Got a few friends over to the house for a World Cup finals viewing party? Going to your favorite local tasting room for more of a raucous cheering section?
How about spending the event in the midst of thousands of other World Cup worshippers?
North Park Main Street is joining with SoccerCitySD, A7D Creative Group, VAVi Sports, and Cox Communications to host the largest outdoor viewing party of the FIFA World Cup championship match on the West Coast on Sunday, July 15.
The giant viewing party will get a kick-start at 7 a.m., with the championship game between France and Croatia commencing at 8 a.m.
Cox Communications will provide two massive jumbotrons to show the game.
A beer garden for fans 21 years and older will be available as will a special family zone for those under 21.
All soccer fans will leave winners courtesy of an after-party fan zone with a live from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Surrounding North Park restaurants and craft beer destinations will keep the party going throughout the day.
The 2014 FIFA World Cup viewing party hosted more than 10,000 locals, so fans are advised to reserve their spots early on July 15 and bring a beach chair for a seat. The FIFA World Cup viewing party is located on 30th Street and University Avenue in North Park. For more information, visit: www.explorenorthpark.com or join the conversation on Facebook.
Great indoors
The 14-time champion San Diego Sockers, in conjunction with the Pendry Hotel San Diego, are hosting the 2018 World Cup Final Viewing Party on Sunday, July 15, starting at 7:30 a.m. (kickoff 8 a.m.). The party will be hosted at Nason’s Beer Hall located in downtown San Diego at 570 J Street inside the Pendry Hotel.
Admission is free for fans of all ages to attend. Parking should bean easy fix with parking lots nearby at a rate of only $1 an hour. The closest parking lot is the Park It On Market garage on the corner of Sixth and Market.
England will meet Belgium in the 2018 FIFA World Cup third place game on Friday, July 14. Game time is 7 a.m. PT. Check TV listings for channel.
Para 7-a-side
U.S. Soccer will host a three-nation para seven-a-side invitational from July 19-21 at the Chula Vista Elite Athlete Training Center. The 2018 Tri-Nation International Challenge schedule features a round-robin format pitting the Paralympic national teams of the United States against Australia on July 19, Australia against Canada on July 20 and the United States against Canada on July 21.
All matches begin at 5 p.m. and are open to the public (guests can access the games through the main facility entrance at 2800 Olympic Parkway). Additional information on the U.S. Paralympic National Team and its tournament preparation is available on Twitter @ussoccer_pnt.
The upcoming tournament will be the first outing for Team USA under new player eligibility rules for Para 7-a-side soccer that were officially communicated in January.
U.S. Paralympic National Team head coach Stuart Sharp will use the event at the Chula Vista training facility as part of his team’s preparation for the 2018 International Federation of Cerebral Palsy Football Copa America Oct. 12-21 in Natal, Brazil.
“Organizing these games at this time will be extremely beneficial for us to test ourselves against international competition ahead of the Copa America in October,” Sharp explained. “We’ve recruited quite a few new players and have created a completely different game model from what we’ve been using across the past four years.
“Both Canada and Australia will provide a very different style of opponent, and this will be key to the preparation of the squad moving forward. The players are feeling confident about what is in front of them in the coming months and are eager to get out on the field in what will be the first international competition for most of them since we finished fifth at last year’s world championships in Argentina.”
San Diegans Mason Abbiate and David Garza were members of the U.S. squad that placed fifth at the 2017 IFCPF World Championships.
The USA finished seventh at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Paralympic Games.
One and done
Albion Soccer Club (ASC) San Diego dropped last Saturday’s West Region quarterfinal playoff match, 3-1, to visiting FC Orange County to suffer early elimination from this year’s National Premier Soccer League post-season tournament.
Amani Walker gave ASC San Diego a 1-0 lead with a goal in the 51st minute, converting a low short to the far post. However, the visitors responded with three unanswered goals over the duration of the match to claim the playoff win.
FC Orange County scored on a deflected shot by Jose Montes De Oca to tie the game in the 55th minute. Shortly after that, Daniel Crisostomo converted a penalty kick to put the visitors ahead 2-1.
