LOS ANGELES (CNS) - Viewing parties for the telecasts of Thursday's U.S.-Sweden 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup game will be held at Banc of California Stadium and other locations in Los Angeles County.
The party at The Fields LA, the food court attached to Banc of California Stadium, will begin at noon, coinciding with the start of the Group F game from Stade Oceane in Le Havre in northern France.
Parties organized by various chapters of American Outlaws, a nationwide support group for the U.S. men's and women's national soccer teams, will be held in the following locations:
-- Legends Sports Bar, 5236 E. Second St., Long Beach;
-- Q's Billiard Club, 11835 Wilshire Blvd., Brentwood;
-- 1739 Public House, 1739 N. Vermont Ave., Los Feliz; and
-- Underground Pub & Grill, 1332 Hermosa Ave., Hermosa Beach.
Major League Soccer's Los Angeles Galaxy will host a watch party at Tom's Urban at L.A. Live in downtown Los Angeles.
The game will be televised in English by Fox and in Spanish by Telemundo.
The game is the last in group play for both teams. The winner will be the group winner. If the game ends in a tie, the U.S. will be the group winner because it has the better goal differential. Both teams are assured of advancing to the knockout round.
Both teams are 2-0-0 in the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup. The U.S. defeated Thailand, 13-0, June 11, and Chile, 3-0, Sunday. Sweden defeated Chile, 2-0, June 11, and Thailand, 5-1, Sunday.
The U.S. is first in the rankings compiled by FIFA, soccer's international governing body. Sweden is ranked ninth.
Sweden is the most recent team to defeat the U.S. in World Cup play, winning 2-1 in a group play game in 2011. (The U.S. loss to Japan in a penalty kick shootout in the 2011 final is considered a tie under soccer rules.) The U.S. is 9-0-3 in World Cup games since the 2011 loss to Sweden.
The U.S. is 21-6-11 against Sweden, including a 5-3-5 record since 2010.
Regardless of Thursday's result, the U.S. will next play on Sunday. A victory or tie against Sweden means the U.S. will begin the knockout round against Spain, which finished second in Group B with a 1-1-1 record and is 13th in the FIFA rankings. A loss means the next U.S. opponent will be the second- place team in Group E, the loser of Thursday's Canada-Netherlands game.
Photo: Getty Images