International Champions Cup 2013 Schedule: Top Possible Matches ICC Has to Offer

The International Champions Cup is already taking the United States by storm, as eight of the world's best teams are currently competing in a tournament to determine which club will reign supreme. The tourney has already featured a pair of high-level contests, and there are many more to come over the next several days.

Chelsea vs. Inter Milan and Real Madrid vs. Los Angeles Galaxy are the other scheduled first-round matches, but the possibilities are endless with regards to which teams might play against each other moving forward. Those tantalizing combinations will keep soccer fans coming back for more as the tournament progresses.

In addition to a full schedule for the ICC, here are three potential matches soccer fans won't want to miss, provided they come to fruition.

International Champions Cup Schedule

Match	Date	Time (ET)
Chelsea vs. Inter Milan	Thursday, Aug. 1	8 p.m.
Real Madrid vs. Los Angeles Galaxy	Thursday, Aug. 1	9:30 p.m.
Juventus vs. Real Madrid/Los Angeles Galaxy Loser	Saturday, Aug. 3	9 p.m.
Everton vs. Real Madrid/Los Angeles Galaxy Winner	Saturday, Aug. 3	10:30 p.m.
Valencia vs. Chelsea/Inter Milan Loser	Sunday, Aug. 4	4 p.m
AC Milan vs. Chelsea/Inter Milan Winner	Sunday, Aug. 4	6:30 p.m.
Juventus vs. Real Madrid/Los Angeles Galaxy Loser vs. Valencia vs. Chelsea/Inter Milan Loser	Tuesday, Aug. 6	6:30 p.m.
3rd Place East Team vs. 3rd Place West Team	Tuesday, Aug. 6	9 p.m.
2nd Place East Team vs. 2nd Place West Team	Wednesday, Aug. 7	6:30 p.m.
Everton vs. Real Madrid/Los Angeles Galaxy Winner vs. AC Milan vs. Chelsea/Inter Milan Winner	Wednesday, Aug. 7	9 p.m.

*Schedule courtesy of InternationalChampionsCup.com

Chelsea vs. Real Madrid

As soon as the ICC was set up, it was blatantly obvious that the organizers were angling toward pitting one of the EPL's best in Chelsea against one of La Liga's best in Real Madrid to determine the champion. A lot must happen between now and then for that match to occur, but most would probably agree that Chelsea vs. Madrid is the likeliest final.

Neither team has played its opening match yet, as the Blues are set to face Inter Milan, while Los Blancos will clash with the Los Angeles Galaxy on Thursday. Madrid is essentially a lock to win its match as the Galaxy will be overmatched, even with Landon Donovan in the fold. Chelsea, on the other hand, have a tricky matchup against Inter, but the Blues are ultimately more talented and should be able to escape with a victory.

If both teams are able to pick up one more win apiece after that, an epic final encounter will be on tap. It remains to be seen how much each team's stars will play throughout the tournament, but they will probably be utilized in the final. That means that the likes of Juan Mata and Eden Hazard would lead Chelsea up against Cristiano Ronaldo and Mesut Ozil for Madrid. It simply doesn't get much better than that for a soccer fan.

Everton vs. Real Madrid

Everton shocked a lot of fans on Wednesday night as they defeated a favored Juventus squad 1-1 on penalty kicks, so the Toffees' ICC title hopes are still alive. They stand to face an incredibly difficult test in their next match, however, as they will take on the winner of Madrid vs. the Galaxy.

As great as it would be to see Los Angeles challenge Madrid, and perhaps even upset them, it simply isn't a realistic expectation. Even if Madrid plays their reserves against the Galaxy, they should be able to advance to the next round.

A match against Everton would be no walk in the park, though. Juventus found that out the hard way on Wednesday as Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard stood on his head at times and came through in the penalty shootout. Howard is one of the best netminders in the world, so Everton always has a chance as long as he is in between the pipes. The rest of Everton's lineup isn't too shabby either, as the likes of Marouane Fellaini, Leighton Baines and Wednesday's goalscorer Kevin Mirallas all stand to give Madrid plenty of trouble.

Everton has solid top-flight talent, but so does Madrid. Los Blancos also happen to possess a great deal of depth, which is of the utmost importance in these types of tournaments. Madrid have many players that can score, such as Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, Isco, and a host of other support guys like Xabi Alonso and Ozil. This would be a classic attack vs. counterattack affair with Madrid pushing the pace, but Everton could very well come away with an upset win.

Chelsea vs. AC Milan

In order for the dream final of Madrid vs. Chelsea to happen, the Blues must get past AC Milan, provided they are able to beat Inter in the first round. AC Milan was the first squad to come away with a win in this tournament, defeating Valencia in the only match played outside the United States. Milan took a 2-0 lead in that match, but Valencia struck back with a late goal and nearly tied it as they hit the woodwork on a couple of occasions. Milan survived, though, and stands to face Chelsea if things go as expected.

Milan is coming off a disappointing Serie A campaign, having finished third behind Juventus and Napoli. They earned a spot in the UEFA Champions League playoff round, but AC Milan fans consider anything short of a title to be a failure. Winning the International Champions Cup wouldn't compare to a Serie A championship, but it would be a nice consolation, and the perfect way to gain some momentum heading into the 2013-14 campaign.

There is reason for optimism as Milan features a host of great attackers, including Mario Balotelli, Robinho and Nigel de Jong. If they can play spoiler against a team like Chelsea, the Milan faithful will be extremely excited for the upcoming season. With that said, Chelsea is expected to contend for an EPL title, and it wants to get things started on the right foot as well. It won't be an easy match for the Blues by any means, but they would certainly be favored heading into this marquee tilt.

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