"Christian was not only a great player on the pitch, but had a story that fit 100% with Borussia Dortmund - he came here at 16 and worked hard for his success and did it all on his own. But we have always said that we will never make ourselves dependent on single player, and we have to be ready for a time after - we believe we have a big chance in America of sharing our story that while sometimes we may win, sometimes we may lose, but we will never give up."

-- Benedikt Scholz, Borussia Dortmund's head of international and new business, on life for Dortmund in the U.S. market after Christian Pulisic's departure to Chelsea. Dortmund opens a two-game U.S. tour on Wednesday at the Seattle Sounders. (Front Office Sports)

"Forty million Iranian women are fans, and they've been banned for four decades. If the football team is banned for one World Cup, I think that's worth it. I'm sure at the end - in 10 years, 20 years - people will appreciate it."

-- Maryam Shojaei, whose brother Masoud Soleimani Shojaei is the Iran national team captain and a three-time World Cup participant, on campaigning for FIFA to ban Iran from the 2022 World Cup unless Iran changes a law that prohibits women from attending men's soccer matches. FIFA president Gianni Infantino asked Mehdi Taj, the president of Iran's soccer federation, to provide an answer no later than Monday about what "concrete steps" the federation would take to ensure that Iranian women could attend World Cup qualifying games, which start in September. No answer was forthcoming. (New York Times)

Group A: China PR, Syria, Philippines, Maldives, Guam
Group B: Australia, Jordan, Chinese Taipei, Kuwait, Nepal
Group C: Iran, Iraq, Bahrain, Hong Kong, Cambodia
Group D: Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan, Palestine, Yemen, Singapore
Group E: Bangladesh, Oman, India, Afghanistan, Qatar
Group F: Japan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Myanmar, Mongolia
Group G: UAE, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia
Group H: South Korea, Lebanon, North Korea, Turkmenistan, Sri Lanka
Note: Group winners and four best runners-up advance to third round. (It also serves qualifying for the 2023 Asian Cup.)

Wednesday, July 17
Atlanta United vs. Houston 7 pm.
New England vs. Vancouver 7 pm.
Chicago vs. Columbus 8 pm.
Toronto FC vs. NY Red Bulls 8 pm.
Thursday, July 18
FC Cincinnati vs. D.C. United 8 pm.
Portland vs. Orlando City 10 pm.
Friday, July 19
LA Galaxy vs. LAFC 10 pm.
Saturday, July 20
Columbus vs. Montreal 7:30 pm.
Philadelphia vs. Chicago 7:30 pm.
Toronto FC vs. Houston 7:30 pm.
Sporting KC vs. FC Dallas 8:30 pm.
Colorado  vs. NYCFC 9 pm.
Real Salt Lake vs. Minn. United 10 pm.
Vancouver vs. San Jose 10 pm.
Sunday, July 21
Atlanta United vs. D.C. United 4 pm.
FC Cincinnati vs. New England 6 pm.
Orlando City vs. NY Red Bulls 7:30 pm.
Seattle vs. Portland 9:30 pm.
Note: All times ET.