Preview

The 32-team field is set, the list of participating stars is growing and on Thursday we finally learned the groups for this June's $1 million winner-take-all "The Soccer Tournament" (TST) in Cary, NC.

The World Cup-styled event takes place over four days (June 1-4) at WakeMed Soccer Park with a variant of the game (7-on-7, smaller field, smaller goals, two 20-minute halves with an "Elam Ending," and more) that's sure to bring excitement and plenty of goals.  

The hype is growing around The Soccer Tournament (TST) — brainchild of the folks behind the increasingly popular The Basketball Tournament (TBT) — but I don't think anyone's talking about it nearly enough.

On June 1, 32 teams will descend on WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, NC, for a four-day tournament with the winners taking home $1 million. It's certainly not your traditional soccer tournament with different rules, procedures and a collection of squads comprised of legends, professionals, up-and-coming talents, amateurs, viral street sensations and everyone in-between.

Our 2023 UEFA Champions League semifinal predictions are coming in hot with certified locks for a rematch of last year's instant classic between Real Madrid-Manchester City and a historic Derby della Madonnina between rivals Inter and AC Milan.

Who will contest the final on June 10 at the Atatürk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul? Let's turn to our collection of Nostradamus-minded folks to find out.

UEFA Champions League semifinal predictions 2023

Real Madrid vs. Manchester City

Fulham captain Tim Ream's season ended prematurely on Sunday as he suffered a broken arm in the 2-1 home defeat by Manchester City in the Premier League.

The American defender, who conceded a penalty to allow City's Erling Haaland to score early on, fell awkwardly after slipping and went off with his arm in a makeshift sling.

"It looked clear Tim Ream will not play for us this season, broken his arm," Fulham manager Marco Silva said.

Chelsea manager Emma Hayes probably had to deliver the most difficult team talk of her career after training on Wednesday. Looking ahead to tomorrow's Champions League semifinal second leg against Barcelona, she had to convince her team to forget about Caroline Graham Hansen's exceptional strike at Stamford Bridge, giving Barça a 1-0 advantage, then she had to prepare her team for the vociferous cauldron of noise they're about to face inside the Camp Nou.

FIFA received four bids to host the 2027 Women's World Cup, soccer's governing body said on Monday, with the hosts set to be appointed at its Congress in May next year.

Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands have submitted a joint expression of interest to host the tournament while the other joint bid includes the United States and Mexico.