LOS ANGELES — Apparently it is possible to have too much of a good thing. Because with the conclusion of the CONCACAF Nations League on Sunday in Las Vegas and the kickoff of the Gold Cup coming up Saturday in Chicago, we're entering a summer of soccer in the U.S. that is far too crowded.
The three-week-long Gold Cup will feature 16 countries playing 31 games in 15 venues. That will end the same week the Leagues Cup, a month-long, 77-match tournament involving the 47 MLS and Liga MX teams, begins. In addition, two dozen European and South American teams will play a series of 34 friendlies across the U.S. in July and early August while in Australia and New Zealand, the Women's World Cup — with 32 teams and 64 games, the largest ever — will be held. The U.S. is the two-time defending champion.
And that schedule doesn't include the more than 200 NWSL and MLS regular-season matches that will be played between Saturday and the end of September.
