This Tuesday, March 12, it was officially announced that Manchester United will play an international friendly match against Spanish La Liga team Real Betis at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego on July 31, 2024.

This will be the second time Manchester United play at the Mission Valley fortress and it will be the first time a Spanish La Liga team plays there.

The Red Devils played Wrexham for an international friendly on July 25, 2023, in an amazing atmosphere. Wrexham defeated United 3-1, but the Premier League side fielded a youth team featuring only veteran centre-back Jonny Evans. This time around, Manchester United is expected to field more first-team players in what will serve as a preseason match for the 2024/2025 campaign.

Manchester United is currently in sixth place on the Premier League table, trying to find a spot in a European competition in what has been a very competitive season. The Red Devils are currently not in any European competition after finishing dead last in Group A of the UEFA Champions League behind Galatasaray, Copenhagen, and Bayern Munich.

While United has been struggling to their standards, their immense popularity will never fade, and  another sold-out crowd is expected for this match on July 31. Some of the fan-favorites that will potentially feature in this match include Marcus Rashford, Bruno Fernandes, and Alejandro Grnacho, with the added potential of also seeing new signings for the new season in this game.

Don’t miss your chance to see @ManUtd take on @RealBetis on July 31 at @Snapdragon Stadium as they battle it out for the Snapdragon Cup!

Pre-sale access → https://t.co/e3wUTInXxk

Pre-sale begins Wednesday, March 13 @ 10AM PT.
General on-sale Thursday, March 14 @ 9AM PT. pic.twitter.com/j2gnV6GW8M

— Snapdragon Stadium (@SnapdragonStdm) March 12, 2024

Real Betis is currently seventh on the La Liga table this season and recently was knocked out of the UEFA Europa Conference League by Croatian side Dinamo Zagreb. Betis is managed by the renowned Manuel Pellegrini, who has been with Los Verdiblancos since 2020 and has proven to be a consistent team in La Liga since then. The Spanish team has some fantastic talent on its roster like French World Cup winner Nabil Fekir, who is one of the most talented players currently in La Liga. Former Xolos midfielder and Argentine World Cup winner Guido Rodriguez is also on the roster, who will be coming close to Tijuana after his career has taken a turn for the best since his time in Liga MX.

USMNT midfielder Johnny Cardoso is also currently on Real Betis. It is one of the upcoming young players for both Betis and the U.S. It will be interesting to see any changes that Los Verdiblancos make ahead of this game and heading into the new season.

Sanpdragon Stadium has hosted some high-profile soccer events in the space of the past year like the NWSL final and the W Gold Cup final and this game is another big event to add to the list. Pre-sale for this game begins on Wednesday, March 13 at 1o:00 a.m. PST, and the general sale will begin on Thursday, March 14 at 9:00 a.m. PST.

Francisco Velasco

Francisco, 26, 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 Loyal, San Diego Wave.