FOX Sports will carry English broadcasts of matches in the United States.
The eighth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup kicks off on Friday with host nation France facing South Korea. Similar to the men's edition, the women's is played every four years to determine which nation reigns supreme in international soccer.
The basics
Who: 24 nations played their way in through qualifiers. Teams are divided into groups of four with the top two from each group and four third place teams advancing to the knockout stage. During the group stage, a win is worth three points, a tie is worth one and a loss is worth zero.
The knockout round consists of single elimination matches until one team is left.
What: A new FIFA Women's champion will be decided
When: June 7 to July 7
Where: Matches will take place across nine French cities - Lyon, Paris, Nice, Montpellier, Rennes, Le Havre, Valenciennes, Reims and Grenoble.
How to watch
Matches will be broadcast in the United States in English on FOX, FS1 or FS2 and in Spanish on Telemundo, Telemundo Deportes and NBC Universo.
Depending on where you look, the United States and France are the main favorites to win followed by Germany. England, Netherlands, Australia Japan and Canada round out the list of teams with a chance to surprise.
The United States are the defending champions after winning at Canada 2015 and are looking to become the second nation to win back-to-back Women's World Cups after Germany (2003, 2007). France are favored due to their quality of players and the fact that they are playing at home. It is expected, if both win their groups, that the U.S. and France face off in the quarterfinals.
Players to keep and eye on
Alex Morgan (USA), Sam Kerr (Australia), Eugenie Le Sommer (France), Kim Little (Scotland), Christine Sinclair (Canada), Tobin Heath (USA)
Real Madrid visited Houston last July as part of the 2019 International Champions Cup. Manuel Gonzalez / DTUSA
The 2020 MLS SuperDraft brought a few more additions to the Houston Dynamo, bringing the number of players under contract to 25 as of Tuesday morning. South of the border, the Clausura 2020 season got underway in Liga MX and cup action dominates the talk over in Europe.
Here are the top stories of the weekend:
Houston Dynamo add Croatian GK, select four MLS SuperDraft
The Dynamo officially announced the signing of GK Marko Marić from TSG 1899 Hoffenheim on Monday. The Austrian born player who has played internationally for Croatia is expected to be the starting man in goal this season. The signing was first reported by KXLN's Lester Gretsch back in December.
The club also selected four players in the 2020 MLS SuperDraft, two in Rounds 1 & 2 on Thursday followed by the other two in Round 3 & 4 on Monday. The selections, which still have to come to terms on a contract, are as follows:
The second half of the Liga MX calendar year kicked off over the weekend with only four teams not participating in the first week, Apertura 2019 finalists Monterrey and Club America among them. The teams that took three points in their first outing of the year were Leon, Chivas Guadalajara, Atlas, Pumas UNAM, Xolos of Tijuana and Toluca.
TV listings (All Times CT):
For full info on soccer TV listings and streaming services in the United States, visit worldsoccertalk.com
Tuesday, January 14
8:00 a.m. - [Coppa Italia] Napoli vs. Perugia (ESPN+)
11:00 a.m. - [Coppa Italia] Lazio vs. Cremonese (ESPN+)
1:45 p.m. - [Coppa Italia] Inter vs. Cagliari (ESPN+)
2:00 p.m. - [English FA Cup] Tottenham vs. Middlesbrough (ESPN+)
Wednesday, January 15
11:00 a.m. - [Coppa Italia] Milan vs. SPAL (ESPN+)
1:45 p.m. - [Coppa Italia] Juventus vs. Udinese (ESPN+)
1:45 p.m. - [English FA Cup] Manchester United vs. Wolves (ESPN+)
2:00 p.m. - [Ligue 1] Monaco vs. PSG (beINSports)
Thursday, January 16
2:00 p.m. - [Coppa Italia] Parma vs. Roma (ESPN+)
9:00 p.m. - [Liga MX] FC Juarez vs. Pumas UNAM (TUDN)
