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Snapdragon Stadium continues to establish itself as a premier international soccer venue, with plans to host a CONCACAF Gold Cup semi-final on July 12 and Manchester United in a pre-season exhibition two weeks later.

The Gold Cup officially announced SoFi Stadium in Inglewood last fall as the venue for the July 16 final of the biennial men’s national team championship in the CONCACAF region, which spans North America, Central America and the Caribbean. Multiple sources have told the Union-Tribune that one of the semifinals four days earlier will be on Snapdragon, though we’ll likely have to wait until the April 14 draw to find out if it will be on the American or Mexican side.

Man United’s visit is part of their return to North America for a pre-season tour after a five-year absence. It is the eighth time in the last two decades that the legendary British club has come to the United States for pre-season, although not all of them have been to the West Coast. Last summer he went to Thailand and Australia.

The opponent for the late July game (Wednesday 26 July is the most likely date): Wrexham FC from Wales.

Considered the third-oldest professional football club in the world, Wrexham plays in Britain’s fifth division, but enjoys enormous popularity after Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney bought it two years ago and agreed to film a series. documentary about your property. Wrexham reached the fourth round of the FA Cup this year before being knocked out by Sheffield United and trying to win promotion to League Two, the fourth division.

Given Wrexham’s lower form, it’s unclear if Man United will be playing their stars in the Snapdragon game or a B-team of youngsters. The matchup was reported by various media outlets on Saturday and an official announcement with details on ticket availability is expected in the coming weeks.

It won’t be the first men’s professional soccer game on Snapdragon. That distinction belongs to the Xolos de Tijuana and Club América of Mexico’s Liga MX, who have scheduled a showing on March 26 at 2 pm with tickets priced between $40 and $120.

The San Diego Wave of the National Women’s Soccer League played a few games there last year and will call Snapdragon home for the 2023 season beginning March 25.

The Gold Cup has been held in San Diego several times, at Qualcomm Stadium before it was razed to make way for the 35,000-capacity Snapdragon. This edition of the tournament will feature 15 CONCACAF national teams plus guest entrant Qatar. Group play is June 24-July 4, followed by single-elimination quarterfinals on July 8-9.

The United States and Mexico have met in the last seven of the 16 Golf Cups, but never in the semifinals since the inaugural tournament in 1991. And don’t expect it to happen in all 17.^he edition. That’s because the organizers purposely organize the groups rather than conduct a blind draw that could result in the region’s two giants playing before the final.