Most of the biggest soccer stars in the world unfortunately only play their competitive games in Europe, giving U.S citizens little wiggle room to catch a glimpse of them live. They do come to the U.S for summer friendlies at time and those matches are exactly what they seem, with stars basically walking through the pitch going through the motions, playing only 45 minutes at most.

However this summer is the first real chance to catch some of the game’s biggest stars live on US soil in a competitive match since the U.S hosted the World Cup in 1994. Some of the players include four-time Ballon D’or (winner who many consider the best to ever grace the pitch) Lionel Messi and Argentina. Also competing in the competition are superstar teammate and Brazilian striker (who is poised to be the next world’s number 1) Neymar, and Uruguayan and Barcelona striker Luis Suarez.

Messi and Argentina will come equipped with a quad riddled with superstars such as former Real Madrid winger Angel Di Maria and Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero. This squad got them to the World Cup Final in 2014 only to fall to the hands of Germany in extra time. This however earned them the #2 ranking in the world.

Neymar will lead a Brazil team that is as deep in talent as it has been in a while. With the likes of Philippe Coutinho of Liverpool, Douglas Costa of Bayern Munich, and Thiago Silva of PSG the Brazilian squad proves to be a formidable squad. Brazil and Argentina the clear cut favorites should expected to be challenged by Colombia and Madrid star James Rodriguez, Uruguay and Suarez, and Chile with Alexis Sánchez. The US and Mexico also make up two of the 16 teams in the tournament with ten from South America, four from North America, and two wildcard spots from Central America and the Virgin Islands.

Seattle will host three matches an unannounced group stage game, a group stage game featuring Argentina and a Quarterfinal. You cannot buy single game tickets, only venue passes are available and they are selling out fast. The expected audience and attention for year’s event are expected to reach levels of the 2014 World Cup surely because this event is being played on home soil. With the star power of Messi and Neymar who are two of the top five sports figures in the world both boasting well over 100 million followers on their social media networks. This will all help grow the game and for that soccer fans around the U.S are excited. Try to catch a game or two, you might be pleasantly surprised.

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