Editor's note: This story was updated July 21 with Chicago Fire joining Group B and the adjusted schedules.
Major League Soccer returns with a tournament at the ESPN Wide World of Sports at Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida. Each team will play 3 matches over the course of 16 days. The games will run at 9 am, 8 pm and 10:30 pm EDT.
Toronto FC and the Montréal Impact are in Group C along with New England Revolution and DC United. The Vancouver Whitecaps are in Group B in the Western Conference with fellow Cascadia Cup team Seattle Sounders along with FC Dallas and San Jose Earthquakes. Toronto FC, by being one of the top semifinalists in the 2019 MLS Cup Playoffs, is the top seed in Group C.
The status of Group B is up in the air with the withdrawal of FC Dallas after 10 players and a coach tested positive for COVID-19. Toronto FC arrived later than expected in Orlando; MLS pushed back the debut with a 2-day delay in the first game for the Reds.
The top two teams from each group along with the 4 best third-place finishers will move on to the knockout stage. The tiebreakers in order are: points, goal differential, goals scored, and fewest disciplinary points.
The tournament winner will earn a spot in the 2021 Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League; the Canadian Championship winner also qualifies. If a Canadian team wins the tournament, the League battle could be all-Canadian.
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MLS says all games will be televised. Canadian teams weren't scheduled on U.S. television for 2020. Literally took a %$#%$ pandemic for Toronto FC, a 2019 MLS Cup finalist, to be on U.S. television.
ESPN made sure to not carry any Montréal or Vancouver games. ESPN is carrying both Toronto games that don't involve Montréal with ESPN2 carrying the first game due to rescheduling. Fox isn't carrying any of the Canadian teams. TUDN will have the rest of the games in the United States. TUDN is offering an English language version on its Twitter feed. The SAP audio feed should provide English language audio during the game only. TSN has all the games in English in Canada with TVA Sports carrying all the Impact games in French.
Toronto was only scheduled to play an early morning game on July 21. The original July 10 game was moved to the morning on July 12.
The game shifts reminded of the line in Kentucky Fried Movie — "Rams plagued by fumbles as earthquakes rock Los Angeles. Film at 11." The word cluster[bleep] doesn't come close to what is happening. The Group B teams are at a heavy disadvantage with one fewer game; Vancouver is at a bigger disadvantage since the other Group B teams will have game action before the Whitecaps are on the pitch. Toronto FC only has 2 off days in between its first and second games.
MLS should have allowed for more time in between in case of these scenarios. If the Vancouver Whitecaps get a 3rd opponent, we will update this story.
Chicago Fire FC has been added to Group B with the schedules adjusted accordingly. The July 19 game will appear on Fox Sports 1. The July 23 game will appear on ESPN. The July 16 game reportedly will be on Fox Sports 1. ESPN2 has added the July 21 Montréal game.
July 9
8p Montréal vs. New England
10:30p FC Dallas vs. Vancouver FC
July 10
8p Toronto FC vs. D.C. United
July 1312
9a Toronto FC vs. D.C. United
July 15
8p Montréal vs. Toronto FC
9p10:30p Vancouver FC vs. San Jose
July 16
8p Montréal vs. Toronto FC
July 1920
10:30p Seattle FC vs. Vancouver FC
July 21
9a Toronto FC vs. New England
10:30p Montréal vs. D.C. United
July 23
9a Chicago Fire vs. Vancouver FC
Those looking forward to O Canada, even in Orlando, should know that MLS isn't allowing any national anthem before games.
The incentives beyond the 3 games are a spot in the CONCACAF Champions League championship and the $1.1 million prize pool. Only the 3 tournament games count toward regular season points. Toronto FC and Montréal have 4 points with 1-0-1 records while the Vancouver Whitecaps have 3 points with a 1-1-0 record.
The tournament final is August 11. MLS says the regular season will resume at the tournament in local stadiums. Canadian teams won't be able to play at home as long as the 14-day quarantine remains in Canada. This assumes action can resume in local stadiums after the tournament.
logo credit: MLS
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