The 22nd Annual MLS All-Star Game will be played on Wednesday, August 2, 2017 at Soldier Field in Chicago, IL. The All-Stars will be versing Spanish Club Real Madrid, one of the most successful clubs in soccer history and the reigning club world champions.

This is the first time the All-Stars will be competing against Spain’s La Liga, having previously faced teams from England’s Premier League, Italy’s Serie A, Germany’s Bundesliga, the Scottish Premier League, and Mexico’s Liga MX. In the 2016 All-Star game, the All-Stars played Arsenal and lost 2-1.

This year’s match-up is a highly anticipated one, and fans have helped vote for one of the strongest lineups seen yet. The ballot consisted of 176 players, eight from each team. Fans had up until June 30 to make their votes. The final MLS All-Stars roster consists of 24 players; 11 players voted for by fans (the Fan IX), 11 chosen by the coach and two picked by MLS Commissioner Don Garber.

MLS All-Star Game Tickets

Click here to view a complete listing of MLS All-Star Game tickets.

The All-Star head coach is selected each year based on who the host city’s head coach is. Chicago Fire’s head coach Veljko Paunovic will be managing the All-Stars team this year. Veljko has been the head coach of the Chicago Fire since 2015 and it will be his first time coaching an All-Star game.

The 2017 All-Star roster has been released, with a mix of 16 returning All-Star players and 8 first-time players. The players represent 13 different MLS clubs and 13 different countries, creating a diverse team. There are also four current Chicago Fire players on the roster this year.

A few highlighted returning players to the All-Stars game this year are Sebastian Giovinco and David Villa. Sebastian Giovinco has been nominated for the MLS All-Star game the past three years and was the 2015 MLS MVP. He was a Fan IX choice this year, and is currently leading the Toronto FC with nine goals and four assists this season. David Villa is another strong player returning to the All-Stars game this season. Entering his third All-Star game in a row, Villa was also a Fan IX choice this year. He was the 2016 MLS MVP and scored 23 goals last season.

Head coach Veljko Paunovic’s 11 choices were recently released; consisting of one goalkeeper, five defenders, four midfielders and one forward. A few of his choices included goalkeeper Stefan Frei, midfielder Giovani dos Santos and defender Jelle Van Damme. Frei is the goalkeeper for the Seattle Sounders and it will be his first appearance in the MLS All-Star game and won the 2016 MLS Cup MVP honors.

Giovani do Santos participated in the 2016 All-Star game, and was one of two players last season to earn double digit totals in goals and assists for the LA Galaxy. Damme appeared in the 2016 All-Star game and had a strong debut season for the LA Galaxy as he was a finalist for MLS Defender of the Year and Newcomer of the year.

MLS All-Star Roster 2017

Forwards

Jozy Altidore (Toronto FC)
Dom Dwyer (Sporting KC)
Sebastian Giovinco (Toronto FC)
Nemanja Nikolic (Chicago Fire)
David Villa (NYC FC)

Midfielders

Kellyn Acosta (FC Dallas)
Miguel Almiron (Atlanta United)
Michael Bradley (Toronto FC)
Giovani Dos Santos (LA Galaxy)
Kaká (Orlando City)
Dax McCarty (Chicago Fire)
Ignacio Piatti (Montreal Impact)
Bastian Schweinsteiger (Chicago Fire)
Diego Valeri (Portland Timbers)

Defenders

DaMarcus Beasley (Houston Dynamo)
Greg Garza (Atlanta United)
Hevnan Grana (FC Dallas)
Matt Hedges (FC Dallas)
John Kappelhof (Chicago Fire)
Michael Parkhurst (Atlanta United)
Jelle Van Damme (LA Galaxy)
Graham Zusi (Sporting KC)

Goalkeepers

Stefan Frei (Seattle Sounders)
Tim Howard (Colorado Rapids)

2016 MLS All-Star Highlights

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpsF1lw_WZ0