Gauld, Bernardeschi to take part in MLS All-Star Skills Challenge

Vancouver Whitecaps captain Ryan Gauld and Toronto's FC's Federico Bernardeschi will take part in the MLS All-Star Skills Challenge.

The two will be part of a 10-person MLS squad that will go up against Liga MX stars in five head-to-head contests that require ball control, accuracy, strategy and teamwork. The competition is slated for July 23 at Lower.com Field in Columbus, Ohio, the day before the all-star game.

Other MLS players taking part in the skills competition are Luciano Acosta (FC Cincinnati), Cucho Hernández (Columbus Crew), Riqui Puig (L.A. Galaxy), Roman Bürki (St. Louis City), Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets (Inter Miami CF), Brazil's Evander (Portland Timbers), and Maarten Paes (FC Dallas).

Representing LIGA MX are Andrés Guardado (León), Salomón Rondón (Pachuca), Jonathan Dos Santos (Club América), Roberto Alvarado (Guadalajara), Juan Brunetta (Tigres), Sergio Canales (Monterrey), Cesar Huerta (Pumas UNAM),Luis Malagon(Club América), Kevin Mier (Cruz Azul), andGonzalo Piovi (Cruz Azul).

Diana Ordóñez (Houston Dash), Alicia Cervantes (Liga MX Femenil Chivas) and former stars Sacha Kljestan and Luis Hernández will also take part.

Bernardeschi and Gauld are scheduled to compete in the touch challenge and cross and volley challenge. Bernardeschi is also taking part in the shooting challenge.

Both were named to the MLS all-star team for the July 24 game against the Liga MX all-stars.

In the touch challenge, players have to control crosses and place volleyed balls coming from various angles into targets. The cross and volley challenge rewards creativity and skill as players "connect with a teammate to score goals in style." The shooting challenge tests players to see how many of 12 targets they can hit in the allocated time.

The other two skills competitions are the passing challenge and crossbar challenge.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 15 2024