Tag: MLS All-Star Game

2024 MLS All-Star Game awarded to Columbus Crew

Columbus will host the All-Star Game for a third time

The MLS All-Star Game is going back to Ohio.

MLS announced that Lower.com Field will host the 2024 All-Star Game, which will be played on July 17, 2024.

“We are pleased to award the 2024 MLS All-Star Game to Columbus, the third MLS All-Star Game for this terrific soccer city,” said MLS Commissioner Don Garber in a public statement. Columbus had previously hosted the All-Star game in 2000 and 2005.

“In just over three years, [Crew majority owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam] and their partners have built one of the world’s best soccer stadiums, revitalized the club, and expanded the Crew fanbase. Columbus and Lower.com Field will be a tremendous host for the MLS All-Star Game and festivities.”

The opponent for the game has yet to be determined. After two years of taking on a Liga MX All-Star team, MLS has gone back to hosting a European giant, with Arsenal the opponent for the 2023 edition in Washington, D.C.

Events surrounding the All-Star Game will be announced at a later date, but will include an All-Star Skills Challenge along with additional events for fans, concerts, and more to be announced at a later date.

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MLS unveils 26-player roster to face Arsenal in 2023 All-Star Game

FC Cincinnati leads the way with three players selected

Major League Soccer has revealed the 26 players selected for the 2023 All-Star Game.

The MLS All-Stars will face Arsenal on July 19 at Audi Field in Washington, D.C.

The roster was made up of 12 players selected through a combination of fan, player, and media voting, 12 players selected by All-Star head coach Wayne Rooney, and two players selected by MLS commissioner Don Garber.

Overall, 18 clubs are represented on the roster. FC Cincinnati leads the way with three players selected: Luciano Acosta, Álvaro Barreal and Matt Miazga.

MLS to face Arsenal in 2023 All-Star Game at Audi Field

Wayne Rooney will coach the MLS All-Stars at his home stadium

The MLS All-Stars will face Arsenal in the 2023 MLS All-Star Game at Audi Field, the league announced on Tuesday.

D.C. United’s Wayne Rooney will coach his league’s team of stars at his home ground on July 19.

The night before, the top MLS stars will face off against their Arsenal counterparts in the 2023 MLS All-Star Skills Challenge.

“I’ve had a front row seat to watch the growth and development of Major League Soccer, first as a player and now as a manager,” Rooney said in a statement.

“The opportunity to lead the best our league has to offer against a top Premier League club like Arsenal will be a highlight for me personally and an unforgettable experience for our passionate fanbase here in D.C.”

The game will mark a return to the All-Star Game format seen between 2005 and 2019, when the MLS All-Stars faced a European club team in the midst of their preseason. Arsenal was the opponent in 2016, a 2-1 win for the Gunners in San Jose.

The past two years saw the MLS stars face a team of stars from Liga MX.

“It’s great that we’re playing against the MLS All-Stars in Washington D.C. in July,” Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said. “Our U.S. tour last summer was very good preparation for the season.

“The match against the MLS All-Stars will be a good test ahead of the 2023-24 season.”

For Rooney, the match will complete a notable hat trick: he played against the MLS stars with Manchester United in 2011, played for the MLS stars in 2019 and will now coach the MLS stars.

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MLS bests Liga MX 2-1 in 2022 MLS All-Star Game

Vela and Ruídiaz scored as MLS beat Liga MX for the 2nd year running

MLS continues to make the case that it’s catching up to Liga MX, with the latest chapter being a 2-1 win in the 2022 MLS All-Star Game.

The All-Star Game obviously means less than the Seattle Sounders taking the 2022 CONCACAF Champions League, ending over a decade of Mexican dominance, or the U.S. men’s national team having the better head-to-head record in World Cup qualifying, but both teams did appear to play with more intensity than your average mid-season showcase tends to have.

Within the first 150 seconds, MLS had survived a VAR check for a handball, and then took the lead. After a VAR check cleared Walker Zimmerman of any wrongdoing, MLS went up to the other end, where LAFC star Carlos Vela nodded home a cross from his club teammate Diego Palacios.

Liga MX certainly had more control of the game, but Columbus Crew fans were given a serious worry after Darlington Nagbe was caught by a bad tackle from Pumas UNAM forward Juan Dinenno. It was a potential disaster for an exhibition scheduled mid-week, but fortunately Nagbe was able to play on.

Minnesota United’s Dayne St. Clair gave home fans a reason to cheer with a fine diving save to preserve MLS’s lead just before halftime, denying the busy Dinenno as Liga MX’s high pressing caused MLS fits.

MLS managed to regain their feet a bit in the second half, and a few mintues after Paul Arriola had a goal called back for offside, Sounders striker Raul Ruídiaz fired home from the spot in the 73rd minute.

