SAITAMA ¨C The possibility exists that Tuesday¡¯s Rakuten Cup match between Barcelona and Chelsea was being considered by some influential soccer figure or another as an audition for Japan¡¯s inclusion in the increasingly popular International Champions Cup, the international preseason tournament that is currently taking place across six countries on three continents.
If that¡¯s the case, it¡¯s hard to argue that the performance was good enough for a callback.
The first-ever match between two European sides in Japan, which finished 2-1 in favor of the Premier League representatives, would have struggled under normal circumstances to match the last four months of Rakuten-generated hype.
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