The Cupdate: Real Madrid Shines in Charlotte; Agyemang Finds a Gold Cup Winner; Bayern Shut Out in Charlotte
The United States Men's National Team will play Costa Rica in the Gold Cup Quarterfinals. Meanwhile, S.L. Benfica beats Bayern as Portuguese-speaking clubs dominate the Club World Cup.
It’s been a busy week for soccer in Charlotte.
On Sunday, Real Madrid CF put on a show for over 70,000 fans at Bank of America Stadium, hours before Charlotte FC’s star striker Patrick Agyemang cemented a win for the United States Men’s National Team.
Then, on Monday, rumors started to percolate about Agyemang’s future with the club that drafted him. By Tuesday, Fabrizio Romano reported the striker was closing in on a deal with English Championship club Derby County, while this publication and Tom Bogert reported a deal wasn’t that far along.
Tuesday also saw a deluge of Bayern Munich fans descend on the Queen City, who were stunned as Benfica scored in the early minutes as English striker Harry Kane sat on the bench — though not actually on the bench, as many Bayern players stayed inside to avoid the 100+ degree heat on the pitch.
On Wednesday, Agyemang was named Charlotte FC’s first-ever MLS All Star as he remained in camp to prepare for the USMNT’s Gold Cup Quarterfinal in Minneapolis on Sunday.
Soccer Sheet will have more on Agyemang’s future at Charlotte FC — including how his domestic contract offers have stacked up compared to fellow United States teammates like Brian White of the Vancouver Whitecaps — in an article exclusively for our paid subscribers this weekend.
Agyemang Scores the Winner as United States Advance in Gold Cup
After an exciting night of soccer on Sunday, the United States Men’s National Team is through to the knockout round of the Concacaf Gold Cup, the team’s final tournament before the 2026 Men’s World Cup.
A second-half goal from Patrick Agyemang gave the United States a 2-1 win over Haiti, but the standout for the United States continued to be midfielder Malik Tillman, who was named to Concacaf’s Best XI of the Group Stage along with defender Chris Richards, the hero of the team’s match against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The USMNT won all three matches in Group D, securing their spot in the quarterfinal round of the tournament. They will face Costa Rica, the runner up in Group A, on Sunday evening in Minneapolis.
In Group A, Mexico — Concacaf’s top ranked team — and Costa Rica battled for seeding on Sunday night. The match ended in a draw, giving Mexico the group stage win on goal difference. Mexico will play Saudi Arabia in the quarterfinals.
2025 Concacaf Gold Cup
Group Stage Results
Group A
Mexico and Costa Rica advance
Matchday 1
Mexico 3 – 2 Dominican Republic
Costa Rica 4 – 3 Suriname
Matchday 2
Costa Rica 2 – 1 Dominican Republic
Suriname 0 – 2 Mexico
Matchday 3
Mexico 0 – 0 Costa Rica
Dominican Republic 0 – 0 Suriname
Group B
Canada and Honduras advance
Matchday 1
Curaçao 0 – 0 El Salvador
Canada 6 – 0 Honduras
Matchday 2
Curaçao 1 – 1 Canada
Honduras 2 – 0 El Salvador
Matchday 3
Honduras 2 – 1 Curaçao
Canada 2 – 0 El Salvador
Group C
Panama and Guatemala advance
Matchday 1
Panama 5 – 2 Guadeloupe
Jamaica 0 – 1 Guatemala
Matchday 2
Jamaica 2 – 1 Guadeloupe
Guatemala 0 – 1 Panama
Matchday 3
Panama 4 – 1 Jamaica
Guadeloupe 2 – 3 Guatemala
Group D
United States and Saudi Arabia advance
Matchday 1
United States 5 – 0 Trinidad and Tobago
Haiti 0 – 1 Saudi Arabia
Matchday 2
Trinidad and Tobago 1 – 1 Haiti
Saudi Arabia 0 – 1 United States
Matchday 3
Saudi Arabia 1 – 1 Trinidad and Tobago
United States 2 – 1 Haiti
In the other groups, Panama (Group C) was the only other country to win all three matches, earning their third win on Tuesday, June 24 over Jamaica. They will play Group B runner-up Honduras.