However, an absolute bomb from Pachuca defender Kevin Álvarezin the 85th minute brought the game back to life, and MLS managed to get through a fairly convincing penalty kick shout from the Liga MX side after a collision in the box arguably contained both a trip and a handball from Inter Miami’s DeAndre Yedlin.

Check out the All-Star Game’s goals

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Don Garber says 2023 MLS All-Star Game opponent, format up in the air

MLS’s next All Star Game may require a new format

MLS and the Liga MX All Stars battled it out in Minnesota Wednesday night, but Don Garber admitted at halftime that next year might be different.

Speaking to ESPN at halftime, Garber admitted that with MLS ramping up its relationship with Liga MX, there may be less of a need to play a Liga MX All Star team next year when the event comes to the District of Columbia.

“We have done such a really focused, strategic partnership with Liga MX, trying to build CONCACAF into being one of the dominant confederations in the world, not just really in our region,” said Garber, who highlighted the massive crowds at SoFi Stadium for the two Leagues Cup showcase matches held there last week, which saw LAFC and Club América play to a scoreless draw and the LA Galaxy beat Chivas 2-0.

Those showcase games took the place of a full Leagues Cup, but in 2023 the plan remains to pause for a full month and involve every club from both leagues.

“So you’re going to see the launch of that in (2023). It’s going to be, just transcending what anybody ever expected,” said Garber when asked whether the Leagues Cup meant a change in All Star Game format was coming. “I’m not sure we need that for our All Star Game. You’ve got Campeones Cup coming up in September in New York City. So we’ll see what next year in Washington, DC looks like when D.C. United hosts, but you know, I’m not quite sure.”

The MLS All Star Game has been through numerous formats over the years, with an East vs. West format being favored for most of the league’s early years before eventually being replaced by, in most years, a match against a European giant. 2021 was the first year MLS faced a Liga MX All Star team, winning on penalties.

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MLS All-Stars vs. Liga MX All-Stars, live stream, TV channel, time, lineups, how to watch MLS All-Star Game

The MLS All-Stars will meet the Liga MX All-Stars in the 26th MLS All-Star Game on Wednesday night at Allianz Field in Minnesota.

The MLS All-Stars will meet the Liga MX All-Stars in the 26th MLS All-Star Game on Wednesday night at Allianz Field in Minnesota.

This will be the second year that the best players from both the Eastern and Western Conference in Major League Soccer will face the best of the best in Liga MX in the MLS All-Star Game, with last year’s contest going to the MLS All-Stars 3-2.

This will be a great night in MLS, here is everything you need to know to watch and stream the action on Wednesday night.

MLS All-Stars vs. Liga MX All-Stars

  • When: Wednesday, August 10
  • Time: 8:30 p.m. ET
  • TV Channel: ESPN
  • Live Stream: fuboTV (watch for free)

MLS All-Star Game Lineups

MLS All-Stars possible starting lineup:
Johnson; Yedlin, Miller, Long, Wagner; Reynoso, Sanchez; Vela, Acosta, Ruidiaz; Hernandez

Liga MX All-Stars possible starting lineup:
Vargas; Alvarez, Lopez, Nervo, J. Angulo; Beltran, Lira, Fidalgo; Antuna, Furch, Vega

MLS Odds and Betting Lines

MLS odds courtesy of Tipico Sportsbook. Odds were last updated on Wednesday at 5:00 p.m. ET.

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Unvaccinated André-Pierre Gignac won’t travel for MLS All-Star Game

Gignac is the all-time top scorer for Tigres and won the 2022 Clausura Golden Boot

Tigres star André-Pierre Gignac confirmed he is not vaccinated against Covid-19 after he was removed from the Liga MX roster for the 2022 MLS All-Star Game.

Gignac was initially named to the roster of Liga MX stars that will face the MLS All-Stars on August 10 in Minnesota, but he was removed from the roster due to what Liga MX called a “personal matter.”

Amid reports that personal matter related to his vaccination status, Gignac posted a confirmation that he is not vaccinated on his Instagram story on Wednesday.

“About the matter that has come up today, I want to clarify that I spoke with the board and asked them to respect this issue, which for me is a point of belief, education and something that comes from my childhood and my origin.

“I appreciate the support and respect for my decision on this issue, which is 100 percent personal.”

Gignac was replaced on the roster by Pumas striker Juan Dinenno.

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MLS names 26-player roster for 2022 All-Star Game

16 teams were represented, with NYCFC and LAFC leading the way with three players each

Several U.S. national team stars including Jesús Ferreira, Walker Zimmerman, Jordan Morris, DeAndre Yedlin, Sean Johnson and Paul Arriola were named to a 26-man MLS roster for the upcoming All-Star Game in Minnesota.

