EFL Cup Opens Friday; Bayern-Chelsea-Man City in Friendlies
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- The EFL Cup officially launches the new English club season Friday, Aug. 7, with Middlesbrough hosting Wrexham at 3 p.m. ET on Paramount+, the earliest competitive domestic match on the slate.
- European preseason friendlies headline CBS's coverage, with Bayern Munich vs. Aston Villa on Aug. 7 (8 a.m., Golazo Network), Chelsea vs. AC Milan on Aug. 8 (8 a.m., CBS Sports Network), Ferencvaros vs. Real Madrid (1 p.m.), and Manchester City vs. Atletico Madrid on Aug. 9 (7 a.m., Golazo Network).
- NWSL matches return across three outlets: Gotham FC vs. San Diego Wave (Aug. 7, Amazon Prime Video), Washington Spirit vs. North Carolina Courage (Aug. 8, Ion), and Boston Legacy vs. Portland Thorns (Aug. 9, CBS Sports Network).
- Leagues Cup play spans Vancouver Whitecaps vs. Juarez (Aug. 7, Apple TV), Toluca vs. LAFC (Aug. 8, FS1), and Cruz Azul vs. New York City FC (Aug. 9, FS1).
- WAFCON delivers four knockout-stage matches on beIN Sports Connect: Ivory Coast vs. Algeria and Morocco vs. South Africa on Saturday, then Cameroon vs. Nigeria and Malawi vs. Ghana on Sunday.
- CBS Sports Golazo Network rolls out new live programming — Morning Footy (weekdays 8–10 a.m.), Attacking Third studio show (Mon/Wed/Thu), Call it What You Want (Tue/Thu), and Scoreline (daily) — and is available free on Pluto TV, Paramount+, and the CBS Sports app.
Why it matters: Friday's EFL Cup first-round opener between Middlesbrough and Wrexham (Paramount+) officially launches the new English club season, while three marquee preseason friendlies — Bayern Munich-Aston Villa, Chelsea-AC Milan, Manchester City-Atletico Madrid — air across CBS Sports networks the same weekend, packing three days with the full mix of competition, NWSL, Leagues Cup, and WAFCON action.
