This Saturday, June 7, San Diego FC will host Club América at Snapdragon Stadium for an international friendly match.

This will be San Diego’s first game against a Mexican team, with several more to come this year.

Club América has a massive fan base throughout Mexico and the United States, with a strong presence in San Diego. Club América has already played several times in San Diego, with the last game taking place last year in the Leagues Cup against Atlas.

There is even a supporters’ group specific to San Diego that attends all Club América games in and around the region. While many SDFC fans are expected to attend this match, it remains unclear who the majority of the fan base will be at the stadium.

The atmosphere has the potential to be the best it has been at Snapdragon Stadium, with several fans from both teams in attendance.

San Diego FC is on a very positive run of form, having won five of its last seven league games. SDFC is coming off a 2-0 win against Austin FC at home, where Luca de la Torre and Milan Iloski scored the goals.

While the result was a positive one, Hirving “Chucky” Lozano picked up a leg injury and can potentially be sidelined for a few weeks.

San Diego is set to use this game as an opportunity to rotate the squad and give some playing time to players who have not had much participation. This includes players like Pablo Sisniega, Tomás Ángel, Ian Pilcher, and Heine Gikling Bruseth.

Mikey Varas started the season with Franco Negri and Jasper Loffelsend in the fullback positions, but neither has played much recently. It will be interesting to see if the pair gets a chance to start this game against Las Aguilas.

Club América recently lost the Liga MX final to Toluca and also lost a game against LAFC for a spot in the upcoming FIFA Club World Cup. However, the Mexico City team has been on a generational run, having previously won three Liga MX titles consecutively.

It is unclear whether Club América will field a full rotational squad or if some big-name players will start this match. Club América will be missing some key players during the international break as Rodrigo Aguirre, Brian Rodríguez, Victor Dávila, Cristian Borja, Luis Ángel Malagón, Israel Reyes, and Ramón Juárez are out.

For SDFC, Onni Valakari, Luca Bombino, Anibal Godoy, Anders Dreyer, Paddy McNair, and Luca de la Torre will all be on international duty as well.

It will be intriguing to see how some untested players perform in this match for San Diego. Mikey Varas has never hesitated to switch up his squad, as this has the potential to be valuable for certain players.

Francisco Velasco

Francisco, 28, Chula Vista/Tijuana. I have been a Padres fan all my life, did most of the series previews and recaps in the Padres’ 2016 season for EVT. Now I focus more on the local soccer scene. Tijuana Xolos, San Diego FC, San Diego Wave. I have covered Liga MX, MLS, Mexico National Team, USWNT, Copa América and European clubs like Manchester United and Borussia Dortmund.