The winner of Croatia-France will play against the winner of France-Belgium in the World Cup finale at 11 a.m. Sunday. The match will be played on the stadium’s 58-feet-tall Halo Board. The Atlanta-Seattle match begins at 2 p.m.<doc-sep>The SEC Summerfest and Comic Con will only add to an electric vibe that comes with each United match, Mark McCloud said. In the World Cup final, McCloud said he’s supporting Croatia. “We are full-on soccer today: World Cup and Atlanta United,” he said. United fans milled about outside the stadium waiting for it to open, but many also strolled the halls of the Georgia World Congress Center where Star Trek’s Nichelle Nichols and the Lord of the Rings’ Sean Astin, among other stars, were scheduled to appear. At 1 p.m., the Southeastern Conference will play host to its SEC Summerfest, the kickoff for the conference’s annual football Media Days event. » The outlook for Sunday's traffic and weather<doc-sep>Q13 FOX will have the match at 11 AM Pacific, almost immediately after the World Cup Final. Just a few months back Seattle Sounders at Atlanta United seemed the perfect match to put in front of the audience that will have just watched the World Cup Final. Atlanta would put butts in the seat, were an Eastern Conference favorite and though their players aren’t household names their attack is led by MLS royalty. Seattle was supposed to be good (they’re not right now), they have Clint Dempsey and maybe some others that a general soccer fan has heard about at some point. It was supposed to be a great matchup. It still might. The Sounders had three players at the World Cup and the ATL attack is more extraordinary than anyone expected. Five Stripes in brief Record: 12-4-4 +19, 1st in East, 1st in Shield Last Five: W-D-W-L-W with 11 goals scored and 4 conceded Top Goal Scorer: Josef Martinez, 18 (leads MLS) Top Assist Leader: Miguel Almiron, 9 Top xG+xA: Josef Martinez, 19.50 (leads MLS) Keeper shutouts | saves: Brad Guzan 6 | 49 Sounders in brief Record: 4-9-4 -7, 10th in West, 20th in Shield Last Five: L-D-L-W-D with 6 goals scored and 7 conceded Top Goal Scorer: Will Bruin, 5 Top Assist Leader: Nicolas Lodeiro, 5 Top xG+xA: Will Bruin, 8.33 Keeper shutouts | saves: Stefan Frei 2 | 61 How to Watch Date/Time: July 15, 2018 at 11:00 AM Location: Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia, Peachtree Street (maybe Avenue, or Parkway, or...) TV: FOX, FOX Deportes Streaming: YouTube TV (Seattle & Spokane markets), Fox Sports Go Radio: 950 KJR AM (English), El Rey 1360AM (Spanish)<doc-sep>FIFA’s vote on the 2026 hosts came on the eve of the start of this year’s World Cup in Russia. Dan Corso, president of the Atlanta Sports Council and chairman of the city’s World Cup committee, said he was “thrilled” about North America winning the bid and what it could mean for Atlanta. “We have taken one step closer to hosting part of the tournament,” Corso said. The U.S./Canada/Mexico bid names 23 cities in the three nations as candidates to host World Cup matches and says the number will be whittled to 16 “official host cities” by June 2021, including at least 10 in the U.S. The North American bid’s recommendation of Atlanta as a semifinals site, although not binding, gives local organizers much cause for optimism. “I think that (recommendation) makes all the sense in the world, given our infrastructure to host the biggest sporting events in the world, what our community has in Mercedes-Benz Stadium and what we have in Atlanta United and what they have done to raise our soccer profile, not only nationally but globally,” Corso said. But he added, “I don’t think you can take anything as a lock. There’s still work to be done, not just here in Atlanta but among other cities in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. We look forward to jumping in to that as soon as everyone is ready after (this year’s World Cup) concludes.” Corso said the costs of hosting World Cup games here would be funded in part from a portion of the Atlanta hotel-motel tax that is designated for use in attracting major events. Atlanta’s 2019 Super Bowl and 2020 Final Four will be funded in part from the same tax. “We’ve been told during the bid process (the World Cup) is on the level of a Super Bowl,” Corso said. “We have not gotten into too much detail on that yet, but we will during this next phase of the process.” A FIFA committee made a one-day visit to Atlanta in April and gave Mercedes-Benz Stadium high marks. A video shown by the U.S./Canada/Mexico bid group at Wednesday’s FIFA meeting in Moscow prominently included images of Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The bid anticipates competition among stadiums for roles in the tournament, stating: “The (joint) bid offers FIFA 23 qualified stadiums – more than the required number -- and all are ready to compete to offer the best possible experience for players and officials, fans, partners, media, and other stakeholders, giving FIFA maximum flexibility and leverage. The (joint) bid will work with FIFA to select the final 16 stadiums for the competition.” For the 2026 World Cup, the number of participating teams will increase from 32 to 48 and the number of matches from 64 to 80. Ten matches will be played in Canada, 10 in Mexico and 60 in the U.S. The bid proposed MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., as the site of the final match, although a FIFA report also mentioned Los Angeles and Dallas (Arlington) as options for the final. The 2026 event will mark the second time the U.S. has hosted the men’s World Cup, the other in 1994. FIFA members’ votes were cast, tabulated and announced just before 7 a.m. EDT Wednesday, whereupon Atlanta United president Darren Eales immediately tweeted the outcome was “brilliant news for the sport in this country.” U.S. Soccer president Carlos Cordeiro concurred, saying on a conference call: “We believe this event ... will become transformational for the sport (in the U.S.).”<doc-sep>
If day-drinking wasn’t already an official Atlanta sport, this year’s FIFA World Cup is quickly helping it become one. Local bars and restaurants have been opening as early as 8 a.m. so true futbol fans can cheer on teams hitting the pitch on the other side of the globe. And on the day of the tournament’s grand finale, another popular intown venue will join the list of screening locations: Mercedes-Benz Stadium. On Sunday, the arena will open its doors a few hours before Atlanta United takes the field to play the Seattle Sounders—one of two chances Atlantans will have to enjoy the stadium (and purchase things) in off hours this month. The Sunday arrangement means FIFA fans will have the opportunity to watch the biggest futbol match in the world on the world’s biggest video board (63,000 square feet of screen, that is). The Final will pit the winners of France versus Belgium, and Croatia versus England. Granted, interested futbol fans still have to buy a ticket to the MLS match. However, with some luck, passes can still be scored for less than $30 a head (although probably not for long). Also, fans of low-stakes gambling can partake in Atlanta United’s “Guess the Final” sweepstakes, which asks people to predict which teams will participate in the championship and what the final score will be. Then, on July 29, American football fans will get their chance. Beginning at 11 a.m. that day, The Benz gates will open for “Together We Rise—Falcons Fan Day,” the very first open practice (fully padded) held at the new digs. The event costs $5 per person, and attendees will be treated at noon to The Benz’s “first public and live roof-opening showcase to celebrate the completion of this one-of-a-kind design and engineering marvel,” per a press release. All ticketing proceeds from the latter event will benefit the Atlanta Super Bowl Host Committee’s capital improvement project, officials said.