Cristiano Ronaldo

What a time it is for area soccer fans. The Women's World Cup team ended as runner-up to Japan with a squad that included nine people with Philadelphia-area ties. The Union hold first place in the Eastern Conference in only their second Major League Soccer season. The U.S men's national team will play a rematch of its Gold Cup final against Mexico in a friendly on Aug. 10 at Lincoln Financial Field. And one of the greatest soccer players on the planet will invade Philadelphia this weekend when Real Madrid and Cristiano Ronaldo take on the Union at 9 p.m. Saturday in a friendly at the Linc as part of the World Football Challenge.

Who: Real Madrid vs. Celtic What: World Football Challenge Where: Lincoln Financial Field When: Saturday, 1:30 p.m. (kickoff approx. 1:55 p.m.) TV: ESPN2 Tickets/parking: Log onto www.ticketmaster.com; parking is $20 on stadium grounds. Commuter info: SEPTA will run its Sports Express subway trains all day, with the Phillies hosting the Cardinals at 7:05. For kicks: Real Madrid has been on another scoring tear in its annual tour of the United States, coming off a 5-1 rout of Italian giants AC Milan at Yankee Stadium Wednesday night.

Tickets for the Union's game against Real Madrid at Lincoln Financial Field on July 23 go on sale at 10 a.m. today. Real Madrid is coached by Jose Mourinho, who coached championship teams in Portugal, England and Italy before joining Madrid. Real features Cristiano Ronaldo, who scored 53 goals in all competitions in the season just ended, as well as goalkeeper Iker Casillas, captain of Spain's 2010 World Cup champions. "We are honored to host Real Madrid at Lincoln Financial Field," said Eagles president Joe Banner.

Manchester City vs. Everton 7:30 a.m. Saturday (ESPN2/ESPN3.com) U.S. national team goalkeeper Tim Howard will be tested by City's attacking stars. Sergio Aguero and Edin Dzeko have combined for 14 goals in five games this season. Arsenal vs. Bolton Wanderers 10 a.m. Saturday  (Fox Soccer Channel)   It's been another wild week for the Gunners: a 4-3 loss at Blackburn and a come-from-behind Carling Cup win over fourth-division Shrewsbury Town.

Germany advanced to the European Championship quarterfinals without playing brilliantly. But after grinding out its third straight victory with a 2-1 win over Denmark on Sunday in Lviv, Ukraine, Germany finished on top of a group that didn't end up being as dangerous as it looked on paper. World Cup finalist the Netherlands was a major disappointment, losing all three Group B matches. Cristiano Ronaldo found his form just in the nick of time to beat the Dutch, 2-1, and take Portugal to the quarterfinals as runner-up to Germany.

The Week in Soccer   Manchester United at Sunderland 8:30 a.m. Saturday (ESPN2) Led by Robin van Persie, United has a commanding 15-point lead atop the English Premier League, with just nine games left.   Juventus at Inter Milan 10 a.m. Saturday (beIN Sport) Sixth-place Inter, led by forward Antonio Cassano, tries to knock off Italian league leaders Juventus, with ageless midfield maestro Andrea Pirlo.   Barcelona at Paris Saint-Germain 2:30 p.m. Tuesday (Fox Soccer Channel)

Norristown-based heavyweight Michael Grant rallied to knock out Francois Botha in the 12th round to claim the vacant WBF title in Johannesburg, South Africa. The 43-year-old Botha dominated from the start, nearly finishing off the 39-year-old Grant in the seventh and 11th rounds. But Grant, who lives in Blue Bell, dropped him with a big right with 37 seconds left. Grant improved to 48-4, with 36 knockouts. SKATING: In Paris, Patrick Chan won the Trophee Bompard for the third time, while 14-year-old Elizaveta Tuktamisheva took the women's title.

Diego Chaves scored on a rebound in the 81st minute to lift the Chicago Fire to a 3-2, Major League Soccer win over the Columbus Crew on Saturday night in Bridgeview, Ill. Chicago's win allowed the Union to avoid the wild-card round in the MLS Cup playoffs. Jalil Anibaba had two goals for the Fire. Emilio Renteria and Dilly Duka hit for the Crew (13-13-8), who missed out on securing the Eastern Conference title and home field advantage. Columbus, now third in the East, could fall into a wild-card spot pending results of Sunday's games.

The NCAA put Baylor on three years of probation Wednesday after an investigation turned up hundreds of impermissible telephone calls and text messages sent to prep recruits by coaches and assistants on the basketball teams. The violations were considered to be major infractions, and they were announced less than a week after the Bears won the women's national basketball championship with the first 40-0 season in NCAA history. Akosa Maduegbunam , a 6-foot-3, 185-pound guard from Boston, signed a letter of intent to play basketball at Penn State.

