The 2011 World Football Challenge was the second World Football Challenge event, a series of friendly association football matches played in Canada and the United States in July and August.

Participants The 2011 tournament increased in scale from the 2009 incarnation, bringing in thirteen teams from seven countries. All the teams were either members of the UEFA or CONCACAF confederations. The field was highlighted by Spanish league and European champions Barcelona and English champion Manchester United. América was the only team that returned from the 2009 competition.

This tournament for the first time also included five teams from Major League Soccer, the top-flight league for the host countries, Canada and United States. As another first, there were games played outside the United States, at Empire Field in Vancouver, British Columbia and BMO Field in Toronto, Ontario (both in Canada).

North American clubs that competed in 2011 included Chicago Fire, Guadalajara, América, Los Angeles Galaxy, New England Revolution, Philadelphia Union, and Vancouver Whitecaps FC.

Four representatives from Europe's top leagues of England and Spain, all of whom won their country's blue ribbon competitions in the 2010–11 season joined the North American clubs, those being: Spanish and European champions Barcelona, FA Cup winners Manchester City, Premier League champions Manchester United and Copa del Rey winners Real Madrid.

Team Location Confederation Professional League Notes Manchester United Manchester UEFA Premier League 2010–11 Premier League champions New England Revolution Foxborough CONCACAF Major League Soccer 2010 North American SuperLiga runner-up Real Madrid Madrid UEFA La Liga 2010–11 Copa del Rey holders Los Angeles Galaxy Los Angeles CONCACAF Major League Soccer 2010 MLS Supporters' Shield holders América Mexico City CONCACAF Primera División 2011 Primera División de México Clausura Liguilla quarter-finalists Manchester City Manchester UEFA Premier League 2010–11 FA Cup holders Vancouver Whitecaps FC Vancouver CONCACAF Major League Soccer 2011 Canadian Championship runner-up Guadalajara Zapopan CONCACAF Primera División 2011 Primera División de México Clausura Liguilla semi-finalists Chicago Fire Chicago CONCACAF Major League Soccer 2009 North American SuperLiga runner-up Philadelphia Union Chester CONCACAF Major League Soccer Juventus Turin UEFA Serie A Barcelona Barcelona UEFA La Liga 2010–11 La Liga and 2010–11 UEFA Champions League winners Sporting CP Lisbon UEFA Primeira Liga

Venues

Vancouver, British Columbia Toronto, OntarioEmpire Field BMO FieldCapacity: 27,528 Capacity: 21,566

Foxborough, Massachusetts San Francisco, California Los Angeles, California San Diego, CaliforniaChicago, IllinoisGillette Stadium AT&T Park Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Qualcomm StadiumSoldier FieldCapacity: 68,756 Capacity: 41,915 Capacity: 93,607 Capacity: 70,561Capacity: 61,500Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaCarson, CaliforniaLincoln Financial FieldThe Home Depot CenterCapacity: 69,144Capacity: 27,000New York, New YorkRaleigh, North CarolinaLandover, Maryland Miami Gardens, FloridaArlington, TexasCiti FieldCarter–Finley StadiumFedExFieldSun Life StadiumCowboys StadiumCapacity: 45,000Capacity: 57,583Capacity: 82,000Capacity: 75,192Capacity: 80,000

Event rules The event rules differed considerably from the 2009 event, due to differences in the number of teams.

Match rules Match rules followed the Laws of the Game, with a few notable exceptions. In the event of a tie after the regulation 90 minutes, a penalty shootout immediately followed. These penalties did not accrue points in the table as a regulation goal or penalty would. Cautions and sending offs did not carry into the next competitive game, however, a player may have been suspended for their club's next WFC match. Teams had a roster of 25 players, and clubs were able to substitute eleven players during the course of the match rather than the standard three.

Table setup The format was a single table, accruing points as follows: Three points for a regulation victory Two points for a penalty shootout victory One point for a penalty shootout loss No points for a regulation loss One point for each goal scored (up to three per match) Sporting CP, who played only one game, did not accrue points, but their opponent, Juventus, were able to in their matchup. The five Major League Soccer teams were split up into two different "clubs" for the purposes of the table, the MLS Eastern Conference (containing the Chicago Fire, New England Revolution, and Philadelphia Union), and the MLS Western Conference (containing the Los Angeles Galaxy, who played two games, and the Vancouver Whitecaps FC). Each of the other seven clubs played three games and accrued points as normal.

Table tiebreakers In the event of a tie in the final table standings, the following tiebreakers were used in order: Regulation goal difference Most goals for in regulation Fewest goals against in regulation Most goals scored in regulation in one match Drawing of lots

Standings

Matches All times are in the EDT time zone (UTC−4) (Local Times in parentheses).

Top goalscorers RankNameTeamGoals1 Cristiano RonaldoReal Madrid42 José CallejónReal Madrid2 Yannick DjalóSporting2 Marco FabiánGuadalajara2 Federico MachedaManchester United2 NaniManchester United2 Michael OwenManchester United2 David VillaBarcelona2 Shaun Wright-PhillipsManchester City210 Mario BalotelliManchester City1 Karim BenzemaReal Madrid1 Giovani CasillasGuadalajara1 Adam CristmanLos Angeles Galaxy1 Alessandro Del PieroJuventus1 Michael FarfanPhiladelphia Union1 Cory GibbsChicago Fire1 John GuidettiManchester City1 Park Ji-sungManchester United1 JoseluReal Madrid1 Seydou KeitaBarcelona1 Mike MageeLos Angeles Galaxy1 Kenny MansallyNew England Revolution1 Ryan McGivernManchester City1 Mesut ÖzilReal Madrid1 Cristian PasquatoJuventus1 Fabio QuagliarellaJuventus1 RafaelManchester United1 Wayne RooneyManchester United1 Camilo SanvezzoVancouver Whitecaps FC1 ThiagoBarcelona1 José VerduzcoGuadalajara1

Media coverage Country / Region Broadcaster Matches Arab World

Al Jazeera Sports All Real Madrid and Manchester United matches Sport 2 All Manchester United matches Sport 5 All Real Madrid matches Sportitalia All Real Madrid matches TV 2 Premier League HD 1 All Real Madrid and Manchester United matches ESPN All MUTV All Manchester United matches

References

External links