The 2025 MLS season is the most jam-packed in the history of the league, with the 30 clubs taking part in a combined five different competitions in addition to the regular season.
Although most clubs are not in more than two competitions in total, some will have taken on far more. For example, Inter Miami CF, Seattle Sounders FC and Los Angeles FC all competed in the FIFA Club World Cup, Concacaf Champions Cup and Leagues Cup, in addition to their regular season and potentially MLS Cup playoff journeys.
With so much match congestion, it leaves little time for the traditional summer friendlies between MLS clubs and touring European sides looking for an in-season opponent, with only four games on the docket for this summer.
While past eras have seen the glamour of FC Barcelona, Chelsea, Arsenal and several other major clubs as worthy midseason friendly matches, this season sees just a few opportunities for friendlies.
Aston Villa Head to St. Louis CITY, Nashville SC
- July 30: St. Louis CITY SC vs. Aston Villa – Energizer Park
- Aug. 2: Nashville SC vs. Aston Villa – GEODIS Park
Premier League side Aston Villa make their way stateside this summer and will open the club friendly season with a visit to St. Louis CITY SC on July 30, before taking on Nashville SC on Aug. 2.
While it is always challenging for MLS sides to gauge how many first-team players they want to play, the two matches will still present significantly different challenges for the Birmingham side that finished sixth in the Premier League last season.
St. Louis CITY have struggled mightily this season and sacked their manager, Olof Mellberg, just 15 games into his tenure, after abandoning the team’s identity and playstyle in favor of a defensive outlook, which led them to several losses.
Although things have improved slightly, St. Louis only managed three wins through their first 21 games, and had little go their way, despite the talents of Roman Burki, João Klauss and Cedric Teuchert.
Aston Villa will have a much tougher test against Nashville, though, having stayed near the top of the Eastern Conference for much of the season and having the dynamic attacking duo of Sam Surridge and Hany Mukhtar, both among the league leaders in offensive categories.
However, Nashville are in the semifinals of the U.S. Open Cup and have their eyes on further success in MLS and the postseason; they could field a heavily rotated squad against the Premier League side.
Philadelphia Union vs. Eintracht Frankfurt
- Aug. 2: Philadelphia Union vs. Eintracht Frankfurt – Subaru Park
The Philadelphia Union will welcome Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt on Aug. 2, as the German club returns to the United States for the second year in a row. In addition to the match in Philadelphia, Frankfurt will also head to Louisville to take on USL Championship side Louisville City.
It’s all part of the next phase of Frankfurt’s internationalization program, which aims to grow their brand across the world, and in particular in the U.S. ahead of the co-hosted FIFA World Cup 2026.
At the same time, it’s also the latest chapter in the cooperation between Frankfurt and Philadelphia, two cities that have cooperated as official sister cities since 2015, with sports playing a key role in deepening ties.
Previously, the two sides faced off in 2018 with the Union coming out as 1–0 winners and the two clubs have also exchanged pliers in the past, with Marco Fabián signing with the Union from Frankfurt in 2019 and USMNT midfielder Paxten Aaronson signing with the Bundesliga club after coming through the Union’s famed academy system.
This year, the matchup brings several intriguing factors as Frankfurt prepare to improve on their third place finish in the 2024–25 Bundesliga and to take on the UEFA Europa League, while the Union are amid a successful first season under head coach Bradley Carnell, and will be eying a long MLS Cup run.
D.C. United vs. Ethiopia
- Aug. 2: D.C. United vs. Ethiopia – Audi Field
There aren’t many times when club teams battle against international teams, but D.C. United will do just that when they take on Ethiopia. It marks the second time in as many seasons that an MLS team will face an international side as well, after Inter Miami played El Salvador in 2024.
The event pits the No. 156-ranked Ethiopian men’s national team against a D.C. United side, which has been reeling and recently fired their head coach, Troy Lesesne, after crashing out of the U.S. Open Cup quarterfinals.
To stay alive in CAF qualifying, Ethiopia will have to get results against a combination of Burkina Faso, Sierra Leone, and Guinea-Bissau, and finish in second in the group, which would give them a shot at the second round, where they could play through a bracket to play in the intercontinental playoff.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Which MLS Teams Are Playing Friendlies This Summer? .
