dublin afterward and play Chelsea in a preseason, London Derby. A good preseason for Unai Emery will bring Gunner fans confidence going into their EPL opener against Man City.
Next: EPL Preseason Schedule for all 20 Teams
Chelsea will be all over the world for the ICC. They start in France, go to Ireland, and end at home. In Nice, they will play Inter Milan before their Arsenal clash. The Blues then have the luxury of being the only EPL team to play a home match in the ICC. They host Lyon at Stamford Bridge on August 7th.