The MLS All-Stars will face a roster of stars from Liga MX on August 10 at at Allianz Field, home of Minnesota United.

A total of 16 MLS clubs were represented on the roster with Los Angeles FC (Carlos Vela, Ilie Sánchez, Diego Palacios) and New York City FC (Valentín “Taty” Castellanos, Johnson, Alexander Callens) tied for the most with three players apiece.

Castellanos, last season’s Golden Boot winner, currently leads the league in goals with 12, and is followed by fellow All-Stars Sebastián Driussi and Ferreira, who have 11 apiece.

The roster was chosen by fan, player, and media voting (12 players),  All-Star head coach Adrian Heath of host club Minnesota United (12 players), and two selections by MLS commissioner Don Garber, which were Johnson and CF Montréal defender Kamal Miller.

2022 MLS All-Star roster

Goalkeepers (3)

Andre Blake | Philadelphia Union

Sean Johnson | New York City FC

Dayne St. Clair | Minnesota United FC

Defenders (8)

Julián Araujo | LA Galaxy

Alexander Callens | New York City FC

Aaron Long | New York Red Bulls

Kamal Miller | CF Montréal

Diego Palacios | LAFC

Kai Wagner | Philadelphia Union

DeAndre Yedlin | Inter Miami CF

Walker Zimmerman | Nashville SC

Midfielders (7)

Luciano Acosta | FC Cincinnati

Sebastián Driussi | Austin FC

Carles Gil | New England Revolution

Hany Mukhtar | Nashville SC

Darlington Nagbe | Columbus Crew

Emanuel Reynoso | Minnesota United FC

Ilie Sánchez | LAFC

Forwards/Wingers (8)

Paul Arriola | FC Dallas

Valentín “Taty” Castellanos | New York City FC

Jesús Ferreira | FC Dallas

Taxiarchis “Taxi” Fountas | D.C. United

Javier “Chicharito” Hernández | LA Galaxy

Jordan Morris | Seattle Sounders FC

Raúl Ruidíaz | Seattle Sounders FC

Carlos Vela | LAFC

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2023 MLS All-Star Game to be played in Washington, D.C.

For the first time in nearly 20 years, the All-Star Game is in the District

The MLS 2023 All-Star Game will be played at Audi Field in Washington, D.C., with the league announcing the choice today at D.C. United’s home stadium.

News of MLS choosing Audi Field broke last week. The 2023 edition of the All-Star Game will be played on July 19, 2023, with the opponent not yet named.

“We are thrilled to bring the MLS All-Star Game and festivities back to Washington, D.C., a city with a rich soccer history, as well as a diverse and vibrant soccer culture,” MLS Commissioner Don Garber said in announcing the news. “D.C. United and the community have always held a special place in the hearts of everyone who believed in the power and growth of soccer in the U.S., and Audi Field will provide an incredible backdrop for next summer’s game.”

The District of Columbia has hosted the All-Star Game twice before, with the 2002 and 2004 games both being held at RFK Stadium. The 2023 version will be Audi Field’s first significant league-wide event since opening in July 2018. Previous big events at Audi Field include MLS and NWSL playoff games—the Washington Spirit also call the stadium home—and international friendlies.

The All-Star Game opponent in each of the last two seasons has been a Liga MX All-Star team, with the 2021 edition going to MLS on penalties. The 2022 All-Star Game will take place on August 10 at Allianz Field in Minneapolis.

The 2023 All-Star Game will cap off a full week of events in D.C., with MLS noting that the All-Star Skills Challenge will be part of the festivities along with community initiatives, concerts, and parties.

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Audi Field in Washington D.C. set to host 2023 MLS All-Star Game

It will be only the second time that Washington, D.C. has hosted the MLS All-Star Game

Audi Field in Washington, D.C. will host the 2023 MLS All-Star Game, sources have confirmed to Pro Soccer Wire.

The news was first reported by the Washington Post.

An official announcement of Audi Field hosting the match is expected next week.

For the city of Washington, D.C., it will be something of a consolation prize after its combined World Cup 2026 bid with Baltimore was rejected by FIFA this week when it named the 16 host cities for the tournament.

Washington, D.C. has hosted the MLS All-Star Game two times before, in 2002 when the MLS All-Stars took on the U.S. national team in the first and only iteration of the game in that format, and in 2004 when the Eastern Conference All-Stars faced the Western Conference.

After 15 years of MLS All-Star teams facing teams from Europe touring the U.S. during their preseason, the league changed format in 2021 to a match featuring all-star teams from MLS facing all-star teams from Liga MX. This year’s All-Star Game in Minnesota will be the second straight year of that format.

Audi Field opened in 2018, replacing RFK Stadium which had served as the home of D.C. United since the team’s inception in 1996.

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