Live Blog

New signings Gray and Begovic hand new manager Benitez his first Everton silverware!

Goalie versus goalie!!
Begovic hoofs it down the middle, goalie dives left and GOAL!
Moreno steps up.. SAVED by Begovic! Everton win!

Anderson with a belter, Moreno doesn’t move.. GOAL.
Millonarios player sends Begovic the wrong way.. GOAL, 9-9.

Davies to the right since their goalie only dives to the left.. GOAL.
Murillo sends Begovic begging.. GOAL, 8-8.

KENNY WITH THE PANENKA GOAL! IT’S EVERTON IN AMERICA TRADITION!
The Millonarios player scores his.. GOAL, 7-7.

Gibson next, send Moreno the wrong way.. GOAL.
Garcia with a great shot.. GOAL, 6-6.

Sudden death now.
Gbamin outwaits Moreno and rolls it into the opposite corner.. GOAL.
Guerra does the same.. GOAL, 5-5 now.

Broadhead next, no panenka but down the middle.. GOAL.
Ruiz low to Begovic’s left, he gets a hand on it but it rolls through.. GOAL, 4-4.

Gomes sends Moreno the wrong way.. GOAL.
Amadilla’s penalty is high and Begovic guesses right but it’s too high and powerful.. GOAL, 3-3.

Gordon smashes it off the woodwork, ball bounces down and hits the goalie but it stays out.. MISS.
Vargas casual as all get out, sends Begovic the wrong way. GOAL, 2-2.

Gray blasts to the same spot again, beats the goalie again. GOAL.
Marquez low to Begovic’s right.. SAVED. Everton lead 2-1.

Keane will take the first one, sends the goalie the wrong way.. GOAL.
Perreira does the same.. GOAL, 1-1.

Keane as captain wins the toss to chooses the goal the Blues defended in the second half, and Everton will kick first.

Here’s the highlights of the game and the full penalty shootout.

Fulltime - There’s the final whistle, and we’re going to penalties.

90+3 - Gray snatches at a shot with the clock ticking away, way over.

90 - Three minutes added on. Gray with a freekick curled in and Millonarios clear.

84 - Gbamin brought down on the edge of the attacking third. Looped into the box and the goalie takes. We’re going to have a penalty shootout straight after the full time whistle if no one scores.

79 - Broadhead through on goal on the left, decides to go it alone with defenders closing and drills his shot into the goalie.

72 - The game has settled into a bit of a stalemate now as happens often when you have a raft of changes.
Tom Davies and Lewis Gibson coming on for Allan and Godfrey, the last two outfield starters still on the pitch.

67 - Iwobi leading the charge again and sees the ball run away from him just when he was about to pull the trigger.

63 - PENALTY! Broadhead through on goal and substitute goalie Moreno wipes him out, clear penalty.
Gray will take, slammed home past the goalie who guesses right, 1-1! Debut goal for the forward!

61 - More changes - Keane, Anderson & Gbamin on, with Holgate, Digne, Allan going off.

57 - Iwobi leads a counter and his ball into the box eludes Broadhead.

55 - Gray looking very lively since he’s come on, happy to run with the ball and getting into space off the ball too.
Gordon almost finishes off a neat passing move in the box but is tackled very well by a defender.

51 - Blues looking a lot more mobile now, nice run and pass from Iwobi finds Broadhead for a shot that goes wide.

46 - Looks more like a 4-4-2 now, with Gray and Broadhead up top, Gordon on the left and Iwobi switching to the right. Allan stays on and Gomes joins him in the middle and Kenny is on for Coleman.

Second half - looks like Rafa has rung the changes, five of them - Kenny, Gomes, Gray, Broadhead and Gordon. Z-Cars ringing out at the stadium as the Blues come out.

45 - There’s the halftime whistle. Everton were pretty miserable to start the game but have looked much better in the last fifteen minutes. Will Benitez ring the changes at the break, or keep the same side on?

43 - Digne goes off his feet to head the ball and meets a boot, yikes. No major injury luckily.

42 - Captain Coleman goes in the book for stepping on the back of Silva’s leg as he receives the ball. That looked nasty.

39 - Tricky bobbler from Doucoure parried out for a corner which is cleared.
Now Townsed cuts in from the right and curls one in with his left... off the woodwork! That had some zip, no chance for the goalie.

36 - Another shot for Millonarios, this time off an error by Allan but it’s well over.
Kean takes on two men but eventually runs into a cul-de-sac with Iwobi running away from him instead of giving him an outlet.

