Friday, July 17, 2015

National U.S. soccer and football teams have big games Saturday

The U.S. men's national soccer team will take on Cuba tonight in the Quarterfinals of the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup. Two more wins in the tournament would place the USMNT in the Gold Cup's final for a sixth consecutive time. 

The USMNT previously defeated Honduras 2-1, Haiti 1-0, and tied Panama 1-1. The two wins and draw gave the U.S. seven points, enough to win Group A. 

Clint Dempsey has led the U.S. team in scoring with three goals. 

The U.S. must defeat Cuba to advance in the tournament. 

Kickoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on FOX Sports 1 (it will also be streamed on the FOX Sports Go app).

Also on Saturday, the U.S. national amateur football team will take on Japan in the 2015 IFAF Word Cup Final in Canton, Ohio. The U.S. is coming off an 82-0 win over France while Japan is coming off a 35-7 win over Mexico. 
The U.S. has reached the final in all three IFAF tournaments that they've participated in. 

The IFAF World Cup launched in 1999 and runs every four years. The U.S. joined the tournament in 2007 and defeated Japan 23-20 in the final. In 2011, the U.S. won again, defeating Canada 50-7 in the final.

Canada is not participating in this year's tournament.

Kickoff for the IFAF Championship at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET. The game will be streamed live on ESPN3 on the WatchESPN app.