2012 World Football Challenge
# 2012 World Football Challenge

The 2012 World Football Challenge was the third World Football Challenge event, a series of friendly soccer matches played in the United States and Canada in July and August. The series opened on July 18. The opening match was between the Seattle Sounders FC of Major League Soccer (MLS) and Chelsea of the English Premier League, which Chelsea won 4–2. Real Madrid, who had won the equivalent tournament the previous year, were the only team to win all their matches in normal play.

## Participants

The following eleven clubs took part in the 2012 World Football Challenge.

| Nation | Team | Location | Confederation | Professional League | Notes |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Scotland | Celtic | Glasgow, Scotland | UEFA | Scottish Premier League | 2011–12 Scottish Premier League champions |
| England | Chelsea | London, England | UEFA | Premier League | 2012 FA Cup and 2011–12 UEFA Champions League winners |
| United States | D.C. United | Washington, D.C. | CONCACAF | Major League Soccer | 4-time MLS Cup Champions |
| Mexico | Santos Laguna | Torreón, Mexico | CONCACAF | Liga MX | 2011–12 Mexican Primera División Clausura champions |
| England | Liverpool | Liverpool, England | UEFA | Premier League | 2012 Football League Cup winners |
| United States | Los Angeles Galaxy | Los Angeles, California | CONCACAF | Major League Soccer | 2011 MLS Cup champions |
| Italy | Milan | Milan, Italy | UEFA | Serie A | 18-time Serie A champions |
| France | Paris Saint-Germain | Paris, France | UEFA | Ligue 1 | Ligue 1 runners-up |
| Spain | Real Madrid | Madrid, Spain | UEFA | La Liga | 2011–12 La Liga champions |
| United States | Seattle Sounders FC | Seattle, Washington | CONCACAF | Major League Soccer | 2011 U.S. Open Cup winners |
| Canada | Toronto FC | Toronto, Ontario | CONCACAF | Major League Soccer | 2012 Canadian Championship champions |

## Venues

Eight venues were selected for the 2012 World Football Challenge.

| Carson, California | Miami, Florida | Whitney, Nevada | The Bronx, New York City |
| - | - | - | - |
| The Home Depot Center | Sun Life Stadium | Sam Boyd Stadium | Yankee Stadium |
| Capacity: 27,000 | Capacity: 74,918 | Capacity: 36,800 | Capacity: 52,325 |
| Toronto, Ontario | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Seattle, Washington | Washington, D.C. |
| Rogers Centre | Lincoln Financial Field | CenturyLink Field | RFK Stadium |
| Capacity: 49,808 | Capacity: 67,594 | Capacity: 67,000 | Capacity: 56,692 |

## Matches

    All times are in the EDT time zone (UTC-4) (Local Times in parentheses).

## Summary of results

| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Celtic | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Chelsea | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 4 |
| D.C. United | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Liverpool | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Los Angeles Galaxy | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| Milan | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| Paris Saint-Germain | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Real Madrid | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 3 |
| Santos Laguna | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Seattle Sounders FC | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| Toronto FC | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |

## Top goalscorers

    As of August 11, 2012.

| Rank | Name | Team | Goals |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1 | José Callejón | Real Madrid | 3 |
| 2 | Romelu Lukaku | Chelsea | 2 |
| 2 | Ángel Di María | Real Madrid | 2 |
| 2 | Fredy Montero | Seattle Sounders FC | 2 |
| 2 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid | 2 |
| 6 | Xabi Alonso | Real Madrid | 1 |
| 6 | Quincy Amarikwa | Toronto FC | 1 |
| 6 | Karim Benzema | Real Madrid | 1 |
| 6 | Urby Emanuelson | Milan | 1 |
| 6 | Eden Hazard | Chelsea | 1 |
| 6 | Gonzalo Higuaín | Real Madrid | 1 |
| 6 | Zlatan Ibrahimović | Paris Saint-Germain | 1 |
| 6 | Jesé | Real Madrid | 1 |
| 6 | Sami Khedira | Real Madrid | 1 |
| 6 | David Lopes | Los Angeles Galaxy | 1 |
| 6 | Marko Marin | Chelsea | 1 |
| 6 | Álvaro Morata | Real Madrid | 1 |
| 6 | Adam Morgan | Liverpool | 1 |
| 6 | Nenê | Paris Saint-Germain | 1 |
| 6 | Lucas Piazon | Chelsea | 1 |
| 6 | Sergio Ramos | Real Madrid | 1 |
| 6 | Robinho | Milan | 1 |
| 6 | Dwayne De Rosario | D.C. United | 1 |
| 6 | Christian Suárez | Santos Laguna | 1 |
