Liverpool Football Club announced Tuesday it will play Borussia Dortmund, a German team, July 19 at Notre Dame Stadium. The game — which marks the opening of a three-game preseason tour through the United States for the Reds — will be the first soccer match held in the stadium.
Following the opening matchup in South Bend, the club will travel to Fenway Park and Yankee Stadium to conclude their tour, taking on Sevilla FC and Sporting CP, respectively.
“This is a perfect event for Notre Dame in that it combines iconic sport brands, celebrates a sport that is of great importance to us — as evidenced by our four NCAA soccer titles — and addresses the growing international reach of our University,” Jack Swarbrick, the Notre Dame athletics director, said in a press release Tuesday. “We look forward to hosting Liverpool F.C. and invite its fans from throughout North America and the world to visit us for the match against Dortmund.”
Liverpool has celebrated a rich history of success throughout its 126 seasons. Recently, they‘ve dominated the English Premier League, along with Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United, to make up the “top four,” a tier of teams that have led the league over the past two decades.
This season, they sit atop the league standings with 88 points — two points and one game ahead of their nearest competitor, Manchester City — with only three league games remaining, all of which are against teams in the bottom half of the standings. In addition to their Premier League schedule, Liverpool has advanced to the Champions League semifinals, having topped FC Porto — a club hailing from the Portuguese Primeira Liga — on April 17. They will now take on Barcelona in a two-game series starting May 1, first on the road before returning to host. The team with the highest number of aggregate goals will advance to the finals to take on the winner of the series between fellow-Premier League team Tottenham Hotspur and Dutch club Ajax. The finals will be held June 1 in Madrid at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium.
Meanwhile, Dortmund currently sits in second place within the German league, Bundesliga. They toured the United States last year as participants in the 2018 International Champions Cup, ultimately being named runner-up to Tottenham following a tie-breaking loss on goal differentials. They once again saw their tournament run cut short at the hands of Tottenham, when they lost both legs of that matchup in the Round of 16.
Although Liverpool is led by forwards Mo Salah and Sadio Mané and defender Virgil van Dijk, the U.S. Tour is not expected to feature much of the club‘s starting lineup. Traditionally, these international friendlies have served to provide exposure and opportunities for reserve players and access to the teams for fans from America.
Kickoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. Tickets for the game in South Bend will go on sale Friday at 10 a.m.
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