2012 World Football Challenge
World Football Challenge
Tournament details
CountryCanada
United States
Teams11 (from 2 confederations)
Final positions
ChampionsSpain Real Madrid
Runner-upn/a
Tournament statistics
Matches played9
Goals scored30 (3.33 per match)
Attendance304,285 (33,809 per match)
Top goal scorer(s)Spain José Callejón
(3 goals)
← 2011

The 2012 World Football Challenge was the third World Football Challenge event, a series of friendly soccer matches played in the United States and Canada in July and August. The series opened on July 18.[1] The opening match was between the Seattle Sounders FC of Major League Soccer (MLS) and Chelsea of the English Premier League, which Chelsea won 4–2.[2] Real Madrid, who had won the equivalent tournament the previous year, were the only team to win all their matches in normal play.

Participants

The following eleven clubs took part in the 2012 World Football Challenge.

Nation Team Location Confederation Professional League Notes
 Scotland Celtic Glasgow, Scotland UEFA Scottish Premier League 2011–12 Scottish Premier League champions
 England Chelsea London, England UEFA Premier League 2012 FA Cup and 2011–12 UEFA Champions League winners
 United States D.C. United Washington, D.C. CONCACAF Major League Soccer 4-time MLS Cup Champions
 Mexico Santos Laguna Torreón, Mexico CONCACAF Liga MX 2011–12 Mexican Primera División Clausura champions
 England Liverpool Liverpool, England UEFA Premier League 2012 Football League Cup winners
 United States Los Angeles Galaxy Los Angeles, California CONCACAF Major League Soccer 2011 MLS Cup champions
 Italy Milan Milan, Italy UEFA Serie A 18-time Serie A champions
 France Paris Saint-Germain Paris, France UEFA Ligue 1 Ligue 1 runners-up
 Spain Real Madrid Madrid, Spain UEFA La Liga 2011–12 La Liga champions
 United States Seattle Sounders FC Seattle, Washington CONCACAF Major League Soccer 2011 U.S. Open Cup winners
 Canada Toronto FC Toronto, Ontario CONCACAF Major League Soccer 2012 Canadian Championship champions

Venues

Eight venues were selected for the 2012 World Football Challenge.

Carson, California Miami, Florida Whitney, Nevada The Bronx, New York City
The Home Depot Center Sun Life Stadium Sam Boyd Stadium Yankee Stadium
Capacity: 27,000 Capacity: 74,918 Capacity: 36,800 Capacity: 52,325
Toronto, Ontario Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Seattle, Washington Washington, D.C.
Rogers Centre Lincoln Financial Field CenturyLink Field RFK Stadium
Capacity: 49,808 Capacity: 67,594 Capacity: 67,000 Capacity: 56,692

Matches

All times are in the EDT time zone (UTC-4) (Local Times in parentheses).[3]
Seattle Sounders FC2–4Chelsea
Montero 14', 32' Report Lukaku 3', 44'
Hazard 11'
Marin 40'
CenturyLink Field, Seattle
Attendance: 53,309
Referee: Ricardo Salazar (California)
Toronto FC1–1Liverpool
Amarikwa 58' Report Morgan 69'
Rogers Centre, Toronto
Attendance: 33,087
Referee: Paul Ward (Vancouver)
Chelsea1–1Paris Saint-Germain
Piazon 82' Report Nenê 30'
Yankee Stadium, New York
Attendance: 38,202
Referee: Edvin Jurisevic (Nebraska)
Chelsea0–1Milan
Report Emanuelson 68'
Sun Life Stadium, Miami Gardens
Attendance: 57,748
Referee: Ricardo Salazar (California)
D.C. United1–1Paris Saint-Germain
De Rosario 33' (pen.) Report Ibrahimović 3'
RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C.
Attendance: 13,176
Referee: John McCloskey (Delaware)
Los Angeles Galaxy1–5Real Madrid
Lopes 23' Report Higuaín 2'
Di María 11'
Callejón 36'
Morata 49'
Jesé 84'
The Home Depot Center, Carson
Attendance: 30,317
Referee: Ricardo Salazar (California)
Real Madrid2–1Santos Laguna
Alonso 14'
Khedira 72'		 Report Suárez 25'
Sam Boyd Stadium, Whitney, Nevada
Attendance: 29,152
Referee: Baldomero Toledo (California)
Real Madrid5–1Milan
Di María 24'
Ronaldo 49', 66'
Ramos 81'
Callejón 89'		 Report Robinho 33'
Yankee Stadium, New York
Attendance: 49,474
Referee: Jair Marrufo (Texas)
Real Madrid2–0Celtic
Callejón 22'
Benzema 67'		 Report
Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia
Attendance: 34,018
Referee: Sorin Stoica

Summary of results

Team Pld W D L GF GA
Celtic 1 0 0 1 0 2
Chelsea 3 1 1 1 5 4
D.C. United 1 0 1 0 1 1
Liverpool 1 0 1 0 1 1
Los Angeles Galaxy 1 0 0 1 1 5
Milan 2 1 0 1 2 5
Paris Saint-Germain 2 0 2 0 2 2
Real Madrid 4 4 0 0 14 3
Santos Laguna 1 0 0 1 1 2
Seattle Sounders FC 1 0 0 1 2 4
Toronto FC 1 0 1 0 1 1

Top goalscorers

As of August 11, 2012.
Rank Name Team Goals
1 Spain José Callejón Real Madrid 3
2 Belgium Romelu Lukaku Chelsea 2
Argentina Ángel Di María Real Madrid 2
Colombia Fredy Montero Seattle Sounders FC 2
Portugal Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid 2
6 Spain Xabi Alonso Real Madrid 1
United States Quincy Amarikwa Toronto FC 1
France Karim Benzema Real Madrid 1
Netherlands Urby Emanuelson Milan 1
Belgium Eden Hazard Chelsea 1
Argentina Gonzalo Higuaín Real Madrid 1
Sweden Zlatan Ibrahimović Paris Saint-Germain 1
Spain Jesé Real Madrid 1
Germany Sami Khedira Real Madrid 1
Brazil David Lopes Los Angeles Galaxy 1
Germany Marko Marin Chelsea 1
Spain Álvaro Morata Real Madrid 1
England Adam Morgan Liverpool 1
Brazil Nenê Paris Saint-Germain 1
Brazil Lucas Piazon Chelsea 1
Spain Sergio Ramos Real Madrid 1
Brazil Robinho Milan 1
Canada Dwayne De Rosario D.C. United 1
Ecuador Christian Suárez Santos Laguna 1

References

  1. ^ Borg, Simon (April 24, 2012). "WFC: 2012 World Football Challenge kicks off July 18". MLS. MLSSoccer.com. Archived from the original on June 17, 2015. Retrieved April 24, 2012.
  2. ^ Borg, Simon. "WFC: Sounders to host English giants Chelsea on July 18". MLS. MLSSoccer.com. Archived from the original on May 11, 2012. Retrieved April 24, 2012.
  3. ^ "World Football Challenge Schedule". MLS. Major League Soccer. Archived from the original on May 27, 2015. Retrieved July 18, 2012.

External links

World Football Challenge
Friendly association football tournaments in 2012
International men's club football competitions
2012 in American soccer
2012 in Canadian soccer
Categories