America's 'Summer of Soccer' begins with Club World Cup, Gold Cup

Despite Infantino's improvements, the Club World Cup remains an afterthought in the world of soccer. Fans, players and team executives alike have decried the tournament's changes, arguing (perhaps correctly) that wedging a massive competition in the middle of soccer's global offseason is exhausting and dangerous for the sport's already-overworked athletes. 

Ticket sales for most matches, even those featuring Lionel Messi and Inter Miami, are poor (h/t: SI.com via The Athletic). Perhaps the only thing keeping fans and teams interested in the Club World Cup is the money Infantino sank into his pet project. Participating teams receive nearly $10M just for showing up and can earn up to $100M by winning the tournament outright. Not bad for a month's work.

The Club World Cup will air exclusively on DAZN in the United States and take place in stadiums across the country. It will open Saturday (June 14) when Inter Miami of Major League Soccer plays Egypt's Al-Ahly in Miami.

Fans interested in high-quality, high-stakes play should keep an eye out for Spain's Atletico Madrid, France's Paris Saint Germain and Argentina's River Plate, all of which should have deep runs in the tournament. Saudi Arabia's Al-Hilal, South Africa's Mamelodi Sundowns and Japan's Urawa Red Diamonds are also worth watching.

Concacaf Gold Cup | Tournament schedule

The Concacaf Gold Cup is the international championship tournament for North America, Central America and Caribbean. Think of it as this region's Euros. It's just one step down from the FIFA World Cup in terms of prestige and global reach.

The Gold Cup runs every two years and features 15 national teams from Concacaf and one invited guest (this year's interloper is Saudi Arabia, but teams from Qatar, Brazil and South Korea have made appearances, too). Concacaf is a fascinating region for global soccer because of its sheer size — it stretches from Canada in the Arctic Circle to Suriname, just north of the equator. It includes the mighty United States (340 million population) and tiny Curaçao (population 147,862).

The Gold Cup is the last competitive tournament the United States, Canada and Mexico will play in before jointly hosting the World Cup in 2026. It's the final test of their readiness, and much will be written about how each team handles the global spotlight the Gold Cup brings.

Mexico enters the Gold Cup as the clear favorite, but Panama —revolutionizing itself under the watchful eye of coach Thomas Christiansen — has emerged as a worthy challenger. Canada will also aim to make a deep run as it rebuilds under American coach Jesse Marsch, while the United States Men's National Team, stuck with a partial-strength roster and a floundering new coach (Mauricio Pochettino), will do well just to keep up with its cresting neighbors.

The Gold Cup will air on the Fox family of networks and begin Saturday (June 14) when Mexico plays the Dominican Republic in Inglewood, California. The USMNT, fresh off a humiliating 4-0 friendly defeat to Switzerland, will open Sunday (June 15) against Trinidad and Tobago in San Jose, California.