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A Guide To Women's World Cup, Gold Cup And All The Best International Soccer Happening This Summer

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With the club soccer season almost over, it's time to begin looking forward to the summer and the slew of international tournaments to come. The FIFA Women's World Cup and CONCACAF Gold Cup will be the main attractions for American fans, as the U.S. women's national team and U.S. men's national team try to claim gold in their respective competitions. But there's also a handful of other top-tier international tournaments to enjoy, from the CONMEBOL Copa América to the UEFA Nations League Finals to the CAF Africa Cup of Nations. Soccer fans, you're about to be spoiled

(All broadcasters listed below are for U.S. TV only.)

FIFA Women's World Cup

Host: France

Dates: June 7 - July 7

TV: FOX, FS1, Telemundo, Universo

Format: The premier tournament of this summer begins with six groups of four teams from around the world. The top-two finishers in each group will automatically advance to the knockout stage, and the four third-place finishers with the most points will round out the round of 16. From there, it's a traditional knockout tournament, win or go home, until a World Cup champion is crowned on July 7 in Lyon. A third-place game will be played in Nice on July 6.

VAR: Yes

Favorites: United States and France. The USWNT is the best women's team in the world and will be going for an unprecedented fourth WWC title and its second in a row. Its main obstacle for that goal looks to be host nation France, which aren't far behind the U.S. in terms of skill and will be buoyed by their home support in every match. A World Cup title by the French would make France the first nation to win both men's and women's World Cups in the same cycle.

Dark Horse: England. The English finished third in the 2016 Women's World Cup and have only trended up since then. In March, they won the 2019 SheBelieves Cup over women's soccer powers the United States, Japan and Brazil, and it should have no issue advancing from the group stage.

CONCACAF Gold Cup

Host: United States, Costa Rico, Jamaica

Dates: June 15 - July 7

TV: FOX Sports, Univision

Format: Four groups of four teams from CONCACAF will compete in a round-robin format, and the top two from each group will advance to an eight-team knockout phase. The knockout rounds will only feature two quarterfinals and a semifinal before the champion is crowned in the final on July 7 at Soldier Field in Chicago. There is no third-place game.

VAR: No

Favorite: Mexico. Mexico is not only the strongest squad in the tournament, it also has one of the easier paths to the knockout round. New manager Tata Martino can also draw from a wealth of tournament experience, as well, having won the MLS Cup with Atlanta United last year and finishing as runner-up in the much more competitive Copa América with Paraguay (2011) and Argentina (2015, 2016).

Dark Horse: United States. After more than a year spent in the soccer wilderness, the USMNT has a new head coach and a new vision. Gregg Berhalter will take charge of his first competitive matches as USMNT coach in the Gold Cup, and he'll be looking to make a statement with a squad full of young talent that will want to begin making up for the team's absence in the 2018 World Cup with a run to the Gold Cup final, at least.

CONMEBOL Copa América

Host: Brazil

Dates: June 14 - July 7

TV: ESPN, Telemundo, ESPN+

Format: Three groups of four teams from South America (as well as Japan and Qatar) will compete in a round-robin format, and the top two from each group will advance to an eight-team knockout phase along with the top two third-place finishers. The knockout rounds will only feature two quarterfinals and a semifinal before the champion is crowned in the final on July 7 at the Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro. A third-place match will be played July 6 at Arena Corinthians in São Paulo.

VAR: Yes

Favorite: Brazil. The Seleção enter the tournament as heavy favorites. Being on home soil, Brazil will be under immense pressure to win its first Copa América title since 2007 and its ninth of all-time. But between the likes of Neymar, Alisson, Roberto Firmino and plenty of other international superstars, it has more than enough firepower to achieve its goals. Brazil's biggest competition is, of course, Argentina, led by the GOAT Lionel Messi, who will be looking to get over the hump and win his first major, senior international tournament with Argentina after finishing runner-up in the 2014 World Cup and 2015 and 2016 Copa Américas.

Dark Horse: Chile. Chile shocked the world by winning the last two Copa Américas. It will be extremely difficult to make it a three-peat, but Chile has proven it can overcome enormous odds in the past.

UEFA Nations League Finals

Host: Portugal

Dates: June 5 - June 9

TV: ESPN, ESPN2, Univision Deportes, Fubo.TV

Format: The first-ever UEFA Nations League Finals will be played between the four teams that won their group in League A of the inaugural UEFA Nations League (Netherlands, Switzerland, Portugal, England). The Finals are a simple, four-team knockout format, with the winners of Portugal vs. Switzerland and England vs. the Netherlands advancing to the final in Porto on June 9. The losers will play a third-place game in Guimarães on June 9, as well.

VAR: Yes

Favorite: England. England was on the verge of greatness last summer as it advanced to the semifinals of the World Cup before flattering against Croatia. But the Three Lions' talented, young core and excellent youth development will make them a force to be reckoned on the international stage for the foreseeable future. A win in the UEFA Nations League Finals would give them a major boost ahead of more important international tournaments to come, such as UEFA Euro 2020 next summer.

Dark Horse: Switzerland. The Swiss qualified for the Nations League Finals in stunning fashion, coming back from 2-0 down to defeat group favorites Belgium 5-2 on the final matchday. They are also the only one of the finalists to win three of their four group stage matches.

CAF Africa Cup of Nations

Host: Egypt

Dates: June 21 - July 19

TV: beIN Sports

Format: The group stage of AFCON will be made up of six groups of four teams with the top two finishers of each group as well as the top four third-place finishers advancing to the round of 16. From there, it's a traditional knockout format until the final in Cairo on July 19. A third-place game will be played between the losers of the semifinals on July 17.

VAR: Partially (From the quarterfinals onward)

Favorite: Egypt. The Pharaohs will not only boast the most support of any team in the tournament since they are playing on home soil, but they also have the best player. Mo Salah is a global superstar and far-and-away the best player in the competition, followed by Liverpool teammate Sadio Mane of Senegal, another of the favorites. Between fervent home support and the most talented roster in the competition, Egypt has to be considered the heavy favorite.

Dark Horse: Nigeria. The Super Eagles haven't made an appearance at AFCON since they won the tournament in 2013, missing both the 2015 and 2017 editions. But they've spent that time rebuilding their squad, making it younger and more dynamic in the six years since their last AFCON triumph.