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Who is Matt Crocker? From Southampton academy manager to US Soccer’s new sporting director

Dan SheldonApr 25, 202339

When Matt Crocker returned to Southampton as the club’s director of football operations in February 2020, he went on what proved a costly tour of their training ground.Crocker, 48, had previously worked at Southampton between 2006-2013, overseeing the academy, but upon his return he was disappointed by what he saw.

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Southampton quickly committed £1million ($1.25m) to upgrade parts of their Staplewood training base off the back of Crocker’s recommendations. Improvements included a new sports science and analysis office space, plus a rehabilitation and medical lab for the academy, women’s and girls’ programmes.This is only a peek behind the curtain of what Crocker did during his second stint at Southampton, but it shows the kind of sporting director the US Soccer Federation is hiring.The Athletic answers the key questions about his appointment…

Where did his career start?

Crocker never played football professionally. His first notable appointment was at Welsh club Cardiff City, where he spent six years between 1999-2005 as their academy manager.

He was given responsibility for transforming a relatively small youth programme into a fully-functioning academy, which meant he had the autonomy to oversee all elements of their youth system.

At academy level he took charge of Cardiff City’s strategic direction, staff and player development, player recruitment and implementing a philosophy and culture for everyone to follow.

He surpassed his targets in Wales and took a role at the English Football League (EFL) as a youth development monitor, which made him responsible for supporting academy managers on all aspects of youth development.

Just over a year later, Crocker joined Championship side Southampton as the academy manager.

What did he achieve in his first stint at Southampton?

Crocker oversaw the academy programme from the under-9s to the under-21s, which included setting the strategy as well as coaching and player development plans.

“I’ve always liked projects,” Crocker told The Athletic in December 2020. “When I look back to my early days at Cardiff City, it was a long-term project to get them academy status. I then had the opportunity to come to Southampton as the academy manager at a difficult time for the club as we had just been relegated from the Premier League.”

At Southampton he managed to get the academy Category One status, the highest rating a club’s youth system can be awarded, and for good reason.

Players such as Gareth Bale, who went on to win multiple Champions League titles with Real Madrid, Liverpool’s Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Manchester United’s Luke Shaw and England international and Southampton captain James Ward-Prowse all passed through the academy when Crocker was in charge.

Did he succeed at the FA?

Without a shadow of a doubt, and that is what the US Soccer Federation should be most excited about.

When he joined the FA as their head of teams (coaching) in November 2013 after leaving Southampton, Crocker worked alongside Gareth Southgate, then the England Under-21s manager, and Dan Ashworth, who was the director of elite development, to launch ‘England DNA’.

Southgate is now the manager of the England men’s team, while Ashworth is the sporting director at Newcastle United.

“England DNA was a blank sheet of paper, and there was an opportunity to align a pathway from the junior teams to the senior teams,” Crocker previously told The Athletic.

The programme is designed for England’s youth teams from under-15s to under-21s and is the starting point for the FA’s elite player development. It is split into five parts: ‘who we are’; ‘how we play’; ‘the future England player’; ‘how we coach’; and ‘how we support the process’.

In his six years at the FA, Crocker also oversaw England’s national teams (under-15s to under-20s) on the men’s and women’s side, including the men’s wins at the Under-17 World Cup and Under-20 World Cup in 2017, and their European Championship at under-19s level the same year.

England’s under-17s squad at the time included Manchester City’s Phil Foden and current Manchester United winger Jadon Sancho, who cost the club £72.6million ($90.5m) when they signed him from Borussia Dortmund in 2021.

It was at the FA that Crocker started a technical directors’ course, too, which eventually led to a reunion with Southampton in February 2020.

Why did he return to Southampton?

“I feel like I’ve worked through my career to be in a position to do this type of role,” he told The Athletic. “It just felt like a really great opportunity for me and the time for another project.”

Southampton had recently overhauled their senior leadership team, with chairman Ralph Krueger, vice-chairman Les Reed and director of football operations Ross Wilson all leaving.

Martin Semmens, Southampton’s chief executive, had several conversations with Crocker before offering him the role. Given he had not been a director of football before, that could have been viewed as a risk.

“The conversation I had with Martin Semmens was very much about me being a behind-the-scenes strategy and process person,” Crocker said. “I’m someone that makes sure we hold ourselves accountable to the processes and plans we have in place.”

Matt Crocker Crocker (right) in conversation with Southampton chief executive Martin Semmens. Credit: Dan Mullan / Getty Images

What did he do as director of football operations?

“Some clubs have a director of football that is a trader: they fly all over the world doing deals that could be seen as the sexy stuff. But that’s not my strength,” Crocker said.

His influence and relationships were called upon when the club targeted young English players such as Tino Livramento, but his focus was not on player trading. Instead Crocker got his teeth into other areas of the club, such as modernising the academy.

Another of his ideas was to implement a review process after every sixth game, bringing all departments to the table to discuss performances.

There was however friction between Ralph Hasenhuttl — Southampton’s former manager — and Crocker, which limited his impact on the first team.

Then when Sport Republic bought Southampton in January 2022, Crocker’s role became somewhat reduced. Time has shown they have a different vision to the one being implemented.

Was he involved with Southampton’s club-wide playbook?

The ‘SFC Playbook’ was a club-wide project that led to radical change at the academy and, yes, Crocker was involved. Hasenhuttl was frustrated with how long it took academy players to get accustomed to his style, something Crocker sympathised with. The playbook was a way to get all age groups playing and training in the same style.

“I guess one of the big wins was to come in and really remove the under-23s from the academy and place it as a B team connected to the first team,” Crocker said. “We developed the SFC Playbook with a style of play, all the sessions that we do from a first-team perspective, and the position-specific profiles that are required for each of the six positions across the team, and we made sure we aligned that with the B team.”

The playbook is a digital archive of training sessions that was initially passed down to the B team’s coaching staff before it was implemented in the under-18s. At the beginning of this season, it was rolled out in the under-16s.

Has he shown an interest in women’s football?

Absolutely. Aside from Marieanne Spacey-Cale, the former England international and current manager of Southampton Women, Crocker has been the biggest driving force of the club’s recent successes.

Spacey-Cale works closely with Crocker, describing him as her “sounding board” and someone who is “heavily emotionally invested in the team”. They meet formally every month but keep in contact every week.

Southampton Women achieved back-to-back promotions and now play in the Women’s Championship, one tier below the Women’s Super League.

Under Crocker’s oversight, the club developed one of only four tier-one regional talent centres in the country and in August they were given a licence to run a new emerging talent centre, designed for girls aged between 10-12.

How well is he going to fit with US Soccer?

Sources who have worked closely with Crocker describe him as the “perfect fit” for US Soccer because of his experience in building up sporting infrastructure and implementing a strategy and culture.He is accustomed to working in high-pressure environments at the international federation and club levels.

“Strategy, planning and programme management are among his biggest strengths, so he will be well suited to his new role,” says a source, speaking on the condition of anonymity to protect relationships. “He knows what he is good at and focuses on that.”

U.S. Soccer Matt Crocker: USMNT coach interviews won’t start with, ‘What do you offer us’

WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 24: U.S. Soccer Federation Sporting Director Matt Crocker poses for a portrait at the JW Marriott on April 24, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick Smith/USSF/Getty Images for USSF)

By Pablo Maurer and Paul TenorioApr 26, 202325

U.S. Soccer sporting director Matt Crocker’s career has taken him to some enviable locales. With the English Football Association, Crocker watched Under-17 and Under-20 teams hoist World Cup titles in India in 2017. More recently, the 48-year-old was tasked with plotting the sporting direction of Premier League side Southampton. He has spent years working at the very highest level of the game.

But he started his career as a coach in a decidedly quainter place: Little Rock, Arkansas.

At the time, Crocker was a 17-year-old apprentice player with Cardiff City and keen to start working towards his coaching licenses. A friend, as Crocker shared, had moved to the United States to start an indoor soccer center, dubbed “Soccer USA.” These were the halcyon days of the American soccer camp when the country’s developmental landscape was much more reliant on the “Soccer USAs” of the country than on complex, expensive academy systems.

“Six of us would jump in a van and we’d drive wherever they told us to on Monday,” Crocker said Tuesday during a roundtable discussion in Washington D.C., where he was introduced as U.S. Soccer’s new sporting director. “(We’d) coach all week, come back on a Friday night and play an indoor showcase game, then play an 11-v-11 game on Saturday and travel again on Sunday. What a perfect life, as a 17 or 18-year-old to be able to do that in a country like America.”

Crocker did this for a few summers before eventually landing in Kansas City, where he coached for a local club, Louisburg Legends. His wife, who was then his girlfriend, joined him for the adventure. The two were like “aliens,” Crocker said, and it took a bit of time to get used to the local wildlife.

“(The children on our street) had never really seen or heard our accent before,” Crocker said. “There were a couple of kids on the deck with my wife and I and there were a couple of, what are they called, lightning bugs? They flew past. My wife asked the kids, ‘What’s that?’ They said ‘That’s a lightning bug!’ and then the kid went ‘And that’s a dog! And that’s a cat!’”

Now, Crocker has returned to the United States to take a decidedly bigger job than his first coaching gig in Arkansas. He is charged with overseeing U.S. Soccer’s sporting operations just three years out from the 2026 FIFA men’s World Cup, which the U.S. will co-host. It is a massive opportunity to make an outsized impression on the sport in this country.

His first tasks, even before he officially starts in the position on Aug. 2, are substantial: hire a coach for the men’s team and oversee the women’s team as they seek a third consecutive World Cup trophy.

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“I’m really excited,” Crocker said. “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t scared in some other ways as well, because I already know there’s some great work going on, but I already know I need to come in and have an impact and I need to show my worth. I’m excited and a tad bit scared at the same time.”

In January, the federation contracted consulting group Sportsology to conduct a thorough search for coaching and sporting director candidates, domestically and internationally. After that search concluded, the federation looked at how the sporting director candidates ranked in four “buckets,” as U.S. Soccer president Cindy Parlow Cone said on Tuesday.“This position is a huge position and nobody will be an expert in all of them,” Parlow Cone said. “So we looked at different expertise in the different buckets. We started contacting them and having initial conversations and then moved a number of people forward to Zoom interviews. Our group decided on who to move forward to the in-person interviews.”Parlow Cone said the federation eventually narrowed the field down to 10 candidates, then seven, and then three final candidates. Two of those finalists were diverse candidates, Parlow Cone said. From the beginning, though, Crocker stood out.

“(I had a) gut feeling after the first interview,” said Parlow Cone.

Crocker’s role will be narrower than previous sporting director Earnie Stewart’s was. In March, the federation posted a job listing for a “chief soccer growth officer,” who will oversee the growth of the game at the amateur and youth levels. Oversight of referee and coaching education will also fall under the purview of other officials at the federation, leaving Crocker free to focus on the national team programs alone, from the youth levels through to the senior team.

To Crocker, it was a golden opportunity.

He filled a similar role at the FA, helping craft the “England DNA” coaching and playing philosophy that has helped England’s men’s and women’s programs ascend to challenge for, and win, trophies. He did so alongside current England men’s national team manager Gareth Southgate and current Newcastle sporting director Dan Ashworth.

In his six years at the FA, Crocker also oversaw England’s national teams (under-15s to under-20s) on the men’s and women’s sides, including the men’s wins at the Under-17 and Under-20 World Cup in 2017, and their European Championship at under-19s level the same year.

He returned to Southampton in 2020 — in a previous stint he oversaw an academy that produced the likes of former Welsh winger Gareth Bale, Liverpool’s Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Manchester United’s Luke Shaw and England international and Southampton captain James Ward-Prowse — and helped establish the “SFC Playbook,” which focused on streamlining style of play from the youth levels through to the first team. Crocker was less involved in player transfers at Southampton and more focused on modernizing the academy, recruiting domestic players and building out the philosophy and organization within the club.

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Crocker’s role reduced some when Sport Republic bought the team at the start of 2022, and he eventually decided to leave at the end of this current campaign, one which sees Southampton on the brink of relegation. When asked whether he’d learned any lessons from a trying campaign, Crocker pointed to the club’s injury woes and turnover before focusing on what he considered Southampton’s positives and how they might translate to the U.S. job.

“One of the things that I’d say is we’re a club that has a great business model,” Crocker said. “We’re a club that has a clear identity and a style of play and there’s definitely things that I’ve learned at Southampton that I believe I can transition into my role here. But without any context, I need to come in, listen, learn and understand and then see where there’s some potential to add some value. But I already know there’s some great work going on. My job is to identify that, nourish, support and grow it but maybe try and identify where there are some opportunities. That will take some time.”When Sportsology reached out about the U.S. sporting director job, Crocker immediately understood the magnitude of the opportunity.“I had to pinch myself,” said Crocker, who will remain at Southampton through the end of the season. “When you think of the size and scope of the (U.S.) program and the opportunities that are coming up both on the men’s and women’s programs, it’s been my sole focus outside of trying to help Southampton fight their way out of the position that we’re in now. It was the only thing I was interested in.”In many ways, his strengths — at both the FA and Southampton — appear to fit perfectly with what U.S. Soccer said it was looking for: someone who can help organize and manage the sporting department and also maximize the success and development pipeline of youth national teams.“I just think I’ve got a skillset that enables people to come together,” Crocker said. “We always talk about this ‘85/15’ rule. So, 85% of the time we agree, 15% of the time we may not, but when we leave the room we’re all aligned. … My job is to make sure in that 15% that I can make a decisive decision that everybody understands why we’re making it and also (be) the first one to hold my hand up if it goes wrong.”

Crocker’s first hire will be a crucial one not just because of the stage upon which that coach must succeed, but also because of the current state of the program. The U.S. men’s team is coming off of a strong performance at the Qatar World Cup but has also had to navigate significant off-field drama involving one of its young stars, Gio Reyna, and former coach Gregg Berhalter.

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Crocker declined to speak about individual candidates on Tuesday, but his comments painted a clear picture. He seemed optimistic about the performances of the team under Berhalter, especially at the World Cup. He spoke about wanting the U.S. to be an aggressive team, one that can control games at moments and also play on the front foot. He said he also wants a team that is willing to play higher up the field and to defend in one-on-one moments. Crocker indicated that the hire would be charged with continuing the progress the team made in this last cycle, not tearing it down and restarting.Berhalter remains a candidate to continue as coach, but the federation no doubt is considering others. That likely includes American manager Jesse Marsch, who had a successful stint with Red Bull Salzburg in Austria’s Bundesliga before a short stint with RB Leipzig and then mixed results in the Premier League with Leeds.“The identity that Gregg has helped to build and obviously (interim manager Anthony Hudson) has taken forward, as well, we want to grow and build on that,” Crocker said. “Because we’ve got some players with huge potential and huge levels of creativity to be able to identify and then deliver those key moments in games.”Crocker, and the federation as a whole, are not searching for a candidate who is looking to instill his own philosophical approach to the position. Crocker, along with Parlow Cone and CEO JT Batson, spoke frequently on Tuesday about establishing and installing processes and roles. When it comes to the coaching hire, Crocker seemed to leave that hierarchy pretty clear.“I don’t see the interview process starting with, ‘What do you offer us,’” Crocker said. “For me it’s, ‘This is our program, this is our vision, this is where we’re gonna be going.’“I want to make sure the coaches understand that and they get excited about what they’re adding to that program rather than ripping it up and starting again and just bringing their own philosophy and their own ideas.”

Crocker, who will have the final say on the coaching hire, mirrored Parlow Cone’s sentiments regarding the timeline for a new coach.

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“For us right now, it’s about making sure we nail the process,” he said. “What exactly it is we want to find out — and making sure that we’ve got the right data modules to give us the information, making sure we’ve got the right background checks that give us the leadership style and then to make sure that we provide the right opportunities for the coaches to come in and show their best selves through the process of what they can offer.”

In some ways, Crocker stepping into the federation from the outside brings a fresh set of eyes to a landscape that needs it.

While he acknowledged Crocker has a lot of work to do to better understand the scope of the job and the many areas that need help, he also was quick to point out that he is now overseeing a program that has shown plenty of progress on the men’s side and that sets the standard on the women’s side.

“During my time (with the English national teams) when I looked at the U.S. (men’s) teams that were coming through, they were unbelievably competitive,” Crocker said. “And I mentioned the group of (birth year) 2000 that have gone through and gone on to be great players currently and are even still developing. I actually don’t think they’ve underachieved. We still have to remember that the academy ecosystem in the MLS is still very much in its infancy. There’s still going to be time to grow”

The hope is that the men can continue to climb in relevancy and competitiveness and that the women’s national team will be able to hold off a number of teams that are closing the gap as investment in the game grows globally.

“I think it’s about continuing to harvest and grow that mentality,” Crocker said. “We should breed fear into the opposition again.”

Crocker sees the significant progress the country has made since he first showed up in Little Rock coaching at Soccer USA. And while it may not need a complete reset, he’ll now be tasked with overseeing the greatest chance the program has to leap forward since the 1994 and 1999 tournaments propelled the professional levels of the game in the U.S.

The USMNT is being held back by the idea that it needs to change how the world perceives the team

What needs to change is winning more gamesBy Parker Cleveland @Cleveland_FC Apr 27, 2023, 7:00am PDT

Netherlands v USA: Round of 16 - FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022

One of the consistent messages about the USMNT in recent years has been how its leaders want to change the perception of the team in international soccer. Gregg Berhalter had a frequent mantra of wanting to “change the way the world looks at American Soccer.” The team probably didn’t do that by coming second in the group getting an expected result by beating Iran, dropping a lead against Wales in disappointing fashion, and getting a gutsy draw in a well played game against England and then being outplayed by the Netherlands.

While I don’t presume to speak for the entire world, finishing second in the group and then losing an elimination game to a group winner is probably what was expected.

Yet again, a leader who is charged with setting the tone for the USMNT program has waded into setting grand expectations for the team. This time, it’s new US Soccer Sporting Director Matt Crocker who told reporters about the USMNT “we are going to be a nation that will be feared.” There’s no doubt that the USA can be a dangerous team, especially if a starting no. 9 emerges, and that can be scary At the same time, teams that strike fear into others like France, Argentina, Brazil, England, Holland, Italy, Spain or the USWNT cause actual dread in their opponents whose best outcome is often hoping to contain the damage.

These teams have strong benches with players running five eep at every position in the top leagues in the world. The USA ran itself into the ground and barely rotated in Qatar. As recently as last Spring the story about the USMNT was that there were nearly a dozen players playing in the Champions League and the conveyor belt of youngsters going from American academies and MLS teams to top five leagues in Europe was running full speed.

Now several of those players are fighting relegation with Leeds, have moved to stronger teams where they are fighting for playing time, are in the Championship or other second division leagues hoping for promotion, can’t seem to stay healthy, or can’t get into a starting XI. Meanwhile, there’s been a list of players who seemed to have been set for promising careers after making transfers that haven’t been heard from in quite some time. That’s not to say in three years that players in the pool currently and those emerging from the youth teams won’t move forward and can’t grow into a nation that is feared, but recently the steps have been sideways or backwards.

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As a sporting nation, Americans love athletes and teams that are ambitious and back up their aspirations with trophies and do cause fear in the hearts of their opponents. Crocker and previously Berhalter reflect the optimism and ambition that sometimes borders on delusional that is a core value of Americans. Still, there’s another type of sporting narrative that inspires Americans: the underdog. Individuals and teams that overcome incredible odds, don’t back down and through nothing more than sheer self-belief win despite being outmatched has a sacred place in the American sports consciousness.Currently, the USMNT is much closer to the later than the former and yet the team’s leadership constantly sets the bar at “changing perceptions” and “being feared.” The USMNT has won two games at a World Cup once. Just once. Winning two games at a World Cup would be a great achievement and winning more than that would be astounding. It might also cause more fear for opponents if the USA is only concerned with winning and will do it whatever the odds and however it looks as opposed to trying to have more verticality.Aside from semantics though, Gregg Berhalter’s notion of changing the optics of the team to the world may have gotten in the way of how the team performed, his management of games, and prevented him from getting the best out of the players he did have rather than trying to get them to fit an ideal mold he had for the team. Crocker hitching his wagon to similar goals is concerning if it influences his decision making in bringing in another coach who is more focused on the aesthetics of the team rather than results.

Fox unveils 2023 Women’s World Cup broadcast schedule

BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA - APRIL 11: A soccer ball is seen with FIFA Women's World Cup 2023 branding during a FIFA Women's World Cup 2023 Unity Pitch celebration, as today marks 100 days to go until the World Cup begins, at King George Square on April 11, 2023 in Brisbane, Australia. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)

By Richard DeitschApr 25, 202321

Summertime, and the viewing is easy if you are a Women’s World Cup fan.Fox announced Tuesday that its 2023 Women’s World Cup programming schedule will feature 29 matches on over-the-air Fox, the most Women’s World Cup matches ever on a U.S. English-language broadcast network. The tournament, which runs from Thursday, July 20, through Aug. 20 in Australia and New Zealand, features 64 matches live across Fox (29 games) and FS1 (35 games) with every match live streaming on the Fox Sports App.

Here’s what you need to know:

The Women’s World Cup quarterfinals, semifinals, third-place match and final will be televised on Fox, while 35 group-stage matches will air on FS1.
Five of the 29 matches airing on Fox will run in primetime, with 12 airing on the weekends.
The United States is FIFA’s No. 1 ranked team and back-to-back champions. No country has ever won three consecutive Women’s World Cups.

USWNT schedule

All U.S. group-stage matches will air on Fox. The USWNT opens against Vietnam on July 21 at 9 p.m. ET from Eden Park in Auckland, New Zealand. The second group stage match opponent is the Netherlands on July 26 at 9 p.m. ET from Wellington Regional Stadium in New Zealand.The USWNT’s final group stage match comes against Portugal on Aug. 1, at 3 a.m. ET from Eden Park.

How would you rate Fox’s programming commitment?

When a major media company with sports rights opts to put programming on its over-the-air channel as opposed to cable or a streaming product, it’s a clear sign of investment for the property. This is simply smart business.Four years ago the U.S.’s win over the Netherlands in the Women’s World Cup final averaged 14.3 million viewers despite the game being held at 11 a.m. ET/8 a.m. PT. The 2015 Women’s World Cup final between the United States and Japan averaged a massive 25.4 million viewers on Fox in primetime (with another 1.27 million viewers on Telemundo). The audience is clearly there. — Deitsch

NWSL Standings

Full Standings

1 Thorns	4	3	1	0	11	2	9	10	WWDW
2 Reign	4	3	0	1	8	3	5	9	LWWW
3 Wave	4	3	0	1	8	4	4	9	WWLW
4 Gotham	4	3	0	1	5	3	2	9	WLWW
5 Spirit	4	2	2	0	5	3	2	8	WDWD
6 Dash	4	1	3	0	3	2	1	6	DWDD
7 Angel City	4	1	1	2	5	7	-2	4	LWDL
8 Racing	4	0	3	1	4	6	-2	3	DDDL

Man Utd’s lapses keep Champions League hopes alive for Tottenham, Liverpool, Aston Villa

6:26 PM ET Mark OgdenSenior Writer, ESPN FC

Manchester United are keeping the race for Champions League qualification alive, but it is everybody else’s hopes that they are sustaining with their inability to seal the deal.

Erik ten Hag’s team should have slammed the door shut on the top four at Tottenham Hotspur, but by blowing a two-goal lead and holding on for a 2-2 draw, they have given us a Super Sunday double-header this weekend that could ignite a four-way sprint to the finish line for fourth spot.

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Or they could simply get the job and make a top four spot their own. Leading by two goals at halftime against a Spurs side that were trounced 6-1 at Newcastle on Sunday and playing under their second interim-manager — Ryan Mason — since Antonio Conte’s dismissal last month, United had the opportunity to win convincingly and beat a top ten side away from home for the first time since defeating Fulham in November.

EDITOR’S PICKS

Ten Hag slams Man United: ‘90%’ not enough14hJames Olley
Amid ‘Levy out’ chants, Spurs re-ignite Champions League hopes as Man Utd wilt under pressure13hJames Olley
How Premier League clubs can qualify for Europe this season16hDale Johnson

But they blew it as a combination of missed chances and goals by Pedro Porro and Son Heung-Min enabled Spurs to salvage a draw and go into Sunday’s encounter with seventh-place Liverpool at Anfield knowing that the top four is still within their reach.

“When you are 2-0 up, you are of course disappointed when you draw,” Ten Hag said. “After going to 2-1, we missed too many chances to take it to 3-1. “We need to manage the game, keep the ball. We gave so many easy balls away. It was so easy for them (Spurs).”

Spurs climbed to fifth, six points behind United having played two more games, but with United facing sixth-placed Aston Villa (also six points adrift of fourth) at Old Trafford on Sunday, the race for fourth could look a whole lot different by close of play. And that reality is largely down to United’s failure to pull up the drawbridge.

Premier League Table

	GP	GD	PTS
1 – Arsenal	33	+40	75
2 – Man City	31	+53	73
3 – Newcastle	32	+32	62
4 – Man United	30	+9	60
5 – Tottenham	33	+7	54
6 – Aston Villa	33	+5	54
7 – Liverpool	32	+22	53
8 – Brighton	30	+15	49
9 – Brentford	33	+7	47
10 – Fulham	32	+1	45

They sit eighth in the Premier League form table over the last eight games after winning four, losing two and draw two of those fixtures. Villa, who have found real form under Unai Emery in recent weeks, have stormed into contention by winning six and drawing two of their last eight games. If the season had started eight games ago, Villa would be third. Tottenham’s form has dropped off a cliff with two wins and three defeats their last eight, but United haven’t quite been able to shake them off. This game was the big opportunity to do that, but United failed to take it.

And Liverpool’s recent uptick of form, which has seen them win three games on the bounce, has given Jurgen Klopp’s side an outside chance of sneaking into the top four, although they are seven points behind United having played one game more. There are two obvious reasons why United are still labouring towards clinching a top four spot — a lack of goals and a defence that can’t keep it tight at the back — and they both reared their head against Spurs. In the top seven, only Villa (46) have score fewer goals than United’s 48. They are at least ten goals behind the rest, with Arsenal netting 78 and Manchester City already registering 82.

Defensively, United have the leakiest defence in the top four having conceded 39, but their goals against column is more favourable when measured against Spurs (53), Villa (41) and Liverpool (39).

United’s hunt for a proven goalscorer during the summer transfer window has already been well signposted, with Harry Kane and Napoli’s Victor Osimhen the leading targets.

ESPN reported last month that United’s concerns over dealing with Spurs chairman Daniel Levy, who is notoriously difficult to negotiate with when offloading one of players, could force them to abandon their interest in Kane, but the United supporters made their feelings clear during the first-half of this game by singing, ‘Harry Kane, we’ll see you in June.’

Optimistic, perhaps, especially as Levy is unlikely to even think about a deal until the final hours of deadine day on Aug 31, but with Kane in their line-up, United would be a completely different proposition. The chances they missed against Spurs would likely have been taken by Kane and his presence in Ten Hag’s team alongside Marcus Rashford, who put United 2-0 up following Jadon Sancho’s opener, would arguably make them City’s closest challengers next season. But it is because United don’t have a Kane in their line-up that they are still uncertain of their Champions League qualification ambitions.

They should clinch fourth spot thanks to the lead they have already built up, but until they get the job done, the question marks will remain. If United win on Sunday, they can start to breathe a little easier. But they should already be safely over the line, so nothing can be taken for granted.

“We need energy,” Ten Hag said. “We have to be ready for Sunday.”

If United aren’t ready, and Villa take advantage, the final month of the season will become far more nervous that it needed to be.

Which Premier League clubs will qualify for the Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League?

5:18 PM ET

Dale JohnsonGeneral Editor, ESPN FC
The Premier League season is almost over, and the race for a place in Europe is reaching its climax.

We take a look at who is in contention to qualify for the Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League, how the FA Cup could affect it and what impact an English team winning a European trophy could have.

– How VAR has affected every Premier League club

This page will be updated through the remainder of the season as the permutations develop.

How many teams qualify for Europe?

The maximum that can qualify from domestic performance in the Premier League — so either league position or by winning the FA Cup or Carabao Cup — is seven.

However, the places reserved for European titleholders are separate if a team does not qualify domestically. Therefore, it is technically possible, though unlikely, for the Premier League to have 10 teams in Europe — the seven domestic qualifiers plus the winners of the Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League if they are outside the European places.

With West Ham United in the quarterfinals of the Europa Conference League and unable to finish in the European places in the Premier League, it is possible that eight English teams could take part next season.

Which Premier League places will qualify?

At the start of the season, the top four in the Premier League qualify for the Champions League, while fifth place and the FA Cup winners enter the Europa League. The winners of the Carabao Cup qualify for the Europa Conference League.

Manchester United won the Carabao Cup, so they are guaranteed (at minimum) a place in the Europa Conference League.

Allocation as it stands:
Champions League: 1, 2, 3, 4
Europa League: 5, FA Cup winners
Europa Conference League: Manchester United

However, these places are subject to change depending on who wins the FA Cup, possibly where Manchester United finish — plus West Ham’s success in European competition.

Who is in contention for Europe?

Premier League Table

	GP	GD	PTS
1 – Arsenal	33	+40	75
2 – Man City	31	+53	73
3 – Newcastle	32	+32	62
4 – Man United	30	+9	60
5 – Tottenham	33	+7	54
6 – Aston Villa	33	+5	54
7 – Liverpool	32	+22	53
8 – Brighton	30	+15	49
9 – Brentford	33	+7	47
10 – Fulham	32	+1	45

Arsenal (75 points, 33 games) and Manchester City (73, 31 games) are sure of a place in the Champions League.

That leaves two UCL berths up for grabs. Newcastle United (62, 32 games) and Manchester United (60, 31 games) hold the cards in third and fourth, with Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa six points further back on 54 having played 33 games. Liverpool (53, 32 games) are in a slightly better position with six games left to play, while Brighton & Hove Albion (49, 30 games) can’t be fully ruled out either. The final Champions League places will go to two of these six clubs.

Two other teams in contention for Europe are Brentford (47, 33 games) and Fulham (45, 32 games) but their hopes of contesting for a European place will depend on whether seventh ends up qualifying, but even then appears to be slim.

How can the Premier League ever have 10 teams in Europe?

The three European titleholders would need to finish outside the European places in the Premier League.

This will definitely be the case with West Ham this season, but with only Manchester City left in the Champions League, and no representative the in the Europa League, there is no possibility of 10 teams anymore.

How does qualification work if a team wins a European trophy?

There are four overriding principles:
– The winners of a European competition have the automatic right to European football the following season.
– A team has the right to play in the highest-ranked competition they qualify for.
– One Premier League team cannot be adversely affected by another’s success in Europe.
– A Premier League team cannot get a place because of another’s success in Europe.

If a team wins the Champions League or the Europa League:
– They are guaranteed to play in the Champions League wherever they finish in the Premier League.

If a team wins the Europa Conference League:
– They will play in the Europa League unless they finish in the top four — then they will play in the Champions League.

What could happen to Man United’s Carabao Cup place?

Man United won the Carabao Cup, which comes with a berth in the Europa Conference League, but they will take the place in the higher-ranked competition if they win the FA Cup or finish in the top five; the Europa Conference League slot would transfer to sixth place in the league.

If Man United finish in the top four:
Champions League: 1, 2, 3, Manchester United
Europa League: 5, FA Cup winners
Europa Conference League: 6

If Man United finish fifth:
Champions League: 1, 2, 3, 4
Europa League: Manchester United, FA Cup winners
Europa Conference League: 6

If Man United finish sixth or lower:
Champions League: 1, 2, 3, 4
Europa League: 5, FA Cup winners
Europa Conference League: Manchester United

So how does the FA Cup affect the European places?

Manchester City will play Manchester United in the final on June 3. (stream live on ESPN+, U.S. only).

The effect on the European places works along the same lines as Man United’s Carabao Cup place: if the FA Cup winners qualify for Champions League or the Europa League via the league, the Europa League place for winning the FA Cup transfers to the league.

Manchester City have qualified for the Champions League next season, so if they win the FA Cup, the place in the Europa League goes to the Premier League.

If Man City win the FA Cup:
Champions League: 1, 2, 3, 4
Europa League: 5, 6
Europa Conference League: Manchester United (subject to final league place)

If Man United win both cups, their place in the Europa Conference League definitely transfers to the league, and United would have a place in the Europa League. If United finish in the top four, they play in the Champions League and the place in the Europa League for winning the FA Cup goes to sixth place. If United finish outside the top six, the Europa Conference League place goes to sixth.

If Man United win both cups and finish top four:
Champions League: 1, 2, 3, Manchester United
Europa League: 5, 6
Europa Conference League: 7

If Man United win both cups and finish 5th or 6th:
Champions League: 1, 2, 3, 4
Europa League: Manchester United, 5th or 6th
Europa Conference League: 7

If Man United win both cups and finish 7th or lower:
Champions League: 1, 2, 3, 4
Europa League: 5, Manchester United
Europa Conference League: 6

How can seventh qualify for Europe by league position?

This is only the case if Manchester United and the winners of the FA Cup finish in the top six of the Premier League. This would mean seventh gets the place in the Europa Conference League.

Champions League: 1, 2, 3, 4
Europa League: 5, 6
Europa Conference League: 7

The performance of clubs in Europe cannot increase the number of places allocated to final places in the Premier League table.

Can eighth in the Premier League qualify for Europe?

It is impossible for eighth to qualify by league position. This team must win a domestic cup competition or a European title to play in Europe the following season.

What if Man City win the Champions League?

This will have no effect on the Premier League as Man City will finish in the top four. There is no “drop down” of places to give a fifth Champions League spot.

The position in the group stage for the Champions League titleholders is left vacant. This isn’t filled by giving another team a place, the qualifying rounds are rebalanced with clubs effectively receiving byes.

Ordinarily, the champions of the country ranked 11th in the UEFA coefficient table at the end of the 2021-22 season — Serbia — would go direct to the Champions League group stage, rather than having to qualify. However, Russia are ranked 10th and its clubs remain excluded from European competition. That means the Serbian champions are already guaranteed a place in the group stage.

So, if Man City win the Champions League, it will be the champions of the 12th-ranked country who are given a place in the group stage. This just so happens to be Ukraine.

What if West Ham win the Europa Conference League?

West Ham will earn a place in next season’s Europa League.

As West Ham will not qualify for Europe domestically, England would have eight teams in Europe next season — even if West Ham were to be relegated.

Champions League: 1, 2, 3, 4
Europa League: 5, FA Cup winners, West Ham
Europa Conference League: Manchester United

What if more than one English team wins a European trophy?

In principle, each scenario remains as above, applied in the same way individually to each competition.

So if Man City win the UCL and also finish in the top four, the allocation to the Premier League is unaltered.

As West Ham cannot qualify domestically, winning the Europa Conference League will add an eighth place — for them as titleholders — regardless of how any other team may perform.

Can fourth place miss out on the Champions League?

It would only be possible if the winners of the Champions League and the winners of the Europa League both finished outside the Premier League’s top four.

If that were to happen, fourth place would play in the Europa League as there’s a maximum of five teams from one country in the Champions League.

In that situation:
Champions League: 1, 2, 3, Manchester City, Manchester United
Europa League: 4, FA Cup winners, West Ham
Europa Conference League: 6

As the Premier League no longer has a team in the Europa League, it cannot happen.

This is Manchester City’s era – there are only two ways that changes any time soon

Daniel TaylorApr 27, 2023496

In the end, it felt like a reminder to the whole of English football, not just Arsenal, that this is Manchester City’s era and you better come equipped if you really have aspirations about trying to remove Pep Guardiola’s grip, finger by finger, from the Premier League trophy.Arsenal have had a good stab at it this season, of course. They have given everything in their attempts to change the colour of the ribbons. Without Mikel Arteta’s side, the 2022-23 Premier League would have been a procession, a near-formality for the champions.

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Yet the reality for Arsenal has just become clearer and it is the same one that faces any team that fancies having a crack at the title. This is City’s era, full stop. It has been that way for some time and, almost certainly, it will remain that way as long as Guardiola is on the touchline and the money men of Abu Dhabi occupy the executive seats.

That, more than anything, must be the scariest part for City’s rivals, given it needed something almost implausibly brilliant from Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool on the only occasion in the past five years the trophy did not go end up in east Manchester.

Liverpool won the league that time with 99 points. The year before, they managed 97 yet came up short. It was the highest number attained by any club in England’s top division without securing a league title in the process. Arsenal can reach 90 points over the next month and, again, it might not be enough.

The numbers are mind-boggling, given that 90 would equal the haul of the greatest-ever Arsenal side: the team known as the Invincibles, who went unbeaten throughout the entire 2003-04 league season. This Arsenal team have already accumulated as many points as Arsene Wenger’s title-winning side from 2001-02. Their next win will match the total accrued by the club’s 1997-98 double winners.

But the levels have changed in recent years. The bar has been raised — and it all comes back to the modern City.

All of which conjured up one question in particular during last night’s 4-1 win over Arsenal, the latest demonstration of Kevin De Bruyne’s brilliance and the almost freakish statistics of Erling Haaland, superstar. And that question is: Who stops this, who can possibly halt the City juggernaut?

Kevin De Bruyne’s role at Manchester City means the tougher the game, the better he is

Newcastle United, with their Saudi Arabian ownership, might like to think it will be them one day. Not any day soon, though. It could take years before the team from St James’ Park have fully taken advantage of their new position among the super-rich.

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Manchester United will always have haughty ambitions and, if this season’s title race is heading City’s way, maybe Arsenal can take some form of encouragement from the way Liverpool responded after the same happened to them in 2019. Klopp and his players used the disappointment as fuel in their title-winning season a year later.

At the same time, let’s not forget that over the previous five seasons City finished, on average, 27.8 points above Arsenal and 22.6 ahead of Manchester United. The numbers are astonishing. Until this season, there is only Liverpool who have managed to stay within 10 points of Guardiola’s team in any single title race.

Against that kind of backdrop, there are only two possible scenarios that might get in the way of City turning their domination of English football into something with even greater substance.

The first is that Guardiola’s wanderlust will return and he will decide that his current City contract, which runs until 2025, is his last. One theory is that winning the European Cup, maybe even emulating Manchester United’s 1999 treble, will mean he has accomplished everything he set out to do in Manchester and leave him wondering if there are new adventures to be had elsewhere.

Don’t bank on it, though. There have been lots of theories about Guardiola, and how long he will stay, during his seven years at City and usually it finishes with him extending his terms. He likes it there. There is an opportunity for him to create a dynasty.

If their latest freewheeling win is the prelude to another successful title defence, and a third in a row, Guardiola will have moved level with Sir Matt Busby, who won five league championships with Manchester United. Only two managers in post-war football have won more. One is Bob Paisley, with six for Liverpool. The other is Sir Alex Ferguson, with 13 at Old Trafford.

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The other scenario goes back to the long and complex investigation into what, if proven, might be termed the biggest financial scandal there has been since the Premier League’s formation.

Nobody can be sure what will happen in relation to the charges that are facing City, only that there are lots of them.

They are accused of more than 100 alleged rule breaches, from 2009 to 2018, including falsely reporting income and salaries and failing to cooperate with a four-year inquiry.

Man City charges explained: The accusations, possible punishments and what happens next

This has been the background to City’s 2022-23 season and it looks like being their first championship since they were accused of building this empire through, in part, cheating. It could be years yet before the lawyers actually face off. Until then, it creates a difficult sub-plot for these nights when City look magnificent and their fans, like all fans, just want to bask in the joys that football can bring.

And let’s be clear about this: Arsenal have been brilliant this season. They have surprised everyone, perhaps even themselves, with their long run at the top of the table. Whatever is said and written about them over the coming days and weeks, this group of players have shown character all season.

Unfortunately for them and their fans, it doesn’t look like it is going to be enough and, barring something improbable, it will not be easy for them to shake off the disappointment. Arteta and his players may have to grow accustomed to the accusation that they lost their nerve. Or, in football parlance, bottled it. “Did they freeze?” he was asked after the match last night. “Were they scared?”

It is the obvious angle when, in the space of 17 days, they have surrendered a two-goal lead at Liverpool, done the same at West Ham and slugged out a wild, eccentric 3-3 draw at home to bottom-of-the-table Southampton.

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Yet perhaps we should cut them a bit of slack, too. For a team of alleged chokers, this was Arsenal’s first defeat since February 15. Unfortunately for them, the last one also came against City, in the form of a 3-1 defeat in north London. Realistically, no team can expect to win the league if they lose twice to the side carrying Guardiola’s stamp.

Arsenal have won against Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur this season. Yet they have lost 12 on the bounce to City. They just don’t worry Guardiola’s team in the same way Liverpool did when Klopp’s teams were chasing titles.

https://flo.uri.sh/visualisation/13557415/embed?auto=1

And so, six minutes in, Haaland fixed his sights on a high, dropping ball that had been sent forward by John Stones from his own defence. The Norwegian’s sureness of touch, with Rob Holding pressed against his back, showed a footballer playing at the point of maximum expression. De Bruyne was running through the middle and what, if you are an Arsenal fan, goes through your mind in those moments?

OH Kevin De Bruyne! 🎯

A great takedown from Erling Haaland who passes to De Bruyne for a stunning run and finish! 😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/Ex4pyouHVJ

— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) April 26, 2023

Alarm, presumably.

These are the nights when De Bruyne, in Guardiola’s words, can seem unstoppable. His shot was true because, with De Bruyne, he seems to never snatch at chances. He epitomises City’s seen-it-all-before brilliance. And, boy, he loves the big nights, under the floodlights. De Bruyne, more than anyone, succeeded in making the rest of the night feel like an ordeal for Arsenal players.

Arteta did his best afterwards to remind everyone that, however wildly this victory was celebrated by the crowd, his team were still squatting defiantly near the top of the league and that he has been in football long enough to know that strange things could happen in City’s remaining fixtures.

He had to say this, of course. Nobody really believed it, though. The bottom line is that Arsenal’s lead has been whittled down to two points and the team in second place, who have just whacked them 4-1, still have a couple of games in hand. The momentum has shifted dramatically and Arsenal have been reminded that City, on Guardiola’s watch, might be an even bigger challenge than their rivals from these parts during the peak Wenger years.

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Arsenal know what it is like to win the league at Old Trafford. They know what it is like to win the league at White Hart Lane. They still sing about both occasions. But winning the league at the Etihad? This is the era of City and, as David Moyes once said during his time with Everton, sometimes it can feel like going into a gunfight armed with only a knife.

Michael Cox: Arsenal just did not know how to press Manchester City’s 4-2-4

By Michael CoxApr 27, 2023133

It was not a shock that Manchester City defeated Arsenal last night, and not a surprise they did so relatively convincingly, considering both sides’ recent run of form.

But the nature of City’s tactical approach was a surprise.

Having spent recent weeks building up with a three-man defence and pushing a defender forward into midfield, City played a simple 4-2-4 on Wednesday. Arsenal seemed unsure of how to press this system, and City were adept at progressing the ball through central zones and up to Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland between the lines.

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Pep Guardiola’s tactics worked wonderfully.

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“Normally, we play with two No 8s but Guardiola wanted more control because of the way Arsenal press, so Ilkay Gundogan was a ‘double No 6’,” said De Bruyne. “I had to choose moments, depending on who pressed out of Granit Xhaka and Thomas Partey. If Partey was pressing, I would try to go on his back, and the other way around. It was difficult for (Arsenal centre-backs) Gabriel and Rob Holding. Do they go with me?”

That summarised City’s game plan.

In their biggest league game for two decades, this was not the Arsenal we have come to expect

Everything started with City’s left-sided centre-back, Ruben Dias. Clearly, Mikel Arteta had decided Arsenal should be happy enough if Dias — City’s least technically gifted player — was on the ball, so they set up to allow simple passes to him.

Here’s Ederson with the ball in the first half. Dias (circled) is completely free, but his goalkeeper seems reluctant to pass to him, despite Rodri’s encouragement.

And here is another situation that tells the story. Dias receives a pass, under no pressure. For seven seconds, he essentially just walks forward with the ball, and no Arsenal player even attempts to close him down.

The key to this game was what happened when Arsenal eventually did close Dias down.

Here, just over a minute into the game, Dias is on the ball and Arsenal are a little confused about how to approach the situation.

In basic terms, there are four City players — Dias, Rodri, Gundogan and De Bruyne — and Arsenal only have three to shut them down. Arsenal want this to be three-against-three in midfield, and Dias left spare. The plan is that when Martin Odegaard jumps forward onto Dias, Partey and Xhaka will back him up and close down the two deep City midfielders. But that would leave De Bruyne free.

This is the Manchester City era – there are only two ways their dominance ends any time soon

Arsenal end up with Xhaka pushing up as Partey stays back to watch De Bruyne. That means Dias can pass forward to Gundogan, who is unmarked behind Odegaard.

Gundogan then carries the ball forward 40 yards, all the way into the final third. City have broken through Arsenal’s press with one easy pass.

Here’s another example of Arsenal not wanting to shut down Dias.

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Gabriel Jesus is positioned to block off a square pass to John Stones, and Odegaard is focusing on Gundogan. City play long, and give the ball away, but it is interesting that Gabriel Magalhaes has been drawn forward to shut down De Bruyne.

The opening goal came from another long ball.

Again, it starts with Dias simply standing in possession, waiting for pressure. Eventually, the ball is switched to Stones, Arsenal press in numbers, and the England defender hits the ball over them.

In mitigation of their setup, Arsenal should have had enough men back to cope here. This goal is more about Haaland outmuscling Holding, and De Bruyne’s run not being tracked by Partey. It also took an excellent finish to beat Aaron Ramsdale.

But City repeatedly managed to bypass the midfield zone and play the ball into what was effectively a strike partnership.

Here’s Odegaard pushing forward onto Dias. The other Arsenal midfielders back him up. De Bruyne is being marked — just about — by Gabriel, who is ready to push forward onto him if needed.

But De Bruyne plays this situation intelligently. He knows Gabriel cannot follow over to the opposite side of the pitch, so he angles a run so he’s behind Partey. Dias arrows the ball to him and suddenly, City have their most creative player on the ball between the lines.

Again, one pass has broken Arsenal’s press.

Here, with Dias again on the ball, there is a similar incident — De Bruyne making a run from right to left to collect a pass. Holding is forced out of the back line to try to close him down.

Arsenal never solved this problem of whether the player between the lines — usually De Bruyne, but sometimes Haaland — should be shut down by Partey or by a centre-back.

Here, in the first image, Holding is the player closing down De Bruyne and Partey is indicating that he’s got Rodri. But then Holding drops, Partey retreats to watch De Bruyne, and City work the ball to Rodri. They always found the free man.

Here is another good example of how Dias — this time retreating on the ball — waited for Odegaard’s press, then started a quick passing sequence through the midfield. This one also ended with De Bruyne collecting the ball between the lines, and Holding moving up to foul him.

De Bruyne and Haaland were sensational as a duo. Here is a situation that was nearly a replica of that first goal.

Here is the reverse — De Bruyne getting the ball between the lines again, and playing in Haaland. City could have been out of sight within half an hour if they’d taken their chances.

But they were out of sight by half-time, courtesy of Stones’ header doubling their lead from a free kick won after the same player had chipped a previous set-piece ball downfield towards the front two, and this situation neatly summed up the tactical battle.

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In this situation, Arsenal’s midfielders are pushing forward to close down. Odegaard, never quite sure of his positioning, is not really affecting the game at all. There is a huge amount of space between the lines, while Haaland’s run from the left to the right allows De Bruyne to make the reverse movement and confuse Arsenal’s centre-backs.

“In this shape, (De Bruyne) moves behind Partey and Xhaka, and move a little bit freedom,” said Guardiola. “And when it’s long balls, second balls, long balls, second balls and winning, we contact with him with Erling up front. It’s so dangerous for the opponent.”

After all the hope came a brutal reality check. How are Arsenal fans supposed to feel now?

And amid all the tactical complexity of City’s systems under Guardiola in recent weeks, this all felt quite simple. The battles out wide were largely irrelevant. There was no one playing in different positions in different phases of the game. The only significant rotations came from the front two alternating positions.

But City’s surprise shape, combined with their patience to draw the press and their technical ability to play through it, outfoxed Arsenal and surely secured their fifth Premier League title in six years.

Fulham have defied the doubters and with seven games left have club records in sight

By Liam Tharme

Apr 23, 2023

Ironically, Fulham being labelled a team with “nothing to play for” on the run-in is a reflection of their having already achieved everything they set out to in pre-season following promotion back to the Premier League.

“We are always trying to find different targets. One of the main ones was, last week and the next, to make history for this football club,” said their head coach Marco Silva before Saturday’s home game against Leeds United.

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The 3-1 win away to Everton last weekend saw them go past 40 points, and the 2-1 defeat of Leeds at Craven Cottage was their 13th league victory of the season — one more than they managed in their previous two Premier League campaigns combined (12: seven in 2018-19, five in 2020-21).

This is already the west Londoners’ best Premier League season in terms of points since 2011-12 (52, under Martin Jol), but with seven games remaining they have club records in their sight: two more wins and another nine points would set new bests for most victories and points in a Premier League season (their current records are 14 wins, which they have achieved four times, and 53 points from 2008-09).

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“It shows how good this season has been for us. No one expected us to be where we are, outside of our dressing room,” added Silva pre-match yesterday. “Everyone expected us to be in trouble.”

FiveThirtyEight, an American data company, modelled Fulham as finishing 18th in pre-season, with a 41 per cent probability of a third straight one-season stay in the Premier League. What they’ve done since August means they will be nowhere near the relegation zone come the final round of fixtures on May 28.

If we exclude the ‘Big Six’ and rank the division’s other 14 teams in a mini-league against each other, Fulham have taken the third-most points (40). Only Newcastle United have more goals (39, Fulham 36) and nobody has won more games than their 12.

https://flo.uri.sh/visualisation/13508708/embed?auto=1

Fulham’s defence has not been watertight, without a clean sheet now in seven games, but on Saturday their defensive structure forced Leeds wide and into making erroneous passes. The 4-4-2 shape was the same one that thwarted Liverpool back on the opening weekend, where the wingers press the opposition full-backs, the front two cover passes into the defensive midfielder and Joao Palhinha tracks the opposition No 10.

Silva’s side have continued to show they can attack without the currently-suspended Aleksandar Mitrovic — this was their fourth league win in 10 games without the Serbia centre-forward — while Dan James, a false nine who ran the channels so effectively at Goodison Park, was ineligible against parent club Leeds.

https://15eabc3f6d830226f159a9d38a009df4.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-40/html/container.html

Bobby De Cordova-Reid fulfilled that role yesterday, frequently looking to drop deep as Fulham’s inverted wingers played inside and their full-backs pushed on.

Here he is after Fulham make an early high turnover. With a better first touch, No 10 Andreas Pereira would have been one-v-one with goalkeeper Illan Meslier.

A key feature of Fulham’s attacking play was pushing central midfielder Harrison Reed forward (black dots), effectively creating a front five against Leeds’ back four and allowing him to make triangles with right-winger Harry Wilson and right-back Kenny Tete.

