Women’s International Champions Cup 2022 Preview

The best of the best come together in Portland for the Women’s International Champions Cup 2022. All four teams are champions in their respective regions and earned a spot in this competition as a result. The European teams will clash first with the North American teams to follow. The two winners will compete on August 20th to decide who this year’s champions will be. Additionally, the Women’s Cup semifinals will be taking place the same day.

The Portland Thorns are the defending champions and will certainly look to repeat in a battle for world supremacy. Let’s break down the matchups and see how things might play out in the Women’s International Champions Cup 2022. 

Lyon vs. Chelsea, August 17, 8:30 PM ET/5:30 PM PT, ESPNU

This is one of the best matchups possible on the 2022 calendar. The star power on both sides is unreal. Here’s a glimpse at who should be playing in this game. 

Loved watching the Euro Cup? Us too. Some notable names from the tournament will be heading to Portland for #WICC2022 👀 pic.twitter.com/XhljFCIPcz

— Women's International Champions Cup (@iccwomen) August 8, 2022

Those are just the players who featured in the Euros but hopefully, some of the other stars like Sam Kerr and Guro Reiten will be there for Chelsea because they will need all their firepower against Lyon. Lyon once again proved earlier in the year that they’re the best in Europe by spoiling Barcelona’s perfect season. In competitions like this, they have to be declared the favorites with all of their talent and experience in games like this. 

However, if anyone can take them out, it’s Chelsea who is looking to create its own history and add to its trophy case. The biggest storyline is Kadeisha Buchanan playing against her former team as she’s switched over to Chelsea. This will be the biggest indicator of how ready Chelsea is to go for the Women’s Champions League this year.

On the flip side, Lindsey Horan will feature for Lyon, and her ability could be the X-factor. It’s a preseason competition for these two teams, but neither side will treat it that way. The only worry is, do the English players on Chelsea have a bit of an emotional hangover to overcome after winning the Euro? I think that might be the difference. Lyon should take this one, but it won’t be easy, and it should be a very intense matchup.  

Prediction: Lyon Wins 3-1

Portland Thorns vs. C.F. Monterrey, 11:00 PM ET/8:00 PM PT, ESPN2

Portland has the home-field advantage like they always do as hosts of the Women’s International Champions Cup 2022. Last year they managed to take out Lyon 1-0 to wrestle the title away from them. For the Thorns, it will be tougher to manage as they look to keep their first-place lead in the NWSL while playing this competition. The same goes for C.F. Monterrey, who are currently fourth in the Liga MX Femenil. However, looking at this graphic, Monterrey will only have two players with the Mexican National Team. 

The stars of North America will be in full force at #WICC2022 👀 pic.twitter.com/2Dqd8MV5HZ

— Women's International Champions Cup (@iccwomen) August 8, 2022

An upset is always possible, but Monterrey really has their work cut out for them against Portland. The best chance they have is if Portland rests their stars and puts out a B-team to give other players more experience. Even then, the Thorns shouldn’t have any problem winning this game in the Women’s International Champions Cup 2022 in front of a packed house. 

Prediction: Thorns Win 2-0 

Featured image via @iccwomen on Twitter

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