Your all in one guide to this summer’s international soccer tournaments

This summer is a unique one for International soccer with two major tournaments taking place. One is in our own backyard; another is in France. Copa America Centenario, the championship of the America’s, is a competition where 16 of the America’s international soccer teams play against each other. This year is the 100th anniversary of the Copa America tournament; centenario is Spanish for century. This competition is taking place right here in the USA from June 3rd to June 26th.

The European Championship is also taking place this summer. This tournament features 24 of Europe’s international teams. Many of the worlds stars will play for their countries; making this tournament is an opportunity for people around the world to watch world-class soccer. The Euro’s run from June 10th to July 10th. This article will talk a bit about the two competitions, and present a guide to this summer’s international soccer tournaments.

Copa America Centenario is being hosted by USA, but what teams are coming to play?

United States, Columbia, Costa Rica, Paraguay, Brazil, Ecuador, Haiti, Peru, Mexico, Uruguay, Jamaica, Venezuela, Argentina, Chile, Panama, and Bolivia make up the sixteen teams.

They will be broken into four groups of Four. Each Country plays every other country in their group, and the top two teams from the groups  move into the knockout games (Quarterfinals, Semifinals, Final). These games will be played across the country at these locations:

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1. CenturyLink Field – Seattle, Wash.
2. Citrus Bowl – Orlando, Fla.
3. Gillette Stadium – Foxborough, Mass.
4. Levi’s Stadium – Santa Clara, Calif.
5. Lincoln Financial Field – Philadelphia, Pa.
6. MetLife Stadium – East Rutherford, N.J.
7.  NRG Stadium – Houston, Texas.
8. Rose Bowl – Pasadena, Calif.
9. Soldier Field – Chicago, Ill.
10. University of Phoenix Stadium – Glendale, Ariz.

This tournament features some of the best nations in the world and some of the best players: Argentina’s Lionel Messi, Columbia’s James Rodriguez, Brazil’s Kaka, Mexico’s Javier Hernandez, Chile’s Alexis Sanchez, USA’ Clint Dempsey, and many more. Copa America makes a stop right here, where the Birds play. Three games will be played at the Linc: Uruguay plays Venezuela, Chile plays Panama, and USA plays Paraguay. If you’re looking for some world-class soccer this summer head on over to the Linc June 9th, 11th, or 13th. This competition will be carried on TV on Fox. You can see the different times of the games and the TV stations in the guide at the bottom of the article.

The Other International tournament is across the atlantic in France. This is where many of the big boy international teams meet to play to be the best nation in Europe.

France, Albania, Romania, Switzerland, England, Russia, Slovakia, Wales, Germany, Northern Ireland, Portugal, Ukraine, Croatia, Czech Republic, Spain, Turkey, Belgium, Italy, Republic of Ireland, Sweden, Austria, Hungary, Iceland, Poland make up the 24 European nations in the tournament.

These teams play not only for the European title, but for a good world ranking. The winning country will get a high boost in the international ranking which has an effect on the country’s placing in the World Cup Draw two years from now. These countries present some of the highest quality of soccer. Players like  Christiano Ronaldo for Portugal, Wayne Rooney for England, Paul Pogba for France, Zlatan Ibrahimovic for Sweden, and many more greats will be a part of this tournament. To witness this greatness you’ll have to tune in to the ESPN networks.You view the times of the games and the TV stations in the guide at the bottom of the article.

These two tournaments present a summer of paradise for any soccer fan. For five weeks there are quality games being played. If you are from Philadelphia and are starting to get into soccer, make sure you catch some of these amazing games that are being played. They exemplify the sport, and truly show why Soccer is the worlds favorite sport.

Here’s your handy all in one schedule. However, the formatting makes it a little tricky to read so if you would like a printable, color coded guide that you can pin up at home..

you can get that right here.

Photo credit: Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images Europe