Once again, De Cordova-Reid looks for a through ball, but Wilson’s run is slightly too late.

These wide attacking patterns have been common from Fulham all season, and while further tactical adaptability will be needed for them to evolve further, their identity is clear and that part of it has become a super-strength: they have played the most open-play crosses and the fewest through balls in the Premier League.

Though Saturday did see a first.

Fulham attempted 24 crosses but failed to complete a single one — only twice in the past five seasons has a Premier League team hit more crosses in a match and not been successful with any (Southampton, 27 vs Sheffield United in 2019-20; Crystal Palace, 25 vs Norwich in 2021-22).

Yet Fulham still scored twice from these situations, even without 12-goal top scorer Mitrovic, thanks to incisive counter-attacking play and, fundamentally, having bodies in the penalty area.

For the opening goal, left-back Antonee Robinson skips inside Crysencio Summerville after picking up a loose pass, but keeps hold of the ball until Leeds right-back Rasmus Kristensen moves narrowly, opening the space for Willian on the outside…

… and his cross lacks precision. Meslier makes an error and can only tip it to the back post, but Fulham have four players plus Willian in the penalty area. Wilson is the deepest of those and it lands nicely for the Welshman, unmarked, to fire in off the crossbar.

The second goal was almost a carbon copy of the first.

Fulham had their most direct attacks (five) in a post-World Cup break league game. Opta defines direct attacks as sequences starting just inside a team’s own half, with at least 50 per cent forward movement and ending in a shot or a touch in the box. To put it simply: a counter-attack from deep.

Silva’s side can transition because their defensive shape is so compact, forcing Leeds to cross the ball.

Centre-back Tosin Adarabioyo clears — one of the 11 he made in the match, almost half of Fulham’s team total (23) — and Wilson pounces on the rebound, quickly releasing Pereira…

…who switches play to the onrushing Robinson.

And, again, Fulham have four bodies in the box attacking the cross. This time it falls to Pereira, and he doubles the lead.

Silva spoke afterwards about making “adjustments in our attack plan”, mainly playing Pereira closer to De Cordova-Reid, but also acknowledging they “could not allow the game to be broken” and let Leeds play transitionally.

This was by no means Fulham’s best performance of the season, yet Silva rightly repeated that they were the “best team on the pitch” in the second half. Fulham might have been yo-yo-ing between the Premier League and Championship in recent seasons but on Saturday they looked, tactically, miles ahead of opponents who are in their third consecutive top-flight season. Indeed, it is three wins out of three now for them against Leeds this season — a Premier League double plus a 2-0 home win in the FA Cup’s last 16.

Fulham have refined their style, achieved their targets and are now playing to break club records.

They might also finish as the division’s highest-ranked south west London side — they are one spot above 10th-placed Brentford and two ahead of Chelsea.

What a season.

Girls MS Soccer Camp (Grades 5-8, 2023-24 school year)- July 17 to 20

Thoughts & Numbers: What I’m watching for in MLS Matchday 10

Matthew Doyle Thursday, Apr 27, 2023, 11:11 AM

We’re two months into the season and entering “you are what your record says you are” territory.As always, all the stats are from TruMedia via StatsPerform unless otherwise noted. Let’s go.

Nashville SC vs. Atlanta United

WATCH: Apple TV – Free, FOX | Saturday, 1:30 pm ET

I thought Nashville did a great job of playing through Dax McCarty at the back point of what was essentially a midfield diamond in last weekend’s 1-1 draw vs. LAFC. Dax is one of the best the league’s ever had at playing third-line passes to playmakers in the pockets.

The thing was, though, against LAFC it was mostly Teal Bunbury checking off the line as a hold-up 9 or Alex Muyl, who was the right-sided shuttler, receiving those balls from McCarty. Hany Mukhtar, on the other hand, only received two passes from Dax. That connection could/should be more fruitful.

Atlanta’s midfield rotations, from a defensive perspective, are a lot less reliable than LAFC’s. I wouldn’t be shocked to see Gary Smith run his ‘Yotes out in the exact same formation with the exact same XI and the exact same gameplan as Matchday 9. They just need a little more interplay between the No. 6 and the No. 10.

Columbus Crew vs. Inter Miami CF

WATCH: Apple TV – Free | Saturday, 7:30 pm ET

Aidan Morris is fourth in the league in touches, behind only Gastón Brugman (LA), Riqui Puig (LA) and Jackson Yueill (San Jose). Wilfried Nancy is doing his damnedest to turn Morris, who’s always been more of a ball-winner or destroyer, into a tempo-setter.

Miami absolutely let you play through central midfield, so look for Morris to get on the ball a ton.

D.C. United vs. Charlotte FC

WATCH: Apple TV – Free | Saturday, 7:30 pm ET

D.C. United haven’t entirely given up trying to play, but their issues building from the back, coupled with Christian Benteke’s dominance, point them in an obvious direction: when in doubt, hit it long.

So yeah, the Black-and-Red are second in the league in total long-balls, and third (behind only RBNY and Portland) in share of total passes hit that are long-balls. Charlotte have to know what’s coming.

New England Revolution vs. FC Cincinnati

WATCH: Apple TV – MLS Season Pass | Saturday, 7:30 pm ET

Last year Luciano Acosta finished first in the league in expected assists with Carles Gil (New England) second. This year they are sixth and 11th, which speaks to neither team quite hitting their stride yet in terms of chance creation.

Orlando City SC vs. LA Galaxy

WATCH: Apple TV – MLS Season Pass | Saturday, 7:30 pm ET

Greg Vanney insisted in the postgame of last weekend’s 2-0 win over Austin that his Galaxy were lined up in a 4-4-2, not a 3-5-2, and… fine. We can call it that, as long as we understand that it’s a 4-4-2 where the right back doesn’t overlap and the left one does, which means you’re always defending in a back three.

To that end, here’s Calegari’s pass map from that game:

Not pushing up, not hitting crosses, not combining in the final third. It’s a right center back’s passing map.

If I was Oscar Pareja, I’d be preparing to face a 3-5-2 this weekend.

Toronto FC vs. New York City FC

WATCH: Apple TV – MLS Season Pass | Saturday, 7:30 pm ET

I was actually surprised to see that when NYCFC go on the road, they press a little higher (as per passes allowed per defensive action, which is a rough measure of how hard teams press) and possess a bunch more (55.5% on the road vs. 49.5% at home) so far this season.

I think game states have something to do with that – they haven’t trailed much in New York City. I’m sure Toronto would like to get on the board early and put the numbers to the test.

Austin FC vs. San Jose Earthquakes

WATCH: Apple TV – MLS Season Pass | Saturday, 8:30 pm ET

Austin are, yes, regressing to the mean. Last year they outperformed their expected goals differential by 22.06 goals according to the nerds at American Soccer Analysis. This year they’re underperforming at -3.03.

Thing is, though, that even if they were hitting their marks, they’re still 27th in expected points as per the ASA model. So this isn’t just finishing: they’ve been poor in almost every phase of the game.

A win vs. San Jose would take some of the pressure off.

Chicago Fire FC vs. New York Red Bulls

WATCH: Apple TV – MLS Season Pass | Saturday, 8:30 pm ET

The Fire allow the fourth-fewest shots in the league but the third-highest percentage of the shots they give up come from within the box. We’ll see if that plays into the hands of a RBNY team that shoots often (fifth-most shots in MLS) but lacks the build-up patterns or final third quality to generate high-xG looks.

Sporting Kansas City vs. CF Montréal

WATCH: Apple TV – MLS Season Pass | Saturday, 8:30 pm ET

Sporting have won the ball in the attacking third 66 times, which is more than anyone else in the league. But they’re still allowing 5.5 passes per opponent possession, which is down near the bottom of MLS.

That tells you that when Sporting’s press gets broken, teams get real comfortable knocking the ball around against them, and using that possession to create chances. Montréal haven’t really had that in their bag this season, but maybe this weekend’s the time for it to show.

St. Louis CITY SC vs. Portland Timbers

WATCH: Apple TV – Free | Saturday, 8:30 pm ET

RBNY are first in the league in total duels with 1,137. St. Louis are second in the league with 1,136.

If you’re not ready to win the physical battle when you face CITY SC, you’re going to get pummeled. Portland – who are third in the league with 1,034 total duels, though many, many more of those duels are in their own box – should consider themselves warned.

Real Salt Lake vs. Seattle Sounders FC

WATCH: Apple TV – MLS Season Pass | Saturday, 9:30 pm ET

Seattle put on a clinic back on Matchday 2 when they hosted RSL. They held 59.5% of possession and generated 19 shots (while holding RSL to just seven), which was good for 2.79 xG to just 0.48 for the Claret-and-Cobalt.

We’ll see if things change in the rematch in Sandy.

Vancouver Whitecaps FC vs. Colorado Rapids

WATCH: Apple TV – MLS Season Pass | Saturday, 10:30 pm ET

Brian White’s had a frustrating season, scoring just twice on 4.62 xG as per ASA. That G-xG is worst in the league and, while I run the risk of this blurb ending up in #OhBobby since some nerds will say that G-xG is demonstrably meaningless… nah. It’s a pretty good measure of form and confidence.

But on a long enough timeline, guys who have a track record of knowing where goals come from (White does) and a track record of actually putting the ball in the net (White does) find a way to come good.

That might already be happening as he’s got two goals in his past three MLS appearances for Vancouver. Expect him to test the Rapids defense, which has been very good lately.

Minnesota United FC vs. FC Dallas

WATCH: Apple TV – Free, FS1 | Sunday, 9 pm ET

While new signing Sang Bin Jeong hasn’t exactly set the world alight in his first three appearances, he has managed to create four chances in three games. That’s not a lot, but he’s literally the only player on the Minnesota roster who’s generating more than one chance per game, so I guess that does, in fact, make him the No. 10.

Dallas will have to deal with him on Sunday night.

Matthew Doyle –

@MattDoyle76

Another thriller: LAFC take narrow CCL advantage over Philadelphia Union

Charles BoehmThursday, Apr 27, 2023, 04:27 AM

CHESTER, Pa. – LAFC and the Philadelphia Union just keep treating us to riveting slugfests, and so it was again during the first leg of their Concacaf Champions League semifinal series at damp Subaru Park on Wednesday night. But even with their last four meetings – all entertaining, agonizingly tight occasions – ending in draws, somehow the Californians keep finding an edge when it counts most.In all four of those matches, Philly clawed their way into a second-half lead, only to be stunned by late equalizers, most evocatively in last season’s MLS Cup final at BMO Stadium, where Gareth Bale’s towering header snatched a league championship out of the Union’s hands at the death.

On Wednesday, it was Kellyn Acosta’s injury-time equalizer that gut-punched the home side and put LAFC in pole position to advance to the CCL final on home turf in next Tuesday’s second leg. They hold the away-goals edge after the 1-1 draw.

“We’ve been up, again, by one goal, and they scored at the end,” said Union playmaker Dániel Gazdag postgame. “So yeah, it’s starting to be really annoying against them.”

It was a heavy psychological blow after so much had broken in his team’s favor on this evening.Storms rolled through the area in the hours before kickoff, soaking the choppy pitch and subjecting the visitors from the West Coast to a windchill off the Delaware River, helping the Union impose themselves on LAFC early. Carlos Vela and Dénis Bouanga could find little joy for the Angelinos, who were bailed out by a few sterling saves from goalkeeper John McCarthy, a Philadelphia native and former Union reserve.

“Much like what we saw in the second half of the MLS Cup final, it was quite direct from the center backs to the forwards, and often to the right wing to [Alejandro] Bedoya,” noted coach Steve Cherundolo. “That’s what we expected and that’s what we got – non-ideal conditions with the field, and that’s exactly how you should play this game against us.“What we didn’t do in the first half is get enough pressure on their center backs, and on some of the midfielders. They had too much time with the ball, the ball was uncovered and it’s always difficult for our back four to deal with those situations.”Cherundolo responded with a halftime adjustment – “we moved Kellyn a little bit next to me and then Cifu [José Cifuentes] was able to press higher, and that allowed also our forwards to put some pressure on the ball when their center backs had it,” explained holding midfielder Ilie Sánchez. But just like in Philly’s quarterfinal series with Liga MX’s Atlas, Gazdag’s late penalty kick conversation – the result of a Video Review handball decision against none other than Acosta – looked to have delivered the home win and clean sheet Philadelphia craved.“They had the game in their pockets,” said Sanchez.But then Jack Elliott shanked a late clearance off the back of Gazdag, gifting possession to Acosta, who played a pass forward and then raced into the box to bounce a nimble, resourceful finish past Andre Blake, redeeming himself by leveling matters as the tie shifts to Los Angeles.“They had the better of the chances, so we’re ecstatic with the result – obviously not with the performance,” said Cherundolo. “But one thing about this team, they find ways, and they never give up.”Jim Curtin wore a rueful smile as he addressed reporters afterwards.“We obviously have to do better to close the game out. But again, two really good teams, a match that could have gone either way, really,” he said. “My group right now is upset and angry, as they should be. Because we had a little lapse of judgment at the end of the game. But we’ll regroup, and go out to LA and make the city proud.”Have the Black & Gold crawled into the Union’s heads? Jack McGlynn dismissed the idea.

“No, I think for sure there’s none of that,” said the young homegrown center mid. “We know we can beat them. We showed that tonight, that we played really well against them. So I think we can go there with full confidence.”His club’s ability to conjure up two away goals vs. Atlas offers hope, as does their track record of scoring freely at LAFC’s house. Cherundolo’s side, though, still undefeated this season, have been dominant in Exposition Park of late.“We know we can go there and score. We did it in Mexico, we’ve scored a lot there before. So I think it’s just closing out the game is what we need to do there,” said McGlynn. “We all know that we deserved to win the game. These are competitions you need to come out with a win. I think that error, it could cost us, so we just need to get rid of that.”

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4/25/23 Indy 11 vs Columbus Crew Wed US Open Cup, Man City vs Arsenal Wed 3 pm USA, Big TV Games this week, Wrexham Advances

April 25, 2023April 27, 2023 gatorbest

Indy 11 @ Columbus Wed Night, Home Sat vs Pittsburgh 7 pm

Indy Eleven enters the US Open Cup contest at Columbus Crew SC Wed night reeling a bit – three straight losses in USL Championship action have left the Boys in Blue winless in their last four league outings – Wednesday offers a “throw caution to the wind” opportunity in addition to the rare chance to make club history. Despite suffering a 2-3 loss over the weekend at home to Monterey Bay F.C., Indy Eleven does come out of the contest with some good vibes after getting its first multi-goal performance of the young USLC season courtesy of offensive headliners Sebastian Guenzatti and Solomon Asante – the latter of whom also provided his first league assist of 2023. Wednesday’s match will mark only Indy Eleven’s third against MLS competition in the U.S. Open Cup, and its first in nearly seven years dating back to a 4-3 penalty kick defeat at Chicago Fire FC following a 1-1 draw on June 16, 2016. I think the game is on Columbus Crew Teamcast. Indy return to league play Saturday, closing out a busy month at “The Mike” by hosting Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC for a 7:00 p.m. ET kickoff on “Kick Cancer Night” at Carroll Stadium (live on MyINDY-TV 23, ESPN+ and Exitos Radio 94.3 FM). Single-game tickets for all home games at IUPUI Carroll Stadium along with 17-game Season Ticket Memberships, specially-priced group tickets, and an increased portfolio of hospitality options are available for purchase now via indyeleven.com/tickets or by calling 317-685-1100 Full Schedule Promotions

Notes

Wrexham of the FX TV Show “We are Wrexham” (on Disney+, Hulu) is the talk of the town after Ryan Reynold’s & Rob McIlleney’s squad won Sun thus winning the National League – 5^th and lowest division of Professional Soccer in England. (video of Rob and Ryan) They will move up to the 2^nd division which is actually England’s 4^th place league behind the Premier League, Championship and 1^st Division. Of course the show’s long term goal was to move them back into division football – and maybe someday into the EPL. We’ll see if the Hollywood stars have the staying power and the $ for the long haul – but for now it’s a wonderful show if you haven’t watched lasts season’s show chronicalling the 21-22 season (last yr). Can’t wait to see the next season – following this year’s team. Tons of stories below. Of course Ted Lasso season 3 is also out on Apple TV and worth the subscription for this “best comedy on TV” 2 years running.

Games to Watch

Of course the biggie is Arsenal traveling to Man City Wed at 3 pm on USA Network – with a narrow 5 pt lead and Man City with 2 games in hand. This is honestly a must win or tie game for Arsenal if they want to win the EPL title this year. The 2 time champs Man City are odds on favorites now and a win at home would probably seal Arsenal’s fate. As much as I enjoyed the visit to Man City and have huge more respect for them and manager Pep Guardiola now – (I love Haaland), I am rooting for Arsenal to find a way to spring the upset or at least tie them. Lets keep this 2 team race for first going as long as possible eh. (lots of stories below)

Other games worth watching includes today’s American Daily Double as Fulham and American Captain Tim Ream and Jedi Robinson travel to now 6^th place Aston Villa at 2:45 pm on Peacock. USA has Lead’s United States with Aaron McKinney and Brendan Aaronson hosting Leicester City in a relegation battle at 3 pm on USA Network. This is a must win for Leed’s losers of 3 in a row and simply not the same since inspirational leader and dmid extrodinaire Tyler Adams was lost for the season to injury. Also on tap Wed Inter Milan host Juventus in a Italian Cup battle at 3 pm on Paramount plus, along with US Open Cup play and tons of teams playing mostly on Youtube from 7 pm on – including our Indy 11 @ the Columbus Crew at 7 pm. Philly hosting LAFC in Champions League Semi-Final action is a 9 pm game on FS1, following Tues 10 pm affair for the Mexican half of the draw Tigres vs Leon also on FS1.

Our Carmel FC 2010 Boys – U13 got to help out with the Grassroots Class last night. Thanks Indiana DOE Steve Franklin!

GAMES ON TV

(American’s names in Parenthesis)

Tues, Apr 25

2:45 pm Peacock Aston Villa vs Fulham (Ream, Jedi)

3 pm USA Leeds United (Mckinney, Aaronson) vs Leicester City

10 pm FS1 Tigres vs Leon CCCL semi

Weds, Apr 26

2:45 pm Peacock West Ham vs Liverpool

3 pm USA Man City vs Arsenal

3 pm Para+ Inter vs Juventus

7 pm You Tube/Bleacher Report US Open Cup Play – USOC

7 pm Teamcast Indy 11 @ Columbus Crew USOC

7:30 pm CBS Golazo Miami FC vs Inter Miami USOC

9 pm FS1 Philly Union vs LAFC CCCL Semi

Thurs, Apr 27

2:45 pm USA Everton vs New Castle United

3:15 pm Peacock Tottenham vs Man United

Sat, Apr 29

7:30 am USA Crystal Palace vs West Ham United

10 am USA Brentford vs Nottingham Forest

10 am Peacoclk Crystal Palace vs Everton

12 noon ESPN+ Roma vs Milan

1:30 pm Fox Nashville vs Atlanta United

3 pm ESPN+ Barcelona vs Real Betis

7 pm My Indy TV Indy 11 vs Pittsburg

7 pm Para+ Racing Louisville vs OL Reign (Rapinoe) NWSL

8:30 pm Apple+ St. Louis City vs Portland Timbers

9:30 pm Apple TV Real Salt Lake vs Seattle Sounders

10 pm CBS Sports Net San Diego Wave (Alex Morgan) vs Orlando Pride (Marta) NWSL

Sun, Apr 30

6:30 am Para+ Inter Milan vs Lazio

9 am USA Fulham (Ream, Jedi) vs Man City

9 am Peacock Bournemouth vs West Ham United

11:30 USA Liverpool vs Tottenham

6 pm Para+ KC Current vs NY Gothem (Lynn Williams) NWSL

9 pm FS1 Minn United vs Dallas FC

Soccer Saturday’s are every Sat 9-10 am on 93.5 and 107.5 FM with Greg Rakestraw

EPL

Title, relegation and Champions League at stake in huge Premier League midweek Mark Ogden ESPN
Relegation scrap down to five as Leeds host Foxes
Man City vs. Arsenal preview: Players to watch, tactics, predictions and more ESPN
How Premier League clubs can qualify for Europe this season Dale Johnson
Source: Poch in advanced talks for Chelsea job Mark Ogden
Guardiola tells Man City not to let grip on Premier League title go
Erling Haaland vs Martin Odegaard: Norway to grind to a halt in the grip of title-race fever
Mikel Arteta should go with this bold strategy at Manchester City
Pep Guardiola turned to John Stones and Johan Cruyff’s playbook to fix Man City
Arsenal on the ropes as Man City aim for knockout blow in Premier League title race
Arteta says ‘incredible opportunity’ awaits Arsenal at Man City
Tottenham players offer ticket refunds to fans who traveled for 6-1 loss at Newcastle
Tottenham ready for biggest rebuild in their history, with Harry Kane, Hugo Lloris and Daniel Levy set for exit
BREAKING: Tottenham sack INTERIM boss Cristian Stellini after ‘devastating’ Newcastle loss

World

Can Bayern Munich rally and save their season? PLUS: Man United, Man City reach FA Cup final Gab Marcotti
Mayor: Napoli title will set off ‘big earthquake of joy’
FA Cup final 2023, Manchester City vs Manchester United: What time is it and what TV channel is it on?
Solly March misses as Brighton lose FA Cup semi-final on penalties to Manchester United
Man Utd beat Brighton on penalties to set up FA Cup final against Man City
Barcelona’s $1.6 Billion Stadium Renovation Clears Financing Hurdle
Ferran Torres earns Barca narrow win over Atletico as Sevilla stun Villarreal
Premier League Summer Series coming to USA in 2023: How to get tickets, watch live, schedule
‘Sky’s the limit’ as Wrexham not worried about spending caps
Sorry, Ryan Reynolds – I was a Wrexham cynic but I was wrong

Wrexham of TV Series on FX “We are Wrexham” have been promoted to the 2nd Division for the first time in 15 years thanks to new owners Hollywood actors Rob McIlleney (always Sunny in Philly FX) and Ryan Reynolds of Deadpool fame. Definitely worth the watch on Hulu or Disney plus.

USA

Report: U.S. Soccer has found new sporting director

Luton Town Horvath Wins over Steffen’s Middlesborough in battle of US Keepers

Angel City falls to rival in first meeting between Alyssa Thompson and Alex Morgan
Arsenal women evacuated after plane bursts into flame on runway
FIFA confirms 4 in 2027 Women’s World Cup hosting race

USMNT Goalkeepers Ethan Horvath and Zack Stephen battled Mon with Horvath’s Luton Town winning 2-1 over Middlesborough.

MLS

LAFC looks for Repeat vs Philly in UCL Wed

Power Rankings: NYCFC soar, Red Bulls drop after Matchday 9

Your Tuesday Kickoff: Philadelphia-LAFC CCL semifinal is a gift from the soccer god

Reffing

Become a Licensed High School Ref

Nate’s Brisket & Cheezy Tators were solid on Sunday for the Boys Showcase at Grand Park. Friday’s Chicken was the best though with 8.5 piggies on a 10 pt scale. Yes some places feed their refs -when they ref all day – Thanks Nate and Dave !

Indy’s First Chance at a “Cupset” Since 2016 Comes Wednesday at Crew SC

Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Match Preview – Third Round
Indy Eleven at Columbus Crew SC (MLS)
Wednesday, April 26, 2023 – 7:30 p.m. ET 
Lower.com Field – Columbus, Ohio

Follow Live:
Local/National TV: n/a
Streaming Video: TBA
Radio: n/a
In-game updates: @IndyElevenLive Twitter feed
Live stats: ColumbusCrew.com

2023 Records:
Indy Eleven: 1W-3L-2D (-4 GD), 5 pts.; T-8th in USL Championship Eastern Conference 
Columbus Crew SC: 4W-3L-2D (+8 GD), 15 pts.; 5th in MLS Eastern Conference 

The Third Round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup brings most Major League Soccer clubs into the fold of U.S. Soccer’s national club championship – and for Indy Eleven it brings the first chance to take on a team from America’s top flight in seven seasons.While Indy Eleven enters the contest at Columbus Crew SC reeling a bit – three straight losses in USL Championship action have left the Boys in Blue winless in their last four league outings – Wednesday offers a “throw caution to the wind” opportunity in addition to the rare chance to make club history. Indiana’s Team came close to knocking off MLS sides in two previous chances in U.S. Open Cup play, but an added extra time defeat away to Columbus during Indy’s inaugural 2014 campaign and a loss in penalties at Chicago Fire FC two years later left tantalizing “cupset” bids wanting.Despite suffering a 2-3 loss over the weekend at home to Monterey Bay F.C., Indy Eleven does come out of the contest with some good vibes after getting its first multi-goal performance of the young USLC season courtesy of offensive headliners Sebastian Guenzatti and Solomon Asante – the latter of whom also provided his first league assist of 2023. Asante was also a game-changer during the Eleven’s 3-1 triumph over Michigan Stars FC in the USOC’s Second Round back on April 5, when he assisted on all three tallies after entering at halftime to help flip the script on a match that, despite dominating, saw Indy forced to come back in the second stanza before it pulled away in added extra time.

While Wednesday’s game serves as the middle match in a three-game week for Indy, an extra day of rest and the short travel east bodes well for Head Coach Mark Lowry to throw out a fresh-legged squad for the affair. Defenders Adrian Diz Pe and Gustavo Rissi remain questionable with hamstring injuries – which contributed to normal fullback Robby Dambrot getting his first look centrally on Saturday night since joining the squad nearly a year ago – Lowry will definitely be without the services of forward Jonas Fjeldberg, whose reaggravation of a foot injury forced him from Saturday’s contest before halftime. That could mean a reinsertion to the starting XI for winger Douglas Martinez, who as a member of Sacramento Republic FC helped the USLC side to a trio of upsets over MLS sides (Sporting KC, LA Galaxy & San Jose Earthquakes) en route to their shock Final appearance last year against Orlando City SC.

On the opposite side, Crew SC enters the match off a 0-1 road defeat at Charlotte FC. That ended Columbus’ four-match unbeaten streak that began with three wins on the trot, during which they outscored Atlanta United (6-1), Real Salt Lake (4-0), and D.C. United (2-0) by a 12-1 margin. Crew SC has defended their gleaming new(ish) home of Lower.com quite well in 2023, going 3W-0L-1D and outscoring their visitors 13-2 in the process.Columbus’ solid start in MLS play has been driven by an attack whose 18 goals ranks tied for second across the league. Argentine striker Lucas Zelarayan continues to be worth every penny of his Designated Player status in his fourth year with America’s Hardest Working Team, as he paces the squad with four goals and has also added two assists. Former IU Hoosier (if only for one season in 2019) Aidan Morris and Christian Ramirez – a former foe of the Eleven’s as a member of the NASL’s Minnesota United from 2014-16 – follow close behind with three goals each, while Romanian playmaker Alexandru Matan is enjoying a breakout campaign with a team-best four assists in the early going.Darlington Nagbe continues to serve as one of the most dependable holding midfielders in MLS and has been a steady presence on the midfield line alongside Morris and Mohamed Farsi, while in defense Steven Moreira and Milos Degenek have been “put it in pen” members of the Starting XI through nine games. In goal, the battle between 2022 regular Eloy Room and defending MLS Next PRO Goalkeeper of the Year Patrick Schulte may rage on; Schulte has allowed only 1.17 goals in his six starts while Room has been absent in the early season, but with the incumbent back from injury the choice for Head Coach Wilfried Nancy could be a tough one, starting with Wednesday night’s affair.

IND Last Time Out:
Indy Eleven 2 : 3 Monterey Bay F.C.
Saturday, April 22 | IUPUI Michael A. Carroll Stadium in Indianapolis, Ind.
Recap & Highlights | Stats

Indy Eleven registered its first multi-goal game in league play in 2023, but the offensive effort wasn’t enough as Monterey Bay F.C. scratched across a pair in the second half to down Indy to a 2-3 loss at IUPUI Carroll Stadium. The first goals of the season by Eleven forwards Solomon Asante (23’) and Sebastian Guenzatti (40’) – which were also Indy’s first two goals in first half play this season – helped Indiana’s Team overcome an early deficit and take a 2-1 lead into the halftime break. However, MBFC tallies by Christian Volesky (57’) and Nevello Yoseke (62’) midway through the second stanza gave the visitors the full three points and pushed the Eleven’s winless streak in league play to four games (0-3-1).

CLB Last Time Out:
Charlotte FC 1 : 0 Columbus Crew SC
Saturday, April 22 | Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C.
Summary/Stats/Highlights

In a vein familiar to Indy Eleven faithful as of late, Crew SC dominated possession (67-33) and passes (654-314) by 2-to-1 margins or greater, but those advantages bore no fruit for the visitors in an away defeat last weekend in the Queen City. Charlotte striker Karol Swiderski’s 37^th minute first-time rocket from 15 yards made the difference in the otherwise statistically even affair in front of more than 30,000 fans at Bank of America Stadium. Aidan Morris looked to have evened things up with 90 seconds left in regulation time, but a controversial offside ruling after a VAR check nullified the equalizer, downing the Crew to a third defeat in five trips away from Lower.com Field this season (1W-3L-1D).

Series vs. Columbus Crew SC:
All-time/U.S. Open Cup record: 0W-1L-0D (1 GF/2 GA)
Away record: 0W-1L-0D (1 GF/2 GA)

Indy Eleven All-time USOC Record: 4W-6L-1D (13 GF/14 GA)
Away Record: 0W-4L-1D (2 GF/6 GA)

Indy Eleven will renew acquaintances with Crew SC for the first time in official competition since the Eleven’s initial U.S. Open Cup run during its inaugural 2014 season. That year on June 17, the Boys in Blue took their Fourth Round affair at FirstEnergy Stadium in Akron into added extra time after Blake Smith’s 62^nd equalizer canceled out Bernard Anor’s 4^th minute opener. However, the upset bid ultimately fell short when Jairo Arrieta converted a penalty kick in the 113^th minute against a fatiguing Eleven side. Wednesday’s match will mark only Indy Eleven’s third against MLS competition in the U.S. Open Cup, and its first in nearly seven years dating back to a 4-3 penalty kick defeat at Chicago Fire FC following a 1-1 draw on June 16, 2016.

#CLBvIND Familiar Faces
In lieu of any actual cross-roster connections:

Eleven defender Robby Dambrot is an Akron, Ohio-native and former member of NCAA powerhouse University of Akron from 2013-17, which he helped to the 2015 College Cup Semifinals.
Indy forward Aodhan Quinn is a fellow alumnus of the Akron Zips, overlapping one season with Dambrot while suiting up for UofA from 2011-13.
Indy midfielder Jonas Fjeldberg also played collegiately in the Buckeye State for the University of Dayton Flyers from 2017-20, where he earned Atlantic 10 Offensive Player of the Year honors his last two seasons before being drafted by FC Cincinnati in the 2021 MLS SuperDraft.
While Fjeldberg was sent on loan to RGV Toros FC in the USL Championship prior to earning first team minutes with FC Cincinnati, forward Harrison Robledo indeed saw action in a pair of matches for FCC in 2022 before spending the bulk of last season with their MLS Next PRO side. Robledo joined the Eleven on loan from FCC for the 2023 campaign on February 8.
On the opposite roster, the afore mentioned Aidan Morris played one standout season for the Indiana Hoosiers, earning Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors during the 2019 season.
In addition, defender Philip Quinton played his college ball at the University of Notre Dame, scoring a pair of goals in his 58 appearances with the Fighting Irish from 2018-21.

Eleven Player to Watch: FW Solomon Asante

The diminutive Ghanian can make magic happen at a moment’s notice – and as we all know, it takes a little magic to make a “cupset” come true. Asante proved his worth both as finisher and provider last Saturday evening when he darted between defenders to steer home a header off a corner kick for Indy’s first (as the shortest player on the pitch by a country mile, mind you), then followed that up by supplying an inch-perfect ball between defenders to set up Sebastian Guenzatti’s then go-ahead tally towards the end of the first half.

Saturday’s performance showcased the “dual threat” type player Indy hoped it would see after making the marquee signing for the two-time USL Championship MVP last April. He’s already proven he can make a difference in Open Cup play after pulling off the second three-assist performance in club history off the bench in the Second Round against Michigan Stars FC (he also had the first such occasion last season). If Indy Eleven is to take down one of Major League Soccer’s better sides of the season thus far on Wednesday, in all likelihood such a standout performance from Asante will be at the heart of the potential historic night for Indiana’s Team.

Premier League schedule as title, relegation and Champions League spots at stake in huge midweek of games

12:24 PM ET Mark OgdenSenior Writer, ESPN FC

Manchester City‘s potential title-decider against Arsenal on Wednesday rightly takes top billing in a crucial round of Premier League games this midweek, but the clash at the Etihad is not the only fixture that could make-or-break a club’s season in the space of 90 minutes in the days aheadEvery key issue — the title, Champions League qualification and relegation — is reaching a definitive moment and, for some teams involved, it could come this week.

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If Arsenal or City emerge victorious at the Etihad, they will become overwhelming favourites to win the title, while Leeds United fans could legitimately argue that the stakes are even higher in the game between their team and Leicester City, who sit 16th and 17th respectively and on the brink of the bottom three. Lose and relegation to the Championship looks likelier than ever.

Some clubs bounce back straightaway — Burnley are heading back to the Premier League after just one year away — but Leeds spent 16 years fighting to return after relegation in 2004, so there are no guarantees of a short stay out of the top flight.

– How Premier League clubs can qualify for Europe

Both Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United, who meet in London on Thursday, would love to be in the position of their local rivals, Arsenal and City. The reality is that a win for United will all but seal their top-four spot and leave Spurs facing up to a battle for Europa League or Europa Conference League qualification. On the other hand, a Spurs win would blow it all wide open again by reducing the gap to fourth to just three points.Here are the games to watch this week in the Premier League, from potential title-deciders to teams in trouble and relegation scraps.

TUESDAY

The Leeds vs. Leicester clash is the standout fixture, with Leicester’s 2-1 win at home to Wolves on Saturday securing three points for the first time in over two months. Leicester had lost nine of their previous 10 league games — a run that cost manager Brendan Rodgers his job and led to former Aston Villa and Norwich boss Dean Smith being appointed earlier this month.

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It lifted Leicester out of the bottom three, moving them ahead of third-bottom Everton on goal difference, and another victory at Elland Road would take them above Leeds, who are in woeful form under Javi Gracia.

Leeds have lost five of nine league games under Gracia, including their past three, which include 5-1 and 6-1 home defeats against Crystal Palace and Liverpool. If Leeds are to stay up, Tuesday’s clash with Leicester and Sunday’s trip to Bournemouth are likely to be crucial — because then they face Manchester City and Newcastle United.

Another significant game is Wolves vs. Palace. Both sides have pulled away from relegation trouble in recent weeks, but neither are yet safe. With 37 points, Palace arguably need just one more to be confident of avoiding the drop, while Wolves (34 points) need another win to put a comfortable gap between themselves and the bottom three.And Aston Villa’s home game against Fulham may become a fixture with Champions League implications if Unai Emery’s side claim all three points. With a trip to Old Trafford next up for Villa, two wins in their next two games would suddenly put them straight into the fight for a top-four finish and keep them clear of seventh-place Liverpool, who they face at Anfield on May 20 — a week after a home game against Spurs.

WEDNESDAY

All eyes will be on the Etihad when reigning champions City face an Arsenal side that have led the season virtually uninterrupted since August, but who have now drawn three successive games and handed the momentum to Pep Guardiola’s team.

Premier League Table

	GP	GD	PTS
1 – Arsenal	32	+43	75
2 – Man City	30	+50	70
3 – Newcastle	31	+29	59
4 – Man United	29	+9	59
5 – Tottenham	32	+7	53
6 – Aston Villa	32	+4	51
7 – Liverpool	31	+21	50
8 – Brighton	29	+17	49
9 – Fulham	31	+2	45
10 – Brentford	32	+5	44

City are displaying relentless form, as they often do in the second half of a season, and are unbeaten since losing at Tottenham on Feb. 5. A run of 13 wins and three draws, including eight victories in nine Premier League games, have put City on course for a Champions League-Premier League-FA Cup treble, while the Gunners appear to be fading.

Despite their recent wobble, Arsenal are still five points clear at the top, albeit having played two more games. Yet if Arsenal avoid defeat at the Etihad, the pressure will then intensify on City to win their games in hand.

Right now, it seems that the odds are stacked in City’s favour. They play Arsenal at home, have their games in hand and know how to win the title, having been crowned champions in four of the past five seasons. But if City fail to win on Wednesday, Arsenal’s advantage may prove to be a decisive one. At this stage of a season, with games running out, points already won become a priceless commodity and Arsenal have those.And if Arsenal win to move eight points clear, City’s treble hopes will suddenly look forlorn.Also on Wednesday, Nottingham Forest vs. Brighton & Hove Albion has implications at both ends of the table. Forest, winless in 11 games, have dropped to second bottom and desperately need a win. Facing a Brighton team that will be physically and emotionally drained after losing an FA Cup semifinal penalty shootout against Man United on Sunday could be perfectly timed for Steve Cooper’s team. But Brighton are chasing European qualification for the first time, so they can still make their season a positive one. A win at Forest would put them back on course after the FA Cup exit.Chelsea vs. Brentford offers Frank Lampard the chance to win his first game as caretaker-manager at Stamford Bridge — or maybe even deepen the gloom with another defeat — while West Ham against Liverpool is an opportunity for Jurgen Klopp to keep alive Liverpool’s hopes of European qualification.

THURSDAY

Another night of hugely important games led by Tottenham’s home matchup against Man United. After Sunday’s 6-1 humiliation at Newcastle, Spurs are on the brink of implosion. But despite everything that is wrong at the club — the sacking of manager Antonio Conte, the surprise move to a four-man defence (which failed miserably) at Newcastle and uncertainty over Harry Kane‘s future — a win on Thursday would put Spurs back in the top-four race.As it stands, Spurs are six points adrift of fourth-place United having played two more games, so a defeat on Thursday will surely signal the end of Tottenham’s pursuit of a Champions League spot.United have also been inconsistent in recent weeks and their record away from home against teams in the top 10 is woeful, with Erik ten Hag’s side losing on the road to all of the current top seven. Can fifth-place Spurs complete the set? November’s 1-0 win at Fulham, secured by a last-minute Alejandro Garnacho goal, was United’s only win on the road against a top-10 side.

So this game could really give us anything because it involves two sides out of form. And United have a lengthy injury list to overcome too.Everton vs. Newcastle impacts on the relegation battle and pursuit of Champions League qualification, but the stakes are arguably much higher for the Toffees in this one. Newcastle’s win against Spurs has given Eddie Howe’s team a six-point cushion (and boosted their goal difference) in the race for a top-four spot, and a win at Goodison Park would still be important, especially if Spurs beat United to keep pace with the top four.For Everton, though, they start this game in the bottom three and they could be further adrift of safety if results go against them on Tuesday and Wednesday.Everton’s home form since Sean Dyche took charge in January has seen them win three, lose two and draw one. But they haven’t won any from home under Dyche, so survival depends on what they do at Goodison — which makes the Newcastle game so important. With a trip to Leicester next up, Everton’s fate might just rest in the outcome of their next two games.Bottom-of-the-table Southampton look to be heading for relegation, though a win against Bournemouth on Thursday would throw the Saints straight back into the mix to stay up. A Southampton win would deny Bournemouth the chance to pull clear of the bottom three, and keep them in the relegation picture.

That is the opportunity which presents itself for Gary O’Neil’s Bournemouth. If they win the South Coast Derby, they will move to 36 points and within touching distance of Premier League survival.So it’s a midweek programme full of huge fixtures. It really isn’t all about City vs. Arsenal, especially if your team is involved in a game that could decide success or failure.

City v Arsenal discussion: Can Haaland be stopped? Arteta compromise? How’s the mood?

By Jordan Campbell and Sam Lee Apr 25, 2023

The stakes don’t get any higher. With five weeks to go in the title race, second-placed Manchester City host Arsenal — the team they trail by five points with two games in hand — on Wednesday.City are chasing a historic treble and a third straight Premier League championship, Arsenal their first title in 19 years. It’s the master, City manager Pep Guardiola, against the apprentice, his former City assistant and now Arsenal opposite number Mikel Arteta.On the eve of the game, The Athletic’s Arsenal writer Jordan Campbell and Manchester City colleague Sam Lee discuss all the pertinent points that could go a long way to deciding both it and the destination of the title…

Sam Lee: The big question from a Manchester City point of view is: what’s going on with Arsenal? Dropping points for three games in a row — which Arsenal are we going to see tomorrow night? Oh, and how is the mood?

Jordan Campbell: Tense! It’s a strange place for Arsenal to be in emotionally as they’ve led the Premier League for so long, and still lead it, but it feels like they’re now hanging on. The last three weekends have been absurd and that feeds into a lot of the nervousness ahead of this game as they’ve tilted from one extreme to the other in each of the last three games.

Neutrals will be hoping for more of that drama, but Arsenal fans will be praying their team rediscover how to be ‘boring’.

There is a little bit of fear about coming up against Erling Haaland, given he has 15 goals in his last eight starts and has made plenty of top defences at home and abroad look like under-nines sides. That hasn’t been helped by the news injured centre-back William Saliba will definitely miss this match — and potentially the rest of the season.

Arsenal have conceded seven goals in these last three drawn games against Liverpool, West Ham and last-placed Southampton, so facing Haaland, Kevin De Bruyne and Jack Grealish will be causing plenty of anxiety at their London Colney base.

https://embed.podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/david-ornstein-on-saliba-yet-another-draw-and-man/id1488521732?i=1000610361035

That said, there remains a belief this team has something special about it, that they have the heart and togetherness needed to be in the trenches together and produce a result very few expect. But I don’t think they can go to Manchester and look to contain City, as in this form I think you are inviting trouble. They have to look to control the game as much as they can.

How are City shaping up?

Lee: In short, very well! Their 10-game winning streak may have come to an end with a draw at Bayern Munich last week but given they were 3-0 up from the first leg of that Champions League quarter-final that does not matter so much, and they are actually unbeaten in 16 matches now.

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The run that everybody expected/feared from City earlier in the year is well and truly underway now. The question is how long it will go on for.

The Etihad comes alive for games like this and City have, more or less, a fully fit squad to choose from. Several key players were able to rest for Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final against Sheffield United of the Championship, too, so while there are concerns over Nathan Ake, basically everything else looks positive.

How can Arsenal line up without Saliba and stop Haaland?

Campbell: Well, that’s the multi-million-dollar question! Everton, Brentford and Tottenham have all got results against City this season by going with a back five and trying to condense the space Haaland has to run into. It has been a switch mooted by some ahead of this game with Arsenal leaking so many goals in the absence of Saliba, but Arteta is hitched to this system so I don’t see him deviating.

I’m also not sure the Arsenal squad is yet at the point where they can swap systems with the same ease as City do. And what message would that send to his players if he was seen to retreat? It would only reinforce the aura of City, implicitly accepting that Arsenal are inferior and must change when they face them.

Haaland has been in relentless form for Manchester City (Photo: Glyn Kirk/AFP via Getty Images)

Saliba’s replacement, Rob Holding, can be picked on a little too easily, but it’s fair to say he’s not at the same level. More importantly, Holding is not as comfortable defending high up the pitch or progressing the ball when being pressed in possession.

You can’t become obsessed with Haaland to the detriment of your overall game and that’s why I’d be keen to move Ben White into the middle, as he will help Arsenal play out and is quicker to match Haaland’s runs rather than getting involved in a physical fight.

Lee: That’s the interesting thing about City: they are a bit less effective against low blocks compared to last season, because Haaland cannot drop deep and link the play as effectively as somebody like Phil Foden, Bernardo Silva or Ilkay Gundogan playing as a false nine, although clearly they can still get the job done.

But against teams who are more adventurous in how they press and/or play out from the back, City have spaces to exploit and can get Haaland in on goal. That makes them dangerous in the Champions League — and, you’d think, in this game. We’ve already seen at the Emirates (in February’s reverse fixture, which City won 3-1) that Arsenal were the better team for a lot of the game, but City won the ball high up and were clinical.

We also saw then that Haaland is dangerous when the ball is played up to him — which it will be more often if Arsenal decide to mark man-to-man. But his threat is not in winning the headers, but in shielding the ball so neither he nor his marker wins it, then spinning in behind to run after it. That happened inside a minute in January’s FA Cup meeting (a 1-0 City win) when he was up against Holding, and he did it to Gabriel at the Emirates to win a penalty, which was later rescinded for offside. Even so, that is something to look out for.

How do you think Arsenal will try to defend against him?

Campbell: There are a few ways, but I’d prioritise causing as little disruption to the line-up as possible. There have been calls for Thomas Partey to move to right-back and Jorginho to come into the middle but, while the Ghanaian has been careless on the ball at times in recent weeks, he’s still so important to this team and brings an athleticism to the midfield that they are going to need.

If Jorginho came in, would it disrupt Arsenal’s team too much? (Photo: Joe Prior/Visionhaus via Getty Images)

It’s unfair to throw 18-year-old Reuell Walters in at such a critical point, so my solution would be to bring in Kieran Tierney on the right. Deploying a left-back on the opposite side is always more controversial than a right-back playing left-back, as Cesar Azpilicueta and Joao Cancelo have done to great effect in the Premier League, but, while it is not the perfect solution, there are a few reasons it makes sense for this game.

Tierney played there for Scotland, so he could play in the same back line as Andrew Robertson, and he coped fine. His attacking bursts were limited but in the inverted role he has been playing when deputising for Oleksandr Zinchenko he hasn’t exactly been let off the leash.

Grealish is in terrific form but he loves cutting infield and that would leave Tierney defending on his strong side. Arteta has seen the value in that before by playing Takehiro Tomiyasu at left-back, something which started against Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah.

The downside is Tierney would be cutting inside a lot when he is on the ball, and picking him would disrupt White’s relationship with Bukayo Saka. But in City’s recent games they have been pressing teams aggressively by showing them inside, so it may open up some new angles for him to play into.

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When it comes to the attack I feel for Leandro Trossard, as he’s made such a great impact since joining in January — and he was good again when he came on against Southampton — but I can’t see who you drop for him.

https://theathletic.com/report/podcast-clip/?clip_id=7436

Do City have any worries?

Lee: The big question is around Ake, who went off with a hamstring injury late in the game against Bayern last Wednesday. The initial signs suggested he had avoided a lengthy lay-off and should be able to feature in City’s big games in May and June, but that the Arsenal game may come too soon.

Riyad Mahrez scored a hat-trick at Wembley at the weekend and afterwards Pep Guardiola revealed the winger’s discontent at missing out on selection for some big games recently.

Guardiola likes to pick Rodri, Ilkay Gundogan, Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva in the most important matches and did so in their past three Champions League outings, with Bernardo being preferred to Mahrez on the right wing partly for his ability to press. “He can press three players with one movement. Not one player in the world can do it,” Guardiola says.

It would be a safe bet to expect the same sort of team that saw off RB Leipzig 7-0 at the Etihad and played both matches against Bayern, although if Ake does miss out it could force a change at the back that has repercussions across the rest of the team. Bernardo played left-back at the Emirates in February, after all…

Bernardo Silva is likely to play against Arsenal, partly due to his pressing ability (Photo: Lexy Ilsley – Manchester City/Manchester City FC via Getty Images)

Guardiola does love to spring a surprise in the big games.

How did they turn their form around?

Lee: Well, there was that famous Guardiola speech (I’m not sure it was a rant or a tirade, but it was in that ballpark) about his squad’s mentality and attitude, but many of these players have been around him long enough now to just shrug their shoulders when he says stuff like that — because behind the scenes it is constant.

The players got together on a few occasions, including in the dressing room at Old Trafford after losing the derby in January and also after the game at Nottingham Forest in February, when City were excellent but somehow only drew 1-1.

I think the timing of the Premier League charges levelled against City had a hand in their resurgence. Those came the morning after a dreadful early-February defeat at Spurs, and by the end of that week Guardiola was installing a siege mentality and the atmosphere at the Etihad was defiant rather than dour.

And above all else, they have simply played a lot of teams recently who have been adventurous and tried to press them high and/or play out from the back, as we have already discussed — which is yet another thing for Arsenal to think about.

‘Bottling it’ might be overly simplistic but something’s not right with Arsenal, surely?

Campbell: It is strange but I keep needing to remind myself Arsenal are five points clear at the top of the league — a great position.

The way the Southampton game ended on Friday night will have felt like a point gained for them in the end, given how deflated they looked for parts of the second half at 3-1 down. It felt like there was an inevitability about a fourth, winning goal for Arsenal in added time and teams don’t change games to the degree they did without having a lot of belief and heart.

Arsenal need to end a bad run of results against City (they’ve lost the last seven meetings overall, 11 straight in the league and haven’t beaten them in the Premier League since 2015 — the year before Guardiola was appointed) but they showed in the first half at Anfield that they can go to difficult away grounds and play their own game.

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Lee: But they could have lost that in the end, though!

Campbell: True, they must keep it going for the whole game but my fear for Arsenal is that they have expended so much emotional energy in recent weeks that it may be catching up with them. Think about the number of late goals they have needed since the turn of the year. It is a sign of a team who never give up and of players who take responsibility, but you also need some stress-free games or the pressure can be exhausting.

Manchester City vs. Arsenal preview: Key players, predictions, tactics and more

9:52 AM ET ESPN

Few would have predicted that Arsenal would lead the English Premier League title race this season, yet Mikel Arteta’s side have been one of the most exciting teams to watch as they attempt to wrangle the title away from defending champions Manchester City, who have won it four times in the past five seasons.

Going into Wednesday’s showdown between the two, Arsenal lead in first place with 75 points, while Man City trail on 70 points but with two games in hand. Arsenal are stuttering after three straight consecutive draws, the latest in a dramatic 3-3 comeback against last-place Southampton, leaving the door open for Man City in the title race.

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The stakes couldn’t be higher ahead of this match, as the winner will likely go on to be crowned champions at the end of the season. ESPN’s correspondents Rob Dawson and James Olley answer your burning questions and share their predictions, which players to watch and more.

What state are Man City in going into the match?

Dawson: Pep Guardiola’s team have gone through spells where they haven’t looked convincing, but that late-season run of form has finally arrived. City haven’t lost since early February and a 10-game winning streak was ended only by a 1-1 draw at Bayern Munich that was enough to earn a place in the Champions League semifinals. They’re defending well in Guardiola’s hybrid back three/back four system and also scoring goals. Erling Haaland has got 15 in his past eight matches with the FA Cup semifinal against Sheffield United on Saturday ending a run of goals in seven successive games.

Guardiola has said repeatedly that Arsenal are favorites to win the title because of their position at the top of the table, but he’ll be quite happy with how the run-in is going, particularly after Arsenal’s run of three straight draws to drop six points in two weeks.