The Week in Soccer   Manchester United at Sunderland 8:30 a.m. Saturday (ESPN2) Led by Robin van Persie, United has a commanding 15-point lead atop the English Premier League, with just nine games left.   Juventus at Inter Milan 10 a.m. Saturday (beIN Sport) Sixth-place Inter, led by forward Antonio Cassano, tries to knock off Italian league leaders Juventus, with ageless midfield maestro Andrea Pirlo.   Barcelona at Paris Saint-Germain 2:30 p.m. Tuesday (Fox Soccer Channel)

MANCHESTER, England - Cristiano Ronaldo sent Real Madrid into the Champions League quarterfinals at the expense of his former club Manchester United by hitting his 40th goal of the season to clinch a 2-1 victory on Tuesday. The forward completed Real's comeback in the 69th minute to secure a 3-2 aggregate-goals win after the Spanish champions took advantage of United being reduced to 10 men on a controversial red card. Ronaldo opted not to celebrate the goal that clinched the win. "I am happy inside because Madrid got through," he said.

The NBA will penalize floppers this season, fining players for repeated violations of an act a league official said Wednesday has "no place in our game. " The league said players will get a warning the first time, then be fined $5,000 for a second violation, $10,000 for a third, $15,000 for a fourth, and $30,000 for a fifth offense. Six or more could lead to a suspension. The NBA defined flopping as "any physical act that appears to have been intended to cause the referees to call a foul on another player.

It may have only been the preseason for Real Madrid, but one of the world's top soccer powers showed it meant business during an exhibition tour in the U.S. The four-game tour, part of the World Football Challenge, concluded with Real Madrid's 2-0 win over reining Scottish champion Celtic, on a humid Saturday afternoon at Lincoln Financial Field. Thus Real Madrid appears ready to begin defense of its Spanish La Liga title. League play begins for Real Madrid on Aug. 19. Despite the usual festive attitude of an international competition of this variety, a somber scene occurred in the 72d minute when Dylan McGeough of Celtic was knocked out while going for a head ball.

Cristiano Ronaldo will be the headliner when Real Madrid meets Glasgow Celtic in Saturday's World Football Challenge at Lincoln Financial Field. Ronaldo also appeared in Philadelphia last season when Real Madrid faced the Union. A broader question is whether Ronaldo's appearance stateside could one day be a common occurrence. He was quoted recently saying that he would consider playing in Major League Soccer later in his career. With celebrated players such as David Beckham making MLS their home, nothing should be considered unrealistic.

Who: Real Madrid vs. Celtic What: World Football Challenge Where: Lincoln Financial Field When: Saturday, 1:30 p.m. (kickoff approx. 1:55 p.m.) TV: ESPN2 Tickets/parking: Log onto www.ticketmaster.com; parking is $20 on stadium grounds. Commuter info: SEPTA will run its Sports Express subway trains all day, with the Phillies hosting the Cardinals at 7:05. For kicks: Real Madrid has been on another scoring tear in its annual tour of the United States, coming off a 5-1 rout of Italian giants AC Milan at Yankee Stadium Wednesday night.

Far from its best, Spain still advanced to another major final, beating Portugal, 4-2, in a penalty shootout in Donetsk, Ukraine, on Wednesday after a scoreless draw at the European Championship. Cesc Fabregas, who came on as a substitute in the second half of regulation time, scored the deciding penalty after Bruno Alves hit the crossbar for Portugal moments earlier. Spain, seeking its third straight major trophy after claiming titles at Euro 2008 and the 2010 World Cup, will next face either Germany or Italy on Sunday in Kiev.

Cristiano Ronaldo had it all on Thursday: the deft touches, the blazing runs with the ball, the sulking, the petulance - and, in the end, that golden scoring touch to send Portugal into the European Championship semifinals with a 1-0 win over the Czech Republic in Warsaw, Poland. After bouncing two earlier attempts off the post, Ronaldo scored on a powerful header in the 79th minute off a cross by Joao Moutinho - a shot straight at the ground and up past the flailing hands of Czech goalkeeper Petr Cech.

Germany advanced to the European Championship quarterfinals without playing brilliantly. But after grinding out its third straight victory with a 2-1 win over Denmark on Sunday in Lviv, Ukraine, Germany finished on top of a group that didn't end up being as dangerous as it looked on paper. World Cup finalist the Netherlands was a major disappointment, losing all three Group B matches. Cristiano Ronaldo found his form just in the nick of time to beat the Dutch, 2-1, and take Portugal to the quarterfinals as runner-up to Germany.

Listen to Eagles chief operating officer Don Smolenski explain the inner workings of a deal that returns Real Madrid to Philadelphia, and it sounds like love at first sight. From the time Real walked off with a 2-1 win over the Union in July at Lincoln Financial Field, Smolenski wanted the Spanish League champions back - as soon as possible. After nearly a year of exhaustive phone conversations, conference calls, and meetings via Skype, Smolenski finally got his wish. The Eagles will announce Tuesday that Real Madrid returns to take on Scottish Premier League champion Celtic on Aug. 11 as part of the World Football Challenge.