Choose Your Fighter: The Olympics or The Shield

Or the Championship?

Club football is creeping back into our lives this week with the return of the Championship, and that’s a fine ingredient for this week’s football stew alongside the Olympic gold-medal matches and the Community Shield. Manchesters United and City are back in (semi-)competitive action, while France and Spain and Brazil and the United States will meet in highly competitive affairs. And then, of course, there’s Plymouth Argyle.

The podcast will soon make its triumphant return as the Premier League season fast approaches. Keep an eye out for that one, but first: it’s a remarkably busy early August.

FRIDAY

Michael Olisé has been an Olympic phenomenon.

FRANCE vs SPAIN

12pm ET, 5pm BST

The men’s gold-medal match is a throwback to the EURO 2024 semifinals, though the playing squads don’t have much in common. The French coasted into the semis of this competition under head coach Thierry Henry, conceding zero goals until they fell behind to Egypt on Monday. They knocked on the door—and smashed the post repeatedly—but it took an 83rd-minute equalizer from Jean-Philippe Mateta to get them into extra time. He struck again in the bonus period, as did Michael Olisé, who has been shredding defenses at this tournament before he heads off to Bayern Munich.

The Spaniards also fell behind in their semifinal to a Moroccan penalty, but Barcelona’s Fermín López struck back with his fourth goal at this tournament as he seeks (along with Álex Baena) a second medal of the summer after featuring in Spain’s squad at EURO 2024. This is a real heritage encounter, a heavyweight bout to see out the men’s tournament.

PRESTON NORTH END vs SHEFFIELD UNITED

3pm ET, 8pm BST

And to round out your Football Friday, we’ve got the 2024/25 Championship kickoff. Newly relegated Sheffield United travel to Preston North End, one of the world’s oldest football clubs with the oldest stadium in continuous use. The original Invincibles—they went unbeaten in both the league and FA Cup in 1888–89—would be a fun addition to the Premier League if they could mount a promotion campaign.

SATURDAY

ETH looked unimpressed in United’s 3-0 preseason defeat to Liverpool.

MAN UNITED vs MAN CITY

10am ET, 3pm BST

It’s the Community Shield, a preseason exhibition match for the team that loses and a highly important competitive fixture for the winner. Manchester United won the FA Cup in May to rescue Erik ten Hag’s job, but the manager has yet to prove he can return the Red Devils to competing for top honors, particularly after last season’s eighth-place league finish. He’ll point to the injuries, and they have returned again to kick off this season—new signing Leny Yoro has already gone in for surgery, and Rasmus Højlund is out for six weeks with a bad hamstring—but City are unlikely to look upon them with mercy here. Unlike United, Pep Guardiola and his team have nothing left to prove.

BRAZIL vs USA

11am ET, 4pm BST

One day on from the men’s final, the women wrap up their tournament with one blaring headline: the legendary Marta, who surely must’ve thought she’d played her last match in the canary yellow of Brazil when she was sent off in the group stage, now has a chance to sign off with a gold medal.

It’s been a remarkable journey for the Seleção, from barely getting out of the group as a third-place team to beating hosts France and reigning World Cup champions Spain to reach this showpiece match at the Parc des Princes. The captain missed both of those bouts through suspension, but she returns here with a chance to equal the all-time Olympic scoring record.

The Brazilians will meet the Americans in a gold-medal match for the third time, though they’ve yet to taste victory. The U.S. Women’s team is a juggernaut in this competition, winning four of the seven golds ever handed out in this event, and they’re unbeaten in these Paris Olympics with 11 goals scored and just two conceded. They’ve had to grind out a couple of 1-0s over the last couple of rounds, but the attacking trident of Trinity Rodman, Sophia Smith, and Mallory Swanson has been formidable over the last few weeks. The Americans are the favorites.

TOTTENHAM vs BAYERN MUNICH

12:30pm ET, 5:30pm BST

The Harry Kane Derby debuts in London, and while it may be an exhibition match, this could be a fun opportunity to have a look at these two as we hurtle towards the real season. Has Ange Postecoglou made any tweaks to his highly front-footed system from last season? How will Vincent Kompany’s new-look Bayern side shape up? Expect some sort of tribute to the man known as “H” before the whistle goes or when he’s ceremonially subbed off.

SUNDAY

SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY vs PLYMOUTH ARGYLE

11am ET, 4pm BST

Here’s another Championship bout for ya that features two charming old clubs. The Pilgrims of Plymouth have played their home matches at Home Park—where else?—since 1901, but manager Wayne Rooney will take them on the road for their opener to Hillsborough, which has its own rich (and tragic) history. These two finished 20th and 21st last season, barely escaping the drop, and they’ll hope this is the start of a far less perilous campaign.⚽︎