City have been in this position so many times over the past 10 years that they won’t be fazed by a crucial game against their title rivals in mid-April. They’re playing well, key players are fit and in form, and they’ll go into the game at the Etihad Stadium as favorites, and for good reason.

What state are Arsenal in going into the match?

Olley: Perilous. The contrast in mood compared to a fortnight ago is stark. By drawing their past three matches, Arsenal have stuttered to the extent the dynamic around Wednesday’s game has shifted markedly. It is no longer the free hit the Gunners could tell themselves it was when they had a bigger lead at the top.Never has a five-point advantage felt so fragile. The knowledge that a defeat on Wednesday will leave City in pole position to win the title only heightens the feeling that momentum is slipping away from them at the wrong time. Arsenal scored twice in the final three minutes of normal time to salvage a point against Southampton on Friday, but at the full-time whistle, the vast majority of players collapsed to the floor deflated.Perhaps the mental exertions of a title race are beginning to leave their mark, but at the same time, they knew a point against the Premier League’s bottom team wasn’t really enough. Yet at the same time, they should take heart from the starts made in their past two away games at Liverpool and West Ham, where they breezed into 2-0 leads thanks to more of the exhilarating, devastating football which has given them a shot at the club’s first title since 2004. Manager Mikel Arteta’s challenge will be to harness the positivity of those spells and produce a complete performance at arguably the toughest place to go in Europe.

What will Guardiola and Arteta learn from each other?

Dawson: Guardiola and Arteta know each other well from their time together at City, but Arteta still managed to surprise his former boss in the FA Cup tie in January by playing a man-to-man system all over the pitch. Other teams have tried it in the past, but the inference from Guardiola afterward was that he didn’t expect it from Arteta, and it might put a seed of doubt in his mind ahead of the game on Wednesday. It might mean City having to bypass the midfield more than they would like with goalkeeper Ederson given orders to go long to Haaland if he can’t see a short pass.

EDITOR’S PICKS

Agony or ecstasy: Why are Arsenal fans so nervous about the title race?26dJames Olley
Why ex-Man City stars Gabriel Jesus, Zinchenko are key to Arsenal’s test of nerve6dJames Olley
Haaland’s form and a red-hot attack: How Man City bucked the trend (for now) of slumping big clubs5dBill Connelly

Olley: Arteta does not hide the fact he is a Guardiola disciple and there are many similarities between the two sides in terms of how they try to control matches. One of the most obvious traits Arteta has taken is utilising Oleksandr Zinchenko — a former City player — in an unorthodox midfield role when in possession.Zinchenko drifts infield from his left-back position to help overload opponents and dominate possession in central areas. It is something Guardiola did first with Joao Cancelo and a tactic he has reprised of late with John Stones on the opposite flank, coming in off the right to effectively operate as an extra midfielder.Just one fascinating aspect of Wednesday’s game is whether Arteta will alter his approach in any way or have the courage of his convictions to attack City as they have every other team this season. How Zinchenko is used will be a big indication.

Who are the key players?

Dawson: Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne are the obvious ones, because if they play well, City usually win, but John Stones is key to Guardiola’s system. Rested against Sheffield United at the weekend, the expectation is that he will start at right-back with freedom to push into midfield next to Rodri and allow Ilkay Gundogan to get forward. Guardiola will be worried about the pace and movement of Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli in wide areas, but he has already trusted Stones against Leroy Sane, Kingsley Coman, Serge Gnabry and Jamal Musiala when they played Bayern.

Dawson: Never seen anything like record-equalling Haaland

Rob Dawson watches Erling Haaland equal Mohamed Salah’s record for goals in a 38-game Premier League season, with eight games to spare.

Olley: Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Martin Odegaard have provided Arsenal’s creative heartbeat this season. Each will be vital on Wednesday, Saka and Martinelli for their pace and penetration on the counter-attack, Odegaard for his composure on the ball under pressure.

Getting the balance right between attack and defense will be essential to Arsenal’s chances of hurting City. There have been signs of late that this burden of leading the charge is taking a toll on Saka and Martinelli, but the pair still both scored against Southampton and they will need to be at their best to maximise what could be limited opportunities to punish City on the break.

Who will each team miss most?

Dawson: One of the reasons City look so formidable at the moment is that they don’t have injuries. Ederson, Ruben Dias, Rodri, Stones and De Bruyne will all come back into the team after they were rested against Sheffield United while Phil Foden played the final 20 minutes at Wembley after recovering from an appendix operation.

Riyad Mahrez has made a case to start after scoring a hat-trick at the weekend and Guardiola has the luxury of being able to pick from a fully fit squad at a time of the season when lots of other managers have selection problems.

Olley: William Saliba. The Frenchman was forced off with a back injury 21 minutes into Arsenal’s Europa League last 16, second-leg clash with Sporting Lisbon on March 16 (when they were winning). Since then, the Gunners have exited Europe, dropped six points in the Premier League and failed to keep a clean sheet in any of their matches. It is too simplistic to explain Arsenal’s recent wobble solely through Saliba’s absence, but there is little doubt they look more vulnerable defensively without his calming, composed presence.

Saliba’s regular centre-back partner, Gabriel Magalhaes, has appeared particularly destabilised while Rob Holding is an adequate but limited deputy: he was fortunate a clumsy challenge to gift Liverpool a second-half penalty at Anfield was not punished as Mohamed Salah sent the resulting spot-kick wide of goal. Holding also cannot build out from the back with the same skill at Saliba. Arteta is cagey over Saliba’s return date so his involvement is not entirely ruled out, but the recent updates have been downbeat.

What is your match prediction?

Dawson: City have already beaten Arsenal twice this season and it’ll be a surprise if they don’t make it three out of three. Haaland looks unstoppable, which means Arsenal will have to score at least twice to win and City haven’t conceded twice in a game since beating Tottenham 4-2 on Jan. 19. Arsenal’s confidence is fragile and it could be a heavy 4-0 win for City.

Olley: Both teams score, but City win 3-1. This will likely be played at a furious pace as both try to establish control of the ball to manipulate the other out of position. City gave Arsenal a little bit of a schooling in the second half of the reverse fixture, and although the stakes are higher this time, their proven class under pressure can tell.

What is your title prediction?

Dawson: After Arsenal, City still have to play Chelsea at home and Brighton away before the end of the season, but there’s nothing in the run-in that will scare them. The Champions League semifinal against Real Madrid is a complication, but there’s a good chance City can go through the rest of the season unbeaten and emulate Manchester United‘s treble from 1999.

Olley: I went for Manchester City in August and will stick with them now. Their experience has started to tell in recent weeks and it is feasible they could win every game from here. As brilliant as Arsenal have been all season, Newcastle away in early May looks another tough ask, and with key players showing signs of dipping in form at the wrong time, they might just fall short of the title.

Manchester City vs Arsenal: Team news, channel, kick-off time for Premier League title showdown

By The Athletic UK Staff 46m ago 3

Title rivals Manchester City and Arsenal meet on Wednesday in a hugely-anticipated fixture that could determine the destiny of the Premier League crown.

Mikel Arteta’s side head to the Etihad with a five-point advantage at the top of the table but champions City, with two games in hand, are also in control of their own fate.

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The Londoners’ cushion has been eroded after three successive draws, while City have hit form at a crucial stage of the season.

Here’s what you need to know about the showdown, which kicks off at 8pm BST (12pm PT, 3pm ET).

Big match omens

Pep Guardiola’s treble-chasing side have won 11 of their past 12 games, putting their inconsistency of earlier in the season firmly behind them.

City have recent form against Arsenal, too: they have won each of their last 11 Premier League meetings against Arsenal by an aggregate score of 29-4.

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Guardiola regularly heaps praise on his former assistant Arteta, but the Arsenal boss has struggled to get the better of his mentor.

The pair have met eight times in management, with Guardiola winning seven. Arteta’s only victory came in an FA Cup semi-final three years ago.

So far this season, City have beaten Arsenal 1-0 in the FA Cup at the Etihad in January and followed that up with a 3-1 Premier League win at the Emirates Stadium a few weeks later.

Mikel Arteta has won only one of his eight games as a manager against Pep Guardiola. Photo: Getty Images

Manchester City vs Arsenal — pre-match reading

Team news and match officials

Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka is a doubt for the crunch clash.

The Switzerland captain missed Friday’s 3-3 draw with Southampton through illness and has yet to return to training.

Speaking on the eve of the trip to the Etihad Stadium, Arteta said: “He’s been out, hopefully he will be able to train today but he is a doubt.”

As reported by The Athletic, defender William Saliba will definitely miss the game as he has shown “no real improvement” in his recovery from a back issue.

Erling Haaland, Manchester City Erling Haaland is looking to add to a 48-goal haul so far this season. Photo: Getty Images

Manchester City have a doubt over defender Nathan Ake, who missed the FA Cup semi-final win over Sheffield United but, after Phil Foden’s return at the weekend, they otherwise have a clean bill of health.

Kevin De Bruyne was rested in the 3-0 victory at Wembley, while Erling Haaland was substituted in the second half with the game won.

Michael Oliver has been named as the referee, while Eddie Smart is the VAR.

What have the managers said?

Guardiola: “It’s good to be here. After the first round (of fixtures) Arsenal did, it was was difficult to think we would be here in that moment. So it is a really, really important game. We could get points our opponents cannot, so our focus is on what we have to do.

“If they win, it depends on them. But if we win, definitely the destiny will be in our hands.”

Arteta: “The belief is there. When I look at how they trained, how they reacted, the mood in the dressing room, how they’ve been defending each other in every moment… we really want it and we’re going to show that again tomorrow night. Then you have to deliver in the right moment, the right performance and it has to be perfection because that’s what this last level demands – absolute perfection in every single ball.”

How to follow Manchester City vs Arsenal

Manchester City vs Arsenal is broadcast live on BT Sport in the UK.

In the US, all 380 Premier League games are shown across different channels, with Wednesday’s game live on Peacock.

Wherever you are, you’ll be able to follow the showdown with The Athletic’s live blog.

The title run-in

Arsenal’s remaining fixtures

April 26: Manchester City (A)
May 2: Chelsea (H)
May 7: Newcastle (A)
May 14: Brighton (H)
May 20: Nottingham Forest (A)
May 28: Wolves (H)

Manchester City’s remaining fixtures

April 26: Arsenal (H)
April 30: Fulham (A)
May 3: West Ham (H)
May 6: Leeds United (H)
May 14: Everton (A)
May 21: Chelsea (H)
May 24: Brighton (A)
May 28: Brentford (A)

Odegaard and De Bruyne: Masters of the inside-right channel in very different ways

Michael Cox Apr 26, 2023 Athletic

It would be simplistic to say Mikel Arteta has attempted to replicate Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City side since taking charge of Arsenal, but it’s not too far off.There’s the emphasis on patient build-up play, the pressing in advanced positions and the use of a 2-3-5 or 3-2-5 in the attacking phase. There’s Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko, too.

But for all Guardiola’s tactical acumen and his emphasis on structure, his City side have also depended on individual genius. In particular, the brilliance of Kevin De Bruyne, the side’s chief playmaker who can play passes that others can’t even spot.

Follow live coverage of Manchester City vs Arsenal in the Premier League today

Guardiola’s system means De Bruyne usually has multiple targets for his passes, often running in behind the opposition. But it takes technical quality to be able to play those assists. Finding an equivalent of De Bruyne, as much as anything, would be one of Arteta’s most difficult tasks at Arsenal.

The Spaniard had two goes at finding his De Bruyne. The first was his former team-mate Mesut Ozil, who was eventually cast aside amid questions about his attitude. But in his early weeks, Arteta tried to find a role for Ozil. Although theoretically fielded as the No 10, in reality, Ozil was positioned almost permanently in the inside-right channel — just like De Bruyne — from where he would attempt to angle balls over the opposition.

(Photo: BEN STANSALL/AFP via Getty Images)

Arteta’s faith in Ozil didn’t last long and he was frozen out by the start of his first full season in charge. For the first half of that campaign, in part because Arteta often used a 3-4-3 system, Arsenal badly lacked an equivalent. Willian was positioned too far wide, Nicolas Pepe would instinctively shoot rather than pass, Bukayo Saka was often a left-wing-back and Emile Smith Rowe hadn’t yet broken into the side. In that period, it was difficult to see what Arsenal were trying to do. There was structure but no imagination. Until, once again, Arsenal solved their creative problems by turning to a Real Madrid cast-off.

Odegaard’s first half-season offered promise rather than consistent end product, with a goal or assist once every 289 minutes. That improved to 253 minutes last season and is once every 140 minutes this season. Odegaard isn’t quite at De Bruyne levels in terms of creativity, but in terms of impact on his side overall, Arteta can realistically claim to have found an equivalent in that inside-right channel.

One of the obvious differences, though, is that while De Bruyne is right-footed, Odegaard is left-footed. This changes so much about the passes they play into the box — the positions they’re struck from, the angle and trajectory of the pass, and how easy they are to convert.

Here’s De Bruyne’s map of chances created and assists from the Premier League this season. That inside-right channel, the space De Bruyne is regularly positioned in, is denoted in red. And the notable thing about De Bruyne’s map, aside from how spread out the passes are, is that the Belgian is constantly charging into the penalty box from his favoured channel — or even wider — and putting in crosses rather than through-balls.

This has become De Bruyne’s trademark.

It’s difficult to think of another player in football, particularly one who starts from a primarily central position, who has proven so devastating with those balls. And because De Bruyne is playing the ball into a corridor in behind the defence, often towards the far post, he can afford to properly drive the ball at speed.

Often, that means City have more than one attacker capable of getting on the end of the pass because the ball is travelling through multiple points where it might be diverted into the net. This is an assist away at Wolves, for example. And here’s a quick quiz: which of the players in the middle — Erling Haaland at the front, Jack Grealish in the middle or Bernardo Silva at the back — turned the ball in?

It was the middle of the three, Grealish. De Bruyne might not necessarily have been aiming for him, but simply by getting the angle of his cross right, three different players might have finished the move.

Odegaard generally doesn’t have that luxury by virtue of being left-footed. And Odegaard isn’t simply left-footed, he’s very left-footed. Ninety-three per cent of his Premier League shots — excluding headers — have come with his left foot. Assuming that reflects his level of confidence at creating with his right foot, too, then it’s clear Odegaard has less license to push outside from this inside-right role unless he then checks back inside.

Here are Odegaard’s chances created and assists this season.

From that inside-right position, with his left foot, Odegaard has to slide the ball more delicately through the defence, such as this assist for Gabriel Martinelli against Liverpool.

Even then, his passes will generally curl towards the goalkeeper rather than into the striker, so there’s little room for error.

Therefore, Odegaard’s approach is often more about lofting passes towards the far side. He particularly likes floating balls over to Martinelli or Granit Xhaka, relying on them timing their runs correctly and the ball dropping at the right moment, such as for Xhaka’s header against Leeds.

To use a cricket analogy, Odegaard has to be concerned with line and length, whereas De Bruyne, when pushing out wide, can concentrate primarily on line.

Odegaard is also capable of playing the ball out to Bukayo Saka, who has turned difficult situations into goals with his trickery and finishing ability. But it’s interesting that Odegaard is yet to assist Gabriel Jesus and has only created seven chances for the Brazilian this season. Jesus’ tendency to drop short rather than run in behind and the aforementioned issues with left-footed passes from the inside-right channel means Arsenal’s chief playmaker and centre-forward aren’t regularly combining.

Perhaps significantly, Odegaard twice assisted goals for Eddie Nketiah, a more straightforward striker, during Jesus’ injury layoff. It’s worth contrasting Odegaard’s lack of assists for Jesus with De Bruyne’s eight Premier League assists for Haaland (including set pieces).

Where Odegaard’s left-footedness comes in handy, though, is in terms of goalscoring. The typical thing to consider here is his ability to receive the ball in the channel, cut inside and bend the ball towards the far corner, as he did on Friday night against Southampton.

But it’s also useful in terms of converting cut-backs from the left, which is a major part of Arsenal’s gameplan. Odegaard is particularly adept at suddenly sprinting towards the near post, almost laterally, to receive a pass and finish with his left foot. This generally makes the angle for the pass easier. The best example was possibly a shot eventually turned home by Nketiah, a late winner against Manchester United.

De Bruyne is capable of being a fine goalscorer himself, of course, and is also less reliant on his stronger foot than Odegaard. But having scored 15 league goals last season, he’s reverted to being almost a pure assister this season after the arrival of Haaland, managing only five goals to Odegaard’s 12.

In part, that’s because he is concentrating on that inside-right channel again, having sometimes been unleashed last season in a position that enabled him to shoot more. Of his five goals this season, one was a free kick, another was an opportunistic effort against Arsenal after Takehiro Tomiyasu’s wayward pass, and one was this goal against Bournemouth with the outside of his foot. It was a lovely improvised finish but won’t be a regular source of goals.

The structure of City and Arsenal is similar, but there are key differences according to personnel. De Bruyne and Odegaard symbolise City and Arsenal neatly – they occupy the same position and have roughly the same task, but they go about things in a very different manner.

De Bruyne, with a goal and an assist, was the dominant player in the reverse game. If Arsenal are to win tonight, Odegaard probably needs to outshine his counterpart.

Wrexham’s Hollywood promotion: How Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney helped end 15 years of hurt

Richard Sutcliffe Apr 22, 2023

A grieving period would always be needed after Wrexham’s promotion hopes had been ended in the most gut-wrenching of manners last season. The problem for Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney is it couldn’t be allowed to last too long.So, as the club’s co-owners offered heartfelt words of commiseration to their crestfallen players in the dressing room after Grimsby Town had edged a truly titanic play-offs semi-final on the final Saturday of May, the wheels designed to push Wrexham forward were just hours away from turning once again.Meetings originally scheduled for after the June 5 play-off final were immediately brought forward by a week. This included the all-important discussions between Reynolds, McElhenney and Shaun Harvey, the advisor to the board, over the 2022-23 season’s budgets.

Manager Phil Parkinson and former EFL chief executive Harvey, who was his day-to-day point of contact at the Racecourse Ground, also pulled forward their first get-together of the summer. The emphasis was on looking forward, not back. Reshaping the squad was the sole subject on the agenda.

This ‘business as usual’ mantra extended to an official letter being fired off to FIFA within 24 hours of that 5-4 extra-time defeat to Grimsby, appealing for the global game’s governing body to end a disparity in the transfer market that left Wrexham only able to sign players during two set windows per season despite their 23 National League peers being subject to just one deadline — the fourth Thursday in March.

Further lobbying eventually saw the quirk, caused by Wrexham falling under the auspices of the Football Association of Wales but competing across an international border in the English pyramid, ironed out when FIFA granted a special dispensation in late August for the new campaign.

Promotion, clinched courtesy of Saturday’s 3-1 home win over Boreham Wood, means that fight is now someone else’s. But the value of that appeal, plus all the other feverish off-field activity in early summer as supporters continued to mourn being consigned to a 15th year in the National League, was clear for all to see as Wrexham’s party finally got underway.

With flares going off and fans on the pitch, smoke filled the air. Watching from up on high in the Mold Road Stand were Reynolds and McElhenney, the co-owners who have brought belief back to a one-time industrial powerhouse of a town whose best years seemed firmly in the past.

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The Hollywood stars’ beaming smiles spoke a thousand words, just as their forlorn stares had done a year earlier when standing in almost exactly the same spot as Grimsby celebrated reaching the final.

Paul Mullin celebrates his first goal against Boreham Wood (Photo: Getty)

Just where the Wrexham story goes from here remains to be seen. Is League Two any better equipped to halt this red-and-white bandwagon than the National League? We’ll find out when the games begin in August.

But what surely isn’t in doubt is how this really has been a season like no other for the north Wales club. Not just in terms of record-breaking feats on the pitch and Tinseltown glamour off it. But also a title race so relentless that non-League football is unlikely to see its like again.

Along the way, there has been enough drama to fill umpteen series of the Welcome To Wrexham documentary, never mind just the next one scheduled to hit screens in the autumn, with even King Charles III playing an unwitting cameo as Wrexham ended a 15-year absence from the Football League.

Here is that story.

Two decades in football management is a long time. Even if, like Phil Parkinson, there has been the odd stint out of the firing line, such as the 18 months he spent as Alan Pardew’s assistant at Charlton Athletic or a subsequent short spell scouting for Arsenal in 2011.

What those years patrolling touchlines up and down England and Wales have done — the 20th anniversary of his first management appointment at Colchester United passed in February — is hone an approach that, once again, has paid dividends via a fourth career promotion.

Take recruitment. Parkinson has always put a lot of store in getting the right characters, not just playing ability. He insists on meeting any prospective new signing in person, ideally in a relaxed setting. That way, as one of those former chairmen to have employed the 55-year-old puts it, “Phil can see the whites of their eyes.”

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When in charge of Bradford City, a club where many a new signing has found playing at their imposing Valley Parade home a struggle down the years, these meetings could be held at the 25,000-capacity stadium. Even the slightest hint of fear in a possible new addition when looking up at those two giant double-decker stands that can be seen for miles around and a transfer could suddenly be in doubt.

Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney celebrate Mullin’s third goal against Boreham Wood (Photo: Getty)

Bringing in the right characters has been key at Wrexham, who live life permanently in the spotlight thanks to their famous-actor owners. Which is why that initial face-to-face meeting remains so important, with Parkinson thinking nothing of driving the 200 miles (320km) from Wrexham just to meet up in a coffee shop if a target is based, say, in London.

Same goes for any additions to the staff, such as when Lee Butler retired as goalkeeping coach last summer and was replaced by Aidan Davison. Only once the manager is satisfied in terms of finding the right man will the club, via Harvey, start to negotiate terms.

Speak to people who know Parkinson well and they will talk about how good he is at reading people. When Bradford were taken over in May 2016, he quickly realised he could not work with new chairman Edin Rahic.

Despite having been at the Yorkshire club a little over five years and having just steered them to the League One play-offs, Parkinson quit three weeks into the new regime. Bradford subsequently unravelled horribly, and supporters of the now League Two side to this day blame Rahic’s autocratic style for that decline.

Parkinson has brought that surety of thought to the Racecourse. He listens intently to those around him, especially long-time assistant Steve Parkin.

He also works closely with the club’s analysis staff, often spending hours poring over footage of an upcoming opponent before imparting the strengths and weaknesses detected to the players via a weekly Friday morning presentation.ml

Every final decision, though, is very much made by the manager.After meeting Harvey early in the week following that Grimsby loss and with his budget having been set by the owners, Parkinson set about the task of strengthening a squad that was already unrecognisable from the one he had inherited a year earlier.

Improving depth was key, as Wrexham struggled to cope with injuries to key players such as Rob Lainton and Aaron Hayden over the run-in. A shortlist was drawn up for each position, which often meant negotiations taking place with two or three targets concurrently despite the intention being only to sign one of them.

Among those on the summer shopping list was Eoghan O’Connell, then at fourth division Rochdale. He opted to join third-tier Charlton Athletic, only to subsequently sign for Parkinson in the New Year after injury had ruled out Hayden and Jordan Tunnicliffe.

With Wrexham primarily targeting those whose careers had been spent almost exclusively in the EFL, a ‘non-League premium’ — basically, a financial sweetener to persuade players to drop down to join them in the fifth tier — was factored into those talks between Harvey and the agents.

Gradually, progress started to be made — much to the satisfaction of Parkinson, who saw an upcoming warm-weather training camp in Spain as key to ensuring there be no lingering hangover from missing out on promotion.

Hence the manager’s delight in getting free transfer deals involving Tunnicliffe (Crawley Town), Mark Howard (Carlisle United) and Elliot Lee (Luton Town) over the line before jetting off in mid-July.

The presence of that experienced trio, having all passed Parkinson’s character test, freshened things up. Their pedigree also underlined to those players already at the club that there would be no let-up in the push for success.

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As the squad flew home from Alicante in good spirits, the staff felt an important corner had been turned.

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Further additions followed as the summer wore on, Anthony Forde joining from Oxford United, closely followed by a trio of signings from other National League sides as Sam Dalby (Southend United), Rory Watson (Scunthorpe United) and Jacob Mendy (Boreham Wood) came on board.

With a new extended deal until 2025 agreed with Paul Mullin, a reward for netting 32 times in his debut season at the Racecourse, Wrexham approached the season with justified optimism.

August ended with them second in the table, and with Mullin already having scored five goals. Hefty wins followed against Dorking Wanderers, Dagenham & Redbridge and Torquay United, and by the autumn the campaign had settled into a rhythm of Wrexham and Notts County winning most weeks to leave the rest of the league trailing.

As the players headed to Dublin for their Christmas party, the race for the division’s one automatic promotion slot was well and truly on.

Perhaps the biggest surprise about how Welcome To Wrexham turned a fifth-tier football club into a global sporting phenomenon is that nobody had thought of it before.

Credit, therefore, must go to McElhenney, whose casual watching of Netflix documentary series Sunderland Till I Die during breaks from filming a few years earlier helped form the germ of the idea.

What does seem to have taken even the owners aback, however, is how Wrexham, as a club and a community, has gradually drawn them in. McElhenney said as much recently, when accepting the freedom of the borough at a behind-closed-doors ceremony in the city’s Guildhall.

“I don’t know originally if we thought this was going to be a life-long endeavour,” he told councillors on Easter Monday. “I don’t know if I’d thought it through, all the way. But now I’ve realised very quickly that this is something I am in, hopefully, for not only the rest of my life but for generations of my family.”

Reynolds, judging by his animated demeanour during matches, has been on a similar journey of discovery. Not a committed sports fan in his youth like Philadelphia Eagles devotee McElhenney was, the Canadian has been swept along to such an extent that even wife and fellow actor Blake Lively couldn’t resist poking fun at him during January’s 3-3 FA Cup draw against Sheffield United.

“I bought ESPN+ today,” the Gossip Girl star wrote on Instagram above a screenshot of Reynolds sporting a pained expression at the third-round tie. “Just to watch my husband experience crippling anxiety live. Worth it!”

Rob McElhenney watches a Wrexham game with co-owner Ryan Reynolds and his wife Blake Lively (Photo: Matthew Ashton – AMA/Getty Images)

The show’s transformative impact on Wrexham can perhaps best be gauged by how visitors continue to flock to the Racecourse in big numbers, even on non-matchdays. With series two in production and set for release later this year, expect that interest to only grow.

Just who the breakout stars will be this time around remains to be seen. But viewers will again be hoping to see plenty of Wayne Jones, the genial landlord of The Turf pub, popular radio commentator Mark Griffiths and inspirational disability liaison officer Kerry Evans.

What there won’t be is a repeat of one minor problem that arose initially when the first series aired in the autumn on Disney+ in the UK.

With all manner of topics being featured, ranging from a few players joking about new signing Mullin’s wages to a debate between the two owners over Parkinson’s future, it quickly became apparent that the show’s Thursday broadcast date was causing an issue due to the players streaming the latest couple of episodes that first night.

This meant the show inevitably was the big talking point in the dressing room the next morning. With an important match coming up each weekend, this wasn’t ideal.

Not a massive headache, but Parkinson became sufficiently concerned to ask the producers to give him an early heads-up as to whether anything potentially problematic was likely to feature in that week’s episodes. This meant he was able to nip any debate in the bud and keep the focus on the football.

A refusal to be distracted by outside noise has been a hallmark of Parkinson’s season. Never more so than in the aftermath of a controversial cup replay defeat at Sheffield United, when Billy Sharp sparked a war of words by accusing some in the Wrexham camp of “eyeing up Spurs”, the Premier League side the tie’s winners would entertain in the next round after the teams had squared up to each other in the tunnel.

Having had his say on the night, Parkinson was adamant his players should move on quickly and not fuel further what he felt was in danger of becoming a media circus. It helped that Wrexham had six fixtures in 17 days after that trip to Bramall Lane — a run that eventually yielded 16 points.

The late February addition of Ryan Barnett from fellow National League club Solihull Moors, one of two signings made outside the transfer windows following FIFA’s special dispensation, also helped focus minds on a league campaign that was entering the final straight.

The upcoming Coronation may be understandably preoccupying the thoughts of King Charles III right now. But, should the monarch find time to study the sports pages or pop online this weekend, he might just spot news of Wrexham’s promotion.

What His Royal Highness probably doesn’t realise, however, is his unwitting role in that success.

When news first reached the Racecourse of the planned visit from the new King and the Queen Consort to mark Wrexham being granted city status, there was a huge sense of pride.

Reynolds (left) and McElhenney (right) met King Charles III and Queen Camilla in December (Photo: Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)

The only headache was the date: Friday, December 9 — the day before Wrexham were playing at Eastleigh, 220 miles away on the south coast of England. With the royal party due to visit sometime in the morning — they would eventually arrive at 11.30am — this meant the usual practice of the team making the journey by bus early on the Friday and training en route was out of the question.A later departure meant they would probably hit heavy traffic, turning what was a five-hour trip anyway into an even longer bum-numbing ride.The solution was to do what only the wealthy Premier League clubs do: charter a plane for the journey south. After meeting Charles and Camilla under slate-grey north Wales skies, the players and management headed straight to Manchester Airport. Also on board was McElhenney, Reynolds having returned to New York to be with his wife, who was pregnant at the time with the couple’s fourth child.The intention was for the flight to be a one-off, with the return journey from Hampshire to be completed by bus. Footballers being footballers; however, they sensed an opportunity.“This is so much better than sitting on a coach,” McElhenney, co-creator and one of the principal cast members in long-running sitcom It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia, was told. “Can we do it for every long-distance away game?”

He saw the logic. He also knew Chesterfield, one of only two teams to beat Wrexham at that point in the season, were due at the Racecourse the following Tuesday. He quickly arranged for the same plane to take the squad back north from Eastleigh.In the end, the Chesterfield match was postponed due to a frozen pitch. But, by then, the players had their own incentive thanks to a cheeky suggestion from their American boss, who fully understands the importance of psychology in sport:“If you keep winning away from home then you can keep flying to long-distance games.”https://flo.uri.sh/visualisation/13486147/embed?auto=1

He was as good as his word, that 2-0 win at Eastleigh proving to be the first of several fixtures where the squad has flown instead of travelling by road. The arrangement has worked well, not least during the January week when Maidstone United (498 miles there and back) and Gateshead (390 miles) were beaten away inside four days.By flying to both fixtures — including on the day of the match to Gateshead, in the north east of England — not only was travelling time significantly reduced but the players were also able to spend more time at home in their own beds. It also allowed for better-quality training between the two fixtures.Hiring a plane does not come cheap, of course. It is the same with the cryotherapy chambers the club began using in late January to help improve player recovery times during a hectic period that saw Wrexham play eight times in 25 days.

Both initiatives, however, passed the ‘value test’ set by the owners, in that if a financial outlay can be justified in terms of improving results then the green light will be given.This, plus the mid-season signings of Barnett, O’Connell and Andy Cannon from Hull City of the second-tier Championship for transfer fees as Wrexham looked to steal a march on Notts County, helps explain why annual budgets under Reynolds and McElhenney have proved to be a moveable feast during their two full seasons in charge.

Similar thinking lay behind last summer’s decision to improve the infrastructure at the Racecourse, particularly for the players.

Viewers of Welcome To Wrexham may recall the new owners’ response when given a guided tour of the place on their first visit in October 2021.“Is that the gym?” asked Reynolds in a slightly exasperated tone, as the camera focused on not very much at all in a tatty-looking room that seemed more suited to housing unwanted junk.The last close-season offered the chance to do something about this, via a remodelling of the area under the main stand to create a new gym in an otherwise unused space. The medical room was also shifted to sit adjacent to what is now the home dressing room, and the three rooms are now inter-linked, meaning the players have this season had a dedicated area to warm up before matches.One consequence of switching the dressing rooms around is that the away team now have more space than Wrexham do — an unusual state of affairs in professional football.

But this anomaly will be fixed once the new Kop stand is built in time for the 2024-25 season, with the club shop and offices set to move into the 5,500-capacity structure, freeing up space to extend the players’ changing area.The setup has clearly suited Wrexham, who won 22 of their 23 home matches and dropped just two points at the Racecourse all season. The most important of those victories came on Easter Monday, as Ben Foster made ‘that’ penalty save as Notts County were beaten 3-2 on an afternoon when supporters — and the owners — were put through every emotion imaginable.It proved the defining moment in a truly titanic title race, as the National League leadership passed between the top two for a 14th and final time in the season. Wrexham duly finished the job with a match to spare, Mullin’s spectacular second-half double capping a fightback worthy of champions after Boreham Wood had initially threatened to play the role of party-poopers by taking the lead inside 45 seconds through Lee Ndlovu.As supporters poured onto the pitch at the final whistle, Reynolds and McElhenney embraced up in the stand. Both looked even more shattered and emotionally drained than the players who had just given their all for 90 minutes.Finally, though, Wrexham had their Hollywood ending.

Wrexham’s promotion back to the EFL is ‘just the start’

By Richard SutcliffeApr 23, 2023

After delivering promotion for owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson has warned the EFL: “This is only the start.”

A 3-1 victory over Boreham Wood clinched the Vanarama National League title with a match to spare and condemned Notts County to the play-offs.

Paul Mullin’s second-half double — after Elliot Lee had cancelled out Lee Ndlovu’s first-minute opener for the visitors — sparked a party that will be talked about in north Wales for years to come.

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Celebrations continued long into the night and Parkinson vowed to “be in the middle of it in the town centre at some stage”.

The 55-year-old will, though, soon be turning his attention to next season and the challenge of making an impact in League Two.

“We are certainly not going to get carried away with ourselves,” said the Wrexham manager. “But there is so much potential at this club. This (promotion) is a step and I am looking forward to helping the club take the next step.

“The club is moving quickly. We have to recruit well in the summer and make sure the team is competitive again next season.

Wrexham McElhenney (left) and Reynolds with the Vanarama National League Trophy (Photo: Matthew Ashton – AMA/Getty Images)

“But I truly believe this is only the start of the journey for this football club. There are lots of special moments ahead.”

Wrexham’s recruitment since Parkinson arrived two summers ago has seen a focus on signing proven talent from the EFL. Both goalscorers against Boreham Wood arrived with a proven pedigree: Mullin joined shortly after firing Cambridge United into League One and Lee moved from Championship side Luton Town.

Others who spent their careers almost entirely in the League before moving to the Racecourse include Eoghan O’Connell, Ben Tozer, Andy Cannon, Tom O’Connor and Ollie Palmer, the club’s record £300,000 signing.

“We have players who are proven above this level,” added Parkinson. “The challenge has always been getting out of this division. I do believe we have players who will rise to the occasion next season as well.”

Lee, a free transfer signing from Luton last summer, also believes Wrexham can make a big impression on their return to the EFL.

“It was a risk for me to drop down from the Championship/League One,” says the 28-year-old, whose dad Rob played for Newcastle United and England. “But a risk I wanted to take. I knew the ambition.

“I am quite happy now, as I know a lot of people were saying to friends of mine — or tweeting — ‘He’s come here for the wrong reasons’, saying how I’d thrown away things, as I could have played higher up.

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“To me, though, this was probably the best decision of my life to come here. I left Luton last year after being on loan at Charlton and I said to my agent and my dad: ‘I want to find a new project and a new home’. I’ve found that here. And found a manager who believes in me.

“You have a great chance of success when a club is well run. We had that at Luton. And we have it even better here, with the owners.”

Asked if Wrexham could adopt the same attack-minded approach next season that has brought 115 goals in 45 games to go with their record-breaking tally of 110 points, Lee replied: “I don’t see why not. There’s not a massive difference between this league and the league above.”

Wrexham’s promotion came 15 years to the day since a 2-0 defeat at Hereford United had confirmed their 87-year stay in the League was over.

It has been a long road back, with only the intervention of the supporters to take control in 2011 preventing the club from going under. A decade later, the arrival of Reynolds and McElhenney proved the catalyst.

One game remains before Wrexham can bid farewell to the National League: Saturday’s trip to Torquay United. But the planning for next season is expected to get under way this week, with recruitment at the top of the agenda.

Among those whose future is likely to be under discussion is Ben Foster, the 40-year-old former England international who came out of retirement in March to sign a short-term deal.

He once played for the Welsh club on loan as a youngster to earn a move to Manchester United and his place in Wrexham’s history is assured after that penalty save against Notts County on Easter Monday.

Wrexham Foster celebrates the penalty save that proved a key turning point in the title race (Photo: Matthew Ashton – AMA/Getty Images)

“I haven’t got a clue,” the goalkeeper said when asked if he intended playing on next season. “I really do not know. It was nice to be a man of leisure, I really enjoyed my retirement. I had a great time.

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“But I’ve enjoyed this so, so much. It is a pleasure to come in every day and work with these lads. There’s no big-times here. In football, there’s so many big-times. But not here. None of them. That’s why I will have to think about it (staying on).

“I have to contemplate it because this is a special team to be part of. And I’ve had one of the best feelings I’ve had in football, the penalty save against Notts County.”

Parkinson declined to be drawn on whether Foster’s second stint at the Racecourse could extend to an EFL return in August.

“I want to enjoy the fact we’ve had Ben in these games,” says the Wrexham manager. “I don’t want to discuss anything at this stage. For him to be at Wrexham as a youngster and come back to get promotion after all he has done in the game, I’d imagine this will rank up there with his greatest achievements.”

Foster’s seven appearances in the National League have yielded five wins and a draw. Along with the all-important triumph over Notts County, his saves in the goalless stalemate at Barnet following Callum McFadzean’s red card proved key in getting Wrexham over the line.

When asked about the veteran’s impact, Parkinson says: “I look back at the Sunday when Rob and Ryan were texting me after Rob (Lainton, first-choice goalkeeper) got injured. They were asking for my thoughts on the goalkeeping situation.

“I just said: ‘Look, unless someone really, really good becomes available then I’m very confident in Mark Howard,’ who had been part of the team who had gone top of the league.

“By Sunday evening, I’d touched base with Ben’s agent. You can’t turn down an opportunity to bring in a goalkeeper of that level. Goalkeepers are like strikers, they can come up with moments that define the season. That penalty save by Ben Foster against Notts County will go down in Wrexham history.”

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The Premier League’s most extreme season, a nine-month televised panic attack

Nick Miller Apr 25, 2023 THe Athletic

Has this been the strangest Premier League season ever?Probably not. There are other candidates for that — the empty grounds during COVID-19, Leicester City warping reality by winning the Premier League, and that game in 2012 when a bunch of Blackburn Rovers and Wigan Athletic players chased a chicken around a pitch.Perhaps it would be more accurate to describe this as the most extreme Premier League season ever.It’s been a season devoid of nuance. Little middle ground has been charted. Reactions to most things have been the nuclear option.Take the dismissal by Tottenham Hotspur of interim manager Cristian Stellini following their 6-1 humiliation at the hands of Newcastle United. This was the first time an interim manager has been sacked for poor performances during a Premier League season (as opposed to making way for a permanent successor), which takes some doing, particularly as he was only ‘appointed’ a month ago.

It is also the 14th sacking this season, breaking a record already set this season — the previous mark was 10. You wouldn’t be surprised if there are more to comeThis campaign is also the first in Premier League history to see more than one club sack more than one manager. Spurs have joined Southampton, who dispensed with Ralph Hasenhuttl and Nathan Jones, and Chelsea, who fired Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter.In all, including caretakers and interims, by the time Ryan Mason leads out Tottenham against Manchester United on Thursday, 38 men will have taken charge of Premier League games this season.

If this season was a vehicle, it would be a Humvee with dodgy steering and a brick on the accelerator pedal, careening around and bashing into things. It is completely out of control, and it’s not limited to managerial sackings.Take Arsenal. Though the comparisons to Leicester in 2015-16 are a little uncharitable in terms of how surprising their success has been, the swing has been pretty violent — from finishing fifth and 24 points off the top last season to potentially being a few games away from the Premier League title.

Down the road, there is Tottenham’s season-long existential crisis. To the west, we have Chelsea, who have spent their season signing players at a clip that makes even Roman Abramovich’s biggest splurges look like a careful Sunday afternoon at a flea market. Potter was promised time, but when it wasn’t working six months down the line, Todd Boehly pressed the big red button. Maybe that was the right call, but it was certainly an extreme shift in thinking.

Tuchel, Conte Sacked but not forgotten — two ex-Premier League managers Thomas Tuchel and Antonio Conte respectfully shaking hands back in August (Photo: Glyn Kirk/AFP via Getty Images)

Liverpool, second-favourites for the title pre-season, have suffered oscillations so violent this season that they have won games 7-0, 6-1 and 9-0 but still might not qualify for European football, never mind the Champions League.

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Manchester United’s campaign has been more positive, but they’ve still suffered 4-0, 6-3 and 7-0 losses, while Cristiano Ronaldo essentially handed in his notice via Piers Morgan.

Newcastle are a burgeoning juggernaut, with none of this ‘slow growth the year after being taken over by a petrostate nonsense’: bang, straight into the top four. Aston Villa were only out of the relegation zone on goals scored when they sacked Steven Gerrard in October, and now they’re flirting with the Champions League places.

Nottingham Forest celebrated their first season back in the top flight for a generation by signing 29 senior players, five of whom are yet to play a minute for the club. Leeds… well, Leeds are Leeds, and there’s an outside chance that they could join Spurs in binning their interim manager if Javi Gracia doesn’t turn things around and right quick.

Even at Brighton — serene, stable, well-run Brighton — Robert De Zerbi has managed to get himself three separate touchline bans.

De Zerbi has managed to get himself banned (Photo: Jack Thomas – WWFC/Wolverhampton Wanderers FC via Getty Images)

Results feel more extreme too. There have been the 9-0s and the 7-0s and whatnot but as the season approaches the business end, you expect the big games to be tight, nervy affairs that end in draws or narrow defeats. Cut to Newcastle being 5-0 up over Tottenham by the 21st minute.

Fan behaviour has become more extreme. Earlier this season, the Home Office released figures that suggested incidents of disorder at matches were up by nearly 60 per cent compared to the last pre-COVID-19 season.

The social media abuse and reaction have also felt more extreme, though it’s very difficult — if not impossible — to quantify, and it might just be that the most extreme voices are getting louder rather than more widespread. But if you’ll excuse a bit of minor anecdotal evidence, earlier this season someone sent me a GIF of a shotgun being loaded in response to an article about Bruno Fernandes. That’s never happened before.

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Reactions to refereeing decisions, particularly when the VAR gets involved, have felt more extreme, with fans and pundits seemingly more comfortable than ever accusing officials of nefarious motives — and even corruption.

It’s all absolutely exhausting, and it’s difficult to put your finger on the root cause of it all.

It could be because of the World Cup, the mid-season break making it seem like there have been two helter-skelter mini-seasons loosely strung together, with everything crammed in, games piling on top of each other, giving the impression that there’s no time to think about anything.

It might be a general sense that the pandemic has made society a little more feral, something that has been suggested across several industries that rely on large groups of people gathering together, with those involved in spaces like live music and theatre reporting that people are simply behaving in a more extreme fashion.

It might be an inevitable consequence of the pressure inherent in succeeding or even just competing in the Premier League, taking its toll and frazzling everyone. Is this just the way things are now? Is this season a checkpoint on a steadily inclining graph line, rather than an outlier that will correct itself next season?It’s utter chaos out there, and while chaos usually makes for enjoyable viewing, this chaos is too chaotic. It’s too extreme. It’s too stressful. Less a football season, more a nine-month-long televised panic attack.“Everything in moderation… especially moderation” goes the old maxim for how to survive as a rock star. But after the last eight months or so, maybe we all need a bit more moderation.

Xavi, Arteta, Kompany – all Pep Guardiola’s disciples, and all top of the league

Daniel Taylor Apr 25, 2023

It’s a happy scene. Mums and dads, boys and girls, wait on the thin, potholed lane leading to the training ground. Every so often, an expensive car pulls up. A window winds down and the children swarm in to get their autographs and see, close up, which of their heroes is behind the smoked glass.Welcome to the warm afterglow of promotion at a football club where, judging by what happened with the previous manager, it cannot be long before one of the local pubs offers to change its name in honour of Vincent Kompany.

In the Premier League, it is Mikel Arteta who is trying to break Manchester City’s vice-like grip on the championship trophy and do something with Arsenal that would have seemed almost implausible at the start of the season.

In Spain, Xavi has taken Barcelona 11 points clear of Real Madrid, the champions, in his first full season since returning to the club where, as a player, he won 25 trophies in 17 years.

Barcelona have romped towards the title in La Liga under Xavi (Photo: Angel Martinez/Getty Images)

All three have learned their trade, to varying degrees, from Pep Guardiola. All of them preach what can loosely be described as ‘Pep’s philosophy’ at a time when more and more teams, at all sorts of levels, are aligning themselves with Guardiola’s style of play.

Kompany will point out that he, Xavi and Arteta have not just learned exclusively from Guardiola. All three, he says, have had a lifetime of other experiences. And he’s right: it would be pretty insulting to characterise any of them as a Pep clone. Each has his own personality. Nobody wants to be depicted as Guardiola-lite.

Rebuilt, refreshed and rampant – how Vincent Kompany’s Burnley have stormed to promotion

Yet it is difficult to overstate one man’s impact on all three and Kompany, a former Manchester City captain with his statue outside their stadium, accepts that point when it is put to him that it is surely more than just coincidence.

“I’ve been lucky to work with so many good coaches,” he says. “I’ve taken influences from all the coaches I’ve played for, and all the places I’ve been at. Mikel has had a lot of good coaches in his career. Xavi has had a lot of top coaches, and so have I.

“But what I can say is that it’s no surprise if we have learned from somebody like Pep because, among all those coaches, you would put him in a category of his own.”

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When the same question is put to Xavi, he answers in a way that might be expected given that he is one of the ex-Barcelona players who will always see Guardiola as the doyen of his profession.

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“I considered him the best coach in the world, even when he had not won any titles,” Xavi says of the man who put together the most beautifully assembled Barca side there may ever have been. “For me, he is still number one. All the players who pass through his hands are captivated.

“I don’t want to compare myself to him — he has had an incredible career and I am just starting out. I just hope I can finish with his record — not for me, but for the club. That is what I work for.”

Xavi’s coaching career began at Al Sadd in Qatar, where he told the players to think of the ball as their friend and it quickly became apparent he was not exaggerating when he described himself as “obsessed with possession”.

“He always shows us the possession stats, and it’s never enough,” Santi Cazorla, the former Arsenal midfielder now at Al Sadd, told Cadena Ser radio. “His ideas are very clear — always have been. He wants the ball for us, and the opponents not to touch it.”

Xavi (right) impressed Santi Cazorla during their time together at Al Sadd in Qatar (Photo: Karim Jaafar/AFP via Getty Images)

This is the message Xavi has preached to the players at Camp Nou since he replaced Ronald Koeman in November 2021. “The ball is not a bomb — it’s a treasure,” is one line, and you can imagine Guardiola nodding with approval.

Arteta is different, in one sense, because he worked alongside Guardiola as a coach rather than a player. They had three years together at City before Arteta’s switch to Arsenal and, on the other side of Manchester, there is one man in particular who can testify how valuable it is to have that time, close-up, with Guardiola.

Erik ten Hag, the manager of Manchester United, collaborated with him for two years at Bayern Munich.

“I was able to experience his approach up close, and I learned a lot from that,” says Ten Hag, manager of Bayern’s reserve team from 2013 to 2015. “Football in Germany has been different since Pep. The whole league changed because of his way of football. I watched almost every training (session). I learned a lot from his methods, how he transferred his philosophy to the pitch.”

The Guardiola effect – how Pep has changed English football beyond the Premier League

Not just tactics, either. One of Ten Hag’s observations was that Guardiola was so enthusiastic with his instructions that, after five minutes of listening to him, the players trained with remarkable intensity. Guardiola, he concluded, had an uncommon strength of personality.

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Ten Hag saw for the first time a manager who was prepared to abandon convention and use David Alaba and Philipp Lahm as inverted full-backs. It is a tactic Arteta applies at Arsenal, predominantly through Oleksandr Zinchenko but also with Ainsley Maitland-Niles in his early days as Arsenal manager. Kompany does the same to enable Burnley to switch, in possession, to a 3-2-5 system, with Connor Roberts taking on the role that is these days occupied by John Stones at City.

At Bayern, Guardiola sometimes used his wide attackers, Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben, in central roles. Not many managers would have dared even to try it. Guardiola did — and Ten Hag loved his bravery, his willingness to experiment and, in turn, the trust he had from his players.

Erik ten Hag learned a lot from Pep Guardiola during their time at Bayern Munich (Photo: Oli Scarff/AFP via Getty Images)

He saw how the manager would completely shut himself off from the outside world when he had a big game coming up. Guardiola would sit in his office, playing the game in his head, and everyone knew not to disturb him. Then, gradually, the ideas and tactics would form.

Maarten Meijer, the Dutch writer, spoke to Ten Hag about it in further detail for his 2022 biography about the man who won three Eredivisie championships with Ajax.

One passage details how Guardiola had marked Bayern’s training pitches with extra lines to create “half-spaces”, vertical strips between the centre of the pitch and the wings. It was to help the players understand their positions and, Pep being Pep, it was about repeating, repeating and repeating his training drills until it became second nature.

“It’s like being behind the wheel,” writes Meijer. “You don’t think about the traffic rules, shifting the gears or pressing the brake on time; it happens automatically. The car becomes an extension of the driver. Everything that once was learned is now instinct. It’s part of permanent memory, the hard drive.”

Ten Hag, in his Bayern years, was so meticulous in his work that people started calling him “Mini Pep”. The nickname did not last beyond Germany and it would be stretching the truth to think the two men had spent their days brainstorming. In reality, the first and second teams at Bayern are largely separate worlds.

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Yet Ten Hag adopted the “half-spaces” idea and noted at Euro 2020 that Germany, under Joachim Low, seemed to have done the same.

Ten Hag had been brought up on the Dutch philosophy that possession is sacred. But Guardiola, he noted, had a follow-up rule. If the ball was lost, it had to be recaptured within seconds. “He is uncompromising in that,” Ten Hag says in a chapter named ‘In Germany with Pep’. “His will is really the law. Sometimes that leads to clashes with players, but Guardiola has only grown in authority over the years.”

The lesson of history shows that is true in many ways. One of Guardiola’s first acts at City was to move out Joe Hart, an England international. He also marginalised Yaya Toure and publicly criticised Sergio Aguero for not playing the way he wanted.

At Barcelona, he went even further, announcing his exit plan for Ronaldinho, Deco and Samuel Eto’o on his first day in the job. “These three are not in my mind for the future,” Guardiola said. “In fact, we will be going onwards without them. It’s time for a restart.” Eto’o did help Guardiola win the Champions League that season, but left the following summer.

From left: Samuel Eto’o, Ronaldinho and Deco all failed to make it into Pep Guardiola’s long-term plans at Barcelona (Photo: Lluis Gene/AFP via Getty Images)

Nobody could ever say Guardiola lacks guts — and, again, there is clear evidence that it has rubbed off on the two managers who are now trying to deprive him of the Premier League and FA Cup.

