On Saturday, Aug. 3, La Liga rivals Real Madrid and Barcelona faced off in East Rutherford for a club friendly match. The rivalry, which is dubbed ‘El Clasico’ or ‘The Classic’ for the deep history behind the two clubs, emphasizes the importance of the match, even if it had no implications on the standings.
The rivalry drew 82,154 fans to MetLife Stadium in spite of the severe weather conditions looming in the area. After just 11 minutes were played in the match, lightning caused a delay of more than an hour. As the rain continued to come down, the match resumed and Barcelona earned a 2-1 victory over Real Madrid, thanks to 2 goals from Pau Víctor.
While both teams were without some of their star players, including Kylian Mbappe, Jude Bellingham and Lamine Yamal, the match was still able to draw a massive crowd to the Meadowlands. This will help grow optimism around MetLife Stadium and the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Between the Copa América and the latest installment of El Clasico, the Meadowlands has gotten its share of soccer for the summer and looks to be in great shape for when the 2026 FIFA World Cup final comes to MetLife.
The Copa América matches drew over 80,000 fans twice, with large help from Lionel Messi and now the Meadowlands has shown that it can thrive outside of international tournaments but also with club matches. The Real Madrid-Barcelona match was one of many played by international soccer clubs across the United States, as the country continues to become more involved with the sport.