In Group B, Canada was the only undefeated team, and Honduras won all of their matches except against Canada. Les Rouges will face Group C runner-up Guatemala, which only lost to Panama.
The Concacaf Gold Cup quarterfinals kick off tomorrow night with Panama vs. Honduras and Mexico vs. Saudi Arabia.
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Real Madrid Are the Real Deal, But Bayern Fans Feel Doubly Disappointed
Over 70,000 soccer fans — the vast majority white-clad Real Madrid CF supporters — filled Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte on Sunday, June 22 for the second match day of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup.
Madrid defeated Liga MX side Pachuca C.F. 3-1 despite the absence of French superstar Kylian Mbappé and an early mistake that cost Real Madrid a player.
An eighth-minute red card was issued to Madrid‘s Raúl Asencio for denying a goal-scoring opportunity right outside the penalty box, but Pachuca’s frantic attack — 25 shots with 11 on target — was not enough to take advantage of a ten-man Madrid, who were efficient, taking a clinical 8 shots with three on target.
While Pachuca’s constant shooting may have been scary for the Madridistas, the Reyes de Europa lived up to their nickname, controlling the match for all 90 minutes.
English midfielder Jude Bellingham shined for his 60 minutes on the pitch, but it was veteran playmaker Luka Modrić who worked the stadium into a frenzy despite only playing 30 minutes.
Bellingham and Arda Güler made sure Real Madrid went into the locker room 2-0, and the rest of the match wasn’t eventful until a stoppage conflict between Madrid defender Antonio Rüdiger and Pachuca captain Gustavo Cabral. Rüdiger, who is Black, claimed he was racially abused by Cabral.
FIFA opened disciplinary proceedings against Cabral, who denies the allegation, asserting he called Rüdiger “chickenshit.”
“No hubo nada racista. Le dije cagón de mierda,” Cabral said in the original Spanish.
With the win on Sunday and another yesterday against Red Bull Salzburg, Real Madrid won Group H, and will play Juventus in Miami Gardens on July 1. Pachuca came away from the tournament with zero points, losing their final match to Saudi club team Al Hilal SFC, the Group H runner-up.
On Tuesday, the attendance was more modest given the heat and the 3:00 PM weekday start time, but still 33,287 fans sweltered in the stands to see FC Bayern Munich take on S.L. Benfica.
With a win or a draw Bayern would have returned to Bank of America Stadium for the Round of 16, and many Bayern fans were hoping they’d get to stick around to see their club play Chelsea this weekend. However, Bayern — knowing they had secured advancement to the next round of the tournament — benched starters like England’s Harry Kane in the face of oppressive heat.
Benfica had other plans as well, and Andreas Schjelderup scored the lone goal of the match off of an assist from fellow Norwegian Fredrik Aursnes to give Benifica the title in Group C.
Kane would come on with multiple Bayern substitutes for the second half, but Benfica only needed the one goal to come away from Charlotte with three points — and solidify their return on Saturday, June 28 to take on Chelsea in the Round of 16.
The final FIFA Club World Cup match in Charlotte will take place on Monday, June 30 at 3:00 PM as Inter Milan face Fluminense.
2025 FIFA Club World Cup
Round of 16 Matchups
June 28, 2025 — 12:00 PM EDT
Palmeiras vs. Botafogo
Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia
June 28, 2025 — 4:00 PM EDT
Benfica Portugal vs. Chelsea
Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte
June 29, 2025 — 12:00 PM EDT
Paris Saint-Germain vs. Inter Miami CF
Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta
June 29, 2025 — 4:00 PM EDT
Flamengo vs. Bayern Munich
Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens
June 30, 2025 — 3:00 PM EDT
Inter Milan vs. Fluminense
Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte
June 30, 2025 — 9:00 PM EDT
Manchester City vs. Al-Hilal
Camping World Stadium, Orlando
July 1, 2025 — 3:00 PM EDT
Real Madrid vs. Juventus
Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens
July 1, 2025 — 9:00 PM EDT
Borussia Dortmund vs. Monterrey
Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta
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