Arteta made it very clear he was the boss, and that his word was final, when he decided Arsenal ought to sever ties with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Or just consider the way Ten Hag, in his getting-to-know-you phase at Old Trafford, dealt with Cristiano Ronaldo and all the issues surrounding the five-time Ballon d’Or winner.

They got their way because, as Guardiola can testify, there is no other option for an elite manager.

“Of course, I regularly talked with him,” Ten Hag says of Guardiola. “But most of all, I watched very carefully. I have written things down. I have adopted certain things and I implement them in my own way.”

Taylor Harwood-Bellis has thought about this topic a few times. The 21-year-old centre-half has been in City’s system since the age of six and made his first-team debut under Guardiola in 2019.

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He has since been on loan to Anderlecht, where Kompany had his first taste of management, before rejoining him at Burnley in a season-long arrangement. Harwood-Bellis, in other words, is well-placed to discuss the similarities between the two managers.

“The biggest is their mentality,” says the England Under-21 international. “How hard they work, their determination to be the best and, when they get there, to stay there.

“Pep’s one of the best, if not the best, managers ever. But if you really want to understand it, you have to put in a lot of time off the pitch. You have to ask questions, do your own digging to understand his principles and what exactly he wants.”

Kompany, he says, is that man: always inquisitive, always wanting more. One story is of him losing his temper at half-time in Burnley’s first match since promotion was secured. They were drawing 0-0 with second-placed Sheffield United, who had lost a player to a red card, and Kompany did not like what he had seen. “If you slack off, he’ll notice within minutes,” says Harwood-Bellis. Full-time: Burnley 2-0 Sheffield United.

Burnley’s players are encouraged to keep the ball, pin their opponents back and be patient if the breakthrough does not come early. The emphasis is on attacking, controlling games, moving and wearing down the opposition. They have scored 81 times in the Championship this season; to put that into context, their combined total from the previous two years in the Premier League was 67. Burnley had surpassed that total before the end of February.

“The first thing you need is top-quality players,” says Kompany, whose future appointment as City manager was predicted by Guardiola earlier this season. “Then it’s about the style you give them and, for me, this is what I know. What I’m teaching my players is what I understand.”

Burnley under Vincent Kompany: The Manchester City of the Championship

Kompany studied and took notes from Guardiola and Arteta while he was injured for long spells at City. He would speak to them about why they deployed certain systems and tactics. Plus they all share the traits of being workaholics, almost obsessed with what they do. Kompany regularly puts in 14-hour days and is described by one colleague, in the best possible sense, as “the most intense man you will ever meet”. Which, funnily enough, is exactly how City’s staff talk about Guardiola.

Ask Kompany, though, and he will say his influences come from as far and wide as Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool and Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid. Manuel Pellegrini, the former City manager, gets a mention, as does Roberto Mancini, another of Guardiola’s predecessors, for his “absolute dedication to the details of defending”.

“What you get with Pep is absolute control of the game and dominance; that’s the key component of everything he does,” says Kompany. “If you compare Xavi’s style of play with Pep’s, Mikel with Pep and myself with Pep, I can understand why you would draw links. But you would see some differences because we have all been influenced by different coaches.”

Vincent Kompany cites Pep Guardiola (right) as a key figure in his managerial career – but not his only influence (Photo: Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images)

What he is saying, in other words, is that it is just not a case of Guardiola sprinkling his magic over the people around him. Arteta, for example, credits Johan Cruyff for the way he sees football. Kompany, named on Sunday as the Championship’s manager of the season, says the same after being encouraged to study Cruyff, as does his assistant, Craig Bellamy. So does Guardiola and so does Txiki Begiristain, City’s director of football, who keeps a Cruyff book (and another of Brian Clough) in his office.

Arteta can also draw on five years as a player under Arsene Wenger. Yet it is one of the oddities of Wenger’s career how few of the players associated with his Arsenal teams have become high-end managers. Sir Alex Ferguson, too, if we are talking about a level in England where trophies are won and championships chased.As for Jose Mourinho, one line in Ten Hag’s biography jumps off the page. Ten Hag is using a chess reference to explain why so many coaches want to take on Guardiola’s ideas. “When it comes to tactics,” says the United manager, “we don’t talk about Jose Mourinho, who always plays with black.”uardiola, in turn, will say he has learned just as much from working with Arteta as the other way around. They meet again at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday. It is the game that could decide this season’s title race and, if it all goes Arsenal’s way, there is some irony that the man Arteta, Xavi and Kompany all regard as their biggest influence will be the odd one out when it comes to lifting the championship trophies.

Mauricio Pochettino at Chelsea wasn’t always a good fit but time is right

Simon JohnsonApr 25, 2023

The timing will not get any better for Mauricio Pochettino to take charge of Chelsea.As each day passes, the possibility of Pochettino becoming Chelsea’s next permanent head coach is becoming more of a case of when, not if. Talks have been progressing very well, so much so that sources close to the situation, speaking anonymously to The Athletic to protect relationships, are growing in confidence that an agreement will be in place sooner rather than later.

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As revealed on Saturday, Pochettino has already been discussing some of the players he wants to keep in the squad.

It speaks volumes that there is not a universal outcry among all Chelsea fans about the prospect of Pochettino taking over at Stamford Bridge. As with any club, not everyone will be on board with every decision and there will be those with serious misgivings about this scenario. But there are many people who actually welcome the idea.

The significance of this stance can not be underestimated. There is one thing which has remained consistent among Chelsea supporters over decades: no matter how good the team is, the intensity of the rivalry with Tottenham Hotspur and disliking pretty much everyone associated with the north London club always remains high.

The story behind this sour relationship has already been explained by The Athletic (see below). Even when they are not playing each other, you will regularly hear anti-Tottenham songs sung by the crowd during matches throughout the season, home and away.

Why Chelsea view Tottenham as their biggest rivals

So the likelihood of Pochettino — a man whose coaching career is mostly associated with his time at Tottenham between 2014 and 2019 — taking over at Chelsea is quite a development.

He would not be the first man with strong Spurs affiliations to manage Chelsea. Former Tottenham captain Danny Blanchflower, captain of the double-winning team (league and FA Cup) of 1960-61, had 32 games as Chelsea manager between 1978 and 1979. More successfully, Glenn Hoddle, who played 490 times for Tottenham, took over at Chelsea in 1993 and became a popular figure during his three years in the role. There was great disappointment when he left for the England job, which showed how he overcame Chelsea fans’ misgivings about a Spurs legend representing them.

But Hoddle’s relative success at Stamford Bridge did not exactly open the floodgates for Spurs personnel. The movement over the past years has been the other way, with ex-Chelsea coaches Andre Villas-Boas, Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte having spells at Spurs. Hoddle also returned there between 2001 and 2003.

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Pochettino looks like he will get an opportunity to emulate Hoddle and the stars are much more aligned for him to do that now compared with the two other occasions Chelsea considered him for the position.

When the previous regime decided to sack Frank Lampard in January 2021, Pochettino was sounded out. The Argentinian declined before things could progress too far but only because he had already given his word to Paris Saint-Germain that he would become their head coach.

Supporters could not attend games back then because COVID-19 restrictions were still in place. But a match-going fanbase already upset over the departure of club legend Lampard would have reacted furiously if a former Spurs man had taken his job. Pochettino would have had to match what Thomas Tuchel went on to achieve, which was lifting the Champions League four months later, to win them over. No simple task, even though Tuchel made it look like one.

Chelsea have lost all four matches under interim manager Frank Lampard, including being knocked out of the Champions League (Photo: Glyn Kirk/IKIMAGES/AFP via Getty Images)

New co-owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali went even further after sacking Tuchel last September. They went as far as putting Pochettino on a two-man shortlist and interviewing him. But they had already decided to pick Graham Potter.

This has turned out to be a blessing in disguise… well, kind of. Had the hierarchy chosen Pochettino in September, it would not have gone down well then either. To replace a very popular figure in Tuchel with a former Spurs man? That is asking for trouble.

Surely Pochettino would not have done as badly as Potter, who won just seven of his 22 Premier League games and effectively masterminded Chelsea’s worst campaign for three decades. Yet his remit would still have been difficult due to the many issues he stands to inherit now: the size of the squad; the lack of a regular goalscorer; a club recovering from months of upheaval on and off the pitch with staff changes galore; the annual expectation of challenging for trophies from the fans. As Potter experienced, it would have taken only a few defeats for the critics in the stands to start grumbling.

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If Pochettino agrees to come on board, the atmosphere is totally different. Confidence is at an all-time low. He will be seen more positively by virtue of not being Potter. He is not replacing a popular figurehead. Granted, Lampard is in situ as caretaker manager for the rest of the season, but everyone knew from the outset it was just a short-term solution — and a run of four straight defeats has not changed anyone’s mind on that front. As far as full-time managers replacing Tuchel go, he is now the man after the man. There is a bit of distance — and a lot of defeats — between the two of them.

Then, of course, there is Pochettino’s track record of playing good football, developing young players and, dare one mention it, turning Tottenham from a mediocre outfit like Chelsea are presently into one that came close to winning two Premier Leagues (in 2016 and 2017) and reached the Champions League final in 2019. Plus, he went on to end his trophy drought by claiming the Coupe de France in 2021 (and the Ligue 1 title the following season) at PSG, a club that is renowned for being hard to manage and one that certainly prepares him for the intense pressures at Chelsea far more than Spurs did. It was a crucial experience and part of the learning curve.

Co-sporting directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley have been leading the search for a new coach, with the support of Boehly and Eghbali. They are looking for the best man for the job and Pochettino’s achievements, regardless of where they happened, make him a worthy contender.

Another factor that would help appease Chelsea followers is that Pochettino’s arrival would actually give them more ammunition with which to taunt their rivals. Spurs fans have been singing his name at recent matches in the hope he will return. So if he ends up at Chelsea instead, that will be seen as some kind of victory (even if Tottenham have not even made an attempt to get the 51-year-old back). Then there is the dream of Chelsea winning a trophy under Pochettino, something Spurs could not do. That would really provide an opportunity to rub salt into the wounds.

There will be some reading this who will take a lot more convincing. But Pochettino will surely never be granted a better chance to succeed at Chelsea by those who follow them.

Ethan Horvath and Zack Steffen exchange errors in head-to-head battle of USMNT keepers

By Connor FlemingApril 24, 2023

Goalie Wars! American internationals Ethan Horvath and Zack Steffen went toe-to-toe on Monday night with Horvath’s Luton Town welcoming Steffen’s Middlesbrough to Kenilworth Road in the EFL Championship, and let’s just say that Matt Turner’s standing as USMNT No.1 feels safe.

The stakes weren’t especially high with Burnley and Sheffield United headed for automatic promotion to the Premier League while Luton and Middlesbrough have clinched their spots in the four-team playoffs, but the encounter was a possible preview of “the richest game in football” (the playoff final at Wembley).

Horvath and Steffen chatting it up in the tunnel. pic.twitter.com/Yg1b5d1ACq

— Travis (@usmnt_historian) April 24, 2023

Horvath (on loan from Nottingham Forest) has earned more praise than Steffen (on loan from Manchester City) for his work in the Championship — performances that earned him a spot on the World Cup roster while Steffen was surprisingly omitted — but Luton conceded in the 40th-minute after Horvath’s sweeper keeper attempt was punished by Cameron Archer.

Horvath’s league-leading 20th clean sheet wasn’t arriving today.

However, Luton responded through Tom Lockyer in the 49th-minute with a header that Steffen could do nothing about, and then Steffen gave away a penalty during his own interpretation of the sweeper keeper role. The contact was minimal with the 28-year-old American trying to get out of the challenge, but Luton’s Carlton Morris earned and converted the spot kick. Carlton Morris ya beauty #LUTMID pic.twitter.com/9hTobhnhk8

— papa saka (@papa_saka) April 24, 2023

Luton’s 2-1 win tightens their grip on third while Middlesborough is looking at a fourth-place finish. The bigger question is who they’ll ultimately play in the playoff semifinals with fifth and sixth-place still up in the air.

Girls MS Soccer Camp (Grades 5-8, 2023-24 school year)- July 17 to 20

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4/21/23 US/Mex Tie 1-1, Champ League Final 4 Set, NWSL Cup, Big TV Games

April 20, 2023April 22, 2023 gatorbest

Indy 11 Home Sat 7 pm @ Mike vs Monterey Bay FC

Indiana’s Team will return home on Saturday, April 22, when Monterey Bay F.C. will make its first visit to the Circle City for a 7:00 p.m. ET kickoff on Community Heroes Night at “The Mike.”Single-game tickets for all home games at IUPUI Carroll Stadium along with 17-game Season Ticket Memberships, specially-priced group tickets, and an increased portfolio of hospitality options are available for purchase now via indyeleven.com/tickets or by calling 317-685-1100 Full Schedule Promotions

US Men tie Mexico 1-1

The USMNT tied Mexico with a mostly MLS roster on 1-1 as the mainly Mexican home crowd of 65K looked on in Phoenix, Arizona. Full highlights. The US game up a stupid goal on a horrible pass back from Zimmerman to Long who lost the ball at midfield allowing ____ to go 1 on 1 with US GK Sean Johnson for a 1-0 lead. The US finally responded late in the 2^nd half on a counter that had Dest dribble out leading to a wonderful pass from Seattle’s leading MLS scorer Jordan Morris who set up Jesus Ferreira for the equalizer and the tie.

ROSTER

GOALKEEPERS (3): Drake Callender (Inter Miami; 0/0), Roman Celentano (FC Cincinnati; 0/0), Sean Johnson (Toronto FC/CAN; 11/0)

DEFENDERS (9): Sergiño Dest (AC Milan/ITA; 24/2), Aaron Long (LAFC; 31/3), Julian Gressel (Vancouver Whitecaps/CAN; 2/0), Matt Miazga (FC Cincinnati; 22/1), Shaq Moore (Nashville SC; 17/1), Caleb Wiley (Atlanta United; 0/0), Joshua Wynder (Louisville City; 0/0), DeAndre Yedlin (Inter Miami; 77/0), Walker Zimmerman (Nashville SC; 39/3)

MIDFIELDERS (6): Kellyn Acosta (LAFC; 57/2), Aidan Morris (Columbus Crew; 2/0), Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders; 32/0), James Sands (New York City FC; 7/0), Alan Soñora (FC Juárez/MEX; 2/0), Jackson Yueill (San Jose Earthquakes; 16/0)

FORWARDS (5): Paul Arriola (FC Dallas; 50/10), Cade Cowell (San Jose Earthquakes; 2/0), Jesús Ferreira (FC Dallas; 17/7), Jordan Morris (Seattle Sounders; 51/11), Brandon Vazquez (FC Cincinnati; 2/1)

Champions League Final 4 – Real Madrid vs Man City, Inter Milan vs AC Milan

Huge news that Italy will have it’s first Champ League final team – as AC will play Inter for the 2^nd half of the draw. Of course the 1^st half has Powerhouse favorites holder’s Real Madrid vs Man City. Will Man City’s addition of super scoring forward Erling Haaland give them the edge they need to finally beat their nemesis Real Madrid? That’s the million dollar question – I think that along with the luck I have now rubbed off on them having been at the home leg 3-0 blasting of Bayern last week. The Semi’s return May 9 and 10. (lots of stories below)

Notes

Some awesome play in the NWSL’s Challenge Cup last night see the results below – this in-season Cup offers $1 million dollar bonus and will be played on select Wed nights during the season. Schedule most games on Para+.

Games to Watch this Week

Barcelona vs Atletico Sat 10:15 am on Paramount+ and Juventus vs Napoli on Sunday at 2:45 pm on Para+ lead the huge games to watch list this weekend. Atletico can overtake Real Madrid for 2^nd in Spain with the away win at the leaders Barca Sat, while Juve could also move into 2^nd in Italy with a win vs the leaders Napoli. Sat 7:30 am is the all American affair as Fulham America with Centerback and Captain Tim Ream along with Jedi Robinson in defense facing Leed’s United States with Aaron McKinney and Aaronson in the midfield. It’s a must win for Leeds who is fighting off Relegation – but tough for me to root against my Fulham especially at home. Sunday we get top 6 action with New Castle hosting Tottenham at 9 am on USA. In the US Atlanta United host Chicago on Fox at 4:30 pm and finally late night a game my daughter will be at Angel City with new US 18 YO sensation Alyssa Thompson and newly acquired Julie Ertz hosting Alex Morgan and the San Diego Wave at 10:30 on Paramount plus in NWSL action.

GAMES ON TV

(American’s names in Parenthesis)

Thur, Apr 20 Europa League

3 pm Para+ Sevilla vs Man United

3 pm Paramount+ Juventus vs Sporting CP

3 pm Paramount+ Gent vs West Ham United

Fri, Apr 21

3 pm USA Arsenal vs Southampton

11 pm FS1 Tijuana vs Leon

Sat, Apr 22

7:30 am USA/Peacock Fulham (Ream, Jedi) vs Leeds United (Mckinney, Aaronson)

10 am USA Liverpool vs Nottingham Forest

10 am Peacoclk Crystal Palace vs Everton

11:45 am ESPN+ Man City vs Shelfield United (Cup)

12 noon ESPN+ Dortmund (Reyna) vs Frankfurt

7 pm Para + Orlando Pride vs NY Gothem FC NWSL

7:30 pm Apple TV Cincy vs Portland

7 pm ESPN+ Indy 11 vs Monterey

7:30 pm Para+ NY Gothem vs NC Courage NWSL

10 pm Para+ Portland vs Racing Louisville NWSL

10:30 pm Apple TV Seattle Sounders vs Minn United

Sun, Apr 23

9 am USA New Castle vs Tottenham

10:15 am ESPN+ Barcelona vs Atletico Madrid

11:30 USA Brighton vs Man United

11:30 pm ESPN+ Leverkusen vs RB Leipzig

1:30 pm ESPN+ Mgladbach (Scurry) vs Union Berlin

2:45 pm Para+ Juventus vs Napoli

4:30 pm FOX Atlanta United vs Chicago Fire

8 pm Para+ Angel City (Ertz, Thompson) vs San Diego Wave (Morgan)

Soccer Saturday’s are every Sat 9-10 am on 93.5 and 107.5 FM with Greg Rakestraw

US

USMNT, Mexico make most of limited chances in friendly draw
5 takeaways from USMNT-Mexico Continental Clasico
Team USA to play Jamaica in Gold Cup group stage at Soldier Field
USMNT striker Daryl Dike to undergo Achilles surgery

US, Mexico soccer federations announce joint bid for 2027 Women’s World Cup
US, Mexico to jointly bid for 2027 Women’s World Cup
U.S. and Mexico combine to bid for 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup

Champions League

Champions League betting, odds: Manchester City is the clear favorite ahead of the semis
Milan and Inter preparing for fireworks with Champions League derby
Inter set up all-Italian Champions League semi with AC Milan
Inter advances past Benfica, sets up Milan semifinal in CL
Pioli not thinking about Champions League Milan derby after Napoli triumph
Man City, brace yourselves: Real Madrid are up to their old tricks over Erling Haaland
Erling Haaland’s Man City goals and the records broken
‘The Ogre is coming’: What Spain really thinks of Erling Haaland
Erling Haaland is the antidote to Manchester City’s Champions League demons
Man City’s antics sent Thomas Tuchel into a frenzy
‘No difference in class between Bayern and City’, says Tuchel
Bayern Munich vs Manchester City player ratings: Another Upamecano nightmare
Chelsea’s limp Champions League exit completes season from hell
Chelsea vs Real Madrid player ratings: Fernandez and Gallagher lacking guile

EPL

Man City hit their stride for tilt at Man Utd’s treasured treble
Arsenal can rediscover title-chasing swagger, says Arteta
Mikel Arteta faces crucial few days to save Arsenal’s title bid
Too many sackings and bad advice: Chelsea need people who understand the club

Aston Villa continues surge up EPL table
How a partial sale of Manchester United could work
Daniel Levy: ‘Harry Kane can win a trophy with Tottenham – but being a legend is also important’
The summer clear-out at Chelsea is coming – who stays and who goes?
Inside the Premier League meeting that promised America – and delivered
Fulham vs Leeds: How to watch live, stream link, team news

Reffing

WATCH: Ligue 1 referee wears mic during game and it makes for fascinating viewing
Why was Premier League referee Michael Oliver booking Cristiano Ronaldo in the Saudi Pro League this week?
Why is the Premier League’s best referee Michael Oliver officiating in Saudi Arabia?

Jeff and Shane reffing a game under the lights as we did the Ladies Adult league games this week.

Goalkeeping

Great Champions League Saves this week Leg 2

Great Savees this Week Champs League

Great Saves Leg 1 UCL

Top Saves MLS

De Gea Was Terrible for Man United

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Former Carmel FC GK Coach and Indy 11 GK Jordan Farr continues to Shine in San Antonio !!

Domestic-based United States, Mexico sides battle to draw

12:35 AM ET ESPN

Jesus Ferreira‘s goal in the 81st minute led the United States to a come-from-behind 1-1 tie against Mexico in Glendale, Arizona, on Wednesday.The match was a “friendly,” but pride was at stake as always is the case when the CONCACAF rivals play. The United States extended its unbeaten streak to five (3-0-2) vs. Mexico since El Tri’s last victory in the series in September of 2019.ADVERTISINGFC Dallas striker Ferreira scored on a breakout after a pass to the middle of the box by Jordan Morris.”Jesus is always making good runs in the box and I just tried to put it out there for him,” Morris said.The sequence began with Mexico’s Carlos Rodriguez nearly making it 2-0, only to have his shot hit the bar and rebound to the United States, which went the other way.”There’s no friendlies against Mexico. It’s always a battle,” Ferreira said.The goal was the only shot on target in the game for the United States, while Diego Cocca’s Mexico had three.”It’s important,” U.S. interim coach Anthony Hudson said of the draw. “It allows us to go into the summer with a much better understanding of what we’re going to face and also a better idea of the players.”Uriel Antuna gave Mexico the lead in the 55th minute when U.S. defender Aaron Long couldn’t corral a pass at midfield. Antuna picked it off in full stride and had a clear path to goal, where he slotted his shot past a diving Sean Johnson at the near post.In the 74th minute, Johnson made a diving save to his left on Roberto de La Rosa’s shot off a counter-attack.Since the game was outside of the FIFA international window, club teams from around the world were not obligated to release their players for the match. As such, neither team was at a level that might be expected when they next play June 15 in a CONCACAF Nations League semifinal in Las Vegas.Major League Soccer players took 19 of 22 spots on the U.S. roster, with Sergino Dest the only European-based player. He has not played for Italy‘s AC Milan since Jan. 24. The other two non-MLS players were Alan Sonora, of FC Juarez, in Mexico and Joshua Wynder, who plays for Louisville City in the second-tier USL Championship.Caleb Wiley, an 18-year-old defender, entered in the 90th minute for his international debut. Matt Miazga replaced Long in the 70th minute, his first international appearance since June 2021.There were still nine players on the roster who represented the U.S. at the 2022 World Cup, including Walker Zimmerman, Morris and DeAndre Yedlin.The U.S. has 22 wins, 36 losses and 17 draws against Mexico all time. Interim coach Anthony Hudson, who took over from Gregg Berhalter in January, has led the Americans to two wins, one loss and two draws.A crowd of 55,730 attended the 75th match between the rivals.Mexico started just three World Cup regulars; left back Jesus Gallardo and midfielders Luis Chavez and Alexis Vega. Defender Victor Guzman and forward Roberto de la Rosa started in El Tri

Jesus Ferreira’s late equalizer ensures USMNT maintains hold over Mexico

1:29 AM ET Cesar Hernandez ESPNFC

A second-half equalizer from Jesus Ferreira pushed the United States to a 1-1 friendly draw with regional rivals Mexico on Wednesday night. Featuring alternate rosters for both sides due to the match being played in a non-FIFA window, the USMNT are now undefeated against Mexico in their past five meetings.Under the guidance of new manager Diego Cocca, Mexico opened the scoring at Glendale, Arizona’s State Farm Stadium. After a first half that had an impressive defensive performance from the USMNT, Uriel Antuna pounced on a poor pass in the midfield and sprinted up the field before scoring in the 55th minute.In response, U.S. interim manager Anthony Hudson made late tactical changes that shaped his team into a more dangerous attacking unit. By the 81st minute, the USMNT created a threatening counterattack that led to Jordan Morris squaring for Ferreira’s equalizer.

Rapid reaction

1. Ferreira saves U.S. with dramatic second-half equalizer

Just when it looked like Mexico were about to score a golazo from distance that would put them up 2-0, the USMNT capitalized on a counterattack that helped change the entire outcome. With Sergino Dest sprinting forward after helping regain possession, the full-back eventually connected with substitute Alan Sonora, who then dished the ball to winger Jordan Morris.As Morris ran forward, so did Ferreira and the striker eventually was able to connect with Morris’ pass into the 18-yard box, thereby making it 1-1 by the 81st minute.Enough to hold onto the draw by the final whistle, it was a moment of brilliance from a USMNT squad that didn’t truly wake up until the second half. Mexico looked like the better team overall on Wednesday and nearly had a victory with their controlled possession and nine shots, but ultimately fell short after failing to shut down a clever transitional move from the hosts.

2. Mexico stumble and extend winless streak to five

Even with alternates on the field in a new World Cup cycle, the story remains the same: Mexico can’t get a win over the USMNT. Thanks to the result on Wednesday, the U.S. extended their undefeated run over Mexico to five games.Sure, the match was a friendly played on a non-FIFA date — and Mexico looked like the more dominant team for most of the 90 minutes — but the result is still a statement for the USMNT side who have stolen the spotlight away from Mexico again. In the shadow of Mexico for years, the USMNT, who are the CONCACAF Nations League and Gold Cup titleholders, can continue to boast that they have yet to lose to their rivals in five meetings.It could also augur for more heartbreak to come for Mexico this summer. The two countries are scheduled to faceoff in the semifinal of the 2022-23 CONCACAF Nations League on June 15, and depending on how results go, there’s a good chance they could also meet in the knockout round of the Gold Cup in July.

3. Hudson makes right moves after worrisome start

If we are giving credit to Mexico for looking better overall on Wednesday, then we should also praise USMNT coach Hudson for his second-half changes. No longer happy to just sit back like they did in the first half, the U.S. did a better job of stealing back possession and creating more decisive moments in the latter stages of the game. Second-half substitutions, such as Aidan Morris and Sonora, helped shift the momentum as well.Hudson’s changes allowed more space for Mexico as they launched more shots and runs towards the USMNT defense, but the gamble was a worthy one after their late counterattack solidified a 1-1 result that could have easily gone in El Tri’s favor.gThat said, the first half wasn’t pretty from the USMNT. Regardless of the dramatic end to the game that’ll feel like a morale boost for Hudson and his men, the initial 45 minutes were dismal in the attack. In the first half, they registered no shots and just one touch in Mexico’s 18-yard box.

Best and worst performers

BEST: Jordan Morris (United States)

Ferreira will earn lots of praise for the goal, but Morris was the key figure who helped create it in the final third. Early into the match, he also nearly deflected the ball into Mexico’s net.

BEST: Uriel Antuna (Mexico)

Mexico’s goal scorer and risk-taker on the right wing. A busy night for the attacker that connected most of his passes in the final third.

BEST: Luis Chavez (Mexico)

A standout evening for the midfielder that provided an immense amount of work with his duels and distribution. Were it not for Ferreira’s equalizer, Chavez would have been man of the match.

WORST: Kellyn Acosta (United States)

Lost possession in dangerous areas and was at fault for the poor pass that led to Antuna’s goal. Wasn’t strong with his duels either.

WORST: Jesus Gallardo (Mexico)

With his experience, Gallardo needed to have more of an impact in both the defense and attack as Mexico’s left wing-back.

WORST: Brandon Vazquez (United States)

A forgettable evening for the striker that had no shots. It didn’t help that the U.S was so defensive in the first half, but Vazquez didn’t have much of an influence in his 64 minutes.

Highlights and notable moments

Antuna kept his composure when racing clear to put Mexico 1-0 up.Ferreira deserves praise for being in the right place, at the right time, for the U.S.’s equaliser, but Morris’ outside-of-the-foot pass made the goal.

What the managers and players said

U.S. interim coach Hudson, on the result: “I think the five games unbeaten streak is nice, it’s obviously very nice, but the next time we play Mexico again, all of that goes out the window.”

Mexico coach Cocca, on the draw: “I only see the glass half-full. Today we were superior.”

U.S. forward Ferreira, on his goal: “Anything can happen in the box, so I just followed the play and it went in.”

Key stats (provided by ESPN Stats & Information)

– The United States have extended their unbeaten streak in all competitions vs. Mexico to 5 games, their longest since 2011-15 (6). Mexico’s last win over United States was on Sept. 7, 2019.

– This is the first time that the U.S. failed to register a shot on target in the first half of a game against Mexico in all competitions since March 3, 2013 (2014 World Cup qualifiers).

– Mexico also failed to register a single shot on target in the first half, the first time in a game against the U.S. since April 3, 2014 (a friendly match also played in Glendale, Arizona).

– The United States’ one shot on target, 0.28 Expected Goals (xG) was its lowest in game since Sept. 27, 2022 (0.28 vs Saudi Arabia).

Up next

United States: The next game for the USMNT will be against Mexico, although expect the big-name players for both sides. The two teams will clash in the CONCACAF Nations League semifinals on June 19 in Las Vegas. The winner of that one will take on either Canada or Panama on June 18, also in Las Vegas.

Mexico: As above.

USMNT, Mexico draw in friendly; Jesús Ferreira scores in 81st minute

By Paul TenorioApr 20, 202332

The U.S. men’s national team and Mexico drew 1-1 in an international friendly Wednesday night. Here’s what you need to know:

Jesús Ferreira’s finish in the 81st minute gave the U.S. a 1-1 draw with its biggest rival in a friendly match in Glendale, Arizona. The goal was the lone real bright spot for the U.S. in a game that fell at an awkward point in the schedule — outside of an official FIFA window, which limited both rosters; midweek, which made it a short camp — and yet extended the U.S.’s unbeaten streak against Mexico to five consecutive games.
Uriel Antuna’s 55th-minute goal put Mexico in front after what had been a listless first half. The Cruz Azul winger took advantage of a poor back pass from Kellyn Acosta, beating Aaron Long to the pass to take off alone on goal from near midfield. His shot to the near post beat a charging Sean Johnson.
The U.S. failed to register a shot in the first half for the first time since 2018 and the two teams combined for three total touches in the opposition box in the first 45 minutes. The action ramped up late in the second half, however, and both teams were able to find a goal.

Backstory

Because the game was played outside of a FIFA-sanctioned international window, neither the U.S. or Mexico was able to select anything approaching a full-strength squad. Dest, who has struggled for playing time on loan at AC Milan, was the lone European-based player. Still, the U.S. started eight players who were on the World Cup squad in November, including Dest and center back Walker Zimmerman, both of whom started multiple games in Qatar. — Tenorio

Did anyone stand out?

It’s hard to pull much out of this game, especially considering the lineups. Realistically, no one really improved their stock in this game. James Sands was good for the U.S. in his defensive midfield role in the first half, and his ability to drop into the back line in the second half gave the U.S. flexibility to change formations. Dest was underwhelming at times, but then flashed his special qualities on the goal. Overall, though, this friendly felt exactly like we thought it would: a midweek friendly with as much commercial benefit — a huge crowd was on hand — as anything else. — Tenorio

What’s next?

The next game between these two teams will feel much different. The U.S. will meet Mexico in the CONCACAF Nations League semifinals in Las Vegas on June 15. Those rosters will likely have full-strength squads and a trophy on the line. The last time these two teams met in the Nations League was the 2021 final, a thrilling 3-2 U.S. win. — Tenorio

WHAT WE LEARNED FROM USMNT 1, MEXICO 1 – CONTINENTAL CLASICO

APRIL 20, 2023 BY CHARLES BOEHM

By Charles Boehm – WASHINGTON, DC (Apr 20, 2023) US Soccer Players – Even outside FIFA international windows, the border rivalry still bubbles. Sergino Dest and Jordan Morris led a flowing late counterattack capped by a Jesus Ferreira finish to grab a 1-1 draw for the USMNT vs Mexico at State Farm Stadium on Wednesday night in the first edition of the Continental Clasico. It was the border neighbors’ first meeting since the scoreless World Cup qualifier at Estadio Azteca last March. Here’s a few observations from the friendly.

The streak rolls on

The USMNT is now undefeated in its last five games against El Tri (3-0-2). That’s the second-longest such streak in the series, one shy of the record set with six straight unbeaten from 2011-15. That could well offer a psychological advantage when the two sides meet again in Las Vegas in the Concacaf Nations League semifinals.

“I think the five games unbeaten streak is nice. It’s obviously very nice,” interim coach Anthony Hudson said. “But the next time we play Mexico, again, all of that goes out the window.”

Ferreira’s roles

The equalizer was Ferreira’s eighth senior international goal, and the reward for a night of hard work mixed with frustration across two different positions in Hudson’s 4-2-3-1 formation. The FC Dallas homegrown started as a withdrawn playmaker in the hole behind target man Brandon Vazquez. He then moved up to the #9 spot himself amid a series of second-half substitutions, including the insertion of Alan Sonora as the #10.

“As a 10 you can kind of roam around, get behind their 6s and try to find the ball. Obviously with a target 9 like Brandon, you can get any second balls,” said Ferreira postgame. “It was something exciting for me to try and I’m thankful that coach had me in mind for that role.

Coaches for both club and country have explored how best to utilize Ferreira’s soccer IQ and versatility. Wednesday was something of a microcosm in that regard, with Hudson referring to Ferreira as “an intelligent player, he’s a different profile of striker/attacking midfielder.”

Experimenting, then adapting

With his starting lineup, Hudson sought to make subtle tweaks to what the USMNT had worked on in his first two camps. He admitted to being surprised by Diego Cocca arranging Mexico in a 3-5-2 formation, however.

Hudson tried but couldn’t get his team shifted into a different shape before Uriel Antuna’s breakaway goal. The matchups did improve when the Yanks moved to a three-man back line by bringing on Matt Miazga and dropping James Sands back to center back.

“We wanted to change it maybe two minutes before the (Mexico) goal was scored,” explained Hudson. “But we felt first-half and then up until that change, it was tough to get pressure on the ball. The distances were very big from our forward and midfield players…. And as a result of us getting pressure on the ball, it allowed us to keep the ball.”

Matching El Tri’s wing backs allowed for better control of the wide areas, especially when they sought to change the point of attack quickly with long switches. Hudson noted the value of Sands’s composure and ability to pick a pass from both center back and holding midfield zones.

“We knew the game was going to be chaotic and intense. But I feel the change at the end, I thought the players really responded well,” said the coach. “Overall we’re very proud of the players.”

Resilience, again

It’s been said and written countless times that a hallmark of a successful team is an ability to avoid defeat even when a match is not playing out as desired. Such was the case again for the USMNT. The lineup and tactics were somewhat experimental and extended passing sequences in the final third were frustratingly elusive in the first-half. Dogged persistence was the path to digging out a positive result.

“The team’s mentality is strong, and me personally, I didn’t have my best game, my first touch wasn’t there, but it’s how strong my mentality was and how easy it was for me to just flip the page,” said Ferreira. “In these type of games, you can’t keep your head on what you did wrong, you just flip it and keep working. … I know my teammates are going to need me out on the field and it’s just keeping that strong mentality and looking for the next play again.”

Working on the player pool

With just two training sessions before the game, USMNT gatherings don’t get much briefer than this one. The technical staff still valued the chance to get any sort of touch points with a domestic group, particularly ahead of a busy summer that kicks off with June’s Nations League rematch.

“Tonight we’ve added a few more players to the player pool, had the opportunity to see some players that came in in January, that now are playing against one of the top teams in Concacaf,” said Hudson. “It allows us to go into the summer with a much better understanding of what we’re going to face and also a better idea of the players. So it was a good test on that front.”

Charles Boehm is a Washington, DC-based writer and the editor of The Soccer Wire. Contact him at:cboehm@thesoccerwire.com. Follow him on Twitter @cboehm.

Jesus Ferreira’s late equalizer ensures USMNT maintains hold over Mexico

Apr 20, 2023

Cesar Hernandez

A second-half equalizer from Jesus Ferreira pushed the United States to a 1-1 friendly draw with regional rivals Mexico on Wednesday night.

Featuring alternate rosters for both sides due to the match being played in a non-FIFA window, the USMNT are now undefeated against Mexico in their past five meetings.

– Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (U.S.)

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Under the guidance of new manager Diego Cocca, Mexico opened the scoring at Glendale, Arizona’s State Farm Stadium. After a first half that had an impressive defensive performance from the USMNT, Uriel Antuna pounced on a poor pass in the midfield and sprinted up the field before scoring in the 55th minute.

In response, U.S. interim manager Anthony Hudson made late tactical changes that shaped his team into a more dangerous attacking unit. By the 81st minute, the USMNT created a threatening counterattack that led to Jordan Morris squaring for Ferreira’s equalizer.

Rapid reaction

1. Ferreira saves U.S. with dramatic second-half equalizer

As Morris ran forward, so did Ferreira and the striker eventually was able to connect with Morris’ pass into the 18-yard box, thereby making it 1-1 by the 81st minute.

Enough to hold onto the draw by the final whistle, it was a moment of brilliance from a USMNT squad that didn’t truly wake up until the second half. Mexico looked like the better team overall on Wednesday and nearly had a victory with their controlled possession and nine shots, but ultimately fell short after failing to shut down a clever transitional move from the hosts.

2. Mexico stumble and extend winless streak to five

Sure, the match was a friendly played on a non-FIFA date — and Mexico looked like the more dominant team for most of the 90 minutes — but the result is still a statement for the USMNT side who have stolen the spotlight away from Mexico again. In the shadow of Mexico for years, the USMNT, who are the CONCACAF Nations League and Gold Cup titleholders, can continue to boast that they have yet to lose to their rivals in five meetings.

It could also augur for more heartbreak to come for Mexico this summer. The two countries are scheduled to faceoff in the semifinal of the 2022-23 CONCACAF Nations League on June 15, and depending on how results go, there’s a good chance they could also meet in the knockout round of the Gold Cup in July.

3. Hudson makes right moves after worrisome start

Hudson’s changes allowed more space for Mexico as they launched more shots and runs towards the USMNT defense, but the gamble was a worthy one after their late counterattack solidified a 1-1 result that could have easily gone in El Tri’s favor.

That said, the first half wasn’t pretty from the USMNT. Regardless of the dramatic end to the game that’ll feel like a morale boost for Hudson and his men, the initial 45 minutes were dismal in the attack. In the first half, they registered no shots and just one touch in Mexico’s 18-yard box.

Best and worst performers

BEST: Jordan Morris (United States)

Ferreira will earn lots of praise for the goal, but Morris was the key figure who helped create it in the final third. Early into the match, he also nearly deflected the ball into Mexico’s net.

BEST: Uriel Antuna (Mexico)

Mexico’s goal scorer and risk-taker on the right wing. A busy night for the attacker that connected most of his passes in the final third.

BEST: Luis Chavez (Mexico)

A standout evening for the midfielder that provided an immense amount of work with his duels and distribution. Were it not for Ferreira’s equalizer, Chavez would have been man of the match.

WORST: Kellyn Acosta (United States)

Lost possession in dangerous areas and was at fault for the poor pass that led to Antuna’s goal. Wasn’t strong with his duels either.

WORST: Jesus Gallardo (Mexico)

With his experience, Gallardo needed to have more of an impact in both the defense and attack as Mexico’s left wing-back.

WORST: Brandon Vazquez (United States)

A forgettable evening for the striker that had no shots. It didn’t help that the U.S was so defensive in the first half, but Vazquez didn’t have much of an influence in his 64 minutes.

Highlights and notable moments

Antuna kept his composure when racing clear to put Mexico 1-0 up.

Uriel Antuna makes the USMNT pay 😬

Watch live on TBS or @hbomax 📺 pic.twitter.com/xd5OXDLGI8— B/R Football (@brfootball) April 20, 2023

Ferreira deserves praise for being in the right place, at the right time, for the U.S.’s equaliser, but Morris’ outside-of-the-foot pass made the goal.

The run from Serg, the ball from JMo, the finish from Jesús. 😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/vdrEmXzyrk— U.S. Men’s National Soccer Team (@USMNT) April 20, 2023

What the managers and players said

Mexico coach Cocca, on the draw: “I only see the glass half-full. Today we were superior.”

U.S. forward Ferreira, on his goal: “Anything can happen in the box, so I just followed the play and it went in.”

Key stats (provided by ESPN Stats & Information)

– The United States have extended their unbeaten streak in all competitions vs. Mexico to 5 games, their longest since 2011-15 (6). Mexico’s last win over United States was on Sept. 7, 2019.

– This is the first time that the U.S. failed to register a shot on target in the first half of a game against Mexico in all competitions since March 3, 2013 (2014 World Cup qualifiers).

– Mexico also failed to register a single shot on target in the first half, the first time in a game against the U.S. since April 3, 2014 (a friendly match also played in Glendale, Arizona).

– The United States’ one shot on target, 0.28 Expected Goals (xG) was its lowest in game since Sept. 27, 2022 (0.28 vs Saudi Arabia).

Up next

Mexico: As above.

Leeds boss Javi Gracia unsure whether Tyler Adams will play again this season

By Phil HayApr 21, 202326

Leeds United head coach Javi Gracia says he is unsure whether USMNT midfielder Tyler Adams will play for his side again this season.

Adams was forced to undergo surgery on a hamstring injury in March after suffering the problem before the international break.

The 24-year-old damaged a muscle during a training session ahead of Leeds’ 4-2 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers on March 18 and was forced to pull out of international duty with the USMNT, remaining in England where he went under the knife.

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Gracia, 52, said: “If I tell you something (an injury update), I lie to you. I don’t know.

“He’s working hard, the medical staff are working very well as well but we need time to know if he will be ready or not.”

Adams joined Leeds from RB Leipzig last summer, and has been a prominent part of their line-up this term, starting 24 times in the top flight.https://www.instagram.com/p/CrRP2EkJUA-/embed/captioned/?cr=1&v=14&wp=540&rd=https%3A%2F%2Ftheathletic.com&rp=%2F4435889%2F2023%2F04%2F21%2Ftyler-adams-leeds-injury-latest%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A0%2C%22os%22%3A3059.5%7D

Gracia admits Adams’ unavailability has been an issue due to the lack of options in his position, but has confidence other players can step up in his absence.

“He’s a player that plays in a position where we don’t have many other options,” Gracia added.

“Now in the first team squad we have Adam Forshaw who now is ready and was injured long term. But he’s an absence in an important position.

“We have young players who play there as well, very good players, but this is an absence important for the team. All of you know that now we don’t have the solution for that.

“We have to work with the players we have and believe as I do that they are very good players and the best ones to play this final (stage) of the season.”

Leeds are in action this Saturday when they play Fulham at home in the Premier League.

Premier League and FA Cup team news: Latest injury updates for Marcus Rashford, Luis Diaz and more

By Omar GarrickApr 21, 20235

The Premier League is back once again this weekend as we draw ever closer to the latter stages of the season.There are plenty of important matches taking place, with Arsenal having the opportunity to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League when they face Southampton on Friday evening. Tottenham Hotspur, meanwhile, face a tricky away trip to Newcastle United this Sunday. On top of all the Premier League action, there are also two FA Cup semi-finals across this weekend, with Manchester City playing Sheffield United on Saturday and Manchester United facing Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday. The Athletic wraps up the latest injury updates from each club going into the weekend’s fixtures. This article will be updated with the latest developments.

Arsenal

Arsenal will be vying to maintain their lead at the top of the Premier League when host Southampton on Friday. Mikel Arteta’s side will continue to be without Takehiro Tomiyasu after the defender was ruled out for the remainder of the 2022-23 season with a knee injury sustained against Sporting CP on March 16.

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William Saliba has also been absent since Arsenal’s match against Sporting, with fears that he could miss the rest of the season.

Arteta will be hoping left-back Oleksandr Zinchenko is fit after missing the draw against West Ham United due to a groin injury. However, there are no guarantees that he will start.

Aston Villa

Aston Villa play Brentford away on Saturday.

Striker Ollie Watkins is likely to feature against his former club and will be hoping to continue his recent goalscoring form. He has netted 11 times in his last 12 matches.

Boubacar Kamara (ankle), Philippe Coutinho (hamstring) and Matty Cash (calf) could return in time to join him in Villa’s matchday squad, having recovered from their injuries. Kamara played 45 minutes against Chelsea but was taken off and has missed Villa’s last three matches.

Jed Steer (achilles) and Leon Bailey (hamstring) will likely miss out again.

Bournemouth

Bournemouth play West Ham at home this Sunday.

Full-back Ryan Fredericks will not feature against his former club, having missed Bournemouth’s last four Premier League matches with a calf injury, while Junior Stanislas has been sidelined since November.

Elsewhere, Gary O’Neil also revealed that Hamed Traore won’t be involved against West Ham, having not played since the game against Brighton and Hove Albion at the Vitality Stadium earlier this month.

O’Neil also brought positive news around left-back Matias Vina, who was substituted after scoring a goal in their 3-2 victory over Tottenham. They are hopeful he will be part of the matchday squad this weekend.

Brentford

Brentford host in-form Aston Villa at the Gtech Community Stadium on Saturday.

Pontus Jansson (hamstring) and Keane Lewis-Potter (knee) will both miss out this weekend. The former has been ruled out for the remainder of the campaign while Thomas Frank admitted it was unlikely the latter would feature again this season.

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Frank also confirmed that Kristoffer Ajer is “close to full training” following a hamstring injury but will not be available for Saturday’s fixture.

Frank Onyeka and Vitaly Janelt played an hour for Brentford B in their 2-2 draw with Huddersfield Town B on Tuesday afternoon and could be available.

Brighton

Brighton face Manchester United in the semi-finals of the FA Cup on Sunday.

Striker Evan Ferguson is set to miss out after suffering an ankle injury in the 2-1 win over Chelsea last weekend. Defender Joel Veltman is also out due to a hamstring injury.

Ferguson was injured in Brighton’s 2-1 victory over Chelsea (Photo: Getty Images)

Brighton continue to be without Jeremy Sarmiento, who suffered a fractured metatarsal during March’s international break. Adam Lallana was spotted in training this week but is likely to be unavailable (hamstring), while Jakub Moder (knee) also remains absent.

Jason Steele is available but manager Roberto De Zerbi admitted he was unsure if the goalkeeper was 100 per cent fit.

On other team news, the Brighton head coach said: “The situation with injuries isn’t clear yet. We will see tomorrow morning. We have another two days.”

Chelsea

Chelsea are not playing this weekend following Manchester United’s participation in the FA Cup semi-finals.

Crystal Palace

Crystal Palace will be looking to make it four wins from four under Roy Hodgson when they host Everton this Saturday.

Wilfried Zaha suffered a groin injury against Leicester City and has been ruled out of this weekend’s action. Goalkeeper Vicente Guaita (knee) is also out.

Nathaniel Clyne missed the 2-0 victory over Southampton following a knee injury, and is set to return to training next week.

Everton

Striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin is in line to return for Everton’s trip to Crystal Palace on Saturday, manager Sean Dyche has confirmed.

The England international played 70 minutes during a behind-closed-doors friendly against non-League Chester on Tuesday.

Elsewhere, Amadou Onana has trained ahead of the Palace game after missing last Saturday’s 3-1 loss against Fulham through injury. The Belgium international will be assessed ahead of the trip to Selhurst Park.

Seamus Coleman (thigh), though, will not be fit this weekend and neither will fellow full-back Ruben Vinagre (Achilles), who will be out for an extended period of time and may require surgery.

Fulham

Fulham welcome Leeds United to Craven Cottage on Saturday.

Marco Silva’s side continue to be without Aleksandar Mitrovic after the forward was handed an eight-game ban for pushing referee Chris Kavanagh against Manchester United in the FA Cup.

The west London club will also be without Layvin Kurzawa (knee), while winger Daniel James is ineligible to play against his parent club.

Silva confirmed Neeskens Kebano is in contention to return to the squad after over five months out with a ruptured Achilles.

Leeds United

Javi Gracia’s Leeds face a difficult away trip to Fulham in Saturday’s lunchtime kick-off.

Tyler Adams (thigh) and Stuart Dallas (thigh) both remain sidelined through injury, while striker Patrick Bamford sustained a calf issue in the defeat to Liverpool and is a doubt for the game.

Midfielder Adam Forshaw is available and looking to start his first match since December, having featured for 14 minutes against Liverpool.

Leicester City

Relegation-threatened Leicester take on Wolverhampton Wanderers this Saturday at the King Power Stadium.

Dean Smith will be without winger Harvey Barnes, who has been missing since the 1-0 home defeat by Bournemouth due to a hamstring injury.

Centre-back Jannik Vestergaard is expected to be out until the end of the season after injuring his calf in an Under-21s match on Monday. Full-back Ryan Bertrand, however, completed over an hour after a long-term knee-related absence.

Right-back Ricardo Pereira remains sidelined with a hamstring injury, while club captain Jonny Evans has yet to recover from a viral infection.

Midfielder Youri Tielemans is expected to be involved after playing in the defeat to Manchester City last weekend.

Liverpool

Liverpool will be hoping to bolster their chances for a European spot when they play Nottingham Forest at Anfield on Saturday.

Roberto Firmino has been ruled out of Saturday’s game with a muscle problem which Jurgen Klopp confirmed was not “too serious”.

Luis Diaz made his return for the win over Leeds after overcoming a knee injury as Klopp starts to recover more of his players.

Diaz came off the bench and featured in Liverpool’s victory over Leeds United (Photo: Getty images)

Calvin Ramsay (knee), Stefan Bajcetic (adductor) and Naby Keita (muscle) are Liverpool’s only remaining absentees.

Manchester City

Manchester City face Sheffield United in the FA Cup semi-finals this Saturday at Wembley Stadium.

Defender Nathan Ake came off injured during City’s win over Bayern Munich and Pep Guardiola confirmed he will miss out, but was unable to detail the severity of the injury. Aymeric Laporte looks like the most likely deputy.

Phil Foden was an unused substitute against Bayern Munich on Wednesday – his first inclusion in the match day squad since having surgery to remove his appendix in March.

“He was on the bench after two days and three weeks without training,” Guardiola said. “Each day that passes he will be better.”

Guardiola may be tempted to rotate, with one eye on Wednesday’s crunch match against Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium.

Manchester United

Manchester United play Brighton in the FA Cup semi-finals this Sunday at Wembley Stadium.

Left-back Luke Shaw featured in the second half of United’s second leg Europa League quarter-final defeat to Sevilla and is likely to feature at the weekend.

Marcus Rashford could also start, having played 45 minutes in Spain after recovering from a groin injury.

Anthony Martial was substituted for Wout Weghorst and looks like he could be a doubt for the match.

Lisandro Martinez (foot) and Raphael Varane (ankle) are out of the match, while Alejandro Garnacho (ankle) and Donny van de Beek (knee) remain sidelined.

