Barely has the domestic club season in Europe and elsewhere concluded than we are already into a huge few weeks of soccer.
The UEFA Champions League final at Wembley on Saturday brought the curtain down on the domestic action across Europe’s major leagues, with Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund battling in the showpiece.
But now all eyes will turn to Germany and the USA, as we get ready for two major tournaments taking place simultaneously.
The Copa America is being hosted in the United States for the first time since 2016, where the USMNT and Canada will battle it out against established heavyweights such as Brazil, Uruguay and Lionel Messi’s Argentina for continental honors.
Before that, Europe’s best will gather in Germany, with Euro 2024 bringing together the likes of England, France and defending champions Italy.
Preparation is key, and over the coming days we will see a raft of warm-up friendlies as sides get ready for both competitions.
The Sporting News will keep you up-to-date with all the games on the schedule each day as the action begins, as well as giving you details of any other major soccer matches going on across the globe. Here’s the matches you can expect on Wednesday, June 5.
MORE: Full Copa America 2024 schedule of matches, results and bracket updated LIVE
Whether you’re looking for an excuse to watch a particular match or you just want some skin in the game, betting on soccer can be an entertaining and exciting way to take in the Beautiful Game.
The world of soccer betting can be split into two key categories: (1) futures and (2) individual match betting. Both are fairly straightforward, and most major sportsbooks offer a variety of these markets.
Futures are self-explanatory: predicting what will happen in the future. Specifically, the distant future. For example, who will win the league title? Who will be top goalscorer in the competition? Or who will win the award for best player of the tournament?
When betting on futures, the best odds are usually available before a competition begins. The closer you get to an event, the odds will begin to shift. Once a tournament is underway, the futures odds will adjust based on the ongoing results.
For the person who doesn’t enjoy waiting on a futures bet and seeing their money tied up, then match betting might be for you. Betting on individual matches, or even specific aspects of a match, can be especially enjoyable, because it gives fans a reason to watch, engage with, and take on a rooting interest for an outcome in a game that might not otherwise be very compelling.
Fans can bet on just about anything within a particular match — everything from the final score, to how many goals will be scored, to who scores the goals, to how many cards each team will get.
Individual match betting can be difficult, because while the cream usually rises to the top over a larger sample size (like a full season in the case of a futures bet), any standalone game can see a random set of chaotic outcomes. That’s sports.
BET NOW: For the latest odds and offers to bet on all the latest soccer action, check out BetMGM.
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Kyle Bonn is a soccer content producer for The Sporting News.
Peter Marshall has worked in sports media for more than two decades, covering everything from boxing, F1 and tennis to the World Cup and Olympics.
