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Pre-season stadium guide: Soldier Field, Chicago

Liverpool’s forthcoming pre-season trip to the USA will conclude with a fixture at Chicago’s Soldier Field on August 2.

Pre-season stadium guide: Soldier Field, Chicago

The Reds are set for a fortnight in the States ahead of the 2026-27 season, featuring games against Sunderland in Nashville and then Wrexham in New York.

Their third and last match of the visit will pit Andoni Iraola’s team versus Leeds United in the Windy City of Illinois.

It will be a fifth outing at Soldier Field for Liverpool, who most recently played a friendly with Olympiacos there in July 2014.

A fifth-minute goal from Raheem Sterling was the only difference between the sides as the Reds marked that visit to Chicago with a 1-0 win.

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Soldier Field is one of the USA’s most storied and long-standing venues; its planning began in 1919 as a memorial to American soldiers lost at war.

Building occurred over three phases between 1922 and 1939. It opened in late 1924 as Municipal Grant Park Stadium and was renamed a year later.

Capable of hosting crowds surpassing 100,000 spectators for many years, the stadium has since been an iconic location for a wide range of sporting and social events.

In 1971, it became the permanent home of NFL team Chicago Bears and a period of renovations followed, including a switch from AstroTurf to a natural grass surface.

Soldier Field – listed on the National Register of Historic Places – notably hosted the opening fixture of the 1994 World Cup as Germany saw off Bolivia 1-0.

Further revamping of the arena was undertaken early in the 21st century and it is now also used as a home ground by Major League Soccer club Chicago Fire.

Its current capacity stands at 63,500.

Liverpool’s maiden match at Soldier Field came in June 1946 as part of a USA tour to prepare for the resumption of football after World War II.

Jack Balmer scored four goals and Willie Fagan grabbed a hat-trick in a 9-3 victory against Chicago Maroons.

Eighteen years later, the Reds embarked on a post-season trip across the Atlantic as England’s newly crowned First Division champions.

This venture included two fixtures at Soldier Field.

An Ian St John treble settled the first in Liverpool’s favour as Mexican side CF Monterrey were beaten 3-0 in May 1964.

They met German opposition for their second contest there a fortnight later, playing out a goalless stalemate with Meidericher Spielverein (MSV Duisburg).

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