Harry Maguire is suspended.

Newcastle United

Newcastle United will be hoping to keep their Champions League hopes alive when they play Tottenham Hotspur at home on Sunday.

Winger Allan Saint-Maximin is not expected back at the club until early next week, with Eddie Howe confirming his recovery from a hamstring injury is “taking a little longer than initially thought”.

Saint-Maximin will be unavailable for Newcastle this weekend (Photo: Getty Images)

Miguel Almiron made an early return from a thigh problem as a substitute during Saturday’s 3-0 loss to Aston Villa. After missing a month, Howe said the Paraguay international could start against Spurs.

Full-backs Emil Krafth and Harrison Ashby remain sidelined but could return towards the latter stages of the season.

Nottingham Forest

Nottingham Forest play Liverpool away this Saturday.

Steve Cooper admitted Dean Henderson may not feature again this season after suffering a small setback. The goalkeeper has been sidelined since January with a thigh injury.

He’s not back in training. He’s not really any closer,” Cooper said. “He’s still in the medical room, unfortunately, so we’ll see where that takes us in the next week or so. I hope he will play again this season, but I don’t know, to be honest. It’s a bit inconclusive on that, so we’ll see.”

Ryan Yates and Serge Aurier have missed their side’s last four matches through injury.

Willy Boly (hamstring) remains a long-term absentee while Chris Wood (thigh) and Giulian Biancone (knee) have been ruled out for the remainder of the 2022-23 campaign.

Southampton

Southampton face Arsenal away in Friday’s evening kick-off.

Che Adams and Mohammed Salisu both sustained injuries during March’s international break and after missing the defeat by Crystal Palace, they look likely to miss out again.

Ainsley Maitland-Niles is ineligible to feature against his parent club, but Theo Walcott could start against one of his former sides.

Armel Bella-Kotchap (shoulder) looks set to miss out, but full-back Tino Livramento is nearing a first-team return having been in first-team training. He has not played since April last year following an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury.

Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham face a difficult trip to Newcastle United on Sunday.

Interim head coach Cristian Stellini has named an unchanged side in Spurs’ last two matches but could switch things up, having seen his side lose 3-2 at home to Bournemouth last weekend.

Lucas Moura (suspended), Rodrigo Bentancur (knee), Emerson Royal (knee), Yves Bissouma (ankle), Ryan Sessegnon (hamstring), and Ben Davies (hamstring) all remain absent.

Clement Lenglet, who was forced off after 35 minutes against Bournemouth last time out, will be assessed.

West Ham United

West Ham play Bournemouth away this Sunday.

The east London side will be feeling confident having reached the Europa Conference League semi-finals on Thursday and drawn 2-2 against league leaders Arsenal last Sunday.

“I think everybody is OK,” Moyes said of his squad following their triumph in Europe. “We’re recovering the players from last night, but hopefully we’re all fine.”

Striker Gianluca Scamacca is still recovering from a knee injury, which has kept him out of West Ham’s last six matches in all competitions.

Defender Angelo Ogbonna remains a doubt.

Wolverhampton Wanderers

Wolves play Leicester away this Saturday.

Forward Daniel Podence is available, with a date yet to be set for a hearing into an allegation he spat at Nottingham Forest’s Brennan Johnson.

Ruben Neves will also travel to Leicester having served his two-game suspension for accumulating 10 yellow cards but Julen Lopetegui refused to be drawn on whether his captain will be recalled following back-to-back home wins in his absence against Chelsea and Brentford.

“Ruben is a very good player for us all season and a very complete player who is important for the dressing room and the pitch.”

Lopetegui reported no new injury concerns with Diego Costa expected to be available despite suffering a blow to his knee after scoring his first Wolves goal in the 2-0 win against Brentford.

U.S. and Mexico submit joint bid for 2027 Women’s World Cup. Here’s what happens next

By Meg LinehanApr 20, 20236

The first major deadline for hosting the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup is almost upon us. Any nation interested in bidding for the next women’s tournament must formally express that interest to FIFA by Friday or wait for 2031. With U.S. Soccer and the Mexican Federation announcing their intent for a joint bid on Wednesday, the potential candidates got some major competition.

From intention to bid to World Cup host selection, here’s everything you need to know about the process and timeline, plus just how much prize money will be on the line by 2027.

Who decides the host of the 2027 Women’s World Cup?

The FIFA Council selects up to three bids for the FIFA Congress to choose a host using an open vote. FIFA said this year it has “the most robust and comprehensive bidding process in the history of the FIFA Women’s World Cup.” It includes establishing a Bid Evaluation Task Force, an independent audit company that will monitor FIFA’s compliance with procedures and Bid Compliance and Ethics Officer from each official bidding group.

Ballots for the World Cup hosting vote will be made public.

If you feel like reading a lengthy PDF from FIFA on the process, the full document is available online here.

What’s the FIFA World Cup bid timeline?

First, countries that want to bid have to let FIFA know about their interest by Friday, April 21. A commitment has to be firmed by submitting the “Bidding Agreement” by May 19. FIFA will hold a bid workshop and observer program during this summer’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. Potential (joint) host nations have until Dec. 8 to work on the lengthy process of assembling the bid and getting all the right buy-in and government sign-offs.

Once the bids are in at the end of the year, FIFA begins its evaluation process. First with site inspections starting in February 2024. By May, they’ll publish their own evaluation of the competing bids (a lengthy PDF with a lot of risk evaluation and assessment included). At some point in this process — currently only designated as “Q2 2024” — FIFA will designate the top three bids.

And while all the dates are subject to change, FIFA stated the plan is to announce the winning bid on May 17, 2024.

Why is the bidding process so abbreviated for the Women’s World Cup compared to the men’s?

The U.S./Mexico/Canada joint bid for the 2026 men’s World Cup was decided at the 68th FIFA Congress on June 13, 2018. That’s a full two World Cup cycles to prepare for hosting a major tournament. On the women’s side of the game, when a team is crowned World Cup champions this summer in Australia, no one will know where the next tournament will be.

The bidding process for the 2023 edition was extended after FIFA President Gianni Infantino called for expanding the women’s tournament from 24 to 32 teams. FIFA then updated their hosting requirements and re-opened the bidding process, with Australia/New Zealand’s joint bid winning on the first ballot of voting on June 25, 2020.

There isn’t a good answer to this one beyond FIFA is still behind in prioritizing the women’s game and putting it on equal footing with the men’s. At some point, the international governing body is on the hook for lengthening the bidding process and ensuring that host nations have more than three years to prepare for the most important competition in the sport.

Consider this report from The Guardian in 2019, during the bidding process for the 2023 World Cup: “Despite Australia and New Zealand’s superior score from FIFA’s technical evaluation of the bids, 4.1 to Colombia’s 2.8, the Guardian understands two members of the UEFA delegation rubbished the technical reports in a meeting attended by its FIFA council members and argued that because the Women’s World Cup was a ‘development tournament’ its representatives should back Colombia.”

With a lot more money flowing through the women’s game in terms of both investment and profit, it’s on FIFA to take advantage by moving up the bidding for the 2031 World Cup and starting a new, smarter timeline for the women’s tournament.

Who’s expressed interest in bidding for the tournament?

U.S./Mexico

The United States and Mexico announced their bid on April 19 just before the kickoff of an international friendly between the U.S. men’s national team and Mexico’s men’s team.

Along with Canada, both countries will host the 2026 men’s World Cup — combining for seven women’s and men’s tournaments across the two boarding nations.

“We haven’t hosted a World Cup for 24 years,” USSF president Cindy Parlow Cone said on HBO Max’s pregame show. “To bring it back and to have ‘26 followed by ‘27, I think speaks great to our region and trying to grow our region. I know we have CONCACAF behind us.”

Belgium/Netherlands/Germany

This bid was nearly three years in the making. The trio of countries was the first to formally submit bid interest a day after FIFA opened the application process on March 23.

Brazil

The country home to legends like Marta and Formiga has never hosted a Women’s World Cup. In fact, no South American country has hosted the women’s tournament in its 32-year history.

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The country’s sports ministry confirmed interest on March 7. The mayors of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo both expressed interest in hosting the final if their country won the bid.

South Africa

The nation was one of the first to publicly state they were intending to bid for the 2027 tournament back in September, and in January, SAFA announced that the government would support their potential interest.

Other countries who have expressed interest

Italy
Chile
And possibly, Nordic countries that bid for the 2025 Women’s European Championship, according to a report from BBC

What’s in a bid book?

So let’s say you’re a potential host nation (maybe part of a joint bid, maybe not). The major project for 2023 is completing a bid book, which has to contain a massive amount of information for FIFA to assess.

Bid books are split into five sections:

Event vision and key metrics: This is where bidding countries get to talk big about what they think hosting a World Cup would do for their country and the legacy of the game, plus offer one major detail: when they’d like to host the tournament.
Infrastructure: This is actually the big one. When FIFA performs its technical evaluation of bids, the infrastructure makes up 70% of that score. Infrastructure goes beyond potential stadiums and includes team facilities (now FIFA has team base camps in place for WWCs), places to host fan festivals, and a site for an international broadcast center.
Services: Countries need to prove they have the hotels, the transportation and all the other logistics needed to host a World Cup, as well as prove they can do it safely and securely. They also have to detail plans for medical services and anti-doping controls, plus show they’ve got the infrastructure for handling the demands on internet and other communication services.
Commercial: Time for the money. FIFA wants estimates on just how much money hosting the tournament in this particular location would make.
Sustainability and human rights: FIFA’s looking for “explicit public commitments to sustainability, human rights, sustainable procurement and climate action” in this section. It’s also looking for more information on the country’s human rights strategy and any potential risks as well as their strategy to mitigate the climate impacts of a major tournament.

Bid books are usually very lengthy reading. Australia/New Zealand’s bid book for 2023 was 188 pages long. Generally, though, the more advanced work done, the stronger the bid.

Oh, and there’s also a load of assurances from the government that bids have to provide to FIFA, including (but certainly not limited to) a declaration from “the head of the highest national executive government authority.”

How does the evaluation process work?

FIFA breaks down its evaluation of bids into three parts. There’s more of a qualitative assessment of the vision of the bid (what FIFA calls the “description”), and then far more formal risk and technical evaluations. Everything with a risk assessment is put on a scale of low, medium and high. Obviously, a bid is hoping for all low risk. There’s no breakout of the actual site inspections in their final evaluation, rather the visit informs the final score.

FIFA also does its technical evaluation of the bid’s infrastructure (again, 70% of the final score) and commercial forecasts (30%).

Here’s how they map it out in their bidding process document:

Chart courtesy of FIFA

How likely is it that the U.S. and Mexico host?

It’s definitely too early to know their chances in any meaningful sense, but it will be fascinating to see if both countries also hosting the 2026 men’s World Cup is considered an asset or too much of a good thing. The U.S. hasn’t hosted since the short-notice takeover of the 2003 tournament from China, but Canada stepped in as a CONCACAF host in 2015.

Maybe the bigger question right now is: Will the FIFA council opt to put a Women’s World Cup in South America or Africa for the first time? If Brazil and/or South Africa put together solid bids, FIFA could continue to look outside CONCACAF or UEFA nations for 2027. Both have won the voting process before on the men’s side, with lingering questions about the legacy of hosting these tournaments. But the women’s edition does present its own challenges and opportunities. Hosting a World Cup does not guarantee greater investment or massive social acceptance of women’s sports, but it’s worth considering what impact a World Cup in a CONMEBOL or CAF country might have compared to the U.S.

What prize money will be at stake for 2027?

Prize money is already set to rise for 2023, up to $110 million from the $30 million for the 2019 tournament. During the announcement of the increase, Infantino challenged broadcasters to up their investment into the women’s game, saying, “But these same broadcasters then criticize us for not guaranteeing equal prize money. How can we do it when they offer so little?”

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The intent, according to Infantino, is to equalize prize money between the men’s and women’s tournaments by the 2027 edition. For the 2022 men’s World Cup, the overall prize pool was at $440 million.

Inter’s tense season can end in glory with all-Milan Champions League semi-final

By James HorncastleApr 20, 202323

“Squadra nervosa, squadra vittoriosa.” When Esteban Cambiasso was a treble-winning Inter Milan midfielder, people used to say that an irritable team, agitated and often upset with itself, tended to be a winning team. What better preparation, then, for Benfica’s visit to San Siro than a rondo ruckus at Appiano Gentile with Romelu Lukaku stepping into separate Andre Onana and Marcelo Brozovic after the Inter goalkeeper made a rather overzealous challenge on the team’s playmaker-in-chief.

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“We wanted to give you some work,” Onana joked with Amazon Prime’s reporters before kick-off on Wednesday, eager to downplay the incident. “We’ve got a great relationship.”

How much this team gets on has been a theme of a bad-tempered season in which Inter make up and break up every few days. Nicolo Barella, the difference maker in both legs of this quarter-final against Benfica, runs his mouth as much as he runs on the pitch. “No, no. You don’t do that,” Romelu Lukaku shouted 38 minutes into a frustrating 0-0 against relegation-fodder Sampdoria in February. He did not appreciate Barella throwing his arms up in disdain at another of his mistakes. “That’s enough. Shut up,” Lukaku was overheard saying on DAZN’s mics. “They’re great friends,” Inter coach Simone Inzaghi explained. And that they are. “The pair of them were back sitting next to each other in the dressing room at half-time.”

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Nevertheless, it has been a season of high tension at Inter. “I want us to always play like this,” Lautaro Martinez said after last night’s semi-final-clinching 3-3 draw. “We have to be brothers on the pitch.” They are Internazionale, after all; brothers of the world. But that is easier said than done.

Samir Handanovic, the captain, has lost his place to Onana and though he has been a good team-mate to the Cameroonian and can’t have too many complaints at 38, the competitive animal inside is unlikely to lay dormant.

Stefan de Vrij, the cornerstone of Inter’s last title-winning defence, has not been able to hide his torment at warming the bench. “I’ve not been happy with my situation recently, given I play less,” he complained. “But that’s the choice the coach has made.”

Milan Skriniar, another lynchpin of Inter’s back three, has barely played since he agreed to join Paris Saint-Germain at the end of the season, a decision he got out in front of and explained to the ultras to avoid the vitriol Lukaku copped when he left for Chelsea.

Lautaro Martinez and Milan Skriniar: Inter’s win against Milan and a tale of two captains

The number of deals expiring in the summer (eight), as well as the loans of Lukaku and Francesco Acerbi, is an indicator of ownership uncertainty at Inter and has been cited as a reason for the restlessness on the pitch. “It isn’t the time to talk about that,” Inter’s president Steven Zhang said last night. “We’re not talking to anyone.” That’s because every football owner’s bank du jour, Raine, is doing that for him.

Saturday’s defeat to Monza, which resulted in the first time Inter have lost three Serie A games in a row without scoring at San Siro, jeopardises next year’s participation in the Champions League, particularly if, as seems increasingly likely, Juventus succeed in getting their 15-point penalty overturned.

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Inter’s former owner Massimo Moratti said: “I wouldn’t have been able to resist sacking Inzaghi.” Current vice-president, and one of the nicest guys in football, Javier Zanetti was also unsparing. “The mister is a top professional and he’s the first person to know our record in the league is insufficient. You can’t lose 11 games.” Falling to fifth in the table piled the pressure on Inzaghi and the team last night.

“This is how you throw away €60m” was Gazzetta dello Sport’s front page on Sunday. Inzaghi is used to it, though. “I don’t find it strange here at Inter,” he said. “If you go back and read the papers before the Bayern Munich game in September and the Porto game last month, it was the same thing.” He reiterated after the Benfica game: “It’s not a problem, I know where the criticism comes from,” a statement so ambiguous Inzaghi must know it leaves people with the impression he means from within the club.

Inter are heading for a first Champions League semi-final in 13 years (Photo: Getty Images)

Before the Onana-Brozovic altercation, which Inter could have sold on pay-per-view to raise some cash, the build-up to the second leg against Benfica had been dominated by speculation about whether or not the club should offer the players a bonus to incentivise them to finish in the top four. “That would be a negative thing to do. The players shouldn’t be mercenaries,” Inter chief executive Giuseppe Marotta said. “We shouldn’t have to incentivise them to do something that’s in their grasp. It would be depressing. I got rid of the top-four bonus when I arrived. I can’t let myself think they have to be motivated by money.”

Aside from the drift that ultimately comes from the club’s prolonged sale process, Inter relinquished their title to rivals AC Milan on the last day of last season and the second star is long gone this year, too, with Napoli 24 points in the distance. For a group of players that has won everything domestically — and may yet retain the Coppa Italia — breaking new ground in the Champions League has attained greater and greater significance. This is an experienced team. One that lost a Europa League final in 2020, pushed the eventual Champions League runners-up, Liverpool, to the limit in 2022 and came through a group of death with Bayern Munich and Barcelona this season.

Added purpose has come ever since the draw placed them on the same side of the bracket as Milan. The pair of them have knocked out this season’s revelations (Napoli and Benfica), setting up a semi-final that neither can lose. To do so would feel like a relegation rather than simple elimination.

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Still, the Tribuna d’Onore was full of smiles at full-time as Inter held Benfica at arm’s length and then pushed them out of the competition. Three beautiful goals from Barella, Martinez and substitute Joaquin Correa were so polished that Benfica’s valiant comeback to 3-3 on the night did little to dampen the mood in the stands as Inzaghi joined Helenio Herrera, Giovanni Invernizzi and Jose Mourinho 13 years ago in guiding Inter to this stage. “I’m happy for the boys,” Inzaghi said. “Let’s not forget where we came from. We started out in a really tough group.”

The respite is brief. Inzaghi and his players will get only a few days’ relief because derby fever has already taken hold in Milan. It will be a great advert for Serie A, for this city of 10 Champions League titles, a city that has arguably done more for this competition than any other in Europe, even Madrid. But the players, won’t someone think of the players? All of a sudden, this city is going to feel claustrophobic and overpopulated at the same time. There will be no escape for them.

“I hoped for another draw,” Inter’s legendary former captain Giuseppe Bergomi said when the prospect of a Madonnina in the semi-final first materialised. Now a commentator for Sky Italia, he doubts he’d be able to pick up the mic for the upcoming games. Alessandro Costacurta, the former Milan centre-half, recalled his own experience of the fortnight in which the two cousins played each other in the last four in 2003. In a sporting sense, he said they were “the worst 15 days of my life for the tension”.

A new generation is about to experience it. Are you ready?

Bayern Munich’s Champions League failure will accelerate recruitment drive up front

By Raphael HonigsteinApr 20, 202383

A few hours before the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final against Manchester City, news broke that Bayern Munich had made their first key signing for next season under Thomas Tuchel — groundsman Peter Sauer will move from Wolfsburg at the beginning of May. The 50-year-old won’t immediately solve all of the team’s issues, but as a multiple winner of the Bundesliga’s Pitch of the Year award, he is expected to provide a much better playing surface in the Allianz Arena.

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Wednesday night brought the need to address the issue into sharp focus. There were plenty of slips on the greasy surface, including one fateful tumble from Dayot Upamecano that effectively killed all hopes of a comeback when the Frenchman allowed Erling Haaland to score the opener. “We played well but had problems with the 12th and 13th man,” Thomas Muller said after the final whistle, referring to the pitch and referee Clement Turpin, a focal point of Bavarian anger.

Amid his disappointment, the Bayern forward was focused enough to recognise the real reason his side hadn’t converted one-and-a-half decent performances into a better result. “We simply don’t score enough goals,” Muller said. “We put a ridiculous amount of effort into creating chances, we made some really great moves again today but the efficiency and the punch in front of goal are missing.”

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For the fifth game in row, no Bayern forward scored. Midfielder Joshua Kimmich was the only player to find the net, scoring from the penalty spot.

There was once again much talk about a lack of confidence and rhythm from the players in the forward line, but those things only become relevant when you don’t have a goalscorer who delivers irrespective of what happens behind him.

For eight seasons, Bayern had Robert Lewandowski scoring goals in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. The marriage had broken down last summer, necessitating a divorce. Bayern have now realised their attempt to fill the void with a collective of hybrid forwards has failed. “We have eight world-class players for four positions,” said sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic, reminding reporters that the previous coaching staff had signed off on the setup, but he also conceded that there was a need to “reconsider” the decision to go without a proper centre-forward. “We will sit down together and see who’s available, then we’ll see what we can do.”

Bayern’s Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting couldn’t find a way through against Manchester City (Photo: Getty Images)

Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, back from injury, did well in the build-up, but the 34-year-old’s movement was limited and his finishing was poor. The contrast with his opposite number couldn’t have been starker. Bayern’s odds of avenging the 3-0 first-leg defeat without an elite centre forward weren’t quite as low as fourteen million six hundred five to one but it was painful for them to find that Iron Man was battling for the other side on the night. In a different reality, Haaland would have signed for Bayern after being shown around the club a year ago. The German champions had earmarked the Norwegian as Lewandowski’s natural successor but couldn’t match City’s offer.

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Oliver Kahn admitted the experiment with a more fluid system, supposedly spearheaded by summer recruit Sadio Mane, was not just a tactical wish of Julian Nagelsmann but also a necessity of the club’s financial limitations. “We tried everything to replace Lewandowski, including with the No 9 we saw today,” Bayern’s executive chairman said. “But how many strikers are like Lewandowski in Europe? Those who are at that level are incredibly expensive.” Asked if Bayern were prepared to break the bank this summer, Kahn was evasive. “We are always working on improving the squad. We will see what’s possible.”

There’s been speculation they will buy their first €100million (£88m, $110m) player to try to guarantee more goals, but even that might not be enough to lure Napoli’s Victor Osimhen, their preferred option, across the Alps. Competition for the Nigerian will be fierce. France international Randal Kolo Muani from Eintracht Frankfurt is another option under consideration and the 24-year-old should be more affordable. He, too, however, will have plenty of other suitors, including some who don’t have to generate their income quite as organically as Bayern do.

After a golden decade in which the club has repeatedly made up for a relative lack of resources, the pressure is really on Kahn and Salihamidzic to deliver the next top-class finisher who can bring all of Bayern’s nice play to fruition. As Muller alluded to after the 1-1 draw with Hoffenheim on Saturday, that much-vaunted inconsistency is just another word for not having a reliable goalscorer up top.

Manchester City showed in 14 seconds in Munich they are more dangerous than ever

By Sam LeeApr 20, 202348

It took Manchester City 14 seconds to kill off Bayern Munich and 14 seconds to highlight why they are such a dangerous proposition in the Champions League this season.

One of the stories of this tie was how much joy Bayern had while attacking at speed, especially so in Munich, but the most decisive factor was City’s ability to shrug it off and score anyway. Not a usual trait for them in this competition, it must be said, and maybe one that makes the difference when they play Real Madrid next.

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Their meeting with the Spanish giants last season was decided by the finest of margins — Jack Grealish shooting across the face of goal and Rodrygo scoring goals out of nothing moments later to result in a stunning comeback.

This time, City were on the right side of those fine margins.

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“It’s the details and last season in the semi-final we lived the opposite half,” Pep Guardiola said after the match. “And this time, we were incredibly solid.”

Last week, Ruben Dias blocked a shot from Jamal Masiala and less than a minute later, Rodri crashed in City’s opener.

In Germany, it happened even quicker than that. Kingsley Coman had drilled the ball across goal, Ederson got a hand to it, ensuring it rolled across the face of goal – this was as close as Bayern had come all night.

John Stones, two yards from his own goal line, looked up and hoofed the ball downfield. Not much artistry in that, but City’s newest and perhaps most lethal threat was loading up.

Erling Haaland won the header on the halfway line and Kevin De Bruyne picked up the ball and carried it forward. A Dayot Upamecano slip later and Haaland had scored for a seventh consecutive game. De Bruyne had set up Haaland for the third time in four games, a total of nine this season.

Haaland had missed a penalty, one of those ‘details’ that could easily have caused City’s house of cards to crumble, especially as Bayern applied the pressure. But as details go, it was nothing more than a minor one in the end.

The Verve’s Bittersweet Symphony rang around the Allianz Arena at full-time, perhaps a reflection that the Germans felt they had suffered a noble defeat. They certainly gave their all until the end and on another day might have had better luck.

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That is so often the story for City. Real Madrid last season, Tottenham in 2019. To a lesser extent, Liverpool in 2018.

Maybe it is a different tune now.

“In the Champions League, we learned from our mistakes of the past,” Bernardo Silva said afterwards, summing up the one glaring difference between this City and previous versions. “Before, we used to think that we need to be 90 minutes dominating the game, controlling in their final third.

“When you play against Bayern Munich, PSG, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Liverpool, you need to accept that sometimes you have to defend and be consistent. You have to work hard not to give them easy chances and that’s what we’ve been trying to work on in the present because in the past we’ve had a lot of frustrating nights because of that.”

Guardiola struck a similar tone. In fact, his point about the details flowed directly into what he believes has become City’s best trait.

“We defended really well in the box,” he continued, “this is the area we have improved the most this season.”

When Joao Cancelo left in January, the world wondered how City would get by with just one senior full-back in Kyle Walker. Fast forward a couple of months and they are not even playing Walker — they line up with four centre-backs, the majestic Stones stepping into midfield and the more rugged trio of Dias, Nathan Ake and Manuel Akanji scrapping, battling and winning the duels (Stones does his fair share of that, too).

If City’s defenders are shining, as they did over both legs, then something has probably not gone well further up the pitch. Bayern caused City problems over both legs with Thomas Tuchel’s schemes and the players’ ability to put them into practice. They played out from the back and often stopped City from doing so, with Guardiola reflecting that “the 4-1 result does not show what was the two games”.

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Even once Haaland had struck what was the decisive blow, City had the chance to kill off the game. Bayern were shocked and City had more time and space to play in, yet they gave the ball up too easily and allowed the hosts to push right until the end, leading to the second spuriously awarded penalty of the night, which Joshua Kimmich scored. Another minor detail, although if Madrid were to exert the same kind of pressure and take their chances, you could say City had been warned in Munich.

Guardiola wanted to make things much more comfortable than that and could be heard shouting to his players to “play short passes!” in the closing stages. But if they heard it they did not manage it.

“The only regret I have was in the game at halfway we didn’t have many sequences of passes, you have to make more, more and more passes,” he said. “We lost the ball, simple balls to attack quick, we didn’t do that well today.”

Maybe after a period of playing too slowly for Haaland, they are now playing a little too quickly for their own good, but there is time to fine-tune their approach.

“I don’t feel better than Bayern Munich at all,” Guardiola said. “Like last season I didn’t feel worse than Real Madrid.”

They will surely need to bring their A game for the rematch with the reigning European champions. The Spanish side carry enough threat on the pitch before considering the Champions League voodoo they seem to be able to draw upon at will, not forgetting the mental scars City must still carry from their heartbreaking elimination last time.

But then again, Chelsea caused Carlo Ancelotti’s side enough problems, including two clear-cut chances on the break in the first 15 minutes at the Bernabeu last week. Chances that, surely this time, this City side would gobble up.

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“The question here is trying,” Guardiola said at the end of his press conference, rather poetically. “It’s not winning, it’s trying. And the more you try, maybe in the end you are lucky.”

Is this the year things are different?

Harry Maguire, David de Gea’s mistakes doom Manchester United to Europa League exit as Sevilla shine

Apr 20, 2023

Rob DawsonCorrespondent

SEVILLE, Spain — Manchester United endured a disastrous night in Spain as they were dumped out of the Europa League by Sevilla. United were thumped 3-0 at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium as they lost their quarterfinal tie 5-2 on aggregate.

Youssef En-Nesyri scored twice after taking advantage of calamitous mistakes from Harry Maguire and then David de Gea either side of Loic Bade‘s header. Erik ten Hag’s side, who dominated most of last week’s first leg at Old Trafford, could only manage three shots on target as they were out-played and out-fought by a team who are struggling at the wrong end of the LaLiga table.

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Meanwhile, Sevilla, who knocked United out of the Champions League in 2018 and the Europa League in 2020, are into the semifinals as they chase a seventh Europa League title.

Rapid reaction

1. United only have themselves to blame for a shock European exit

This is a big week for United and it’s started in the worst way possible. Their hopes of a cup treble are over after they were dumped out of the Europa League by Sevilla and now Ten Hag must pick up his players for their FA Cup semifinal against Brighton at Wembley on Sunday and a crucial Premier League clash at Tottenham four days later.

There has been lots to like about Ten Hag’s first season in charge — particularly winning a first trophy since 2017 — but United’s performance at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium will raise fears that injuries and a hectic schedule are beginning to take their toll and the campaign is in danger of drifting towards a disappointing end.

This defeat will sting even more given that United, who missed the suspended Bruno Fernandes and injured duo Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane, were in control of the tie for more than an hour of the first leg at Old Trafford before conceding two soft own goals in the final six minutes. It gave Sevilla a lifeline to finish the job in front of their own fans and, despite sitting 13th in LaLiga, they made Ten Hag’s team look like the one struggling in mid-table. Sevilla deserved to win but United only have themselves to blame.

2. Maguire makes a strong case to move on

The more pessimistic United fans were predicting the end of their season when Martinez and Varane were ruled out with injuries and Maguire will have done nothing to ease their nerves. His early mistake was comical, first asking for the ball from De Gea and then trying to flick a first-time pass out wide with apparently very little understanding of what was around him. Maguire was left scrabbling when the ball hit Erik Lamela and he could do nothing as En-Nesyri rifled his shot into the bottom corner.

– Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga & more (U.S.)

After a season in the shadows, Maguire — still the most expensive defender in the world — looks devoid of any confidence and it will be a relief to many United supporters that their club captain is suspended for the game against Brighton at Wembley.

He looks to have reached a stage in his career at Old Trafford where it feels very unlikely that there’s a way back. His manager prefers other players in his position and the fans have lost all trust. There will be interest from other clubs in the summer and it might be time for Maguire to move on. A change of scenery at a club where the spotlight isn’t as bright may well do him some good.

3. Sevilla love the Europa League

Sevilla saw their opportunity and took it, and the Kings of the Europa League are back doing what they do best.

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Jose Luis Mendilibar looked like a coach with other things on his mind when he turned up at Old Trafford last week, making changes to a team which still isn’t safe from the drop in Spain. But after two late goals earned a 2-2 draw in Manchester and a 2-0 win over Valencia on Sunday to ease their relegation fears, Sevilla looked far more like a team that want to win the Europa League for a seventh time since 2006. They played with energy and a ferocious aggression and United couldn’t cope.

It started well before kick-off with Sevilla fans welcoming the team coach with flares and smoke bombs and by the time the match started, the stadium was a pulsing mass of bouncing white shirts and red flags. Marcel Sabitzer was heaved into the advertising boards during a frantic opening which turned up the temperature even further and when Maguire was hounded into his early mistake, Sevilla looked well set to knock United out of Europe for the third time since 2018.

It’s been a dismal domestic season for Sevilla, who are used to challenging for the Champions League places, but winning the Europa League again will make it an instant success.

Best and worst performers

Best: Ivan Rakitic, MF, Sevilla

Calm and composed in midfield and got the assist for Sevilla’s second goal from a corner.

Best: Youssef En-Nesyri, ST, Sevilla

Only on the bench at Old Trafford, he was back in the team here and took his early chance well and then got a second late on.

Best: Loic Bade, DF, Sevilla

Scored the crucial goal and kept United very quiet at the other end.

Worst: Harry Maguire, DF, Man United

Only in the team because of injuries to Martinez and Varane, he gifted Sevilla an early goal with a horrible mistake.

Worst: Jadon Sancho, FW, Man United

Struggled to have any influence in the first half and was replaced at half-time with Marcus Rashford.

Worst: David De Gea, GK, Man United

Had a role in the opening goal and made a shocking error for Sevilla’s third goal.

Highlights and notable moments

A woeful start from Manchester United resulted in an an early goal for Sevilla’s Youssef En-Nesyri who capitalized on De Gea and Maguire’s mistake.

Within two minutes of the second half, Sevilla doubled their lead with a looping header by Bade.

After the match: What the managers and players said

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag to BT Sport: “We have to do better, that’s the demand. We were not composed, not calm. We didn’t beat the press, when you do there are so many spaces behind, and it was obvious at the start how to do it.

“We can’t run away from it. On Sunday we have another opportunity and have to step up and show more character and personality. “It’s not about them [the players they were missing], it’s about the players on the pitch. They have to perform, I believe in them and trust them but they have to show it and they were not good enough.”

Key stats (provided by ESPN Stats & Information research)

Youssef En-Nesyri has scored 13 goals in all competitions since January. Among players from Europe’s top 5 leagues, only Erling Haaland, Karim Benzema, Marcus Rashford and Victor Osimhen have scored more goals in that span.
Man United have allowed 10 goals on corner kicks this season, tied with Tottenham and Chelsea for the 2nd-most in all competitions among Premier League teams this season (Bournemouth has allowed 14 goals from corners).
David de Gea: 15th error leading to a goal over the last 5 seasons, tied with Jordan Pickford for the most by any goalkeeper in Europe’s top 5 leagues in that span (all competitions).

Up next

Manchester United: The Red Devils turn their attention to the FA Cup semifinal against an in-form Brighton side on Sunday, April 23 (stream live on ESPN+ at 11:30 a.m. ET) before facing Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League as they fight to secure a top four spot ahead of the final stretch of the season.

Sevilla: Los Nervionenses will return to action in LaLiga, hosting Villarreal on Sunday, April 23 (stream live on ESPN+ at 3 p.m. ET).

Former Carmel FC GK Coach and Indy 11 GK Jordan Farr continues to Shine in San Antonio !!

Boys in Blue Look to Return to Winning Ways Back at Carroll Stadium

#INDvMB Preview  
Indy Eleven vs. Monterey Bay F.C.
Saturday, April 22, 2023 – 7:00 p.m. ET 
IUPUI Carroll Stadium – Indianapolis, Ind.

Follow Live:
Local TV: MyINDY-TV 23 (Indy DMA), WLMO 2 (Ft. Wayne) & WHME 46 (South Bend)
Streaming Video: ESPN+ (click to subscribe) 
Spanish Radio: Exitos Radio 94.3 FM & exitos943.com
In-game updates: @IndyElevenLive Twitter feed
Live Opta stats: #INDvMB MatchCenter at USLChampionship.com

Click Here to Purchase #INDvMB Tickets!

Visit the Matchday Guide for All Things #INDvMB at The Mike!

2023 USL Championship Records:
Indy Eleven: 1W-2L-2D (-3 GD), 5 pts.; T-7th in Eastern Conference 
Monterey Bay F.C.: 2W-2L-2D (+2 GD), 8 pts.; 5th in Western Conference 

 Community Health Network Sports Medicine Indy Eleven Injury Report:
OUT: None
QUESTIONABLE: None

Discipline Report:
IND: none
MB: none

While it’s early in the season, Saturday’s return home to IUPUI Carroll Stadium to face Monterey Bay F.C. has a ”potential turning point” feel for an Indy Eleven squad looking to reverse its recent offensive fortunes.

One goal was enough for Indy to get positive results to start the season at Tampa Bay (1-1 D) and Detroit City FC (1-0 W). However, a scoreless draw followed against Las Vegas, and two additional shutouts later against Oakland and Orange County and the Boys in Blue find themselves weighted down by a 298-minute scoreless streak heading into the weekend.

Indy is accomplishing the “ball dominance” portion of the game that Head Coach Mark Lowry desires, as its whopping 66% possession leads the USL Championship by a fairly ridiculous six percent. And while its output of 10.4 shots/game and 3.4 shots on goal/game are below the league’s averages (11.1 shots/gm and 3.7 shots on goal/game), they are not off to an extent where the attack can be considered anemic. Even its resultant 43.6% shot on target accuracy ranks 14^th, almost smack dab in the middle of the league.

Is the problem as simple as … just needing to finish better? A league-low 5% goal conversation rate on shots points in that direction, but it’s more complex than that. The Eleven’s five big chances created are fourth fewest in the league, while an 18% crosses/corners accuracy rate is third to the bottom. For all the possession that Indy has gobbled up, in the end it hasn’t resulted in quality chances in complementary numbers, which is leading to frustration in front of goal.

As Lowry stresses, it’s #ElevenTogether – this is not one player’s or position group’s issue to fix, but a team one – and one can hope a return to Carroll Stadium, where the Eleven had won seven of eight games across all competitions before its loss to Oakland two weeks ago, can be a part of the cure for the offensive ails.

On the flip side, outside of that 0-3 loss to Oakland, the Eleven have registered two shutouts and two games with just one concession. So, on one hand Indy’s possession edge maybe hasn’t shown up on the attacking side of the ball like many would expect … but on the other hand, leaving the opposition less than one-third of the game with the ball has certainly paid off defensively.

Monterey Bay enters the match the opposite of Indy in many ways – while the Eleven’s five games have seen a combined seven goals, Monterey Bay’s six matches have seen 22 balls hit the back of the net. MBFC’s 12 goals are tied for the most in the league, and it’s been finishing with efficiency, their incredible 36% conversion rate (12 goals on a second-to-league-last 42 shots) ranking a full 14 percentage points ahead of second-place Charleston in the category. That’s not a rate that can hold up across a season – but try convincing current USL Championship Golden Boot leader Hugh Dixon (6 goals on 7 shots) of that.

What gives Indy more than enough hope for offensive success on Saturday is MBFC’s 10 goals allowed, tied for the second most concessions in the USLC in the early going. After Cameroonian netminder Gerold Ngnepi let in seven goals across their first four contests, the switch was made to rookie 25-year-old Mexican goalkeeper Carlos Herrera, who has conceded thrice across a 4-2 home win over New Mexico United and last weekend’s 1-1 draw at Phoenix Rising FC.

One more added wrinkle to the contest? The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup’s Third Round, which will take place midweek. While both Indy and Monterey Bay will want to be mindful of saving legs for the squads they’ll look to field against MLS competition next week, that task will be tougher for MBFC as it has to travel cross-country and will have one less day of rest before squaring off Tuesday against the San Jose Earthquakes (yes, it must be said, in the “Frank Yallop Bowl”). Meanwhile, Lowry and Indy get one extra day of rest and a heckuva lot less miles traveled for next Wednesday’s meeting at Columbus Crew SC – which means he might be able to get more mileage out of his squad on Saturday evening.

IND Last Time Out:
Orange County SC 1 : 0 Indy Eleven
Saturday, April 15 | Championship Soccer Stadium in Irvine, Ca.
Recap & Highlights | Stats

Milan Iloski’s penalty kick conversation on the half hour stood tall for the home side last weekend in Southern California. While Indy Eleven dominated possession (63%-37%), crosses (42-9), and corner kicks (11-2), the Boys in Blue failed to push one across for the third straight contest while falling to a second straight defeat.

MB Last Time Out:
Phoenix Rising FC 1 : 1 Monterey Bay F.C.
Saturday, April 15 | Phoenix Rising Stadium in Phoenix, Ariz.
Stats & Highlights

Monterey Bay F.C. stayed undefeated on the road with its second away draw in two outings, this time splitting the spoils in Phoenix. Rising FC had the better of the chances across the opening hour, but it was MBFC going on top first in the 63^rd minute via Alex Dixon penalty kick conversion. The lead was short lived though, as Kevon Lambert’s header squared things at 1-1 just four minutes later. Both sides had golden chances to push ahead in stoppage time, but Rocco Rios Novo’s tip save of Christian Volesky’s header in the 91^st minute frustrated the visitors, while Carlos Harvey’s last gasp effort for Rising FC in the 96^th minute missed inches wide, forcing the sharing of the points.

Series vs. Monterey Bay F.C.:
USL Championship regular season: 0W-1L-0D (0 GF/5 GA)
Away record: 0W-1L-0D (0 GF/5 GA)

Saturday marks the second match against Monterey Bay F.C. in as many seasons of play for the new California club that enjoyed its expansion campaign in the USL Championship last year.

In their first meeting out west last September 17 it was all MBFC, which used Chase Boone’s first-half brace (31’, 43’) to race out to a lead that mushroomed to an eventual 5-0 win at Cardinale Stadium courtesy of second half goals from James Murphy (49’), Sam Gleadle (50’), and Christian Volesky (66’).

#INDvMB Familiar Faces
As far as we can find, there are no players on either squad that have suited up for either side … which is no surprise given MBFC’s brief history.

That said, any fan of American soccer will be familiar with Monterey Bay Head Coach Frank Yallop, the Canadian soccer legend who was a fixture in MLS coaching circles for nearly 15 seasons (San Jose Earthquakes, LA Galaxy & Chicago Fire) before helming four different USL Championship Western Conference squads (Arizona United/Phoenix Rising FC, Fresno FC, Las Vegas Lights FC & Monterey Bay) since 2016. His assistants will also be familiar to Bay Area soccer fans, as both Ramiro Corrales and Joe Cannon played for Yallop during his two stints with the Earthquakes.

Eleven Player to Watch: MF Jack Blake
When the goals start arriving – and they will arrive – one likely source to either set them up or finish them off will be the man patrolling the right side of midfield. Blake currently leads the squad with 10 shots (including blocks) and 5 shots on goal, proving the Englishman’s willingness to give it a go and pick up some slack in the attack.

Meanwhile, Blake is depended on to play provider as well, and his ranks towards the top of the team in total passes, long passes, and passing percentage shows proof that his strength as a distributor is as advertised when he came to the club from San Diego Loyal SC.

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Rent this Beautiful 4 BR Beach house at Myrtle Beach for as low at $250 a night.

Proud Member of Indy’s Brick Yard Battalion – http://www.brickyardbattalion.com – CLICK HERE FOR BYBTIX

American Outlaws http://www.facebook.com/IndyAOUnite

4/18/23 US vs Mexico Wed 10 pm TBS, Champ League Tue/Wed 3 pm CBS, Indy 11 home Sat 7 pm

April 17, 2023April 18, 2023 gatorbest

US Men Play Mexico Wed 10 pm on TBS

The USMNT will play Mexico in a friendly Wed night on TBS at 10 pm – with a mostly MLS roster on hand they will play a mostly Mexican home grown group as well which should have the Mexican team a little stronger than the US overall. Lots of new faces on the roster but look for stalwarts Zimmerman, Long, Dest and Yedlin to hold the line in the backline with Acosta at the Dmid most likely. Will be exciting to see MLS Leading scorer Jordan Morris – is he in the middle or on the wing along with hopefully Cincy’s Brandon Vasquez.

ROSTER

GOALKEEPERS (3): Drake Callender (Inter Miami; 0/0), Roman Celentano (FC Cincinnati; 0/0), Sean Johnson (Toronto FC/CAN; 11/0)

Champions League Final 8 – Tues/Wed 3 pm CBS Chelsea 0 vs Real Madrid 0 Tues, Man City 3 – Bayern 0 Wed

Wow so my first Champions League game was wonderful – what an atmosphere on Tuesday night at the Ettihad as that magnificent forward Earling Haaland was magnificent in leading City to a 3-0 win. Haaland had an assist and goal on the night in a dominating performance. I snuck in to the club section and had great seats for this rainy cold night in Manchester. (See the pics) The Bayern crowd was in full voice until the game went to 3-0 in about the 70^th minute. Bayern had chances to score and should have made 2 goals along the way but Ederson was top of form and blanked them. Chelsea went to 10 men but still only lost 0-2 at Madrid as Pulisic did not play and both Milan teams claimed victories which could well give them 2 teams in the Final 4.

Indy 11 Home Sat 7 pm @ Mike vs Monterey Bay FC

Despite outshooting OCSC 13-8 and holding 39-8 and 11-2 edges in crosses and corner kicks, respectively, Indy failed to capitalize on its considerable time in the attacking third and was held scoreless for a third straight regular season contest losing 1-0 on a PK to Orange County SC. Indiana’s Team will return home this Saturday, April 22, when Monterey Bay F.C. will make its first visit to the Circle City for a 7:00 p.m. ET kickoff on Community Heroes Night at “The Mike.” Single-game tickets for all home games at IUPUI Carroll Stadium along with 17-game Season Ticket Memberships, specially-priced group tickets, and an increased portfolio of hospitality options are available for purchase now via indyeleven.com/tickets or by calling 317-685-1100 Full Schedule Promotions

Notes

El Traffico was well El Traffico – LAFC won and has taken over the city but the struggling LA Galaxy put up a fight before losing their first home game in this series. (Highlights). MLS will have team in the CCL finals again as both LAFC and Philly Advanced to the Semi’s where they will face each other. Mexican teams Leon and Tigres will battle in the other side of the bracket.

NWSL’s Challenge Cup offers $1 million dollar bonus in this in season Cup kicking off Wed night. Predictions here Schedule most games on Para+.

Carmel FC Goalkeeping Training Returns

We are thrilled to announce our expanded GK training schedule this Spring to allow more opportunities for our talented Goalkeepers at Carmel FC.

Coach Carla Baker will be training the older GKs (U13 and Above) Mon/Wed at Shelbourne Field 14 6:15-7:15 pm.

Coach Shane Best will be training the older GKs (U13 and above) Mon at River Road Field 2 5-6 pm

Coach Shane Best will be training the younger GKs (U10-U12) Wed at Shelbourne Field 2 5:30-6:15 pm

I collected Pins at each stop along the way during my 3 week journey thru England along with 10 days with Carmel FC on their Spring Break Trip to London. What a Glorious visit!

Yes that’s a Wrexham pin and Luton Town – Coach Juergen Sommer’s First English team, along with my favorite Fulham.

Carmel FC Twitter Carmel FC Instagram The Ole Ballcoach in England Pics from Man City UCL Game

GAMES ON TV

(American’s names in Parenthesis)

Tues, Apr 18 Champions League Quarterfinals- leg 2

3 pm CBS Chelsea 0 (Pulisic) vs Real Madrid 2

3 pm Paramount+ Napoli 0 vs AC Milan 2

Weds, Apr 19

3 pm CBS Bayern Munich 0 vs Man City 3

3 pm Paramount+ Inter Milan 2 vs Benefica 1

7 pm Para+ Orlando Pride vs NC Courage NWSL CC

7:30 pm Para+ Houston Dash vs Washington Spirit

10 pm Para+ Angel City vs OL Reign NWSL CC

10 pm Para+ San Diego Wave (Morgan) vs Portland Thorns

10 pm TBS, Telemundo USA Men vs Mexico

Thur, Apr 20 Europa League

3 pm Para+ Sevilla vs Man United

3 pm Paramount+ Juventus vs Sporting CP

3 pm Paramount+ Gent vs West Ham United

Fri, Apr 21

3 pm USA Arsenal vs Southampton

11 pm FS1 Tijuana vs Leon

Sat, Apr 22

7:30 am USA/Peacock Fulham (Ream, Jedi) vs Leeds United (Mckinney, Aaronson)

10 am USA Liverpool vs Nottingham Forest

10 am Peacoclk Crystal Palace vs Everton

11:45 am ESPN+ Man City vs Shelfield United (Cup)

12 noon ESPN+ Dortmund (Reyna) vs Frankfurt

7 pm Para + Orlando Pride vs NY Gothem FC NWSL

7:30 pm Apple TV Cincy vs Portland

7 pm ESPN+ Indy 11 vs Monterey

7:30 pm Para+ NY Gothem vs NC Courage NWSL

10 pm Para+ Portland vs Racing Louisville NWSL

10:30 pm Apple TV Seattle Sounders vs Minn United

Sun, Apr 23

9 am USA New Castle vs Tottenham

10:15 am ESPN+ Barcelona vs Atletico Madrid

11:30 USA Brighton vs Man United

11:30 pm ESPN+ Leverkusen vs RB Leipzig

1:30 pm ESPN+ Mgladbach (Scurry) vs Union Berlin

2:45 pm Para+ Juventus vs Napoli

4:30 pm FOX Atlanta United vs Chicago Fire

8 pm Para+ Angel City (Ertz, Thompson) vs San Diego Wave (Morgan)

Soccer Saturday’s are every Sat 9-10 am on 93.5 and 107.5 FM with Greg Rakestraw

Champions League

Ancelotti: LaLiga, Serie A can compete in UCL

Inter Milan are a chaotic mess, making their epic Champions League run a blast

Vini Jr. hopes Ancelotti leads both Madrid, Brazil

UCL stats: Benzema joins Messi’s landmark, Haaland’s record 45

Reports: Sane left bloodied after run-in with Mane

Lampard: Chelsea need ‘special night’ at Bridge

Chelsea’s season on brink of collapse as Madrid take control

Madrid breeze past Chelsea in UCL first leg

Milan get crucial first-leg lead in UCL quarterfinal as Napoli miss Osimhen

Milan edge Osimhen-less Napoli in UCL 1st leg

Pep ’emotionally destroyed’ after win over Bayern

US Men

Sergino Dest headlines USMNT roster vs. Mexico

USMNT’s Dike stretchered off after horror injury
USMNT, Mexico learn Gold Cup group draws Cesar Hernandez
Steffen tells ESPN: Missing World Cup with USMNT ‘a bitter pill to swallow’ Rob Dawson

The real winners and losers from the U.S.’s international break

USMNT film room: Analyzing the El Salvador win

Cincy’s Brandon Vasquez Remains Commited to US

Gio Reyna scores 92nd minute go-ahead goal but then Dortmund inexplicably chokes

Aaron Long showcases his brilliance blocking a shot while face-down on the ground

American’s Struggle Abroad

US Ladies

With World Cup now in sight, USWNT face a balancing act to stay healthy Jeff Carlisle
Losing star Mallory Swanson to injury doesn’t mean USWNT’s World Cup chances are lost, too

USWNT’s Swanson ‘in shock,’ OK after surgery

U.S. women playing Wales in WWC sendoff match

– Big questions for every Women’s World Cup team
– Women’s World Cup bracket and fixtures schedule

Can Women’s World Cup faves overcome infighting, injury, new coaches in 100 days?

World

Chelsea fans turn on Boehly as mess continues under Lampard Mark Ogden
Arsenal flop reignites Premier League title race, plus Bayern’s issues run deeper than manager hGab Marcotti

Chelsea fans turn on Boehly as mess continues under Lampard Mark Ogden
Villa charge toward Champions League, Dortmund sunk again, Basque derby magic: Weekend Review ESPN

How Premier League clubs can qualify for Europe this season Dale Johnson
Man United ratings: Antony, Fernandes help Red Devils take charge in top-four race Nick Judd

United States adds Paxton Pomykal to friendly squad, Paul Arriola, Cristian Roldan out

Midfielder Cristian Roldan and forward Paul Arriola were dropped from the United States roster for Wednesday night’s exhibition against Mexico because of injuries and midfielder Paxton Pomykal was added.Arriola has tightness in his right hamstring and will remain with Dallas and Roldan has entered concussion return to play protocol after being diagnosed last week while with Seattle, the U.S. Soccer Federation said Sunday.Pomykal, 23, has two international appearances in exhibitions on Sept. 10, 2019, against Uruguay and this past Jan. 25 against Serbia.The U.S. plays Mexico in Glendale, Arizona. The match is not on a FIFA date and nearly all Europe-based players remained with their clubs.Interim coach Anthony Hudson’s team has a busy summer ahead of them where it will take part in the CONCACAF Nations League final and Gold Cup. The draw for the Gold Cup took place on April 14, with the U.S. landing in Group A alongside Jamaica, Nicaragua and a fourth team to be determined in the preliminary playoff round.Hudson has been in charge of the team since January after his predecessor Gregg Berhalter’s contract expired. He oversaw a pair of CONCACAF Nations League wins in March against Grenada and El Salvador that secured the U.S. a spot in the CNL finals from June 15-18 in Las Vegas.

