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)
Seattle Sounders FC return to the pinnacle of American soccer after defeating Toronto FC 3-1 in front of 69,274 spectators on Sunday - a new record for a sporting event at CenturyLink Field. Across the Atlantic, Liverpool widened the gap between themselves and defending champions Manchester City in the Premier League title race.
Among the other top stories this week:
USWNT picked up 3-2 win vs. Sweden, 6-0 win over Costa Rica in Andonovski's debut as Head Coach
Judge grants class action status to USWNT in gender discrimination lawsuit
Ecuador's Independiente del Valle wins 2019 Copa Sudamericana
Barcelona / Real Madrid tied atop La Liga
Bayern Munich rout rivals Dortmund
Major League Soccer
The 2019 MLS season concluded with the MLS Cup championship game on Sunday. Seattle Sounders FC and Toronto FC met in the final for the third time in the last four years. Seattle defeated Toronto by a 3-1 scoreline to collect their second MLS Cup - joining the Houston Dynamo, San Jose Earthquakes and Sporting Kansas City with two league titles (only LA Galaxy and D.C. United have more with five and four, respectively).
2019 Major League Soccer Awards
MLS Cup Champion: Seattle Sounders FC
MLS Supporters Shield Champion: Los Angeles FC
Most Valuable Player: Carlos Vela (Los Angeles FC)
Defender of the Year: Ike Opara (Minnesota United FC)
Goalkeeper of the Year: Vito Mannone (Minnesota United FC)
Coach of the Year: Bob Bradley (Los Angeles FC)
Rookie of the Year: Andre Shinyashiki (Colorado Rapids)
Newcomer of the Year: Carles Gil (New England Revolution)
Comeback Player of the Year: Jordan Morris (Seattle Sounders FC)
Golden Boot: Carlos Vela (Los Angeles FC) with 34 goals [MLS record]
Humanitarian of the Year: Matt Lampson (LA Galaxy)
Referee of the Year: Allen Chapman
Assistant Referee of the Year: Brian Dunn
Goal of the Year: Josef MartÃnez (Atlanta United FC)
Save of the Year: Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake)
2019 MLS Best XI
Goalkeeper - Vito Mannone (Minnesota United FC) / Defenders - Ike Opara (Minnesota United FC), Miles Robinson (Atlanta United FC), Walker Zimmerman (LAFC) / Midfielders - Eduard Atuesta (LAFC), Carles Gil (New England Revolution), Maxi Moralez (New York City FC), Alejandro Pozuelo (Toronto FC) / Forwards - Zlatan Ibrahimović (LA Galaxy), Josef MartÃnez (Atlanta United FC), Carlos Vela (LAFC)
The offseason is officially underway with a temporary trade window until Wednesday, followed by a series of offseason drafts. It is important to note that the current Collective Bargaining Agreement is set to expire and will be an additional story to follow.
English Premier League
Most of the focus in the Premier League was on the battle of the top two teams from last season. Liverpool expanded the gap in the title race to a nine-point lead over Manchester City after a 3-1 win at home.
Top six: Liverpool (34), Leicester City (26), Chelsea (26), Man City (25), Sheffield Utd (17), Arsenal (17)
Scoring leader: 11 - Jamie Vardy (Leicester City)
Assists leader: 9 - Kevin De Bruyne (Man City)
Spanish La Liga
Lionel Messi scored three in Barcelona's 4-1 win over Celta Vigo. Real Madrid collected a 4-0 win at Eibar. The two Spanish giants share the top of the table on points and are on a collision course towards their December 18th meeting.
Top six: FC Barcelona (25), Real Madrid (25), Atletico Madrid (24), Sevilla (24), Real Sociedad (23), Athletic Bilbao (20)
Scoring leader: 9 - Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)
Assists leader: 4 - Several players tied
German Bundesliga
Bayern Munich looks to be back on the right course, responding to the dismissal of their Head Coach Niko Kovac with a 4-0 win over rivals Borussia Dortmund. Borussia Monchengladbach lead the Bundesliga standings at the moment.
Newly appointed U.S. Women's National Team Head Coach Vlatko Andonovski got his first wins in a pair of friendlies after a 3-2 win over Sweden and a 6-0 rout of Costa Rica.