35 - Roman draws a save from Begovic, and the Colombians have another corner, take it short and it’s cleared.

30 - Iwobi lays it off for Digne and his cross into the box is perfect, Kean gets under it and heads it over.
Millonarios controlling possession 60%-40%, and have four shots on target to Everton’s one.

27 - We’re into the one minute cooling break to let the players hydrate. An opportunity for Rafa to talk to the players before halftime.

25 - Townsend looking to make amends for his error, makes room down the right and crosses well into the box, James and Kean get in each other’s way and the ref blows for a Kean handball, which we don’t see in the replays. Both Everton players are pretty livid at the ref.

19 - Digne beaten and Godfrey concedes a corner. Llinas gets his head to it, off the post and ricochets of the centrehalf. Awful defending from Townsend who didn’t even jump, yeesh.

15 - Kickoff was delayed because the Millonarios fans behind the Everton goal had covered it in confetti, our man in the press box Brian tells us.

10 - The Colombian side are looking a lot more comfortable and familiar than the Blues. They’re certainly more used to playing in this weather, it doesn’t often get this hot and humid on Merseyside during football season.

7 - Big save from Begovic! Allan clattered Vargas and conceded a freekick which found its way into the box and central defender Llinas had a shot on the turn that the veteran goalie parries away. The corner is cleared.

4 - Millonarios win the first corner but Everton clear.
It is looking like a 4-2-3-1, with Iwobi-James-Townsend behind Kean up top.

1 - Underway in Orlando! Both Everton & Millonarios are known as the Blues, but it’s the Colombians who have changed strips and are wearing a white away kit.

So the lineups are out and Benitez has named as strong a lineup as he has on hand, with Begovic in goal and Townsend starting as well.

It's looking like a 4-2-3-1, with Coleman, Holgate, Godfrey and Digne in the back, Allan and Doucoure in front of them. Iwobi, James and Townsend, and Kean up top.

Rafa has been focusing on quick passing in training so far, let's see if the Blues can show it in this heat though against an opponent who is well conditioned to playing in this environment.

Preview

Today Everton fans will get their first look at new manager Rafa Benitez in live action as the Blues take on Colombian side Millonarios as part of their preseason schedule. The Toffees are in Orlando for the Florida Cup and after two behind-closed-doors games, tonight we’ll see them play a competitive-ish game.

The tournament has been marred by the withdrawal of Arsenal and Inter Milan, but the Blues have had a hastily organized second game scheduled against Mexican outfit Pumas on Wednesday.

Blues will be curious to see how the team lines up with key players Jordan Pickford, Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Yerry Mina still on break after the Euros & Copa America, and Richarlison off at the Olympics in Japan. This is also an opportunity to see how the three new signings in Andros Townsend, Asmir Begovic and Demarai Gray all fit into the squad and whether they can really provide first team competition.

Today's opponents Millonarios are a Colombian midtable side, with James Rodriguez having this to say about his countrymen.

“It's a great opportunity to play against my countrymen. I hope the Colombians fans come to the stands to support us or the clubs they want to support.

“Millonarios have a great reputation in Colombia. It's a special feeling for me and we are taking this seriously. I'm really focused as I normally am in every match. Hopefully it's going to be a great game for the fans and I hope we can get the win.”

Match Details

Competition: Florida Cup (Everton preseason game #3)

Date and start time: Sunday, July 25th at 3:00 p.m. PT /6:00 p.m ET / 11:00 p.m. BST

Stadium: Camping World Stadium, Orlando, Florida, United States

Capacity: 65,000

Weather: 85°F/30°C, mostly cloudy, 15% chance of precipitation, 8 mph winds

How to Watch/Listen

TV: ESPN2 - United States; Premier SPorts 2 - United Kingdom; SuperSport Action

Radio: evertontv, TalkSport Radio UK, SiriusXM FC

Live stream: Fubo, ESPN+, ESPN App, Premier Player HD, ESPN Play Caribbean, ESPN Play Norte

Gamethread: There will be a live blog for this game.

Make sure you’re following the Royal Blue Mersey Twitter account as we have Brian & Pat on the ground in Orlando taking in the sights and sounds before, during and after today’s game.

*Royal Blue Mersey has affiliate partnerships and may earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links provided.

Information from LiveSoccerTV.com

Lineups

Everton

Millonarios

Last Meeting

The Blues have never played Millonarios before, but here’s a pretty cool story that ties Merseyside to South America.