USMNT striker Daryl Dike set for lengthy layoff after being stretchered off with injury

Apr 16, 2023 ESPN

United States international Daryl Dike is set to face a lengthy spell out of action after being stretchered off during West Brom’s 2-1 win at Stoke on Saturday.Just before half-time, the striker went down after landing awkwardly. He received lengthy treatment and required an oxygen mask. Dike, 22, was taken off the field on a stretcher, and West Brom manager Carlos Corberan fears he faces a long stint on the sideline.”It looks like an Achilles injury, and they never really are good,” he told Birmingham Live after the match. “Achilles injuries are never easy to manage, but still, we need to assess. But never, the Achilles injuries are good to manage.”Dike was not called up to the USMNT squad for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar after struggling with injuries.He returned to international action last month, where he featured in wins over Grenada and El Salvador.The striker had put himself back into contention with the USMNT after scoring seven goals in 23 Championship matches for West Brom this season.On Sunday, the U.S. announced that Paul Arriola and Cristian Roldan had been dropped from the roster put together for a Wednesday friendly against Mexico on Wednesday and that FC Dallas midfielder Paxton Pomykal had been added.Dike was not part of that roster because the match fell outside of a FIFA international window and the team was almost entirely comprised of U.S. domestic players.

Just in case you wondered how we progressed under the leadership of Ernie Stewart, Brian McBride and Berhalter.

USA vs. Mexico, 2023 friendly: Scouting Mexico

The USMNT faces off against the big rival. By Brendan Joseph Apr 17, 2023, 7:00am PDT

With the United States Men’s National Team having already qualified for the upcoming World Cup as co-hosts, a need exists for a stronger schedule populated by challenging foes. The newly-established Allstate Continental Clásico is an “annual event” that will involve “a top-tier opponent from North, Central, or South America.” The inaugural match features the eternal rival, Mexico, presenting the opportunity to renew the old conflicts and perhaps create some new hostilities ahead of June’s CONCACAF Nations League Finals. The fixture will be hosted at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, a 63,400-seat venue with the expanded capacity to accommodate 73,000 spectators. This is the 75^th all-time meeting between the two nations, with the visitors holding a 36-22-16 advantage, although the USMNT is currently enjoying a four-match unbeaten streak dating back to June of 2021. Ranked 15^th internationally by FIFA, Mexico crashed out of the 2022 World Cup in the group stage, ending a run of seven consecutive qualifications to the Round of 16. Recent results in the Nations League are underwhelming (a 2-0-2 record against Jamaica and Suriname), but El Tri managed to grab a spot in the semifinals.Mexico appointed Diego Cocca to the manager role, replacing Gerardo “Tata” Martino who parted ways with the program after failing to reach the knockout stage in Qatar. The 51-year-old Argentine had recently been hired to lead domestic outfit Tigres UANL in January, adding to a lengthy résumé that includes stops at Godoy Cruz, Santos Laguna, Millonarios, and Atlas. The retired defender is described as a “smart leader with values and group management,” winning three league titles and being named Liga MX’s Manager of the Year in 2022.Despite having qualified for the 2026 World Cup as co-hosts, the manager already responded to criticism after his squad was booed at the Estadio Azteca. “The fans have the right to say what they want,” Cocca said after drawing with Jamaica. “We’re feeling strong and confident, and are focused on working hard and moving forward… This is a three-and-a-half-year process. I’ve been with the players for a month, and, in that time, we’ve reached a lot of conclusions. We know that we need to adjust things, improve and work together to do that. That’s the job we’ve got to do and the conclusions that we’ve reached so far are very positive.”Cocca named a 23-player roster for the Allstate Continental Clásico, a somewhat muted squad due to the match occurring outside of an international window. The majority of the group competes in the domestic Liga MX, with one familiar outlier on the books at Barcelona. Club América, Guadalajara, Pachuca, and Santos Laguna are home to more than half of the call-ups. Efrain Alvarez was called up late Sunday night to replace Henry Martin on the roster.

***

GOALKEEPERS (3): Luis Ángel Malagón Veláquez (América), José Antonio Rodríguez Romero (Tijuana), Carlos Acevedo López (Santos)

DEFENDERS (7): Néstor Alejandro Araujo Razo (América), Israel Reyes Romero (América), Julián Araujo (Barcelona), Gilberto Sepúlveda López (Guadalajara), Kevin Nahin Álvarez Campos (Pachuca), Jesús Daniel Gallardo Vasconcelos (Monterrey), Víctor Andrés Guzmán Olmedo (Monterrey)

MIDFIELDERS (11): Jonathan Ozziel Herrera Morales (Atlas), Aldo Paúl Rocha González (Atlas), Carlos Uriel Antuna Romero (Cruz Azul), Carlos Alberto Rodríguez Gómez (Cruz Azul), Roberto Carlos Alvarado Hernández (Guadalajara), Fernando Beltrán Cruz (Guadalajara), Ernesto Alexis Vega Rojas (Guadalajara), Luis Gerardo Chávez Magallón (Pachuca), Erick Daniel Sánchez Ocegueda (Pachuca), Omar Antonio Campos Chagoya (Santos), Alan Jhosué Cervantes Martin del Campo (Santos)

FORWARDS (2): Efrain Alvarez (LA Galaxy), Roberto Carlos de la Rosa González (Pachuca)

***

During his brief tenure, Cocca has used Mexico’s traditional 4-3-3 formation, although his preference is for the 3-5-2. He is described as having an orderly, defense-first style reliant upon “a highly-coordinated midfield core and pacey wing-backs” that press the opponent before shifting into a direct, vertical attack. Whether the manager’s ideas can be implemented at this early stage of his tenure appears an unlikely prospect, but matches outside of the international window present the opportunity for experimentation. In the previous Nations League fixtures, Mexico struggled to defend the counter, giving countless opportunities to Suriname. The goals came from set pieces and counter-attacks, utilizing wingers cutting into the box. As always, El Tri will shoot early and often, unafraid to blast speculative attempts from distance that tempt the opposing back line into stepping forward and, in turn, opening space.

Projected Mexico Starting XI (via BuildLineup.com)

The goalkeeper corps have a combined five caps, all of which belong to Carlos Acevedo of Santos Laguna. The 26-year-old is in his third season as a starter at the club level and was named a Liga MX All-Star last summer. While a touch undersized at 6’, he is an acrobatic shot-stopper and uses his entire body to keep the ball out of the net, equally adept at long-range and short-range denials. His low, line-drive punts enable quick transitions into the counter-attack and can catch opponents by surprise.

One of the squad’s veterans, Néstor Araujo was on the roster for the 2022 World Cup, serving as an outlet in the buildup. The 31-year-old América centre-back is a long, physical presence and shifts into tackles without any hesitation. There should be few chemistry issues as his likely partner is club teammate Israel Reyes, who started and played 90 minutes in the recent Nations League fixture against Suriname. He is another strong tackler and excels in one-on-one situations, also possessing the ability to occasionally contribute in the final third.Jesús Gallardo patrols the left side of the line, overlapping with the winger and serving as an additional attacker. The pacy 28-year-old from Monterrey can shuttle and break out with his skillful dribbling, looking to play low crosses across the goalmouth. The likely right fullback is Pachuca’s Kevin Álvarez, another advancing presence who is coming off two appearances at the World Cup. He is becoming more of a threat in the final third with three goals this season, comfortable unleashing dangerous shots from distance. Expect former United States international Julián Araujo – a strong tackler “with a proficiency for pressing, creating chances, and making interceptions” – to come off of the bench.Holding midfielder Luis Chávez had a transformative year in 2022, making his international debut in April and scoring at the World Cup with a jaw-dropping free kick. Despite reported offers from clubs in Spain and the Netherlands, the electric 27-year-old continues to dazzle with his technical dribbling and long-range passing at Pachuca. The shrewd Fernando Beltrán serves as a complementary piece, working hard off the ball to make himself available when combining with teammates. While not an overly physical presence, he throws himself into challenges and rarely surrenders possession. Completing the triangle is Carlos “Charly” Rodríguez of Cruz Azul, who appeared twice in Qatar as a substitute and covers the width of the field. His long runs and accurate distribution serve to drive the counter-attack, while also appearing as a trailing option to recycle loose balls at the top of the box.

Alexis Vega started all three matches at the World Cup after entering the competition on scorching form with three goals in three friendlies. Despite missing the previous Nations League fixtures, the creative attacker is an essential inclusion for El Tri, providing creativity and a constant desire to embarrass opponents off the dribble. On the other side of the formation is Uriel Antuna of Cruz Azul, another pacy and direct player who is always looking to put the ball on goal. He thrives in zone three, forcing defenders to decide between allowing him to cut inside or break toward the endline. There should also be an appearance from the buzzy Roberto Alvarado, bringing effective skill and the occasional eye-popping display of audacious trickery.While never quite being able to replicate his club production at the international level, Henry Martín continues to be relied upon by multiple Mexico managers. He is having a dominant season for América, contributing 26 goals and 11 assists in 36 appearances. His role is that of an undersized target striker, facilitating possession with his back to goal and finding a crucial yard space in the box. One of the (if not the) world’s most in-form attackers is expected to make an impact, even if by attracting the attention of the back line.

While this match will lack the star power of past or upcoming meetings, these two nations always manage to put on an entertaining show. Mexico is currently attempting to fix the downward-sloping trajectory of the program, although success at the international level can be an independent outcome determined by the born fruit of a current generation. With most eyes looking ahead to June’s Nations League semifinal round, expect spirited proceedings punctuated by moments of individual brilliance that take advantage of the lacking chemistry. The match is scheduled for Wednesday, April 19^th at 10:22 p.m. Eastern, 7:22 p.m. Pacific. Viewing options include TBS, Telemundo, Universo, HBO Max, Peacock, and FUBO TV (free trial).

Bayern’s Sadio Mane back for Man City decider after suspension over Leroy Sane slap — Thomas Tuchel

dpatop - 13 April 2023, Bavaria, Munich: Soccer: Bundesliga, training FC Bayern Munich at the club's premises on Säbener Straße. Sadio Mane and Leroy Sane arrive for training. Photo: Sven Hoppe/dpa - IMPORTANT NOTE: In accordance with the requirements of the DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga and the DFB Deutscher Fußball-Bund, it is prohibited to use or have used photographs taken in the stadium and/or of the match in the form of sequence pictures and/or video-like photo series. (Photo by Sven Hoppe/picture alliance via Getty Images)

By Kate Burlaga Apr 16, 2023

Sadio Mane will return for Bayern Munich in Wednesday’s Champions League decider against Manchester City, Thomas Tuchel has confirmed.Mane was suspended for Saturday’s draw against Hoffenheim for “misconduct” after leaving Leroy Sane with a bloodied lip.The spat followed Bayern’s 3-0 defeat to City in their quarter-final first leg, with Mane later apologising.https://19ab3a647bf068da64b3a1a7259d750b.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-40/html/container.html

Tuchel had insisted the Senegal international retained his support after what he described as a “mistake,” and said the player would be back in the frame for the second leg in Munich.“Sadio Mane will be in the squad on Wednesday,” Tuchel said.“He has already shown his reaction. It’s over, he’s apologised. It’s not an issue anymore. He trained with us in the week and he’ll be in training tomorrow (Sunday).”

Bayern had to settle for a 1-1 draw against Hoffenheim after Andrej Kramaric cancelled out Benjamin Pavard’s opener at the Allianz Arena.But the Bundesliga leaders saw closest rivals Borussia Dortmund also pegged back after a last-gasp Silas goal earned 10-man Stuttgart a 3-3 draw.Tuchel criticised his players’ performance and admitted he had hoped for a display to boost morale ahead of their uphill take against City.“We need to work our way through this result,” the German coach said. “It’s a big step back in terms of performance level but also conviction and confidence.“Today was the moment to send a statement to go into the game to win it with all our power and put a bit of fire under everyone.“I felt the anger the desire to make things right again but we didn’t manage to put it into practice on the pitch. We missed a big chance to inspire an atmosphere in our fans that can lead to more success.”The winner of the tie between Bayern and City will face either Real Madrid or Chelsea in the semi-finals. Real hold a 2-0 advantage heading into Tuesday’s second leg at Stamford Bridge.

USMNT, Mexico learn Gold Cup group stage opponents

Apr 14, 2023 Cesar Hernandez

The draw for this summer’s 2023 Gold Cup has placed current champions the United States in Group A longside Jamaica, Nicaragua and a team that has yet to be determined through a preliminary round.Mexico, who finished second to the U.S. in the 2021 Gold Cup, were placed into Group B with Haiti, Honduras and guests Qatar.– Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (U.S.)Elsewhere in the draw that was held on Friday in Inglewood, California’s SoFi Stadium — which is set to host the tournament’s final — Central American trio Costa Rica, Panama, El Salvador will be paired in Group C with team that makes it through the preliminary rounds, while Group D will contain Canada, Guatemala, Cuba and an additional team yet to be determined.”Overall, I’m pleased with the draw,” USMNT interim head coach Anthony Hudson said. “I think Jamaica is a really tough team and our previous experience in this competition tells us that there are no easy opponents and every game is complicated. As we know, these teams are improving every year, and that’s good for everyone.”Details were also revealed Friday for the qualifiers that will decide the three additional teams that will enter the group stage of the tournament.The vacant spot in Group A will be determined by matchups between the winners of Curacao vs. St. Kitts & Nevis and French Guiana vs. Sint Maarten. In Group C, the remaining team will come from a contest between the winners of Martinique vs. St. Lucia and Suriname vs. Puerto Rico, while the winners of Trinidad & Tobago vs. Guadeloupe and Guyana vs. Grenada will compete for the final spot in Group D.m group stage of the Gold Cup will begin on June 24. The top two teams from each group will move onto the knockout stage, which will consist of a quarterfinal round (July 8-9), semifinals (July 12), and a final at SoFi Stadium on Sunday, July 16.Earlier this month, CONCACAF announced the 15 venues in 14 cities across the United States and Canada that will host this year’s Gold Cup matches. The announcement was highlighted by three new stadiums — Cincinnati’s TQL Stadium, San Diego’s Snapdragon Stadium and St. Louis’ CityPark — that were selected as Gold Cup venues for the first time.A full Gold Cup schedule is expected to be announced in the coming days.The tournament is part of a busy summer schedule for the four Gold Cup participants that will also take part in the CONCACAF Nations League semifinals — U.S. vs. Mexico and Panama vs. Canada — on June 15 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. The CONCACAF Nations League final and third place game will take place at the same venue on June 18.The U.S. are the defending Gold Cup and CONCACAF Nations League champions. If they were to win the Gold Cup again this summer, they would match Mexico’s current record of eight titles in the tournament.Ahead of both the CONCACAF Nations League knockout round and the Gold Cup, the U.S. and Mexico will face-off in an April 19 friendly in Glendale, Arizona’s State Farm Stadium. Due to the match landing in a non-FIFA window, a majority of players called up for the friendly are from MLS for the U.S. and Liga MX for Mexico.

FULL GOLD CUP GROUP STAGE DRAW

Group A
USA
Jamaica
Nicaragua
*Winner Prelims 9

Group B
Mexico
Haiti
Honduras
Qatar

Group C
Costa Rica
Panama
El Salvador
*Winner Prelims 8

Group D
Canada
Guatemala
Cuba
*Winner Prelims 7

CityPark in St. Louis, Cincinnati’s TQL Stadium among new Gold Cup venues in 202

Apr 10, 2023 Cesar Hernandez espn

CONCACAF announced on Monday the 15 venues in 14 cities across the United States and Canada that will host games for the 2023 Gold Cup between June 16-July 16.Three first-time hosts highlight the list with new venues including Cincinnati’s TQL Stadium, Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego and the home of MLS expansion side St. Louis City SC, CityPark.SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, will host group-stage matches and the final, as well as Friday’s Gold Cup draw. While Cincinnati and St. Louis are debuting as hosts for the tournament, both San Diego and L.A. have previously held Gold Cup events.Venues in Canada were named for the second time in Gold Cup history with Toronto FC‘s BMO Field, which held a double-header in the group stage of the 2015 competition, making the list. Other U.S. venues include Soldier Field in Chicago and NRG Stadium in Houston — the two cities sharing the record for most Gold Cup tournaments hosted with seven each through the 2023 edition.”The host cities and venues we have selected all have strong track records of hosting elite football, and world class events. I want to thank each and every one of them for their commitment to CONCACAF, to our Gold Cup, and to our sport,” said CONCACAF President and FIFA Vice President Victor Montagliani in a statement. “This is a tremendous time for football in the region with Nations Leagues, men’s and women’s Gold Cups, and other exciting national team and club competitions taking place over the next three years as we head towards the FIFA World Cup 2026.”The full tournament schedule is expected to be revealed in the days after the draw, with the Gold Cup being part of a busy summer for a handful of North American national teams (United States, Mexico, Canada, Panama) that will also take part in the CONCACAF Nations League Finals at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas between June 15-18.The United States is defending Gold Cup and CONCACAF Nations League champions.

Full list of 2023 Gold Cup host venues: AT&T Stadium (Arlington, TX), Bank of America Stadium (Charlotte, NC), Soldier Field (Chicago, IL), TQL Stadium (Cincinnati, OH), DRV PNK Stadium (Fort Lauderdale, FL), State Farm Stadium (Glendale, AZ), Red Bull Arena (Harrison, NJ), NRG Stadium (Houston, TX), Shell Energy Stadium (Houston, TX), SoFi Stadium (Inglewood, CA), Allegiant Stadium (Las Vegas, NV), Snapdragon Stadium (San Diego, CA), Levi’s Stadium (Santa Clara, CA), CITYPARK Stadium (St. Louis, MO) and BMO Field (Toronto, Canada).

USMNT goalkeeper Zack Steffen tells ESPN: Missing World Cup ‘a bitter pill to swallow’

Apr 13, 2023 Rob DawsonCorrespondent ESPN

MIDDLESBROUGH, England — Zack Steffen has had a strange 10 months. It started with a loan move from Manchester City to Middlesbrough and despite joining in July, his career there started with a winless run which lasted until early October. Then, in November, the goalkeeper got the devastating news that he would not be part of the United States squad for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.But now Steffen is back with the USMNT and is undisputed No. 1 at Middlesbrough, where he is a few games away from securing promotion from the Championship to the Premier League. The 28-year-old from Pennsylvania has had plenty of downs over the past year but his season could yet end on a significant high.Middlesbrough were one point and one place above the relegation zone when Michael Carrick took over as manager in October. The former Manchester United midfielder has overseen a push to fourth, six points clear of fifth-placed Millwall, that has fans talking of a Premier League return for the first time since 2017.”You’ve got to dream,” Steffen tells ESPN. “You’ve got to set goals and our goal is to get promoted in whatever way that happens. Football is crazy, life is crazy and I believe whatever will be, will be as long as you put in the hard work. As long as we keep focusing on training and each game, I think we can do it.”Middlesbrough have five games left, starting with a home clash against Norwich City on Friday (stream LIVE at 3 p.m. ET on ESPN+ in the U.S.). There are still enough points available to pip Sheffield United to the second automatic promotion spot behind Burnley, but it looks likely that Carrick’s team will have to earn a place in the top division through the playoffs.

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The Championship playoff final — played at Wembley on May 27 — is often branded “the most valuable game on earth” because of the Premier League riches on offer for the victor. If Middlesbrough win, it would be worth around £170 million, jumping to approximately £300m if they avoid relegation in their first year.That Middlesbrough are in this position at all is remarkable given where they were when Carrick — taking on his first managerial role after ending his playing career in 2018 — took over when former boss Chris Wilder was sacked.”He’s very calm, and very clever and smart,” says Steffen when asked about Carrick. “He’s always bringing new exercises and drills into training. He makes things easy to understand and obviously he’s very experienced, so he gets the respect immediately when he walks through the door.”He brings lots of calmness, positivity and belief and he trusts us as well. He gives us tactics, but he’ll also let us go out there and won’t be screaming at us from the sideline where to play the ball. He trusts us with that and gives us confidence to go out there and get the job done. At the beginning of the season we struggled as a team, we struggled with leadership and guidance, and now we’ve found that it’s been easier just to play, have fun and enjoy everything.”Steffen has already played 38 games this season — more than in his previous two years combined, when he was mainly sat on the bench behind first-choice Ederson at Manchester City — and hasn’t missed one since mid-September, before Carrick was appointed.”It’s been a couple of years since I played consistently, week in, week out, so I think that at the beginning of the season, I struggled in some games and some moments,” he added. “It’s about adapting and getting used to things, getting used to new teammates and a new league.”It’s been great; definitely the right move for myself. Off the field, it’s great and on the field, we’re in a good spot although we’ve had a couple of tough results the last couple of games. The group of guys have been amazing, Michael and his staff have been amazing and just brought a lot of belief, confidence and passion into the club. Everyone has bought into it and that’s exactly what you need.”Steffen’s role in Middlesbrough’s impressive form was rewarded with a USMNT recall for the games against El Salvador and Grenada in March. It was the first time he had been back with the team since he was told by former coach Gregg Berhalter that he would not be going to the World Cup.He spent that time watching the tournament with family and friends, and dedicating time to his VOYCENOW Foundation — a non-profit that unites athletes from all over the world to highlight and eradicate racial inequality in America — but admits it was still hard to take.Steffen: I haven’t spoken to Berhalter since World Cup omission Zack Steffen opens up about missing the World Cup with the USMNT after he wasn’t selected by Gregg Berhalter.”It was really tough,” he says. “But I wanted to support the boys because the brotherhood we have is so special and that’s something you don’t really let anything get in the way of. It was tough to watch it with family and friends and not be there but that’s football and that’s life and everything happens for a reason.”Berhalter, Steffen’s former coach at Columbus Crew, said the decision was “heart-breaking” but also hinted that his desire to have an undisputed No.1 in Arsenal’s Matt Turner formed part of his thinking.”I didn’t hear about that until a couple of months later,” Steffen says. “I heard someone say it but I thought it was a rumour. He and I have a long history and, yeah, I thought it was a little bit different than it was. That was a tough pill to swallow for sure but if that’s the way it is then that’s the way it is.”To his credit, Steffen didn’t shy away from getting help to deal with the blow of missing out on a first World Cup appearance.”In the past I would bottle things up but that’s never a good thing to do so this time, I spoke about it to my family and my friends,” he says. “I have a life coach I spoke with, and a therapist. By getting it all out there and getting your feelings off your chest, that helped. It still took some time to get over but in time it just makes you stronger and you can use it as motivation to keep working and keep moving.”It has worked and since receiving the dreaded phone call from Berhalter, the only way has been up for Steffen. He has helped Middlesbrough win 12 of their 19 games since the season restarted to sit on the verge of a Premier League return. His rollercoaster year is approaching its climax.

The Jesse Marsch debate: Underrated manager or master of failing upwards?

By Paul Tenorio and Amitai WinehouseApr 14, 2023

When Jesse Marsch and Leicester City failed to come to terms on a deal that would have seen the American take charge at the King Power Stadium, it was the second time talks with a Premier League team had broken down since his firing by Leeds United in February.That two Premier League clubs — Southampton also made an offer — were ready to hire Marsch so quickly after being shown the door by one of the other 19 must be considered progress for American managers. It was only in 2016 that Bob Bradley became the first American manager in the Premier League, and his 85-day tenure at Swansea City didn’t feel like it ever had a chance to progress the reputation of coaches from the U.S. Now, an American manager was getting job offers despite short, unremarkable tenures at his last two jobs.But Marsch’s potential appointment at Leicester brought up a question for those fans who felt his 11-month stay at Leeds was slightly less than impressive. Was Marsch better than he was given credit for? Or was he somehow falling upwards into more Premier League work? Our readers have been heavily debating this in recent weeks.To try to get to the bottom of it, we had American-based Paul Tenorio, who has written extensively on Marsch from his time at New York Red Bulls, Red Bull Salzburg, RB Leipzig and Leeds, discuss his work in Europe with editor Amitai Winehouse, a lifelong fan Leeds fan who has covered football in the UK for nine years.Below is their conversation, edited for length and clarity:

Paul Tenorio: I don’t understand why Jesse Marsch is thought of differently than other managers in Leeds’ recent history in terms of success or failure. I went through the 26 games prior to Marsch taking over at Leeds, under Marcelo Bielsa: they were at 0.88 points per game and a minus-31 goal differential. Marsch had 32 Premier League games, so six more games in charge, and he had 1.03 points per game and a minus-14 goal differential, so slightly better. Not great, but not awful. And not worse.And in the 10 games since he’s been sacked, Leeds are at 1.1 points per game, so 0.07 points per game better, with a minus-nine goal differential.Where I begin this argument in regards to Marsch’s work at Leeds is that Leeds are what they are, and it should have less to do with the perception around Marsch and more, in my opinion, with the perception of Leeds. To a degree, people who love Leeds think they should be better than they are, and recognize less that they kind of are what they are.Amitai Winehouse: That’s a really interesting point to start off with, that the crux of a lot of the issues Marsch faced as Leeds manager was who he followed.

Admittedly, Bielsa’s record in that final season was not great, but the fortunate thing for him in terms of how his reputation has sustained itself following his sacking is that he did what no one else had done in the 16 years prior: getting Leeds promoted from the Championship to the Premier League. And he did it in a way the Leeds fans were able to fall in love with. It was beautiful football. His philosophy came through both on the pitch and off the pitch.He was a very likeable person in terms of the way he presented himself. Anyone with any knowledge of football was well aware of the fact that he was highly regarded by the likes of Pep Guardiola and other top managers, but he didn’t appear to regard himself particularly highly at all in the way that he spoke publicly about himself.

The other element that is quite important is the way that Marsch was backed in the summer.Yes, Leeds sold Raphinha (to Barcelona) and Kalvin Phillips (to Manchester City), but Marsch struggled to get the best out of Raphinha — he even shoehorned him into the team at right wing-back in an attempt to play him wide enough to fit his system. That system also didn’t necessarily look for a midfielder who would receive the ball, turn and dictate play in the way that Phillips can, so it really didn’t get the best out of him.When Leeds sold them, they subsequently signed Luis Sinisterra, Tyler Adams, Rasmus Kristensen, Marc Roca, Wilfried Gnonto and Brenden Aaronson, so Marsch was backed financially — and this also speaks for the comparison between him and Bielsa.Bielsa himself said that Leeds needed to rebuild his entire squad in the summer between his first Premier League season (2020-21) and second. They didn’t. Marsch got that financial backing. So it’s this interesting sort of through-thread, where Marsch received more than previous Leeds managers and the results didn’t justify it. And that’s where a lot of the issue comes from with Leeds fans.Tenorio: I do want to acknowledge a couple of things in regard to Bielsa. There’s always going to be a special place for a manager who brings you back up to the Premier League after not being there for as long as a team with the history of Leeds were out of it. That stands in stark contrast to the challenge that Marsch has faced in his last couple of jobs.ADVERTISEMENT

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He went to Leipzig and replaced Julian Nagelsmann, the best manager in that club’s short history, and he had the monumental task of following the ceiling of what that team can accomplish realistically — finishing second in the Bundesliga (in 2020-21) and reaching a Champions League semi-final (2019-20).

And emotionally with Leeds, you’re set up to fail in replacing Bielsa — I don’t care which manager was hired, you’re not going to be able to match what Bielsa was to Leeds fans. So Marsch has stepped into these jobs where he is not only up against — in the case of Leeds, keeping them up in a relegation battle — but you’re also having to figure out a way to replace a legend at the club.

What complicates that further, in my opinion, is that Marsch has been such an evangelist to the original Red Bull system of high-pressing football, and he not only replaced two top managers but also managers whose teams were playing really attractive football. Nagelsmann evolved that Red Bull system to fit really good players and have them actually play with the ball. And in the same way, when Marsch came to Leeds, you had a team that didn’t know how to defend at all, but had been an attacking team, a fun team, in the previous year and obviously when in the Championship.While the Red Bull system can be effective, I don’t think it’s ever attractive. And so there were these layers that were getting stacked on top of Marsch of, whether you have quality as a manager or not, it gets lost in the way you play — and no adaptation in how you play.We know that was the case at Leipzig because he came out and said it — and the club said it. Marsch went to management and said, ‘This team is not built to play the way I want to play. Maybe I’m the wrong fit.’The players wanted to stay with what they were doing well under Nagelsmann. And, of course, what footballer is going to want to go from having the ball to not having the ball? There’s a part of me that hopes that over these last few jobs maybe Marsch will recognize and realize that the Red Bull system has to evolve, because that’s what really hurt him, and even hurts him for how I evaluate him for the U.S. men’s national team job.The U.S. team, on the surface, is built for Jesse Marsch. There are a lot of athletic players who can run and press and win duels and all the things that American teams have been known for doing. But when you watched the way they played at the World Cup (in November and December), it wasn’t just about that. They did some really nice things with the ball, too.

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So when you think about Marsch as a manager, and I’m sure Leeds fans do, they think, ‘Well, that was a regressive style of play compared to what we know this team could do, even if the results weren’t always great.’

Winehouse: One hundred per cent, that’s the biggest issue. It’s a bit of a stereotype of Leeds fans that they like blood, guts and thunder. If you go back to the modern history of the club, and Don Revie being the manager in the 1960s, which is far and away our most successful period as a club, we were known as Dirty Leeds but we played beautiful football. If you watch clips from that era, it’s closer to Guardiola-style football than anything else. And if you look at every period when a Leeds manager has been truly loved by the fans, they play aesthetically pleasing football. And to go from Bielsa to Marsch was such a ridiculous transition in terms of playing style.

One of the first away games Marsch had, my brother was in the crowd behind the goal. We won 3-0, against Watford (in April last year). I messaged my brother after the game, I’d watched on TV, and said, “Great result, that’s probably going to keep us up”. And his response wasn’t talking about the result, wasn’t talking about the league table. He was saying, “You do not understand how narrow we were. That was absolutely terrible to watch.”

I do think if Marsch is going to be a success in Europe, he has to acknowledge the fact that nowadays there isn’t any club where fans will be in favour of the traditional Red Bull style of play. People need something to believe in. And that needs to be nice football, basically. That might have to be a bit of a change for him.Tenorio: Part of it comes down to results too, right? When I went and visited him in Salzburg and watched that team play, they were tearing apart the Austrian Bundesliga. They played well in the Champions League as well. I saw the first Champions League game against Genk (in September 2019), and Erling Haaland had a hat-trick. I got there a few days earlier, they played a league game and Haaland had a hat-trick in that game, too. That helps a bit when you’re scoring goals and dominating with a world-class striker scoring brilliant goals. That was fun. And they were winning all of the games.I do think that, over time, when you get to places like Leipzig or Leeds, and you are on balance with the teams around you, to varying degrees, you’re not going to be able to hold the ball or be around their box for 70 per cent of the game as they did at Salzburg. And I just feel that there has to be some level of acknowledgement that this isn’t working to the degree that you wanted it to work, at Leipzig or Leeds.You hit on something else that kind of stuck out to me about Bielsa’s personality. This is where the idea of being an American comes into play for Marsch. He, in general, is a very confident person; it’s who he’s always been even back to his New York Red Bulls days. But I think he felt, understandably, a greater degree of constantly having to prove himself or justify himself in front of the press. And that is very much a part of being one of the first American managers ever in the Premier League, is that you do feel like you have to justify that you belong.Whereas a manager like Bielsa would never be concerned with something like that. He doesn’t even have to deal with it. There’s no chatter about it on social media. There’s no discussion about it among the press.Even with someone like (fellow American and former Manchester United and Leeds assistant) Chris Armas. It’s like, how many assistant managers in the Premier League and other top leagues wear AirPods or earpieces (in the dugout)? Many of them, but Chris Armas wears it and it gets highlighted differently, mostly just because people don’t know who Chris Armas is because he spent his whole career in MLS. He didn’t have that international reputation.That’s reflective of the current reality: it is still super-rare for American managers to work in Europe. I really think there is an element of that which also influenced Marsch’s personality.

Winehouse: What you initially said about Marsch following Bielsa and how difficult that would have been, I think there was a really interesting turning point for him. When he was first announced as manager, there was an element of, ‘We don’t know loads about him, but his track record is fairly decent’. He did his introductory press conference and came across fairly well. In his first game, Leeds actually played well and were quite unlucky to lose (1-0 away to Leicester), and then he got beaten (3-0 at home) by Aston Villa.

He then did an interview with talkSPORT, one of the radio stations over here, where he basically said Leeds’ players were overtrained by Bielsa, and that’s why they were getting so many injuries. And the implication there immediately is negative for Bielsa, and that was the turning point for a lot of people with him.

If he hadn’t made that declaration, I think the reception would have been very different because it felt as though he was taking an unnecessary dig at someone that people really still liked. That comes back to justifying yourself as an American in football, and he probably did that because he felt as though he needed to.

This is a ridiculous thing about me, but when I was a kid my highlight of the year was when America The Beautiful was sung at WrestleMania every year. I love and am utterly fascinated by Americana and the American outlook on life, especially when compared to the UK, where we are generally more cynical.But intelligent people will come across as intelligent wherever they are from in the world. I don’t believe an accent is a barrier to that. In fact, Marsch may even have dwelt on it more than other people did.When Bob Bradley came to the UK, being American was horrible for him because of the way the tabloid media was at the time, the existence of Soccer AM and the way they made jokes about him. That was a big thing. When Marsch came in, there was no huge desire to hammer him for being American. But maybe because, in his own mind, he had that idea, it probably made him put himself out there more. And that played against him.

Tenorio: What’s interesting is we’re having this conversation in part because Marsch has now turned down two Premier League jobs. From an American perspective, that’s significant. It’s significant for American managers — to your point in the evolution from Bob Bradley to Jesse Marsch — that he’s in the mix for these jobs. The fact that he can get fired from a Premier League job and have opportunities at two more teams in the same season is a massive step forward (for American coaches). I’m a bit disappointed, to be honest, that he hasn’t taken the Leicester job, specifically, because if you keep them up, that’s a club where you can stay in the Premier League and make an impression. It makes me wonder what he’s waiting for or what’s happened there that he hasn’t taken that job.

Considering everything we’ve debated, it’s also about what teams are seeing in Marsch to make him a candidate. Maybe we haven’t focused on some of the positives. He is charismatic; he does tend to do fairly well connecting in the dressing room with players and developing relationships. It matters when you’re fighting relegation that you have somebody that can immediately come in and motivate. And Marsch has certainly done that before. I just wonder whether there will be an evolution of his football, because I do think he’s got the charisma, personality and man-management.

Winehouse: I didn’t think of it that way, but the fact Southampton and Leicester were willing to appoint him shows that being an American can’t be this hugely consequential negative, because there wouldn’t have been chances for a second opportunity, if so. It would have been Leeds and done.

Generally, I always thought Marsch must be an absolute dream for an owner, director of football and chief executive because it strikes me that he’s probably very good at managing up and very good at managing down, and having that skill set is important.

I often think that if you get Marsch in the room with the director of football — with Leeds, it’s Victor Orta — he is very, very good at selling himself as a coach.

When it comes to the footballing elements, I’m not saying he’s bad, but I wonder whether what he needs is to surround himself at his next job — in the same way that Alex Ferguson (at Manchester United) used to do every few years — with a few people who have different tactical thoughts to him and different ways of approaching football, and he can do what he clearly is quite good at: managing up, managing down, managing the dressing room, and then getting the right people around him to help adjust his tactical ideals a bit.

https://theathletic.com/report/podcast-clip/?clip_id=7241

Tenorio: For sure, I agree that at his next stop he has to show he can evolve. And evolution doesn’t mean that the principles are different. You can still have the elements of Red Bull football as the foundation of who you are as a manager. But you have to build around that in ways that get the best out of the players, and then get the results on the field. I’m very intrigued to see where he ends up next. After not finding an agreement at Leicester, I just can’t wrap my mind around what Marsch could be looking for.

Winehouse: Notionally, he said with Southampton and with Leicester that he was willing to work in the Championship (if he’d been relegated with either struggling club this season). I wonder whether that’s the best route for him. He has an opportunity then to put the system in place, he maybe has the summer to work with a team, a fresh start, and just go and get promoted. No one can have any biases, you’re out of the spotlight to an extent (working in English football’s second division), you could come up to the Premier League as a manager who’s won promotion and no one can say anything except for the fact you deserve to be in the Premier League.

Tenorio: It goes back to what we talked about in replacing Nagelsmann and replacing Bielsa. There’s an argument to consider the narrative part of it, too. Can you take a club that is down and bring them up? A club that is at a low point and get them to a higher point?

I want to end this by going back to one element. You’ve now had an American manager at Leeds, one of three Americans ever to coach in the Premier League. Do you think that there would be a more open door in the Premier League? Are fans more apt to welcome or be welcoming toward an American manager? Or do you really believe it no longer matters?

Winehouse: I don’t actually think it was an issue before Marsch got the job at Leeds, so this might sound quite harsh on him, but I don’t think he’s ‘improved the situation’.

Generally speaking, the Premier League is so cosmopolitan now and filled with managers from every corner of the globe that actually you could appoint an American tomorrow at any club, and the fact that he’s American would not be an issue.

There are elements of fanbases that would find fun in it, in the same way, those elements of fanbases would find fun in someone being Italian or German or this or that. They don’t make up the majority of Premier League fans anymore. You only have to look at the way that Leeds fans were singing about Brenden Aaronson after one good game. There’s no barrier here if you’re successful.

Tenorio: I actually took comfort when Graham Potter got sacked by Chelsea (two weeks ago) that in the story we did about it we wrote that people there were calling him ‘Harry’ and ‘Hogwarts’. Because it was like, ‘OK, it’s not just the Ted Lasso jokes’. Everyone’s gonna get the jokes around them in some form or fashion, no matter where they’re from. That’s just how it’s gonna be. Go make them sing your name instead, right?

With World Cup now in sight, USWNT face a balancing act to stay healthy after tough Ireland tests

Apr 11, 2023 Jeff Carlisle U.S. soccer correspondent

Vlatko Andonovski will be hoping that over the next three months before the World Cup, some of his attacking players find their sharpness, because over two matches with Ireland, the U.S. women’s national team looked well short of its best.Granted, the USWNT won both matches, 1-0 on Tuesday in St. Louis that had followed last Saturday’s 2-0 victory in Austin, Texas. But the only goal to come from an attacking player was Lindsey Horan’s penalty late in the first encounter. The other two came from defenders — Emily Fox and Alana Cook — with the latter goal providing the best possible birthday gift to Cook thanks to a goalkeeping blunder from Ireland’s Courtney Brosnan.The good news was that the U.S. — as it so often does — found a way. If it requires defenders getting the goals, so be it. Pre-World Cup friendlies aren’t always the best barometer for how a team will fare either. (Does anyone remember the 0-0 tie with South Korea prior to the 2015 tournament?)But Brosnan’s mistake aside, it was Ireland — not the U.S. — that improved the most over the course of two matches, and that is enough to give one pause. While the home team’s offensive struggles in Saturday’s match were largely down to poor finishing, the second game saw the U.S. generate an expected goals figure (xG) of just 0.61. That rivaled the paltry 0.46 the U.S. put up against Spain last October.On this occasion the opportunities rarely materialized, even as the U.S. spread out its attack and didn’t hesitate to go direct when the space was there. The lack of precision was evident.

There were other concerns as well. Set piece defending, while less of a pain point on Tuesday than on Saturday, still looked a bit rickety at times, with Ireland’s Louise Quinn a constant menace from such situations. Ireland also continued to find some success down the U.S. left side, even though Andonovski switched up his personnel with Kelley O’Hara starting the match in place of Crystal Dunn.Andonovski chalked up the team’s struggles to his desire to make the first game more about the team concept and solving problems as the game went on, while the second was more about individual performances.”We wanted to see the players that haven’t been in the environment for a long time,” he said after Tuesday’s match. “It’s not that just we wanted to see them, but we also wanted to give them minutes. So if and when some of them make the World Cup, their first minutes are not in the World Cup, but they have a chance to complete before they go there.”Andonovski also had a few explanations for why the attack sputtered. One of the biggest is that Ireland is a vastly improved side under manager Vera Pauw, which stuck to their game plan of being compact in defense, and being dangerous on set pieces and in transition.The U.S. was also rotating heavily in terms of personnel as Andonovski attempted to give his charges every opportunity to impress before he names his final roster later this spring.”The things that were missing is not something that worries me,” he said. “Cohesion, that’s what was missing. It was missing understanding between the players and we’re not surprised by that because we knew that miscommunication will happen, or a missed pass will happen, or player makes a run, doesn’t get the ball. Or makes a run to the left, gets the ball to the right.”It’s something that we expect to happen. And it did make the game go a little bit wild at times because we gave up the ball too quick after we won it.”That doesn’t mean more shouldn’t be demanded, and for the most part, the players with the most to prove, such as Trinity Rodman, Ashley Sanchez, Ashley Hatch and Alyssa Thompson — who made her first international start — only did so in flashes.With the time winding down until Andonovski announces his roster, the pressure will only increase. The U.S. manager estimated that there are 10-12 players competing for around six to seven spots.

EDITOR’S PICKS

One player who did plenty to help her cause was midfielder Julie Ertz. Granted, destruction is easier to accomplish than creation, but even as Ertz’s skills tend towards the former, she is proving her value. It might have been just her second game since the Tokyo Olympics in the summer of 2021, but the impact she had in both games was noticeable.

As has been the case over the course of her international career, Ertz brings an edge to the field that the U.S. badly needs. If a game ever turns into a slugfest, the U.S. team’s odds of surviving improve with her on the field. One can only hope that Ertz’s game improves even more when she finds a club, which Andonovski said could happen by the end of this week.”Julie has this mentality. When she’s on the field, she imposes herself on in the game,” said Andonovski. “And the players rub off of that. I think that we could see that coming out a little bit more in this game. We’re hoping to see that more and more as she gets more games with her club team.”

Does Swanson’s injury change the USWNT’s World Cup ceiling?

Sebastian Salazar debates how Mallory Swanson’s injury will impact the USWNT at World Cup.Better health would help the U.S. both physically and mentally. The team is already reeling from forward Mallory Swanson’s torn patellar tendon, for which she underwent surgery on Tuesday. That has left Andonovski to wonder how much he should alter his approach after building the side around Swanson and Sophia Smith. Rose Lavelle was kept out of Tuesday’s game after picking up a knock on Saturday. The sight of Lindsey Horan leaving Tuesday’s match with what appeared to be a lower leg injury conjured up images of Andonovski covering each of his players in bubble wrap for the next three months.Therein lies the balancing act the players will have to manage over the next three months. Stay healthy, but play with an intensity. Andonovski will be watching the NWSL games with interest, and hoping that his players — and his team — reach their peak at the right time.

How does the USWNT replace the irreplaceable Mallory Swanson?

Jason Anderson follow April 13, 2023 12:12 pm ET

Mallory Swanson has been world-class for nearly two full years now. U.S. women’s national team fans have seen her go from a teenager blessed with rare field vision and speed, to a player whose ability to influence games with those gifts would come and go. Over the last two years though, she’s grown in consistency and control, becoming a player that could start for any team on the planet. The potential has been fulfilled.

Cruelly for her and the USWNT, she’s also being robbed of the chance to show that to the biggest audience possible. Swanson hasn’t been ruled out of the World Cup by U.S. Soccer, but a torn patellar tendon is generally a six-month recovery at best, and the World Cup is in July. The USWNT’s quest to become the first team to win three straight World Cups will almost certainly require doing it without the player who is currently their most potent goal threat.

Any dominant team — and that’s what the USWNT aspires to be, but only sometimes is these days — creates high expected goal (xG) opportunities at a higher rate than average or bad teams, but in truth those chances are rare for everyone. Winning sides create more chances, period, whether we’re talking 0.03 xG no-hopers or 0.83 tap-ins from five yards. Volume is the way forward.

What Swanson has been doing for club and country is taking those far more common low-quality chances, and putting them into the furthest reaches of whatever corner of the goal she’s aiming for. Over the last 18 months or so, Swanson has been reliably improving the odds of her team getting a goal by turning the raw material that is their chances into higher-quality shots, as this piece from Kim McCauley for The Athletic breaks down in depth.

This matters a lot to the USWNT, who have seen their chance volume dip overall, and as a result seem to have to work harder or be more fortunate to get wins against top teams.

The SheBelieves Cup might be instructive. Facing three competitors that should all make the World Cup knockout round, a USWNT team missing Sophia Smith won all three games. That said, only one (their opener against an understandably distracted Canada) was remotely easy. The U.S. xG haul sat at 4.66, and they scored five goals. An average of over 1.55 on a per-game basis is pretty decent, but it’s not the kind of number that says this team is swaggering their way to a coronation Down Under. “Pretty decent” isn’t going to win this particular World Cup.

Swanson scored four of those goals, and at the time Pro Soccer Wire referred to her as “arguably the decisive player in women’s soccer right now.” This team has been working through some troubling faults: being too predictable in building from the back, struggling to recognize the shape and location of an opposing press until the game is already underway, a midfield shape that should have been readjusted to suit the starting group months before it actually was, and an attack that can at times go curiously stagnant. There are varying degrees of progress on all of these fronts, but Swanson conjuring up a goal has been the team’s “get out of jail free” card.The USWNT was able to win the SheBelieves Cup without one dynamite attacker in Smith, so they know they can get the job done while not at full strength. This is the world’s deepest team, and by a wide margin.However, we’re still talking about three games on home soil, and in truth there won’t be many bets on Canada, Japan, or Brazil to win the World Cup this summer. They’re not England, Germany, or Spain, and it stands to reason that the USWNT’s narrow wins get so narrow that we’re talking about a coin flip, or even a repeat of the 3-0 meltdown against Sweden back in 2021’s Olympic opener.

In other words, the USWNT had problems to solve with a cheat code in the form of Swanson, and now they have to solve those problems without her.

Change is a must, but how much change?

Speaking minutes after the USWNT’s win over Ireland on Tuesday, Vlatko Andonovski was understandably not ready to commit to whether the team would simply plug another player into Swanson’s spot, make a couple of tweaks and get on with it, or if the team would need to make more significant alterations.

“Losing Mal, obviously conceptually, we may look slightly different, right?” the coach said. “Because you’re looking at this team, the team was going to build around Mal and Soph [Smith] and their attacking power. Now with Mal not being there, we’re gonna have to make a decision. What are we going to go for? Like for like, and try the same way? Or, [Swanson’s production] is going to be replaced by a group of players? … It’s hard.”It’s very tempting for the USWNT to avoid trying to rebuild their game model this close to the World Cup. That opens them up to even more risk: What if the new approach isn’t quite right? What if it takes too long to work out? There aren’t enough games to try it out in, and the grass is not always greener on the other side.If continuity is the plan, it appears Andonovski is leaning towards deploying Trinity Rodman. She was the choice off the bench after Swanson’s injury, she got the start on Tuesday, and on raw talent she’s the best option available. She also just so happens to have scored the most Mallory Swanson-looking goal anyone has produced in this NWSL season:

However, she’s not Swanson, and fitting her game into the USWNT system will require adjustment. Rodman has been less of the focal point of the Washington Spirit’s attacks than Swanson is with the Chicago Red Stars, and as such doesn’t pile up the same sort of sky-high xG on volume. Where Swanson wants to get into the left half-space to ping shots from the top of the box into various corners of the goal, Rodman may opt to go wide to find a cross to another player, or look to combine.On the other hand, you gain some noteworthy positives with Rodman: a better aerial presence, and a player who was much more able to contribute progressive carries (per FBref, 87 to Swanson’s 58 in the 2022 NWSL season) and progressive receptions (160 to 127).This might actually help the USWNT avoid that aforementioned sluggishness moving the ball forward. Swanson beats defenders in the attacking third to score, which is great. Rodman has been beating defenders closer to midfield, which is less flashy but may boost the USWNT’s ability to generate chance volume. If they’re better at progressing the ball, it stands to reason they’ll be closer to goal with the ball for more of the game, which generally speaking means more looks.They can’t replace Swanson’s finishing, but the USWNT can be better at creating chances and hoping the math works out from there. Rodman seems to be the option that requires the least disruption to a team that frankly doesn’t need any more uncertainty.

Pressing machine?

Andonovski’s best periods as a coach, whether with the USWNT or in NWSL, have involved a withering high press. The USWNT hasn’t been as overwhelming on that front as they were in the past, but that’s by design: Swanson deserves all the flowers you can give her, but she’s not a pressing monster.

Credit: FBref.com

Swanson’s numbers with the ball are outrageous, but as a pressing force, she’s more in the category of denying passing lanes and funneling play towards someone else to force the turnover. If you build an attack around her, as Andonovski did, you accept that being a buzzsaw-style high press isn’t your forte.

Losing its ace finisher means the USWNT needs to bump its chance volume up and hope that the goals arrive, and in the last decade, it’s been reliably proven that you can create more chances by pressing than other methods. A beautiful, intricate build-up is the platonic ideal for soccer, but getting vertical after a turnover, with your opponent in disarray, is a lot easier than connecting 25 passes in a row.

That brings us to pressing champion Lynn Williams. The NJ/NY Gotham FC forward lost virtually all of 2022 to injury, but in 2021 her NWSL per-90 xG was a virtual dead heat with Swanson’s in 2022 (Williams was at 0.56, Swanson at 0.59). She’d also be completing a front line featuring two other forwards who are very used to a high press: Smith and the Portland Thorns are experts at disrupting opposition build patterns, while Alex Morgan and the San Diego Wave are extraordinarily well-drilled as a pressing unit.

Going this route — which may also leave Rodman in the frame, given both her excellent pressing numbers as well as the Spirit’s move towards centering a high press in 2023 — requires changes elsewhere. Pressing isn’t just about effort; it takes so much work to get 11 players to do it perfectly as a group, and one error in a press can undo the whole thing.

Andonovski would need to consider the make-up of his entire team, rather than just his front line. Given the need to push up high as a unit, can you afford a slower player on the back line? One-on-one defending becomes far more important, as does winning headers and (in the midfield) quickness to get to second balls. Stamina, physical durability, and an unyielding focus all matter more for pressing teams than they do for mid-block sides.

On top of that, Williams is a) just barely back to playing after a torn hamstring tendon kept her out for months, and b) dealing with an elbow injury of unclear severity. She played through it with Gotham FC and was present and in uniform for the USWNT in this camp, but didn’t play. Maybe it’s nothing, or maybe not.

