Global diary
Games and dates to pencil in for the month ahead
Friday July 16
CONCACAF: The Gold Cup group stage continues, with Canada (12.30am), USA (2.30am) and Jamaica (11.30pm) all in action. AFRICA: The semi-finals of the COSAFA Cup – an international tournament for teams from Southern Africa – begin.
Saturday July 17
CONCACAF: In Group C at the Gold Cup, Suriname face Costa Rica at 1.30am.
Sunday July 18
CONCACAF: Group B concludes, with Canada v USA the standout fixture at 10pm, with Grenada v Qatar (12.30am) and Panama v Honduras (2.30am) taking place in the early hours of the morning. SOUTH AFRICA: The final of the COSAFA Cup kicks off at 4pm in Gqeberha, with the third-place play-off taking place three hours earlier. MOROCCO: Al Ahly of Egypt seek to defend their CAF Champions League crown, taking on South Africa’s Kaizer Chiefs in the final at Stade Mohammed V, Casablanca.
Monday July 19
CONCACAF: Late replacements Guatemala face Trinidad & Tobago while Mexico meet El Salvador in the final game of Group A.
Tuesday July 20
EUROPE: Two days of second round Champions League qualifiers begin, starting with Celtic v Midtjylland and PSV v Galatasaray. The second leg matches take place a week later. SOUTH AMERICA: The CONMEBOL club competitions reach crunch point, with second legs of both the Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana taking place over three days. In the former, Boca Juniors face
Atletico Mineiro, while Santos host Independiente in the latter.
Wednesday July 21
CONCACAF: The Gold Cup group stage concludes, with Costa Rica v Jamaica, Honduras v Qatar and Panama v Grenada. JAPAN: The Women’s Olympic football group stage gets underway, starting with Great Britain v Chile at 8.30am. Elsewhere, 2016 finalists Sweden meet 2012 winners USA (9.30am), hosts Japan face Canada (11.30pm), and Australia meet New Zealand (12.30pm).
Thursday July 22
JAPAN: In the Olympics, the Men’s competition begins, with Brazil v Germany (12.30pm) the standout fixture, while hosts Japan face South Africa at midday. EUROPE: The first legs of second round qualifiers for the new Europa Conference League take place, with the likes of FCSB, Maccabi Tel Aviv, CSKA Sofia, Feyenoord, Partizan Belgrade, Basel and Aberdeen involved.
Saturday 24 July
JAPAN: The Women’s Olympics continues, with Team GB v Japan the standout fixture at 11.30am, followed by Netherlands v Brazil.
Sunday July 25
CONCACAF: The State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, hosts the first two CONCACAF Gold Cup quarter-finals, at 12.30am and 3am. JAPAN: The second round of group stage fixtures in the Men’s Olympics begins with Egypt v Argentina at 8.30am. SCOTLAND: The final game of the Scottish League Cup group stage sees Hearts host Inverness Caledonian Thistle at 5.15pm.
Monday July 26
CONCACAF: The third and fourth Gold Cup quarter-final matches take place at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Tuesday July 27
JAPAN: The Women’s Olympics tournament continues, with USA v Australia (9am), Canada v Great Britain (midday), and Brazil v Zambia (12.30pm) among the final group games.
Wednesday July 28
JAPAN: The Men’s Olympic football group stage concludes, with games including Spain v
Argentina (midday) and France v Japan (12.30pm).
Friday July 30
CONCACAF: The two Gold Cup semi-finals take place, one at the Q2 Stadium in Austin, the other at the NRG Stadium, Houston. JAPAN: The four Women’s Olympics quarter-final ties take place, with the first match at 9am.
Saturday July 31
JAPAN: The Men’s Olympics quarter-finals also begin at 9am. SCOTLAND: The 2021-22 Scottish Premiership season begins, starting with holders Rangers hosting Livingston at 1.30pm, while Celtic’s campaign begins at Hearts at 8pm. FRANCE: The first silverware of the season is handed out in the Champions’ Trophy final between Ligue 1 champions Lille and French Cup winners PSG.
Monday August 2
CONCACAF: The kings of North and Central America will be crowned in the CONCACAF Gold Cup final at the Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada. JAPAN: The two Women’s Olympic semi-finals take place at 9am and midday, with the Men’s games kicking off at the same time the following day.
Thursday August 5
JAPAN: The three final days of Olympics football begins. Firstly it’s the Women’s bronze medal match, with the final taking place the following day ahead of the Men’s third-place game. The Men’s gold medal match takes place on August 7.