ASC San Diego had a chance to tie the match but Orange County goalkeeper Hugo Gomez stopped Walker on a PK attempt.
The visitors finally put a cap on the San Diego team’s season with a goal in the 84th minute by Dakota Collins.
FC Orange County, which is coached by former U.S. international Paul Caligiuri, advances to meet FC Golden State in a semifinal-round regional match on Sunday, July 15, at 7 p.m. at Rio Hondo College.
FC Golden State eliminated CD Aguiluchos, 4-2, in a game played last Sunday at Rio Hondo College.
Bonita Vista High School alumnus Luis Cardona started last Saturday’s playoff match for ASCSan Diego and played 78 minutes while Castle Park High School alumnus Felipe Liborio logged 31 minutes in a reserve role.
Still getting their kicks
The 2018 U.S. Adult Soccer Association National Amateur Cup is down to four teams with all four regional winners now having been decided.
Semifinals will be played Aug. 3 with the third place and championship games played Aug. 4 at the Bavarian Soccer Club complex in Milwaukee, Wis.
Cal South’s San Nicolas (Region IV champion) will meet Wisconsin’s Bavarian Soccer Club (Region II champion) in one semifinal while Eastern Pennsylvania’s West Chester United (Region I champion) will meet Florida’s Kickers FC (Region III champion) in another semifinal.
All the games will also be streamed on USASA’s Mycujoo page.
Chula Vista FC defeated San Nicolas, 2-1, last April to win the Cal South championship. However, FC Chula Vista was unable to advance in the regional playoffs while San Nicolas won its two matches to qualify for the national championship finals.
Cal State Games
Southwestern College will serve as the venue for this weekend’s California State Games soccer tournament. Games are scheduled Saturday and Sunday, July 14-15.
Teams include boys 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 207 birth years and girls 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 birth years.
For more schedules, visit the website at www.calstategames.org.
World Cup Russia 2018
Group Stage
(Win/Tie/Loss/Points)
Group A
Uruguay 3-0-0 (9 points); Russia 2-0-1 (6 points); Saudi Arabia 1-0-2 (3 points); Egypt 0-0-3 (0 points)
Group B
Spain 1-2-0 (5 points); Portugal 1-2-0 (5 points); Iran 1-1-1 (4 points); Morocco 0-1-2 (1 point)
Group C
France 2-1-0 (7 points); Denmark 1-2-0 (5 points); Peru 1-0-2 (3 points); Australia 0-1-2 (1 point)
Group D
Croatia 3-0-0 (9 points); Argentina 1-1-1 (4 points); Nigeria 1-0-2 (3 points); Iceland 0-1-2 (1 point)
Group E
Brazil 2-1-0 (7 points); Switzerland 1-2-0 (5 points); Serbia 1-0-2 (3 points); Costa Rica 0-1-2 (1 point)
Group F
Sweden 2-0-1 (6 points); Mexico 2-0-1 (6 points); South Korea 1-0-2 (3 points); Germany 1-0-2 (3 points)
Group G
Belgium 3-0-0 (9 points); England 2-0-1 (6 points); Tunisia 1-0-2 (3 points); Panama 0-0-3 (0 points)
Group H
Colombia 2-0-1 (6 points); Japan 1-1-1 (4 points); Senegal 1-1-1 (4 points); Poland 1-0-2 (3 points)
Knockout Stage
Round of Sixteen
Uruguay 2, Portugal 1
France 4, Argentina 3
Russia 1, Spain 1 (Russia wins 4-3 on KFM)
Croatia 1, Denmark 1 (Croatia wins 3-2 on KFM)
Brazil 2, Mexico
Belgium 3, Japan 2
Sweden 1, Switzerland 0
Colombia 1, England 1 (England wins 4-3 on KFM)
Quarterfinals Stage
France 2, Uruguay 0
Belgium 2, Brazil 1
Russia 2, Croatia 2 (Croatia wins 4-3 on KFM)
England 2, Sweden 0
Semifinal Stage
France 1, Belgium 0
Croatia 2, England 1 (extra time)
Third-Place Match
Belgium 2, England 0
Championship Match
France 4, Croatia 2