At her best, though, Williams changes the center of gravity in games through her pressing instincts. She makes the right choice about when to take the risk of pursuing the ball, and due to her speed and tough tackling, teams have to plan around avoiding her or risk a series of turnovers. Williams breaks other team’s schemes in a way that makes the rest of the team more dangerous, and a high-pressing USWNT could take advantage of a non-summer World Cup (average highs around 58-59 degrees in the cities the USWNT would play in) to grind opponents into pulp.

Get weird with it

Andonovski has other options here as well. Alyssa Thompson is legitimately in the mix rather than getting call-ups to help her down the road. A healthy Megan Rapinoe was unstoppable for OL Reign late last season, and over the last year has been Swanson’s only peer as a set piece taker in the U.S. player pool. Given the fine margins and the USWNT’s laundry list of potential targets, a dead ball expert on her level will get serious consideration.

However, there’s one option that feels like a longshot even though it shouldn’t be. The USWNT has a series of fullbacks vying to be second-choice, while one of their starters is known to prefer playing further up the field.

Crystal Dunn’s return to an attacking role might read as fan service, but she’s also been so good as an attacker that it deserves to be thought about extensively. The USWNT would lose something at the back — Andonovski starts Dunn at left back not out of cruelty, but because she is the best left back on the team — but it could also gain something with her restored to a more free, attack-first role that she clearly desires. The talent as a Swanson-style goals/assists double threat, the invention, the balance on the dribble, is all there.

(Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images)

Realistically, for Andonovski to take that step, he’d need a fullback to also step up in a big way. Casey Krueger was the most impressive of the group given minutes on Tuesday, but that’s a very small sample size, and she has a vanishingly small number of games to make the case that she is even going to make the 23-player roster, much less become a starter. Sofia Huerta and Kelley O’Hara seem to be the other candidates here, but it feels like they’ve fallen on Andonovski’s depth chart.

But since we’re getting out there, what if a 4-3-3/4-2-3-1 lifer like Andonovski concludes that he has to change his formation? If Andonovski’s solution to losing a starting forward is to simply pair Smith and Morgan and use the extra player somewhere else, the option to deploy a diamond 4-4-2 jumps out as a real possibility.

In a diamond, Andonovski has options. He could bring Julie Ertz into a midfield with Andi Sullivan and Lindsey Horan rather than having an either/or decision to make. He’s also looked at ways to get Rose Lavelle and Ashley Sanchez into games at the same time, and a diamond (with Lavelle deeper) makes that far easier. It also opens the door for Kristie Mewis to play in her best position, which in turn means another high-quality set piece taker is on the field more regularly.

“It’s hard for me to answer this question right at this moment, but once this camp is over and we review it, we hope to have a little better answer, or at least clearer understanding, of the direction that we want to take,” was how Andonovski closed his remarks on the team’s Swanson-less near-term future.

The coach has had a difficult tenure: the Covid-19 pandemic wiped away the perfect moment to institute a generational switch within the squad, the Olympics went worse than the bronze medal finish indicates, and Swanson is hardly the first locked-in starter to become unavailable or be majorly hampered this close to a big tournament since he took the job.

Sorting out how to adjust to the loss of such a crucial player while still improving a team that needs to get better will be his biggest challenge yet.

NWSL UPDATES

Only three match weeks into the NWSL season, no perfect team is left standing.

Portland and San Diego, the two undefeated teams going into this past weekend, each dropped points.

Portland dominated the Houston Dash but settled for a 1-1 draw after Maria Sanchez forced an equalizer.

San Diego then fell to OL Reign after conceding a goal in stoppage time.
Portland is now tied for first with the Spirit, each with seven points.

Broadcast troubles mar NWSL weekend

KYLE TERADA/USA TODAY SPORTS
**As five NWSL games kicked off** on Saturday evening, fans missed a significant portion of two of them due to technical difficulties.
More than 30 minutes of game time in North Carolina vs. Washington and Orlando Pride vs. Gotham FC were lost before the broadcast resumed.
**Background:** After calls for better broadcasts, the NWSL announced last year it was making upgrades to improve coverage, including higher-quality cameras.
NWSL broadcasting rights are currently up for negotiation for 2024, after four years with CBS and production by Vista WorldLink.
**“My nightmares will have this as background music** forever,” NWSLPA president Tori Huster tweeted about what aired on Paramount+ instead of game footage.
The play-by-play stats for the impacted games also featured only the major plays (goals and cards) prior to the feeds coming back online.
**Bottom line:** The NWSL has been working toward easier access and better production for years, but Saturday showed just how far it still has to go.

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4/15/23 Champions League Tu/Wed 3 pm, MLS El Traffico Sun 4 pm Fox, USMNT Weds vs Mexico 9 pm TBS

April 15, 2023April 16, 2023 gatorbest

Champions League Final 8 -Tues Man City bosses Bayern & Real blanks Chelsea, both Italian teams win

Indy 11 level off at 1-1-2 on road Sat
While beautiful conditions for the first time at home this season provided packed bleachers at IUPUI Carroll Stadium, the Indy Eleven had its first blemish of its 2023 campaign after falling to Oakland Roots SC, 3-0. The result pushed Indy’s record to an even 1W-1L-2D, ending the squad’s undefeated streak early in the USL Championship regular season. Next up for the Boys in Blue is a cross-country trek to Southern California for a face-off with Orange County SC next Saturday, April 15 (10:00 p.m., live on ESPN+). Following that match Indiana’s Team will return home on Saturday, April 22, when Monterey Bay F.C. will make its first visit to the Circle City for a 7:00 p.m. ET kickoff on Community Heroes Night at “The Mike.”Single-game tickets for all home games at IUPUI Carroll Stadium along with 17-game Season Ticket Memberships, specially-priced group tickets, and an increased portfolio of hospitality options are available for purchase now via indyeleven.com/tickets or by calling 317-685-1100 Full Schedule Promotions
USWNT Beats Ireland loses Swanson
The US took a huge blow to their world cup chances this summer as leading scorer Malory Swanson was lost to a torn PCL late in the first half of the US 1-0 victory. Defender Alana Cook provided the only goal on a header taking Women of the Match Honors. Great to see #6 Julie Johnson Ertz back on the field as she put in another good performance solidifiying her spot on the US team moving forward.

US Men Play Mexico Wed 9 pm on TBS

The USMNT will play Mexico in a friendly Wed night on TBS at 9 pm – with a mostly MLS roster on hand they will play a mostly Mexican home grown group as well which should have the Mexican team a little stronger than the US overall. Lots of new faces on the roster but look for stalwarts Zimmerman, Long, Dest and Yedlin to hold the line in the backline with Acosta at the Dmid most likely.

ROSTER

GOALKEEPERS (3): Drake Callender (Inter Miami; 0/0), Roman Celentano (FC Cincinnati; 0/0), Sean Johnson (Toronto FC/CAN; 11/0)

GAMES ON TV
(American’s names in Parenthesis)

Tues, Apr 11 Champions League Quarterfinals

3 pm CBS Man City vs Bayern

3 pm Paramount+ Benefica vs Inter Milan

10 :15 pm FS1 LAFC vs Vancouver – CCL

Weds, Apr 12

3 pm CBS Real Madrid vs Chelsea (Pulisic)

3 pm Paramount+ AC Milan vs Napoli

10 pm FS1 Atlas vs Philly Union – CCL

Thur, Apr 13 Europa League

12:45 pm Paramount+ Gent vs West Ham United

3 pm Para+ Man United vs Sevilla

3 pm Paramount+ Juventus vs Sporting CP

Sat, Apr 14

7:30 am USA/Peacock Aston Villa vs New Castle United

10 am USA Tottenham vs AFC Bournmouth

10 am Peacoclk Everton vs Fulham (Robinson, Reem)

12:30 pm NBC? Man City vs Leister City

10 pm ESPN+ Indy 11 @ Orange County

Sun, Apr 15

9 am USA West Ham vs Arsenal

11:30 USA Nottingham Forest vs Man United

4:30 pm FOX LA Galaxy vs LAFC El Traffico

Soccer Saturday’s are every Sat 9-10 am on 93.5 and 107.5 FM with Greg Rakestraw

Analysis: Hudson calls up 23 players for USMNT friendly vs. Mexico

The USMNT will host archrival Mexico next week in a friendly that will fall outside of an international window. U.S. national team interim manager Anthony Hudson has named his mostly domestic team and ASN’s Brian Sciaretta offers up his thoughts.

UNITED STATES national team interim head coach Anthony Hudson today announced his roster for the upcoming friendly against Mexico on April 19 (10pm EST, TBS) at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.

Of course, the game will be played outside of a FIFA window which means clubs are not required to release players for this camp. But last month, Hudson called in just one MLS-based player for the Nations League games which were during the international window, as MLS continued to schedule games. As a result, there was likely more cooperation from MLS teams for these games.

The roster is about what was expected. Each MLS-based player who was on the 2022 World Cup team is at this tournament along with Sergino Dest, who is in a difficult club position on loan at Milan. Three players are eligible for the U.S. U-20 World Cup team next month and those three along with Aidan Morris are eligible for the Olympic team.

Between the U-20 World Cup, the U.S. U-23 team which will likely begin play later this year to build towards the Olympics, the Nations League, the Gold Cup, and fall friendlies, the U.S. team will need a lot of players over the next year.

Here is the roster as well as some thoughts.

THE ROSTER

GOALKEEPERS (3): Drake Callender (Inter Miami; 0/0), Roman Celentano (FC Cincinnati; 0/0), Sean Johnson (Toronto FC/CAN; 11/0)

ACOSTA & AIDAN MORRIS

Two players who have a lot at stake in this camp are Kellyn Acosta and Aidan Morris. Both players have had strong starts to their season and both have the ability to play the No. 6 defensive midfield position. The U.S. team is going to have a busy summer with the Nations League and the Gold Cup coming up and there are serious questions whether Tyler Adams will be able to play in either tournament after injuring his hamstring. Having a clear pecking order at the No. 6 has been a weakness for the U.S. team.

Acosta is still the more familiar option and he is playing well for an LAFC team that is flying. Acosta also has a very strong history of always playing well against Mexico. But is he still the right guy?

Meanwhile, Aidan Morris, 21, has been one of the breakout young players at the start of the MLS season. He was always considered a strong player and made huge impression in 2020 after getting the start at MLS Cup in place of the sick Darlington Nagbe. In 2021 he tore his ACL and then 2022 was about him returning to form. Now he is fully back and living up to his promising level. He seems like a strong candidate to play a role on the 2023 Olympic team but perhaps he is ready to help this summer.

DEST’S INCLUSION

Sergino Dest, 22, has been included in this roster despite it not being a FIFA international window. The U.S. national mainstay is simply out of favor with his club, AC Milan, which has no intention of playing him the remainder of this season. Dest is currently on loan at Milan from Barcelona and Barcelona will need to sell him this summer for budget reasons.

It’s a good opportunity for both Dest and the U.S. national team. Dest needs games and this will give him one. It will also be a great opportunity for him to take a break from being at a club that does not want him. At this camp, Dest will also get to play a leadership role as one of the normal first team starters.

Dest also has an important few months coming up in his pursuit of a new club and then also with the national team this summer. This should allow him to focus on soccer for a brief change as opposed to the very difficult season he has been involved in Italy.

VAZQUEZ’S OPPORTUNITY

One of the players who also has a huge opportunity is center forward Brandon Vazquez. The Cincinnati striker hasn’t been scoring at a torrid rate like last season, but he is still playing well and helping Cincinnati to a strong start this season.

The center forward position also has not been claimed on this team. Josh Sargent and Daryl Dike have cooled off recently. Ricardo Pepi is likely the starter now. It remains to be see where Haji Wright fits with the team and there is still no firm commitment from Folarin Balogun. But Vazquez showed an impressive ability to score last season in a number of different ways.

Vazquez is also being scouted. Last month, Borussia Monchengladbach’s sporting director even recently traveled stateside just to watch him. Can Vazquez use this opportunity against Mexico, where his parents are from, to step into the spotlight and impress the U.S. staff and scouts? It’s a great opportunity.

U.S. U-20 TRIO CALLED

The United States U-20 national team is represented in this camp with the inclusion of San Jose winger Cade Cowell, Atlanta United left back and winger Caleb Wiley, and Louisville City central defender Josh Wynder.

While this is a good experience for these players, each should be expected to be at the U-20 World Cup starting next month as opposed to the summer tournaments with the first team. But all three have a good reason to be here.

Cowell is a starting winger for the Quakes and he had a strong January camp.

Wiley has been one of the top teenagers in MLS this season for Atlanta United. He is physical and can cover the left side well. He gives the option to play left back or left wing.

Wynder is one of the top 2005-born American players and he is also eligible for the next U-20 cycle. He is on the verge of forcing himself onto this current U-20 World Cup team next month. He also looks set to join Benfica next month once he turns 18.

ANY OTHER SURPRISES?

There weren’t too many surprise exclusions. It’s tough to specifically pinpoint because players are not required to be released for this tournament. We know Miles Robinson would not be called up for this after he participated in the Nations League March camp.

It was a little surprising that Hudson only took three U.S. U-20 players and only four eligible for the Olympics. I thought that number was low – but we also don’t know exactly who was released and completely healthy. Brian Gutierrez seemed to have a strong case after he has helped Chicago off to a nice start to the season. John Tolkin likely would have been involved if he was healthy, but he has missed the last few games with the Red Bulls. It’s not clear if Jalen Neal was not released after he played in January.

In terms of surprise inclusions, Alan Sonora call-up was interesting given that he has been off to a very slow start with FC Juarez in Liga MX. Drake Callender earned his first call-up as Inter Miami head coach Phil Neville had been publicly supporting for him to get called up since the start of the season.

In terms of a return to the team after a lengthy absence, I was most surprised by Jackson Yueill’s return he’s done well to start this year under Luchi Gonzalez but I would have guessed Hudson would have wanted to look at others – perhaps Josh Attencio, Frankie Amaya, or Paxton Pomykal.

There was some speculation that Timothy Tillman, now at LAFC and brother of U.S. national team midfielder Malik Tillman, would have been added but he would need to file a one-time switch with FIFA after appearing in official youth games with Germany. There has been no announcement from U.S. Soccer that he has filed.

Mal Swanson suffered torn patella tendon vs. Ireland: Who can USWNT turn to?

AUSTIN, TEXAS - APRIL 8: Mallory Swanson #9 of the United States gestures toward fans after being injured against the the Republic of Ireland in a 2023 International Friendly match at Q2 Stadium on April 8, 2023 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images)

By Meg Linehan and Steph Yang

Apr 8, 2023

Star USWNT forward Mallory Swanson suffered a torn patella tendon in her left knee during Saturday’s 2-0 win in a friendly against Ireland, the team announced Sunday. Here’s what you need to know:

Swanson went down on the field late in the first half after colliding with Aoife Mannion and immediately grabbed at her leg.
She was loaded into a cart and taken to a hospital after the injury, exiting to chants from fans at Q2 Stadium in Austin, Texas.
Swanson returned to Chicago on Sunday for further evaluation.
Forward Alyssa Thompson will replace Swanson on the team’s training camp roster ahead of Tuesday’s friendly against Ireland in St. Louis.

The Athletic’s instant analysis:

How can the U.S. adjust to the absence of Swanson?

Thompson and Sophia Smith are both considerations at left wing. Smith in particular has shown that she’s adept at switching from right to left, as she did against Ireland in the teams’ first friendly.

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“Once (Trinity Rodman) came in, we allowed Soph to go on the left where she also feels very comfortable,” coach Vlatko Andonovski said after that game. “We saw that in the last game for her club team (the Portland Thorns) she scored the two goals coming from the left to right, and we saw how dangerous she can be in that area as well.”

“There is a good connection between Crystal (Dunn), Lindsay (Horan), Rose (Lavelle), and Soph on that side,” he added.

Thompson is more of a question mark simply because she hasn’t played as many games for club or country as Smith. But already in the handful we’ve seen, Thompson has shown good calm in being able to carry the ball in tight spaces, cut inside, face up defenders and take good shots.

On the right side, this perhaps calls for more from Lynn Williams, who is often one of the main agents of the USWNT press on the right side. — Yang

What Swanson’s injury means for USWNT

Swanson has been the key player for the USWNT so far this calendar year, scoring seven goals through the first five games of the year. She’s widely expected to start on the team’s top line, alongside Alex Morgan and Smith in the World Cup, so any major injury would be a massive blow to the USWNT’s plans for this summer. In addition to her clinical finishing, Swanson has been making smarter runs and is extremely capable at carrying the ball at speed and taking on defenders. — Linehan

How did Julie Ertz look?

Ertz substituted onto the field for Andi Sullivan in the 67th minute, receiving the captain’s armband from Becky Sauerbrunn in honor of her 100th cap, which occurred during SheBelieves in 2020. Ertz’s last appearance for the United States before Saturday was August 5, 2021, against Australia. The US immediately looked more threatening in their attack with Ertz pushing fairly high underneath the rest of the attack, as well as reminding fans of her utility on set pieces as several times she got on the end of corners with thoughtful touches from her head or attempted heel-flicks.

Ertz joked after the match about wanting to push higher when she substituted on for Sullivan.

“I’m like Rose, you’re the six!” she said during TNT’s postgame interview. “I don’t know what it was. It was just like, a few years of build up. … I think I heard the coaches saying quickly, ‘Get back, get back.’”

“I know time is of the essence,” she said of the United States’ quick turnaround to play Ireland again in three days in St. Louis. “This is just like how a World Cup is. Now it’s on to the next. It’s preparing. It’s watching film. It’s getting prepped for the next time. So as excited as I am right now and beaming, quickly after this it’s on to the next.” — Yang

Backstory on Swanson

On Saturday, the contact that sent Swanson out was not the first she suffered during the game; she collided with Ireland’s goalkeeper Courtney Brosnan after contact from the same defender, Mannion. Swanson’s head, neck and upper back were checked on the field, but she returned to play. On Friday, Swanson told reporters that she had also been struck in the face with a ball during training, and she was sporting a black eye and facial bruising.

The USWNT is playing in one of its final two friendlies against Ireland before a 23-player roster is selected for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, which kicks off in July in Auckland/Tāmaki Makaurau, New Zealand.

Swanson, 24, became the first player to score in all three matches in a single SheBelieves Cup tournament earlier this year. She was named tournament MVP as the U.S. climbed to three straight wins to claim the trophy.

What they’re saying

Andonovski spoke about how Rodman impacted Saturday’s game as a substitute and how the attack adjusted to losing Swanson.

“Once Trin came in, we allowed Soph to go on the left where she also feels very comfortable,” he said. “We saw that in the last game for her club team, she scored the two goals coming from the left to right, and we saw how dangerous she can be in that area as well. So we were just slightly more direct with that movement and you could see the crosses that came in, and Trinity was able to get behind two of those just because of the personnel that we have.

“Trinity is a little bit better in the aerial challenges and I thought that she had two great moments on a cross to score a goal. But also we continued the connection that we had previously with Mal when we inserted Soph on the left because there is a good connection between Crystal (Dunn), Lindsay (Horan), Rose (Lavelle), and Soph on that side.”

Andonovski said of Ertz that she “just automatically the pace of the game picked up a little bit.”

“We’re happy where she’s at,” he said. “We could see some really good stuff. We could see the true JJ on the field, but also there were moments where I thought that she was rushing the pass and made a few mistakes, which is understandable at this point in time. It’s understandable without being in a game environment. So that’s why when we first announced JJ, we said that we’re going to be patient with her and give her just a little bit of time to incorporate herself back in the game.”

Andonovski also commented on seeing Sinead Farrelly start for the Republic of Ireland, calling it “amazing.”

“I saw her after the game and give her a big hug,” he said. “It was so good to see her on the field. Just in general, not just for the national team on the international stage. Obviously it’s a good opportunity for her to earn a spot on a team that will compete in the World Cup. But also just to see her back on the field because we know she’s a tremendous player. I had a chance to work with her (at FC Kansas City). She’s a really skillful, total footballer. So when I saw her after the game, I could see that joy in her eyes too. So just overall, really happy for her.”

Boys in Blue Look to Get Back to Winning Ways out West

#OCvIND Preview  
Indy Eleven at Orange County SC
Saturday, April 15, 2023 – 10:00 p.m. ET 
Championship Soccer Stadium – Irvine, Calif.

Follow Live:
Local TV: n/a
Streaming Video: ESPN+ (click to subscribe) 
Radio: n/a
In-game updates: @IndyElevenLive Twitter feed
Live Opta stats: #OCvIND MatchCenter at USLChampionship.com

2023 USL Championship Records:
Indy Eleven: 1W-1L-2D (-2 GD), 5 pts.; T-6th in Eastern Conference 
Orange County SC: 0W-2L-3D (-3 GD), 3 pts.; T-10th in Western Conference 

Community Health Network Sports Medicine Indy Eleven Injury Report:
OUT: None
QUESTIONABLE: None

Discipline Report:
IND: none
OC: none

Indy Eleven Game Notes

USLC Week 6 Notes

After completing its first home stretch of the season over the last two weeks, Indy Eleven gets back on the road in a big way this weekend with a first-ever trek to Orange County SC, the first of two trips the Boys in Blue will take to California across the next month.

Indy Eleven will be looking to shake off its first defeat of 2023 last weekend, which came via a surprising 0-3 result to another Golden State squad in Oakland Roots SC. At the end of a three-game week – including a 120-minute run out in U.S. Open Cup play three days prior – Indy Eleven Head Coach Mark Lowry pointed out the energy level that kept the squad undefeated in its first four competitive matches this season just wasn’t present, so a full week to rest and prepare for OCSC was indeed welcome for a roster that should indeed be back at 100% both injury and energy wise for this weekend.

Now it’s time to address the elephant in the room – last year’s two trips to California, the first two for Indiana’s Team during its then five-season USL Championship tenure. Indy’s 2022 campaign hit a pair of speedbumps after 0-5 defeats in different parts of the season at San Diego Loyal SC (June 25) and Monterey Bay F.C. (Sept. 17) – that’s the bad news. The good news? Of the 10 players who have started all four matches in league play thus far, only one – Solomon Asante – was a part of those defeats, so Lowry should not have to break out the Men in Black memory-eraser thingy as part of this week’s preparations. New year, new players, new attitudes, new philosophy, new playing style … you get the picture. If anything, those heavy defeats last season – combined with a disappointing result last Saturday – should provide the Boys in Blue with ample motivation to turn things around in short order against a so far struggling OCSC side..

The best way to go about that would be continuing to limit the opposition’s changes. The squad’s 8.5 shots allowed per game (30 shots in 4 games) is second lowest in the league, and last weekend’s 11 shots allowed against Oakland fell right at league average per game. However, Roots SC gamed the system by putting seven of its 11 shots on frame, with those seven shots faced equaling the Eleven’s total allowed from its first three games combined. Defense is always accentuated when taking to the road, and you can bet Lowry put a premium on shoring things up on that side of the ball throughout training this week.

For Orange County, the USL Championship’s reigning Golden Boot holder Milan Iloski remains the primary focus. The 23-year-old striker from the San Diego area burst onto the scene with 22 goals in his first season with OCSC last year, and his two tallies on 14 shots early on in 2023 show he has no signs of slowing down. Brief Boy in Blue Kevin Partida has also stood out in his box-to-box role in Orange County’s midfield, contributing team highs in interceptions (11), tackles/tackles won (12/10), duels/duels won (50/28) and, just for good measure, yellow cards (3), while also contributing a goal.

Between the posts, former U.S. Youth international and certified journeyman Cody Cropper has been the first choice ‘keeper for OCSC’s last four games, this after Colin Shutler conceded thrice in a 1-3 season-opening loss at home to Louisville City FC. Cropper has allowed multiple goals just once (2-2 draw vs. Las Vegas on March 25) in that stretch but has yet to notch a clean sheet, keeping Orange County as one of eight squads that have not posted a shutout thus far in 2023.

One thing to be on the lookout for on Saturday will be who breaks though first. For two teams that have failed to lead much in the early stages of the season – OCSC has led for 18% of its 450 minutes played, while Indy has led only 8% of the time in its 360 minutes of action – said first goal (assuming it happens) may carry added importance on Saturday.

Series vs. Orange County SC:
USL Championship regular season: 1W-0L-0D (3 GF/1 GA)
At home: 1W-0L-0D (3 GF/1 GA)

Indy Eleven’s lone meeting with Orange County SC was another early-season affair last April 24, when the Boys in Blue stormed back in the second half to register a 3-1 win at Carroll Stadium. Mikko Kununigas’ 13^th minute tally opened the scoring, and the then-defending USL Championship title holder kept the advantage through halftime and early into the second stanza. However, Noah Powder’s 54^th minute goal equalized before Stefano Pinho notched the eventual game-winner in the 65^th minute. An insurance tally goal by Aris Briggs a minute into stoppage time secured the Eleven’s third win on the trot during a torrid April stretch.

#OCvIND Familiar Faces
Only one current member of each squad has suited up for the opposite side heading into Saturday’s affair. For Indy, that would be midfielder Aodhan Quinn, who had a standout three seasons with Orange County SC from 2018-20, when he registered 24 goals and an equal number of assists in 86 appearances. Quinn’s initial All-USL Championship First Team accolade followed his first campaign with OCSC in 2018, when he finished second in the league with 15 assists to go along with 12 goals and a league-high 103 chances created, figures that also landed the San Diego native on the three-person shortlist for that season’s USL Championship Most Valuable Player award.

The paragraph honoring current OCSC midfielder Kevin Partida’s time in Indy will be a bit shorter, as the Nevada native joined Indiana’s Team for a cup of coffee at the end of the 2021 season, when he started five of his six appearances.

Eleven Player to Watch: DF Robby Dambrot
With a preseason foot injury now behind him, look for Dambrot to help provide more balance to an Indy attack that had previously been right-sided dominant across its first three contests.

Just how unbalanced had Indy become before Dambrot’s first start last Saturday? Compare where Indy help possession in the two league matches before Dambrot’s return against his 82-minute stint against Oakland …

Dambrot’s activity was borne out in the numbers, as the left back was fourth on the squad in touches (58, compared to 35 for Boudadi) and was successful on four of his six dribble attempts – compare that against four out of seven successful attempts for the rest of the team combined!

Needless to say Dambrot can bring different dimensions to an attack that could use a spark after being shutout in its last two league affairs. Against an Orange County side that has yet to prove it can completely close down the opposition, Dambrot could stand out even more as he continues to get back to full match fitness and in the flow of Indy’s possession-based style here in 2023.

As Real Madrid impress again, Carlo Ancelotti is big winner at a critical time

MADRID, SPAIN - APRIL 12: David Alaba and Ancelotti head Coach of Real Madrid CF embrace during the UEFA Champions League quarterfinal first leg match between Real Madrid and Chelsea FC at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu on April 12, 2023 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Diego Souto/Quality Sport Images/Getty Images)

By Mario Cortegana

Apr 13, 2023

Carlo Ancelotti started and ended Wednesday’s Champions League quarter-final first leg in the same way: hugging Frank Lampard. In between he experienced a night to remember, one that strengthens him at an important juncture.

Lampard summed up his respect for Ancelotti after the match. Accompanied by members of his Chelsea side on the way back to their team bus, the Englishman stopped to answer a question from The Athletic: do you understand why he has been criticised so much?

https://af301d0313a4f94ca0f4a9054e8e76cf.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-40/html/container.html

“No. I didn’t even know he was being criticised. He’s the man,” Lampard said, raising his hand as if illustrating a summit.

In April last year, Ancelotti became the first coach to win all five of Europe’s top leagues. In May, he became the first manager to win four Champions League titles. After beating Celtic in November, he became the manager with the most wins in Champions League history, with 103.

But even if Lampard did not know it, Ancelotti lives among critics. That’s why, on Tuesday, in the pre-match press conference, the Italian raised his eyebrow a little more than usual, as he co-ordinated a memorable scene.

It came after what everyone took to be the end. Ancelotti had answered a final question and it looked like he was done, so Juan Camilo Andrade from Real Madrid’s communication department signalled a close to the media session and thanked everyone in the room. The coach asked him not to be so quick. He had a point to make.

“Wait! Everyone recognises that I am fantastic at management, but then there are other things,” Ancelotti said. “This team is well worked. If we are lucky enough to win the Copa del Rey, this team will have won all the trophies in two seasons, and sometimes there are teams that don’t win them in a lifetime.”

Ancelotti and Lampard embrace before kick-off on Wednesday night (Photo: Javier Soriano/AFP via Getty Images)

Wednesday’s 2-0 victory over Chelsea, a result that puts Madrid on track to reach the Champions League semi-finals for the 11th time in 13 seasons, gave further strength to that message, which was addressed directly to his critics. According to some reports in Spain, Ancelotti had on Tuesday morning heard himself labelled, in a debate on Radio Marca, a “mere manager”.

The “mere manager” has now accumulated two major successes in one week. Last Wednesday, he was exalted at the Camp Nou — not just because of the 4-0 scoreline, but also thanks to the manner of victory over Barcelona to reach the Copa del Rey final. It was achieved by sticking to his ideals, with Luka Modric and Toni Kroos starting in midfield and Eduardo Camavinga at left-back.None of these choices, according to different reports in Spanish media, please club president Florentino Perez, who wants new blood in the team and considers it a waste to play the Frenchman in the defensive line. But with Ancelotti’s plan, Madrid overcame Chelsea, too, celebrating another great European night

The Real Madrid dressing room is considered among the most difficult to manage in the world, and a characteristic often observed among elite footballers is selfishness, at times driven by the instinct to survive in a world that features so much pressure and criticism. But it seems Ancelotti’s players are a degree more motivated to win if it means that their coach will stay. You saw it again on Wednesday.The players are delighted with Ancelotti. They value his experience and his knowledge. On Monday, in an interview in Marca, Antonio Rudiger called for him to continue. On Tuesday, in the pre-match press conference, David Alaba did the same. On Wednesday, Vinicius Junior praised him in the mixed zone. “If I prefer to be coached by him here or in Brazil? Hopefully in both places,” he said, laughing.Vinicius Jr, who contributed two assists and was named player of the match against Chelsea, owes him a lot. In one of his first meetings with Real Madrid in June 2021, Ancelotti told the club that he was counting on the Brazilian and that he had complete faith in him.Marco Asensio, scorer of Madrid’s second goal and edging closer to renewing his contract, knows that his coach has spoken several times in his favour with the board.Dani Ceballos, who is living his best moment as an elite footballer, has also received the affection of Ancelotti, who wants him to stay.But not everything is rosy. Ancelotti knows there is an unwritten law that says that to stay at Real Madrid it is necessary to win a major title. He himself was sacked in 2015 after winning the Copa del Rey and Champions League the season before. The Italian’s contract runs until the summer of 2024.There are doubts revolving around the club, and there are doubts around Ancelotti, too. The Brazilian Football Association, with help through Ronaldo and Kaka, has been making its interest in making him national team manager him well known.After the work of the intermediaries, the idea is that there will be no direct talks until after the Champions League campaign. Brazil want to show respect to Real Madrid as much as possible and know that Ancelotti’s priority is to stay, but they are prepared in case the scenario turns out in their favour, because they also know that the Italian finds the prospect appealing.

Marco Asensio celebrates with team-mates after scoring Madrid’s second goal on Wednesday night (Photo: Flor Tan Jun/Getty Images)

History says that, at times, winning the Copa del Rey has been enough for an under-pressure manager to survive at Madrid, but it is not a total guarantee. They play Osasuna in the final on May 6. The Champions League semi-final first legs take place the following midweek and, although Ancelotti is taking nothing for granted, their opponent would likely be Manchester City. A bad result could still be definitive, despite whatever might come before.But on Wednesday in the Santiago Bernabeu, with Madrid leading 1-0 in the 66th minute, supporters chanted Ancelotti’s name, a gesture that is not so common and which the coach thanked by waving his hand.The chant was repeated in stoppage time. When the bal

MLS Power Rankings: Seattle, LAFC should have rivals worriedly asking, ‘How much better could they get?’

Apr 10, 2023

Ryan Rosenblatt

The best teams in MLS are, in fact, very good.

It’s no surprise that the Seattle Sounders and LAFC are at the top. They were expected to be among the best teams in the league and have the early results to confirm such lofty prognostications. And still both teams have been arguably better than most thought, especially so early in the campaign. They’re showing a well-roundedness that doesn’t usually come until the summer, leaving us to wonder how much better they can get as the season rolls on.

The fight right now is for who checks in after them, with the state of Ohio waging a furious battle for No. 3 and us eagerly away that May 20 Hell Is Real Derby.

How does the rest of the league stack up? Let’s dive in.

– Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga & more (U.S.)

Seattle Sounders logo

1. Seattle Sounders

Previous ranking: 1

It’s no surprise that the Sounders were able to capably handle the St. Louis press. They are, after all, one of the best teams on the ball in the league. What was eye-opening is how many second balls they won, showing off a pace and physicality that, combined with their skill on the ball, makes Seattle truly exceptional. The Sounders dismantled a good City side 3-0. LAFC logo

2. LAFC

Previous ranking: 2

Denis Bouanga is living up to the designated player tag and then some, scoring a hat trick to beat Austin and push his goal total to six on the season. Last season’s finishing struggles are but a speck in the rearview mirror now. FC Cincinnati logo

3. FC Cincinnati

Previous ranking: 3

The Garys showed, once again, they have the ability to grind out a win in beating Philly 1-0, but the attack still hasn’t found its footing and now Luciano Acosta is going to be out for a bit with a shoulder injury. They’ve needed only one goal to win each of their past three, at least. Columbus Crew logo

4. Columbus Crew

Previous ranking: 6

How do you cope without Cucho Hernandez? By having Christian Ramirez as your backup. Oh, and Lucas Zelarayan behind him. Plus Darlington Nagbe in midfield. And Aidan Morris already playing like one of the best No. 6s in MLS. Wilfried Nancy is one hell of a coach, and he’s got a lot of toys to play with, as D.C. found out this week. St. Louis City SC logo

5. St. Louis City SC

Previous ranking: 4

The schedule cranked up, the team had to play opponents that were well suited to handling the press and St. Louis took back-to-back losses. Last week it was Minnesota, this week Seattle. Plan A may work against most teams in the league, but what happens against the sides that can pass and exploit space? Now we’ll see how the team evolves, and what Plan B is. Nashville SC logo

6. Nashville SC

Previous ranking: 5

What happens when Nashville isn’t afforded chances on the counter? That’s a question we continue to have about this team and what separates it from the very top sides in the league. But not being able to get much going and still walking away with a point against a solid TFC side is also proof of the very high floor this team has. Atlanta United FC logo

7. Atlanta United FC

Previous ranking: 7

The Five Stripes played the last half hour with 10 men after Franco Ibarra’s red card and probably still deserved to walk away with the win over NYCFC. They’ll take the point, though.

EDITOR’S PICKS

How Miami becomes MLS’ destination club remains uncertain16dJeff Carlisle
Julian Araujo relishing Barcelona move after transfer drama: ‘It’s a whole other world’22dCesar Hernandez
In MLS, asado culture is the thing that bonds and brings teams closer together25dJon Arnold

FC Dallas logo

8. FC Dallas

Previous ranking: 8

Stop if you’ve heard this one before: Dallas was playing really well and should have been up multiple goals, but it led by just one and had to hang on for dear life late. Fortunately for Dallas, VAR did it a solid so it didn’t concede a 98th-minute penalty and left Miami with a win. New England Revolution logo

9. New England Revolution

Previous ranking: 10

The Revs were this week’s beneficiary of the CF Montreal Bump™, in which whoever plays CFM comes out of the weekend with a giant bump in analytics, as well as three points. Minnesota United logo

10. Minnesota United

Previous ranking: 9

The loss had to come eventually, but you wouldn’t have expected it to come because of the breakdowns at the back the team experienced in Chicago. Orlando City logo

11. Orlando City

Previous ranking: 11

The Lions got the week off before heading to Minnesota next week. San Jose Earthquakes logo

12. San Jose Earthquakes

Previous ranking: 12

The Quakes drew RBNY, but the match was beset by a Red Bull player allegedly uttering a racial slur. Make time to listen to Jeremy Ebobisse’s comments afterward. Toronto FC logo

13. Toronto FC

Previous ranking: 14

At some point TFC will have to turn these draws into wins, but it should be content with its scoreless tussle against Nashville. Toronto showed the ability to not just keep the ball, but also dictate where on the pitch the game would be played without exposing itself to the counters that Nashville usually obliterates teams with. It was an overall mature showing from a Reds side that is still growing. Vancouver Whitecaps logo

14. Vancouver Whitecaps

Previous ranking: 19

For the second week in a row, the Caps turned that good play in the first two thirds into a little something in the final third. With two straight wins, the latest over Portland, Vancouver’s place in the table is starting to look more like the pretty good team the analytics have been saying it is. The question now is what happens when the schedule toughens up?

Houston Dynamo logo

15. Houston Dynamo

Previous ranking: 18

It has been 11 years since the Dynamo and Galaxy were squaring off in MLS Cup, and while neither team is anywhere near that level now, there’s no doubt which team is better. The Dynamo smoked the Galaxy 3-0 on Saturday and are deservedly sitting in the middle of the Western Conference as Ben Olsen continues to transform a club that is looking better than it has in ages. New York Red Bulls logo

16. New York Red Bulls

Previous ranking: 16

RBNY drew San Jose. The focus of the contest is rightfully on the racial slur allegedly said by a Red Bull player. The team’s supporters have already made their feelings on the matter clear. New York City FC logo

17. New York City FC

Previous ranking: 17

The Pigeons won’t be too thrilled to have drawn Atlanta at home despite having played most of the second half up a man, but if James Sands didn’t suffer any serious injury on the tackle that gave them the man advantage, they’ll take it. Philadelphia Union logo

18. Philadelphia Union

Previous ranking: 13

Another loss, this time in Cincinnati, but at least the U17s won the Generation adidas Cup, so there’s another generation of wildly talented Unionites on their way. Austin FC logo

19. Austin FC

Previous ranking: 15

The center back play didn’t get a whole lot better in the loss to LAFC, while the inability to create chances continued. There is still plenty of talent on the roster, though. A soft spot in the schedule is on tap so it’s time for Austin to go on a run. Chicago Fire logo

20. Chicago Fire

Previous ranking: 26

The year is 2093, and in a stadium levitating over a burning Earth, Kei Kamara makes his debut for MLS expansion club Rochester Rhinos, scoring the match-winner to beat Minnesota United just as he did 70 years earlier for the Chicago Fire.

STREAM FUTBOL AMERICAS ON ESPN+

Herculez Gomez and Sebastian Salazar debate the biggest storylines and break down the best highlights that soccer in the Americas has to offer. Stream on ESPN+ (U.S. only)

Colorado Rapids logo

21. Colorado Rapids

Previous ranking: 25

Are the Rapids good? Not really, but they are pretty competent. They have a shape, they stay organized and they understand how to react in critical moments. That is sometimes enough, and it was more than enough to beat SKC this week. LA Galaxy logo

22. LA Galaxy

Previous ranking: 22

Is it bad when the most entertaining thing you’ve done this season is find a hilarious way to get a red card? The Galaxy are still in search of their first win of the season after losing to Houston. D.C. United logo

23. D.C. United

Previous ranking: 20

Wayne Rooney directed his ire Saturday at the refereeing, but it’s not as if D.C. did much on its own to feel like it deserved a result against Columbus. The debut of midfielder Lewis O’Brien is reason for optimism going forward, though. Inter Miami CF logo

24. Inter Miami CF

Previous ranking: 23

Inter thought it was going to be able to notch its first point since March 4, then VAR snatched away a 98th-minute penalty and it lost to Dallas 1-0. It’s a cold world. Sporting Kansas City logo

25. Sporting Kansas City

Previous ranking: 21

Alan Pulido started and he was flanked by Daniel Salloi and Johnny Russell, but it didn’t help the putrid SKC attack in a loss to Colorado. There are pieces there, but there is no danger on the ball and, with the team increasingly healthy, it can’t point at the injury list as an excuse anymore. Charlotte FC logo

26. Charlotte FC

Previous ranking: 24

Four points from its past two away matches indicated that Charlotte’s road woes may be a thing of the past. A fairly thorough beating in Salt Lake City over the weekend indicates otherwise. Real Salt Lake logo

27. Real Salt Lake

Previous ranking: 28

Welcome the RSL attack to the 2023 season. The DPs led the way, but the whole Salt Lake side finally looked dangerous in the final third and it got a much-needed 3-1 win over Charlotte for its efforts. Portland Timbers logo

28. Portland Timbers

Previous ranking: 27

The Timbers defense has been merely pretty bad, but that looks sparkling relative to an attack that put up just two shots in a loss to Vancouver and is comfortably the worst in the league right now. CF Montreal logo

29. CF Montreal

Previous ranking: 29

Asking for results is a little too much for CFM at this point. Some progress would be enough, but the team showed none of that in New England.

Jordan Morris’ case for USMNT No. 9, Wayne Rooney’s ref frustration: MLS Weekly

Paul Tenorio, Pablo Maurer, Elias Burke

Apr 10, 2023

Welcome to Week 7 of our staff column collecting news, insights, and highlights from around Major League Soccer. Let’s dive in.

With no clear-cut choice for the No. 9 on the U.S. men’s national team depth chart, maybe it’s time to add another contestant to the debate: Jordan Morris.

After eight goals in seven games to start the MLS season — he is currently atop the league’s golden boot standings — and with a four-goal outburst in a Seattle win as the Sounders’ starting No. 9 two weeks ago, would it be crazy to throw his name into the mix?

“I haven’t thought a ton about it to be honest,” Morris told The Athletic. You could almost hear a smirk on his face as he drove home from Sounders training on Friday.

Morris is understandably enjoying life right now. His success early this season is a result of his resilience as much as anything else. He twice had to work back from ACL injuries. The second came in February 2021, during a loan move to Swansea that he saw as a crucial opportunity to test himself abroad. The injury could not have come at a worse time. It ended his European dream and presented a potential end, as well, to his World Cup hopes.

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Morris, of course, did make the World Cup team. He came on twice as a substitute — once in the opening game against Wales and then in the final minutes of the loss to the Netherlands in the knockout stage.

“It was pretty indescribable for me,” Morris said. “I remember the moment when my name was called … it was awesome to have the family program that was there and I remember running over to put on my jersey and seeing my family, my wife up in the stands, and just knowing they’ve been along this journey with me the whole way, since I was a kid knowing that I wanted to play in the World Cup. I played in the backyard with my brother, who was there — we would pretend we were national team players at the World Cup, so to have that kind of full-circle moment was super special for me. … It’s something I’ll obviously remember forever and cherish forever.

“It definitely gives you confidence coming out the other side, and I think it gives you motivation to want to do something like that again. I think that’s definitely something that I’ve taken confidence from, being a part of that group, and I think it’s helped going into this year for sure.”

Morris, 28, is probably not the long-term answer to the No. 9 issues for the U.S. Ricardo Pepi is eight years his junior and scoring goals in the Eredivisie. Folarin Balogun, 21, has 17 goals this season in France’s Ligue 1 and looks like he is giving real thought to a one-time switch to play for the U.S.

But Morris understands that, no matter the position, he has to fight to stay in the national team picture. Alejandro Zendejas committed to the U.S. over Mexico and is a threat to Morris’ spot on the winger depth chart. Other, younger forwards, no doubt, are eyeing their chances in this cycle. Morris has always been a sort of polarizing player in some circles of USMNT Twitter, in part because he has played his entire career (outside of that short loan) in MLS. Eight goals in seven games, though, will keep Morris firmly in the national team mix, and it’s been a crucial part of the Sounders’ West-leading start to the season.

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His form has also reignited the debate about where he should play.

When Morris first broke onto the scene with the U.S. team under Jurgen Klinsmann, he was a goal-scoring striker at Stanford. He moved between forward and winger over the first few years of his career, but it was his move to the outside in 2019 that cemented him as a star contributor for the Sounders. Morris scored 20 goals with 15 assists across 2019 and 2020, helping Seattle to back-to-back MLS Cup appearances and one championship.

Still, Morris has always seen himself as a goal-scorer more than anything else. And being up top makes that part of the job easier. He chalks his goals up to his positional change, which has allowed him to get on the end of service that would be a lot harder to accomplish from the opposite wing.

“The Sounders were blessed with a lot of really good No. 9s, but I think for me, starting out my career at Stanford and with the national team, I was a No. 9 and it took a little bit of adjusting to become a winger. Over the years I’ve gotten better at being a winger, but I’ve always felt that I thrive on scoring goals. I wouldn’t say I’m an out-and-out winger. My strength is scoring goals and being goal-dangerous. As a winger I tried to do the same thing, getting behind teams, putting balls in the box, but I thrive on scoring goals.”

It presents a bit of a conundrum for Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer, who has Raul Ruidíaz and Héber on the roster, as well. Morris’ production has been fairly consistent as both a winger and a striker. He averages 0.37 expected goals and 0.11 expected assists per 90 as a striker and 0.34 expected goals and 0.16 expected assists per 90 as a winger, according to American Soccer Analysis. His equal production in both spots presents significantly more value as a winger, however — 0.12 goals added above average as a winger, versus 0.03 as a forward.

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These are champagne problems for a Sounders team that, as Morris said, wanted to show they were more the team that won the CONCACAF Champions League in 2022 and not the one that missed the MLS Cup playoffs last year. Morris said it was the most grueling preseason he has experienced in his professional career as the Sounders wanted to make sure they were back in title contention this year.

A dominant second-half performance on Saturday gave them a 3-0 win over St. Louis City SC and vaulted Seattle into first place in the conference.

Morris didn’t score, but his continued strong form will undoubtedly give him a chance to be a part of the U.S. team that faces Mexico in a friendly on April 19 and again for the Nations League and Gold Cup this summer.

And that’s all he wants, whether it’s on the wing or up top as a No. 9.

“My goal this year coming off the World Cup is just continuing to try to improve and continuing to try to prove I deserve to be a part of that group — and that’ll always be my goal,” Morris said. “I always say playing for the U.S. is the biggest honor of my career. It’s something that I definitely want to continue doing. I feel like I’m in the prime of my career now. Every time I get to put on that jersey and represent my country, it’s such an honor. … I just want to keep pushing to try to be a part of that group.”

—Paul Tenorio

What we’re hearing

MLS owners visit Apple for board meeting

Apple hosted MLS owners at Apple Park in Cupertino, California on Monday. Owners were given a tour of the campus for nearly two hours, followed by a dinner hosted by Apple CEO Tim Cook and executives Eddy Cue and Oliver Schuster, among others, according to a source with knowledge of the meetings.

Also in attendance was Rupert Campbell, president of Adidas North America, and CONCACAF executives Victor Montagliani and Philippe Moggio.

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The MLS board met for nearly eight hours on Wednesday, but no major decisions were made, the source said. There were updates from commissioner Don Garber and overviews on commercial and finance performance early in the season, as well as a competition update from MLS executive Todd Durbin. Apple, Adidas and CONCACAF also made presentations at the meeting. According to the source, Apple executives said during the presentation that they were pleased early on with the performance of MLS Season Pass and believed they had good momentum considering the short turnaround to get the app off the ground.

The board will meet again around the MLS All-Star game in July.

—Tenorio

On the Field

Revs overperform, LA Galaxy… well, don’t

The New England Revolution has started the season in style, picking up five wins from seven league matches — losing just once to 2022 MLS Cup champions LAFC. While it’d be an exaggeration to suggest they have wildly surpassed expectations, sitting in second place is a solid foundation to build on for the remainder of the campaign.

However, the metric G+ (goals added) suggests a slight overperformance across the season’s opening weeks relative to their position in the league table. The metric quantifies a player’s on-ball impact on offensive and defensive aspects of the game. It achieves this by assessing how each touch alters a team’s likelihood of scoring and conceding over two consecutive possessions.

For example, a player may receive the ball in midfield. At that point, their team’s probability of scoring on the current possession is only 1.5%, while the likelihood of conceding on the next possession is 1%. However, if the player executes a pass from the midfield to the final third, their team’s situation improves significantly. According to the machine learning algorithm, the team may now have a 6% chance of scoring and only a 0.5% chance of conceding. The value of the pass can be determined by calculating the difference between the team’s situation before and after the pass, which would be (0.060 – 0.005) – (0.015 – 0.010) = +0.050 goals added. The intelligent model draws conclusions by comparing this action to similar actions in the past where the last action and speed of the play, among other parameters, are similar.

Data as of April 2, 2023

According to the graph, New England was significantly overperforming their G+ ahead of this weekend. Before dismantling CF Montreal, the Eastern Conference’s bottom club, New England’s goal difference was just +2, compared to Atlanta’s (+4), Cincinnati’s (+4) and Columbus’ (+7). It all came together on Saturday, but whether this performance was an overall outlier by G+ standards remains to be seen. The pre-match goal difference illustrates how the Revolution has been edging teams out in the season’s early weeks rather than convincingly putting them to the sword.

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Before this weekend, St. Louis City’s position on the graph detailed an overperformance, though not as stark as the Revolution. Coach Bradley Carnell’s side is the first expansion team to win their opening four games as their high-intensity, Red Bull style bested Austin, Charlotte, Portland and San Jose.

Led by Brazilian striker Joao Klauss, St. Louis scored 11 goals across their opening five games, combining a well-orchestrated press with composure and creativity. They have returned to earth with two consecutive defeats, losing 1-0 to Minnesota United and 3-0 to Seattle Sounders. Still, with many pundits suggesting they may not even crack four wins across the season, their results up to this stage represent a significant overperformance.

On the other hand, LA Galaxy ranks second-from-last in the Western Conference after a terrible start to the 2023 season. Due to the scheduled season-opening El Trafico at the Rose Bowl being postponed due to inclement weather, Galaxy has only played six games but is yet to collect their maiden win.

While there have been justifiable arguments to excuse the poor results before last weekend – injuries to Chicharito and Douglas Costa and losing Dejan Joveljic to international duty – the debacle at the hands of Houston Dynamo has amplified growing concerns within the Galaxy fan base. As they have done in every game of the season, Galaxy won the possession battle (52%) against Houston, completing 507 passes at a 93% success rate. Sixteen shots and two chances created highlight the issue: the Galaxy is not converting opportunities and making their possession count in the final third. Fortunately, Chicharito has returned from injury and is in contention to start next weekend. Unfortunately, it’s El Trafico week, Galaxy will be without Martin Caceres and Costa who received red cards last weekend — and LAFC is the best team in the league.

Just ask Austin, who lost 3-0 at the BMO Stadium on Saturday. LAFC hardly got out of third gear to dispatch an Austin side that looked short on ideas and far from the team that many predicted to contend for MLS Cup and Supporter’s Shield this season.

Austin notoriously overperformed their xG last year, with forward Sebastian Driussi scoring 25 goals from an xG of 18.1. Their second, fourth and fifth top goalscorers (Maximiliano Urruti, Ethan Finlay and Diego Fagundez) also achieved this feat – a sign that points both to the technical quality of the forwards and that last season’s results did not entirely reflect the quality of chances created.

