Orlando Sentinel

Preview of Real Madrid vs. Juventus matchup at Camping World Stadium tonight,

Real Madrid and Juventus will play in Champions Tour

- By Sophia Vesely

Camping World Stadium will host soccer giants Real Madrid CF and Juventus tonight for the final match of the Soccer Champions Tour, bringing their iconic, world-class brands to Central Florida.

Kickoff is 7:30 p.m., and the game will air on ESPN+.

The Soccer Champions Tour, which began July 22, features six of the world’s most decorated clubs in eight games across the U.S.

“It will be such a pleasure to welcome Real Madrid and Juventus, two of the world’s most historic and successful soccer clubs, to Orange County,” said Orange County Mayor Jerry L. Demings via statement.

Juventus, founded in 1897, is Italy’s second-oldest and most successful team with 36 Italian league championsh­ips. The Serie A club was the first European team to win all three major Union of European Football Associatio­ns competitio­ns: Europa League (1977), Winner’s Cup (1984) and Champions League (1985).

Real Madrid CF competes in Spain’s top soccer league, La Liga. In 2000, FIFA named Real Madrid the greatest club of the 20th century, with eight Champions League titles and two Interconti­nental Cups. In 2022, Real Madrid won its 14th Champions League title, the fifth in nine seasons, to extend the world record.

England’s Arsenal and Manchester United, Spain’s FC Barcelona and Italy’s AC Milan also competed in the Soccer Champions Tour at stadiums in Dallas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston and Las Vegas.

The series, in its inaugural year, marks the first time these six clubs will play against each other on American soil. The tour plans to bring women’s profession­al club matches and elite youth academy competitio­ns to America in years to come.

“It is very gratifying to see the love and passion of the people here for Real Madrid,” Rodrygo, the team’s forward, told the Sentinel. “It is always very nice to come to play in this country.”

The exhibition match last July between English Premier League teams Arsenal and Chelsea, 4-0, set the Camping World Stadium’s soccer attendance record with 63,811. The stadium hopes to break it this year, with a capacity of more than 65,000 for Wednesday’s game.

This will be the 25th meeting between Real Madrid and Juventus, and each their first time in Orange County. The Spanish side leads the all-time series, 12-10-2.

“We have never played in Orlando, and this makes us especially excited,” added Rodrygo. “I’m sure our fans here are just as loving as they are in other parts of the USA. Perhaps we can spend more time in this beautiful city.”

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