Josh Wolff’s side currently sits in ninth place in the West, the final playoff berth, with matches against Vancouver, Galaxy and San Jose on the horizon. It’s a long old regular season, but there is early cause for concern for last season’s Western Conference finalists.

—Elias Burke

MLS investigates incident involving Red Bulls Dante Vanzeir

MLS is investigating an incident in which New York Red Bulls designated player Dante Vanzeir is accused of making a racist remark during a 1-1 draw with the San Jose Earthquakes.

The incident appeared to have occurred as players gathered around referee Ismir Pekmic following a Judson foul. Center back Jonathan Mensah immediately turned to the referee and pointed to Vanzeir, while forward Jeremy Ebobisse shoved Vanzeir and began yelling before Vanzeir was pulled away by Sean Nealis. At one point, Mensah appeared to be pointing to Pekmic saying, “You heard it, you heard it.” Vanzeir and Ebobisse were then seen talking.

The game was paused for 20 minutes as players, referees and coaches appeared to discuss the incident. Eventually, the game was restarted.

“What we saw tonight should not be part of the game,” Ebobisse said in his postgame press conference. “What started with a foul that was deemed to be committed by Judson and a yellow card, fast forward a few minutes, seconds and end it with a racial epithet being used.

“I understand there is going to be an investigation, I have been a part of those. I have had to support teammates going through them. I have seen them. I want to be mindful of that even as I share what happened. What’s important for me to share is I know what I heard and the reason why I felt, after a lengthy conversation, that we should continue on with the game is because the player who said the word claimed it was not aimed at any of us. Whether that is a good-faith comment or not, we’ll see how the investigation goes on. Just a difficult moment. Once again players being put in charge, forced to make a decision, manage all sorts of emotions because the system is not robust enough to capture moments and gain clarity within a matter of minutes, seconds that these actions happen.”

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San Jose coach Luchi Gonzalez said he was “adamant to suggest that the player should not be on the field anymore.”

Play resumed in the 73rd minute and Vanzeir was eventually subbed out in the 86th minute. The Red Bulls scored the equalizing goal in the 17th minute of 21 minutes of stoppage time.

MLS released a statement Saturday night.

“Major League Soccer is aware of an incident wherein a New York Red Bulls player is alleged to have used language that violates league policy during the 54th minute of the New York Red Bulls vs. San Jose Earthquakes match tonight. MLS has zero tolerance for abusive and offensive language and takes these allegations seriously. An investigation into this matter will begin promptly. Further information will be provided upon completion of that investigation.”

The Red Bulls also released a statement saying they, “take these matters very seriously” and would cooperate with the league’s investigation.

MLS has previously had investigations regarding allegations of racist language on the field. Last season, D.C. United forward Taxi Fountas was accused of the offense and MLS closed its investigation saying it found the accusation credible but was unable to “confirm independently” what Fountas said. Fountas did not play for D.C. for the remainder of the season but has played in three games so far this year.

—Tenorio

Wayne Rooney rants about refereeing

Just moments after his side fell 2-0 to the Columbus Crew, D.C. United head coach Wayne Rooney sat down for his press conference with something to say. I could barely get my question out of my mouth before Rooney began criticizing the officiating in the match, and I can’t say I blame him.

His complaints were centered around both of Columbus’ goals. The first came off a penalty kick, awarded after United defender Russell Canouse made contact with Crew attacker Alexandru Matan in the box. On the replay, you can see the sole of Canouse’s boot make contact with Matan’s foot. It’s minimal contact, but it’s there, and by the letter of the law it’s a penalty. Matan, though, stayed on his feet for a few steps. And Rooney — a famously hard-nosed player — was not happy with the call.

“To start, I think the penalty kick is very very very soft,” Rooney told The Athletic. “ I think there’s a slight contact on the player, and when the player takes two steps after the contact and decides to go down, he cons the referee … I don’t know. I think it’s so slight the contact. And I’ve played the game a long time. If you can take two steps after the contact you’re staying on your feet. He’s conned the referee, he’s conned the VAR. And I don’t blame him. Fair play. That’s what strikers do. I blame the officials.”

Rooney went on to say that Armando Villarreal — the fourth official for the match — had told him during the review that he didn’t feel Canouse’s contact warranted a penalty call.

Rooney’s case against Columbus’ second goal feels decidedly stronger. Crew forward Christian Ramirez seemed offside as Will Sands played a switch to Mohamed Farsi. Ramirez made contact with United’s Jacob Greene during the buildup to the goal (Greene then struggled to mark Farsi, who assisted on the strike). Ramirez knocked it home moments later. The margins are thin on this one, but if you look at the cut of the grass, Ramirez seems offside. The play was not reviewed.

Rooney’s frustration was made worse by the fact that, to him, United has been jobbed by the refs multiple times this year. In their 0-0 draw at Chicago last week, D.C. forward Taxi Fountas appeared to have been fouled in the box. When referee Pierre-Luc Lauziere blew his whistle, though, he called a foul against Fountas. Rooney had a call with the Professional Referees Organization about that call, and to his surprise, they stuck by their decision. Rooney was baffled.

“(It was much) more of a penalty than this week’s (penalty was),” said Rooney. “How that one wasn’t overturned and this one is, it’s beyond belief … Taxi gets in front of the defender, Taxi kicks the ball, the defender clearly kicks him, not given, not overturned.”

Rooney has never shied away from criticizing the officials. He did it in the Premier League and he was vocal during his time as a player in MLS, telling me just days before he departed for Derby County in 2019 that he felt it was “incredible” how poorly the league’s officials handled VAR at times. A few months earlier, as he left the field during a match in Vancouver, Rooney tore into the fourth official in a way that would’ve earned most players a red card or a caution at minimum.

Rooney laughed when I asked him if he felt the officiating in MLS had improved any since he debuted in the league in 2018, and then referenced that incident at BC Place.

“I remember we played Vancouver away when I was a player,” said Rooney, “and I questioned the referees. The next game I got a straight red card. I questioned the referees (this week) on the Taxi Fountas penalty last week and the next game, we concede this penalty. I don’t understand — I don’t want to say too much because I know it’s very difficult for the officials. But when an official gets a decision wrong, in my opinion, I think a bit of taking responsibility there – I take responsibility if I get a team selection wrong, substitution wrong, I always take responsibility. But I think taking responsibility sometimes when you make a mistake, I’d rather them admit to it than hide away from it.”

Conspiracy theories aside, United is winless in its past six matches as it continues to try and integrate new pieces. They’ve played every match this year with a different backline and at times they seem to lack width and speed in midfield.

Yet there has been promise, as well. Some of those new additions have displayed real quality. Former Leeds midfielder Mateusz Klich has been a pleasure to watch and the club’s latest addition, Nottingham Forest’s Lewis O’Brien, showed his quality during his debut against Columbus. Christian Benteke and Fountas have had their own erratic performances but remain a viable duo up top.

If the club needs a temporary pick-me-up, they have a golden opportunity to capture a bit of momentum this weekend when they face last-place Montreal, led by Rooney’s predecessor, Hernán Losada.

—Pablo Maurer

Bouanga’s bangers

Move over Thiago Almada; Denis Bouanga is MLS’ early-season MVP favorite.

Through nine games in all competitions, Bouanga has scored nine goals and laid on three assists – proving there was no need for head coach Steve Cherundolo and General Manager John Thorrington to enter the transfer market to replace Chicho Arango.

The Gabon international has featured across the frontline as Cherundolo has experimented with a versatile group of attackers across the season’s opening weeks in MLS and CONCACAF Champions League. Despite the wealth of options at the coach’s disposal, Bouanga’s electric form in front of goal has rendered him virtually undroppable – even returning early from international duty to score the winning goal against FC Dallas a fortnight ago.

His hat trick on Saturday – already his second of the season – displayed the full range of his qualities. His first goal, a driven effort from outside the box, highlighted his ball-striking ability, as did his second, a thunderous volley from a corner. The hat-trick goal will please Cherundolo, with Bouanga making an intelligent run to the far post and converting from a tight angle — the “bread and butter” for a consistent goalscorer.

“He was getting in the same spaces last year as this year,” Cherundolo said. “I think it’s maybe just a little more frequent now. At the end of last season, games were a little tighter as it’s playoffs — teams don’t give up as much.

“I don’t think there’s a whole lot of coaching going on with a player of Denis’ quality. The guy just scores. He’s a threat on the dribble, and he’s a threat on crosses.”

—Burke

Managers on the hot seat

Seven games into the season, pressure is already mounting for certain coaches around the league — including one who’s only had six games. Sure, we’ve only just begun, but some performances are showing serious cracks in teams that may not have much more of a grace period to work with.

Hernán Losada

When Wilfried Nancy left CF Montreal for Columbus this offseason, he left his successor a somewhat enviable foundation. Nancy, the runner-up for the league’s 2022 coach of the year award, led Montreal to its best-ever season. Its roster, even after a few notable departures, still seemed more than serviceable. His replacement, former D.C. United boss Hernán Losada, was an eyebrow-raiser for some observers. Losada was fired midway through his second season at United amidst allegations that he’d overworked players and had been disagreeable and difficult to work with. That entire situation felt gossipy and tough to parse, frankly, and United’s front office has earned its own reputation over the years as a bit of a wayward ship. A sizable contingent of United’s fan base supported Losada, and even after his dismissal it felt easy to buy into his philosophy of attack-minded soccer. Maybe, some thought, the Argentine’s lackluster tenure at United was a one-off.Others, though, were skeptical from the start. Montreal has a reputation as a tough place to succeed, and the club’s owner, Joey Saputo, has rankled the club’s fan base — and some of its coaches — over the years.It’s early goings yet, but Losada’s tenure hasn’t been pretty. Montreal has already lost more road games this year than Nancy lost in the entirety of 2022. They sit last in the Eastern Conference in goal differential and goals against, and their 5-0 loss against Vancouver earlier this season ranks among the club’s all-time worst performances. They looked similarly outmatched against the Revolution this weekend. Combine those performances with a temperamental owner and an extremely unhappy fan base and it feels impossible to imagine that Losada’s seat isn’t getting toasty.In all fairness, Montreal has had to deal with a spate of defensive injuries and very few coaching transitions come without their share of bumps in the road. After their loss on Saturday, Losada offered his own take on the club’s slow start.“(There are) different reasons,” Losada told reporters. “The fact that we were not able to put the same lineup week after week, the fact that there are many new players, new young players (making) their first appearances in the top flight. The fact that we, individually, are not on our best level. So there are many reasons.”

Greg Vanney

Greg Vanney opened his post-match press conference Saturday by describing the Galaxy’s 3-0 defeat to Houston as “disrespectful to our brand and who we want to be.” The Galaxy headed into the season aspiring for a record-extending sixth MLS Cup but they appear closer to taking the wooden spoon at this early stage.

The path to a championship is a mountain Vanney has climbed previously as head coach of Toronto FC and one that only five other current MLS coaches have achieved. Undoubtedly, he has the CV to make a solid case that he has the credentials to arrest the slide, with the Galaxy’s strong form to close out 2022 as a good reference point of what the team can do under his direction when singing from the same hymn sheet.

Still, the shelf life of reputation and prior achievements is shorter than most head coaches would like, particularly at a club like the Galaxy, where the fan base expects success. In the view of the united supporters’ groups, club president Chris Klein bears the brunt of the blame, but as head coach and sporting director, Vanney is not exempt from criticism for the Galaxy’s shockingly poor start to the 2023 seasonSure, he can point to the absence of Chicharito, the Galaxy’s top goalscorer last season and club captain. Julian Araujo’s presence has also been missed, with the team’s wing play generally blunt and uninspiring in the season’s opening weeks. But the Galaxy faces off against LAFC this weekend, and the crowd at Dignity Health Sports Park may lose their patience with the head coach if things get ugly, further increasing the temperature on the state of Vanney’s future.

Phil Neville

Five consecutive defeats is enough to turn up the pressure on any head coach, and Phil Neville’s comments after the latest defeat suggest he’s feeling it.

“We probably should have been three down at halftime,” he said after the 1-0 defeat to FC Dallas. “We’ve got some players that are comfortable, and from now on, those players won’t be comfortable anymore because they’re not playing to the levels I expect, and we’ve got players that have not had opportunities that I think now deserve an opportunity. So, in two weeks’ time, we’ll see that.”

Miami went into the market to address their issues in attack in the offseason, recruiting Josef Martinez, the 2018 league and MLS Cup Final MVP. However, his 31-goal season from that year shows no sign of replicating itself in Miami so far, with the Venezuelan yet to get off the mark this campaign.

Neville acknowledged a need for his striker to improve, but the blame for the torrid run stops at the head coach’s door. With a two-week break, until they’re next in action against an inconsistent Houston side, the English coach has time to prepare for the upcoming away trip.

Back-to-back wins to open the season — including a victory over last year’s Eastern Conference champion Philadelphia Union — and the best season in the club’s short history last year will buy Neville some time. But Miami is an attractive market with an ownership group harboring aspirations to compete at the top of MLS, so Neville could be under some heat to turn the tide quickly.

Nashville SC supporters’ moment of silence

In Nashville’s second season at Geodis Park, the fans’ songs have turned their new home into an atmosphere rivaling some of the loudest honky tonks on Broadway. Chants from the crowd usually fill the 30,000-seat stadium, but on Saturday, during a scoreless draw with Toronto FC, a deafening silence replaced the soundtrack of Music City.

In the sixth minute, supporters of both teams paused their cheers for six minutes of silence to honor the three children and three adults killed during the recent mass shooting at The Covenant School, a nearby private Christian day school. Fans also sang “This Little Light Of Mine” following the moment of silence.

Two orange banners, similar to the one lifted at Q2 Stadium in Austin, Texas after the school shooting in Uvalde, were lifted in the North End of Geodis Park. The signs read, “End gun violence” and “Ya Basta! Enough!”

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4/11/23 US wins 2-0 plays Ireland Tues 7:30 TNT, Champions League Tu/Wed 3 pm,

April 11, 2023April 11, 2023 gatorbest

USA vs Ireland tonight 8 pm TNT, HBO Max, Peacock

The US ladies will look to improve on their finishing and defense as they face Ireland again this time in St Louis at 8 pm on TNT. The US was impressive in its 2-0 win over the weekend but had a huge loss when leading scorer Mallory Swanson was loss to a torn PCL before halftime. (see highlights) It was great to see Julie Ertz bossing the middle from her Dmid slot as she played in the 2^nd half – she certainly brings a defensive calmness to the line-up although I think we’ll see more subs in this second game and Coach A works thru his line-up. Cool to see join the squad replacing Smith the 18 year old has had a meteoric rise after scoring in her first NWSL game in week 1. Really cool Behind the Crest look at the win in Orlando for the US Men.

Champions League Final 8 -Tues Man City vs Bayern / Wed Real Madrid vs Chelsea 3 pm CBS So I am going to be in attendance at the Man City vs Bayern Game – (heading to Manchester this afternoon). Huge test for City – can Pep finally end the streak of losses in this quarterfinal round of the UCL against not in top form Bayern squad with a brand new manager in Thomas Tuchel? I can’t wait to see what the atmosphere Is like in the Ettihad. I am not a big City fan but their #9 Halland (see this super bike from Sat) is truly magical. Kickoff is 3 pm on CBS & Paramount +, while Inter Milan travel to Benefica same time on Para+.. Of course the big game tomorrow is holders Real Madrid hosting Chelsea with new boss Frank Lampard back in charge? Could this mean more time for American Pulisic? I hope so – I plan to head down to Chelsea to catch this one in a pub on Wed night. 3 pm kickoff Wed on CBS, while AC Milan will host Napoli in a battle of Italian giants on Paramount+.

Indy 11 level off at 1-1-2 on road Sat 7 pm ESPN+

While beautiful conditions for the first time at home this season provided packed bleachers at IUPUI Carroll Stadium, the Indy Eleven had its first blemish of its 2023 campaign after falling to Oakland Roots SC, 3-0. The result pushed Indy’s record to an even 1W-1L-2D, ending the squad’s undefeated streak early in the USL Championship regular season. Next up for the Boys in Blue is a cross-country trek to Southern California for a face-off with Orange County SC next Saturday, April 15 (10:00 p.m., live on ESPN+). Following that match Indiana’s Team will return home on Saturday, April 22, when Monterey Bay F.C. will make its first visit to the Circle City for a 7:00 p.m. ET kickoff on Community Heroes Night at “The Mike.”Single-game tickets for all home games at IUPUI Carroll Stadium along with 17-game Season Ticket Memberships, specially-priced group tickets, and an increased portfolio of hospitality options are available for purchase now via indyeleven.com/tickets or by calling 317-685-1100 Full Schedule Promotions

Carmel FC Wraps-Up Historic Spring Break visit to London with 3 of its teams, coaches and families. The teams had trainings and games at the spectacular Tottenham Training grounds along with visits to QPR, West Ham, and Bourmonth. A spectacular week of soccer trainings, games, EPL games and stadium tours that I will never forget! Huge thanks to Director of Coaching Juergen Sommer for putting this together. Truly unforgettable. Check out Carmel FC Social for all the updates. Carmel FC Twitter Carmel FC Instagram

I was extremely priviledged to have accompanied Carmel FC’s DOC Juergen Sommer on his return to his first English club Luton Town as they defeated Watford 2-0. Sommer was the first American GK to play in the England top league 1990-94 where he was English GK of the year in 1994 before moving to QPR. It was great seeing all the fans stop him to take photos on his return,

The Ole Ballcoach in England

GAMES ON TV

(American’s names in Parenthesis)

Tues, Apr 11 Champions League Quarterfinals

3 pm CBS Man City vs Bayern

3 pm Paramount+ Benefica vs Inter Milan

10 :15 pm FS1 LAFC vs Vancouver – CCL

Weds, Apr 12

3 pm CBS Real Madrid vs Chelsea (Pulisic)

3 pm Paramount+ AC Milan vs Napoli

10 pm FS1 Atlas vs Philly Union – CCL

Thur, Apr 13 Europa League

12:45 pm Paramount+ Gent vs West Ham United

3 pm Para+ Man United vs Sevilla

3 pm Paramount+ Juventus vs Sporting CP

Sat, Apr 14

7:30 am USA/Peacock Aston Villa vs New Castle United

10 am USA Tottenham vs AFC Bournmouth

10 am Peacoclk Everton vs Fulham (Robinson, Reem)

12:30 pm NBC? Man City vs Leister City

10 pm ESPN+ Indy 11 @ Orange County

Sun, Apr 15

9 am USA West Ham vs Arsenal

11:30 USA Nottingham Forest vs Man United

4:30 pm FOX LA Galaxy vs LAFC El Traffico

Soccer Saturday’s are every Sat 9-10 am on 93.5 and 107.5 FM with Greg Rakestraw

US Ladies

USWNT boss: Injured Swanson in upbeat mood Jeff Carlisle
USWNT looked vulnerable vs. Ireland, but Swanson’s injury a bigger concern Jeff Carlisle

Andonovski: WC roster not close to being decided Jeff Carlisle

Ertz making USWNT return for ‘love of game’ Jeff Carlisle

Vlatko Andonovski: You don’t replace Mallory Swanson

Julie Ertz says USWNT return ‘almost like a movie’,

2023 Women’s World Cup Nike kits rated: USWNT, England, more Chris Wright

Champions League

Tuchel losing sleep over Man City matchup

Pep cites MJ, Nicklaus to inspire City’s UCL bid

Guardiola praises ‘creative’ Tuchel ahead of Bayern clash

Bayern Munich: View from an expert

Follow City v Bayern Munich on our official app

City v Bayern: Kick-off time, team news and TV info

City are one of the strongest teams in the world – De Ligt

Dias: City motivated by previous Champions League experiences
Chelsea could have copied Real Madrid, instead they are a pale imitation of the Galacticos 35mGraham Hunter

EPL

Jesse Marsch walks away from Leicester job after talks

Arsenal show Premier League title strain under Anfield spotlight

Thomas Tuchel issues blunt one-word verdict on Chelsea appointing Frank Lampard
Arsenal slip vs. Liverpool as Man City pull closer; Madrid rely on UCL to save season; Lampard suffers on Chelsea return Gab Marcotti

Premier League race down to the wire, Dortmund on Bayern’s heels, record-breaking Haaland: Weekend Review 1dESPN
Haaland, De Bruyne break records as Man City pile pressure on Arsenal for top spot ames Olley

Man United ratings: McTominay 8/10 in win over Everton

Indy 11

Indy to Visit Columbus Crew SC in LHUSOC Third Round

USLC Recap – IND 0:3 OAK

Season tickets

Full Schedule Promotions

new stadium

Reffing

Watch: Andy Robertson ‘elbowed in the face’ by assistant referee

Assistant referee involved in Andy Robertson incident stood down during investigation

Linesman who ‘elbowed Andy Robertson in face’ could be sacked, claims ex-referees’ chief
The VAR Review: Unpacking Brighton penalty error vs. Spurs dDale Johnson

Var Reviews from the Weekend

USWNT shows vulnerability against Ireland, but Mallory Swanson injury is the biggest concern

Apr 8, 2023 Jeff CarlislevU.S. soccer correspondent ESPNFC

The U.S. women’s national team defeated Ireland on Saturday 2-0 in one of the last tune-ups before the Women’s World Cup in July.Defender Emily Fox scored the game’s first goal in the 37th minute, while Lindsey Horan added a second half penalty. Ireland had their moments, including a goalmouth scramble midway through the first half that required several interventions from U.S. defenders, but couldn’t find a breakthrough. The match also marked the return of midfielder Julie Ertz after a 610-day absence, but the story of the game was the injury sustained by forward Mallory Swanson. Given the manner of her exit — a long delay that resulted in her being carted off the field — and the amount of pain she appeared to be in, Swanson’s spot at the World Cup now looks to be in doubt. (she’s out)

Rapid reaction

1. Swanson injury casts a pall over USWNT win

The final months before a World Cup are a tense time for players. There’s the jockeying for the final few roster spots and, with a lifelong dream now in reach, the fear of injury can creep into the heads of players as well. Alas for Swanson, that latter scenario has played out, as she went down clutching her left knee before being taking to the hospital during the game for evaluation.

Swanson had already been involved in a lengthy injury stoppage in the 25th minute when she sustained an apparent head injury when she collided with Ireland goalkeeper Courtney Brosnan. Swanson was soon back on her feet and back in the action. But later, in the 40th minute, Swanson sustained a heavy challenge from Ireland defender Aoife Mannion, and immediately gave the tell-tale handwave indicating that the injury was serious.A stretcher was soon brought onto the field and after her left leg was immobilized, she was carted off and taken to the hospital with what was confirmed as a left knee injury.While the U.S. team is immensely talented, the loss of Swanson is a major loss heading into the World Cup. The Chicago Red Stars forward had been on a tear in 2023 at international level, scoring seven goals in just five games, including four in the SheBelieves Cup in which the U.S. prevailed. She was the USWNT’s most consistent and reliable goal-scoring threat in recent months.So who can the U.S. rely on to replace Swanson? U.S. manager Vlatko Andonovski opted for Trinity Rodman in this match, and while the Washington Spirit forward put herself in good positions, her finishing touch — which is what had set Swanson apart in 2023 — was lacking. Lynn Williams can also be expected to get some minutes. But on this day, Swanson’s condition is top of mind.

2. USWNT shows vulnerability against solid Ireland side

Ireland came into the match with a reputation of being hyper-organized in defense and opportunistic in attack. And so it proved. In fact, the Irish were arguably the better team in the first 25 minutes.The visitors made the Americans look vulnerable on set pieces and Ireland had some good moments in transition. This included an otherworldly sequence in the 24th minute in which center-backs Naomi Girma and Becky Sauerbrunn each delivered critical blocks and goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher made a crucial save in a matter of seconds. Add in the fact that the U.S. tempo seemed slow, and it made the Americans’ sizable advantage in possession look a little less convincing than the numbers (65%-35% for most of the match) would otherwise indicate.As is often the case, it took a goal from an unlikely source to break the deadlock. Fox collected a pass from Andi Sullivan, and when she wasn’t closed down, advanced and unleashed a shot that just snuck inside the far post. The U.S. then cranked up the pressure as Ireland found itself spending more and more time defending. Rodman had a couple of clear chances, but couldn’t convert. Horan then made the game safe when she earned and then scored a penalty in the 79th minute. Perhaps the brightest spot of the day was the return of midfielder Julie Ertz. The appearance marked her first since the Tokyo Olympics in the summer of 2021, and she wasted little time in making her presence felt with some tackles, a header on a set piece, a yellow card and the pass that led to Horan’s penalty. If she can return at anything close to her top form, it will be a welcome addition indeed.

3. A triumph for Sinead Farrelly after brave allegations

Some moments for a player are bigger than the individual performance. Such was the case for Ireland midfielder Sinead Farrelly.

EDITOR’S PICKS

Andonovski: WC roster not close to being decided Jeff Carlisle
2023 Women’s World Cup Nike kits rated: USWNT, England, more Chris Wright
Ertz making USWNT return for ‘love of game’ Jeff Carlisle

The Havertown, Penn. native had retired from the game in 2016, the alleged victim of sexual coercion at the hands of former Portland Thorns manager Paul Riley. After she revealed details of that horrific event publicly in 2021, and after Riley was banned for life from the NWSL following two investigations, Farrelly finally returned to the game with Gotham FC, making her first appearance last weekend as a substitute in a 2-0 loss to OL Reign.Now Farrelly can lay claim to being a senior international player after making her debut with Ireland, for whom she qualified for through her father.It was a day in which Ireland didn’t see much of the ball, and struggled to connect on passes consistently. That included Farrelly, but she still had some clever touches and in moments showed off some of her trademark smoothness on the ball. That will undoubtedly improve as Farrelly gets additional minutes for both club and country. Her next chance will come on April 11 when Ireland squares off against the U.S. again in St. Louis.

Best and worst performers

Best: Emily Fox, USWNT

The road to the World Cup often requires a balanced attack, and if one of your outside backs can pop up for a goal, even better. Fox was tidy on the ball as well, completing her passes at a 96 percent clip.

Best: Louise Quinn, Ireland

On a day when Ireland defended stoutly, Quinn was front and center. She was a force on set pieces as well, including a 19th minute header that forced a goal line clearance from Alex Morgan.

Best: Rose Lavelle, USWNT

Lavelle was a bit off early in the match, but heated up as the game wore on and created a team-high five chances.

Worst: Courtney Brosnan, Ireland

Brosnan certainly made her share of saves, but her positioning was suspect on Fox’s goal, as she shifted too far to her left.

Worst: Trinity Rodman, USWNT

It wasn’t the easiest of circumstances for Rodman, who came in for the injured Swanson. But she needed to do better with two second half opportunities.

Worst: Diane Caldwell, Ireland

As much as she protested the penalty whistled against her, the shirt tug was undeniable, and the USWNT was able to pad their lead.

Highlights and notable moments

In the 37th minute, after Ireland had been the more dangerous side and generated more expected goals, or xG, right-back Emily Fox took matters into her own hands. The USWNT defender dribbled into Ireland’s half and ripped a shot from outside of the box to score.

But the party in the USA came to a screeching halt in the 41st minute after an injury to Mallory Swanson.

The USWNT winger went down clutching her left knee, and she immediately waved for help as teammate Rose Lavelle immediately came to her side. After a several-minutes delay, which included USWNT coach Vlatko Andonovski coming out on the field to speak to her, Swanson was loaded onto a stretcher and carted off the field.

If Swanson’s injury raised roster questions for Andonovski in real-time, so too did the return of midfielder Julie Ertz, who came on as a second half sub.

It was Ertz’s first appearance in a competitive soccer match since 2021.

After the match: What the managers and players said

USWNT manager Vlatko Andonovski on Julie Ertz’s return: “When she came in, automatically the pace of the game just picked up a little bit. It could be coincidentally, it could be that something that she had to do or maybe the triple change. But regardless, we’re happy where she’s at. We could, we could see some really good stuff. We could see the true J.J. on the field. But also there were moments where I thought that she was rushing the pass and made a few mistakes, which is understandable at this point in time. It’s understandable without being n a game environment, so that’s why when we first announced J.J., we said that we’re going to be patient with her and give her just a little bit of time to incorporate herself back in the game.”

Ertz on her return: “It was a joy to be back and play with them. It was fun to get the competitive juices flowing. I honestly had no idea if I would play how much time that I would play, so I felt like I got a pretty good chunk of time more, so than I was expecting. I think I might have been smiling the whole time playing. It was a lot of fun.

USWNT forward Alex Morgan on Ertz’s return: “Julie is Julie — players are not getting by her. She brings her defensive presence, a huge aerial presence, and seeing the Julie that we saw three years ago makes me happy, thinking about her getting back on the field and being back in with this team.”

Morgan on Swanson’s injury: “It’s really hard to see Mal go down in pain like that before the World Cup. We just have to hope that she’s OK.”

Morgan on Sinead Farrelly making her debut for Ireland: “Really proud of her and what she’s accomplished and her willingness to come back. And also, she’s just Sinead — she’s the Sinead I remember playing with on the Thorns and playing against. I’m so impressed with her.”

USWNT midfielder Lindsey Horan on the result: “We knew this team [Ireland] could capitalize on anything. Their battle — it was a hard team to face, the way it defended and the way they transitioned on us, so it was about us making the most of our moments, coming out ruthless and attacking them in the way we know how.”

Key stats (provided by ESPN Stats & Information research)

Full-back Emily Fox scored her first international goal for the U.S. women’s national team.
Mallory Swanson, who was injured in this game, leads the USWNT in scoring this year with seven goals in five games, already tied for the most goals she has ever scored in a calendar year for the USWNT. She entered the game on a six-game scoring streak, tied for the fourth-longest streak by any player in USWNT history.
Julie Ertz made her first appearance for the USWNT in 611 days.

Up next

USA: The USWNT will play their final match before coach Vlatko Andonovski chooses his World Cup roster on Tuesday, April 11, also against Ireland. The USWNT’s first game of the World Cup is against Vietnam on July 21.

Ireland: The Republic of Ireland play their second game in a two-game series of friendlies against the U.S. on Tuesday, April 11 in St. Louis, Missouri.

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4/6/23 US Ladies Jersey Drop, England vs Brazil Ladies Preview for Thur game, USWNT vs Ireland Sat Apr 8 + 11 TNT, Peacock

April 6, 2023 gatorbest

Its an all ladies edition of the Ole Ballcoach today as I am fortunate to be headed to the National Team Friendly between England and Brazil at Wembley Thursday night in England. This could provide a quick preview of the World Cup this summer as the European Champion Lioness will be one of the odds on favorites to lift the World Cup down Under cup along with the United States and perhaps Germany and Norway. World Rankings. England defeated the US 2-1 last summer as the US loss twice in a row for the first time ever losing to England then Spain in June friendlies last summer.

Predicted line-ups

England: Earps; Bronze, Willamson, Greenwood, Carter; Walsh, Stanway; Kelly, James, Hemp; Daly

Brazil: Luciana; Bruninha, Lauren, Rafaelle, Tamires; Ana Vitória, Ary Borges, Kerolin, Adriana; Geyse, Bia Zaneratto

England Women v Brazil Women predictions

England made history when they won the 2022 European Championship title at Wembley last summer and the Lionesses return to the national stadium on Thursday with another shot at silverware as they take on Brazil in the first Women’s Finalissima.

The standalone encounter pits the European champions against the champions of South America with Brazil having secured an eighth Copa America last year.But since then Brazil crumbled at the SheBelieves Cup earlier this year, losing to Canada and the USA at the event, and they should be opposed against an England team yet to lose a match under Sarina Wiegman. Under Wiegman, England have gone on a 29-match unbeaten run, winning 25 of those contests, including a win over juggernauts the USA at Wembley in the aftermath of their European Championship success last year. They have also kept 20 clean sheets in that run and with many of the squad eager to please Wiegman in the run-up to this year’s World Cup, the Lionesses should run out comfortable winners, so back them giving up one goal on the handicap – the bet pays out if England win by two goals or more. Following a decent showing in the Pinatar Cup at the start of the year, Wales Women return to action against Northern Ireland Women in a friendly at the Cardiff City Stadium.

What the coaches say

Sarina Wiegman, England coach: “Playing Brazil – and also Australia – gives us a new measure moment. We expect to be challenged more in defence than we were in the Arnold Clark Cup. That gives us again more information about our team and about where our players are at the moment to move forward in our preparation for the World Cup.”

Pia Sundhage, Brazil coach: “This game is part of the journey to the World Cup. I’m so appreciative and really happy to play against one of the best teams in the world, with the best coach in the world as well. All of us will get some answers after the game. I’m grateful for the opportunity. We have some plans for the game tomorrow. Hopefully we will see a good game.”

USWNT Roster for April 8 & 11 Friendlies vs Ireland

GOALKEEPERS (3): Adrianna Franch (Kansas City Current), Casey Murphy (North Carolina Courage), Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars)

DEFENDERS (10): Alana Cook (OL Reign), Tierna Davidson (Chicago Red Stars), Emily Fox (North Carolina Courage), Crystal Dunn (Portland Thorns), Naomi Girma (San Diego Wave), Sofia Huerta (OL Reign), Casey Krueger (Chicago Red Stars), Kelley O’Hara (NJ/NY Gotham FC), Becky Sauerbrunn (Portland Thorns), Emily Sonnett (OL Reign)

MIDFIELDERS (7): Julie Ertz (Unattached), Lindsey Horan (Olympique Lyon), Taylor Kornieck (San Diego Wave), Rose Lavelle (OL Reign), Kristie Mewis (NJ/NY Gotham FC), Ashley Sanchez (Washington Spirit), Andi Sullivan (Washington Spirit)

FORWARDS (6): Ashley Hatch (Washington Spirit), Alex Morgan (San Diego Wave), Trinity Rodman (Washington Spirit), Sophia Smith (Portland Thorns), Mallory Swanson (Chicago Red Stars), Lynn Williams (NJ/NY Gotham FC)

The United States Women’s National Team will have a new set of jerseys when they seek to defend their Women’s World Cup title this summer. With a 1:00am ET release, U.S. Soccer overnight revealed the 2023 USWNT home and away jerseys as part of a timed release by Nike for all of their national teams. The USWNT will debut the new home kits when they take on Ireland in a series of friendlies this Saturday in Austin and next Tuesday in St. Louis.

The home jersey is white with navy and royal dots on it that form a paint drip pattern. The crest returns to the left chest, which leaves space for the 2019 champions patch. The Nike swoosh and the 4 stars above the federation crest are in gold, a nod to the 4 Women’s World Cup titles, and it has a navy collar trim. The inner pride mark celebrates the years of team’s 4 Women’s World Cup titles: 1991, 1999, 2015, and 2019. The jersey is paired with navy shorts and white socks.

The away jersey is royal blue with a monochrome red WNT crest. The stars and swoosh are also red, and there are red blades coming off either side of the collar to signify the tips of stars. It features a stars & stripes print on the sleeve cuffs, The design feels like a wavy blue with what look like red lightning bolts forming the sleeve trim. There’s a darker blue stripe going down the sides of the torso. The top will be paired with blue shorts and socks.

The men’s national team will also wear the away jerseys, ending their run with the 2022 away jersey. However, they are not expected to wear the away jersey until June, with the women not wearing the away until likely sometime during the Women’s World Cup.

How do FIFA’s five best-ranked women’s teams look ahead of final friendlies before World Cup?

7:23 PM CET

In a little more than three months, the World Cup will be kicking off in Australia and New Zealand. With squads being finalised and so little time for changes between now and the start of the competition, how are FIFA’s five best-ranked teams looking ahead of vital April friendlies?

1. United States

Ranked first in the world, the U.S. will be using this window to play the Republic of Ireland — set to debut at the World Cup this summer — twice, first in Austin and then St. Louis. Placed 22nd in FIFA’s latest ranking, Ireland will not provide the sternest test for the reigning world champions, but they will be looking for two matches that ready themselves for the fierce competition level of a major tournament.Although the U.S. are on a six-match winning run, the team has become overly reliant on Mallory Swanson this calendar year. The Chicago Red Stars‘ attacker has been in sublime form, but she has shouldered an unbalanced share of the goal-scoring responsibility of the team.

With all eyes set to be on 30-year-old Julie Ertz this window, the unattached midfielder not having played a competitive minute since August 2021, manager Vlatko Andonovski might end up putting all his eggs in the Ertz basket to solve his midfield woes. Whether she is even at her old level will be the first question that needs to be answered before the rest of the pieces of the puzzle can be slotted into place. With the June window still to come, the Ireland matches are the last opportunities for Andonovski’s midfield experiments.

2. Germany

Playing the Netherlands and Brazil this month, Germany have set up two intriguing encounters that could be used as a measuring stick not just for their own preparations but those of two outside contenders for the World Cup crown.

With just a finite number of stumbles in the past calendar year, Martina Voss-Tecklenburg’s Germany squad is very much one to be beaten, with an ease of interchange between most players, be they coming or going because of injuries, a comfortable revolving door in place.

Expected to win both games this month, the questions for Germany will be how they handle key moments in the games along with Voss-Tecklenburg’s in-game management and whether the coach has finessed the art of acting rather than reacting on the sideline. The biggest key for the Euro 2022 runners-up may just be making it through the final international window before the summer tournament without suffering any serious injuries.

3. Sweden

Inconsistent or even manic at tournaments, it’s hard to know which Sweden team you’re going to get until the ball starts rolling at a World Cup, Euros or Olympic Games, but strong preparation and good results will never go a miss for the Blagult.

Giving themselves two Scandinavian derbies this month, there is a sense that the games will be bigger tests for both Denmark (who they face on Friday) and Norway (their Tuesday opposition) as both of their neighbours grapple with their own problems ahead of the World Cup, yet Sweden coach Peter Gerhardsson will be looking for consistency and fluency in both fixtures.

Although most of his starting XI is quite fixed, there are still cases to be made for his bench and substitute players, which is where younger players like Matilda Vinberg and Hanna Lundkvist can make a late push to be on the plane this summer.

4. England

Up against Brazil (in the inaugural women’s Finalissima, pitting the champions of Europe and South America against one another) and World Cup cohosts Australia, the questions for England and Sarina Wiegman this camp will be centred around the midfield and defence, with a few injuries adding a little pressure to the current starting XI. A usual fan of sticking to a set group of players, the two games will give Wiegman a potential chance to look at the less experienced players in the group like Maya Le Tissier, Esme Morgan and upcapped Lucy Parker.

Herculez Gomez and Sebastian Salazar debate the biggest storylines and break down the best highlights that soccer in the Americas has to offer. Stream on ESPN+ (U.S. only)

Similarly, with the coach praising versatility by only calling up five midfielders, it’s highly likely we’ll see players moving around to take up central roles and balance the burden, although most experimentation will probably be happening on the training pitch.

Still yet to lose a game under Wiegman, the pressure is mounting on England to continue their streak and not disappoint the two strong expected crowds in London this month. As ever though, two robust performances will be of higher importance than two wins. Indeed, with a handful of players on the periphery, including those who missed out this camp, this will be one of the last chances players have at staking a claim for the World Cup squad.

5. France

Following (another) tumultuous time off of the pitch, the key for newly installed manager Herve Renard in his first two games in charge will be steadying the ship and rapidly getting to know the players available to him.

Hosting Colombia and Canada, the new coach will have the benefit of seeing his charges in two vastly different matches, yet he will have to do so without the vital attacking pair of Marie-Antoinette Katoto (who is still out with an ACL injury) and Kadidiatou Diani (who only just fractured her collarbone) so will be relying on the rest of his attacking group to step up.

Given a pass as he has only just taken charge of the team, Renard’s biggest job this camp will be assessing his new players and finding ways of elevating them as a group, with the bigger picture as important as the nuances of international management. A team who will usually be regarded as favourites for a World Cup or Euro title, this summer will be no different for Les Bleues despite the time crunch Renard is facing.

England line-ups to be less experimental as World Cup draws closer — Sarina Wiegman

By Charlotte Harpur7h ago

England head coach Sarina Wiegman has promised to experiment “a little less” during her side’s upcoming fixtures against Brazil and Australia as preparations for the 2023 World Cup step up.Wiegman gave minutes to younger members of her squad and tried players in different positions during February’s Arnold Clark Cup, but sees April’s fixtures against two top 10 sides as an opportunity to test England defensively.England play Copa America champions Brazil in the first ever Women’s Finalissima at Wembley on April 6 before facing World Cup co-hosts Australia at the Brentford Community Stadium on April 11.“We will experiment a little less because we have two games and are at a different stage but we are also in a period where we have many games and the load on players is high so we try to manage that too,” Wiegman said. “We will play to win but also to develop. Then we will see what we still want to see and how players come out of the game.“We’re getting closer to the World Cup so you want to get closer to our team selection but it’s still three and a half months to go and still things can happen internationally and at club.“This moment playing Brazil and also Australia gives us a new opportunity. We expect to be challenged more defensively than we were at the Arnold Clark Cup. That gives us again more information about our team and about where our players are at in this moment to move forward in our preparation for the World Cup.”England will be without Millie Bright for the two fixtures after the Chelsea defender withdrew from the squad having sustained a knee injury against Lyon in the Champions League on March 22. Arsenal’s Lotte Wubben-Moy has been called up in her place.Bright, 29, started every game at Euro 2022, but Wiegman said that her absence will enable England to see how they can adapt without her.“Of course I want her to be available,” the England manager added. “She has played so many games for us and Chelsea, she’s not here.“We have our plan B ready for when she’s not available so we will see that. On one hand, it’s disappointing she can’t be here, she can’t play but on the other hand, it’s another opportunity to see where our team is when she’s not playing.”

Hannah Hampton returns to Lionesses squad after sorting ‘personal issues’

TOM GARRY Tue, Mar 28, 20235 min read

Sarina Wiegman says goalkeeper Hannah Hampton earned a recall to England’s squad for April’s internationals against Brazil and Australia after addressing some “personal issues”.Aston Villa’s Hampton, who had not been selected since last summer’s European Championship, joins the 25-player squad as one of four goalkeepers, with Everton’s Emily Ramsey out injured.Hampton was left out of the Villa squad during the autumn months, too, but has since returned to her club’s starting XI and has helped them win their last four Women’s Super League fixtures.“She needed to sort out some personal issues, she’s done that, and she’s shown great performances, shown consistency and done that at club first, so I felt this was the moment to bring her in,” Wiegman said of Hampton’s return.

Mead needs ‘a miracle’

Wiegman also gave her biggest update yet on the fitness of Beth Mead, who has been sidelined with an anterior cruciate knee ligament injury since the end of November. The Arsenal forward was never expected to be recalled for this camp, but Wiegman has now said it will be “a miracle” if Mead is fit in time for the World Cup, which begins on July 20.“I had conversations with her, she’s doing well in her rehab, she’s doing good,” said the Lionesses manager. “What we said now is, she’s not in our plans now, so just really take the time to get back well, but if a miracle happens, we will reconsider it. But at this moment I don’t expect that.”Wiegman is also worried about the fitness of Fran Kirby, who remains out with an injury. She added: “Of course I’m concerned because she has been out for a while now, and it doesn’t look like she’ll be back in a real short time, but I want to keep this opportunity open. She [Kirby] will be treated how we treat anyone else. Hopefully she gets fit, she gets on the pitch again, she gets playing and then you need to feel performance and fitness and that’s what we need. So it’s a little concern, but we’ll just see how she progresses.”

Notable absentees

There is still no place in the squad for in-form striker Bethany England, who has scored six goals in eight appearances for Tottenham since signing from Chelsea in January, while Arsenal centre-back Lotte Wubben-Moy and Manchester United midfielder Katie Zelem have both been left out of the squad.Houston Dash striker Ebony Salmon has been dropped, with Aston Villa’s Rachel Daly being listed as a striker instead of a defender. Daly, the second-top goalscorer in the Women’s Super League this season, played at left-back for her country last summer but has been deployed as a central No 9 for Villa and started up front for England against Italy in February, scoring twice.England will host Brazil at Wembley on Thursday, April 6, before welcoming Australia to Brentford on Tuesday, April 11. Both friendlies are 7.45pm BST kick-offs.

Nail-biting months ahead for players on the fringes

By Tom Garry

Wiegman’s latest squad of 25 players is still two more than she will be able to name for the World Cup in July, although prior to that she is expected to name a larger, provisional squad in June.For Wubben-Moy and Zelem, both unexpectedly dropped for this camp, the months ahead could now be very nervous ones as they seek to prove they should be flying Down Under.Wiegman said it had been very tough to leave that duo out, adding: “That’s a hard one. It has to do with the plans I have in those positions. The competition for centre-back is really high. Some players can play at full-back but also a centre back. At this moment we chose other players and that’s the same for Katie. We know what she can bring and what she’s done, she’s shown that all the time, but now I make all the choices in that position.”Also left out, despite good form for her club, is Aston Villa midfielder Lucy Staniforth, while there is no recall for Manchester City left-back Demi Stokes, nor Manchester United forward Nikita Parris.For all of them, as the number of game-time opportunities to impress Wiegman reduces, their hopes of flying to the World Cup must now be very low.Overwhelmingly, it is clear that Wiegman’s sole focus is preparations for the World Cup, and there is little room for sentiment in that thought process. Former England skipper Steph Houghton has not been called up by Wiegman since her first camp as head coach in September 2021. Asked if she had considered giving the 34-year-old centre-back an appearance in front of a packed Wembley, Wiegman replied: “I have so much respect for her [Houghton] and I’m happy for her.

Women’s Finalissima 2023 Preview: England and Brazil to Do Battle at Wembley

APR 5, 2023

JESSE PARKER HUMPHREYS / AUTHOR, ANTONIO MAZA / AUTHOR

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England and Brazil meet in the first-ever Women’s Finalissima, a one-off game pitting the reigning champions of Europe against South America’s reigning champions. The two sides will do battle in front of a sold-out Wembley Stadium.

Here are the major storylines swirling around each side ahead of the clash.

England

England head into the first ever Finalissima in comfortable form having smoothly negotiated an Arnold Clark Cup victory in the previous international break against a selection of teams ranked 16th-19th in the world. This match against Brazil will be a sterner challenge though, with Pia Sundhange’s side set to be the highest-ranked team England have faced since they beat the USA in their last match at Wembley.

With only a handful of matches to go before the Lionesses head to Australia for the World Cup, this is not just a showpiece match for England. It will represent one of the few opportunities that manager Sarina Wiegman still has to settle on her starting XI and squad.

A Not-So-Bright Future

The biggest potential challenge to England’s unbeaten run under Wiegman will be the absence of Millie Bright. Bright has featured in 27 of 29 games since the Dutch coach took charge and, despite not always getting the same recognition as some of her peers, has been the lynchpin for this side.

Millie Bright defensive actions Euro 2022

Yet a knee injury sustained in the first leg of Chelsea’s Champions League quarter-final against Lyon has left her ruled for an indeterminate amount of time, leaving England fans nervously checking their calendars as the World Cup looms large. In the short term, Wiegman will be forced to reshuffle her defence against a Brazilian team that boasts the attacking talents of Debinha and Geyse Ferreira.

Bright’s aggressive defensive approach makes it hard to see an exact replacement for her. Wiegman could partner Leah Williamson and Alex Greenwood, but Greenwood has been preferred at left-back recently, and that combination would change the make-up of the defence considerably. Jess Carter has predominantly played at full-back for Chelsea this season but has shown herself proficient at playing anywhere across the back line.

Of the players called up to the England squad, only Lucy Parker has made more tackles and interceptions per 90 in the WSL this season than Carter. With Parker having never been capped before, Carter would be a logical stylistic replacement for Bright.

The sense that Carter has developed a cool head on the pitch will only have been reinforced by her scoring Chelsea’s winning penalty against Lyon in the UWCL quarter-final.

Who Starts Up Top?

The most immediate question Sarina Wiegman faced following the Euros was how she would replace Ellen White. England’s all-time top scorer announced her retirement in August having started every game on the way to winning the Euros. Obvious bets would suggest that Alessia Russo becomes Wiegman’s first choice, but the season Rachel Daly has had with Aston Villa will give her pause for thought.

Daly is currently second in the WSL scoring charts with 13 strikes, and she is averaging a non-penalty xG of 0.42 per 90. Russo, meanwhile, is on eight and averaging a non-penalty xG of 0.40 per 90. There’s really not much between them in the underlying numbers. Russo is just slightly ahead on shots and shots on target per 90: 4.03 and 1.78 to Daly’s 3.47 and 1.25.

Clearly Wiegman feels happy that she has enough cover to potentially just take two out-and-out strikers to the World Cup. She used left-winger Lauren Hemp in the number 9 role against the USA to decent effect whilst Lauren James has also been mooted as an option up front if required.

Whoever starts at Wembley on Thursday will be going up against one of the most in-form defenders in the world in Rafaelle Souza. The Arsenal centre-back has been a key part of the Gunners’ exceptional recent run of form and will be a worthy opponent for whoever gets the nod out of Russo and Daly.

Final Auditions

Wiegman has consistently offered opportunities to players from outside the England set-up. Seven players have made their debuts under her, with a cap surely in line for Lucy Parker whilst players like Laura Coombs have been brought back into the fold. Yet she is notoriously regimented when it comes to who actually plays, starting the same eleven players for every game in England’s run to the Euros win.

Of the 25 players in the squad for the Finalissima, only 13 or so feel nailed on right now to be on the plane to the World Cup. Players like Katie Robinson and Jess Park (who have 21 and 20 chance-creating carries respectively in the WSL this season) will be looking to show they deserve to make their first-ever tournament squads. Equally Niamh Charles who was cut from the Euros squad at the final hurdle last year will be hoping to prove that her defensive acumen has improved – her 25 tackles won (seventh overall) is an interesting data point in opposition to the eye test that she still struggles defensively.

Brazil

“What is this team really capable of?” is a question that goes around Brazil all the time when it comes to global competitions. Brazil are an absolute powerhouse on the continental stage – winning eight of the nine editions of the Copa América Femenina – but it is these kind of matches that have been a step too far for Brazil, who always looks on the verge of great things but never quite get there.

However, things are changing within the CBF structure. A combination of the arrival of Pia Sundhage as head coach, the strengthening of Brazil’s domestic league and the increased professionalism that goes into the development and nurturing of talent, this might be the most stable and solid Brazil squad we’ve seen for a while. It boasts a great mixture of experience and youth, even with Marta out for the Finalissima.

A New Way to Win

One of the main things that ex-Sweden and USA coach Sundhage has instilled since she took over in Brazil is a sense of pragmatism.

For years the team has embodied the true DNA of Brazilian football, with flair and expansive play, but that came at the cost of managing matches. There were criticisms that the team were lacking mental resilience.

But now – despite an underwhelming She Believes Cup last February – Brazil have become a more stable team, securing recent results that seemed improbable a few years ago: the win against Norway 4-1 in October along with the draws against Netherlands and Spain earlier this year. These are all examples that Sundhage is moulding this team, allowing them space to express that Brazilian “jogo bonito” but always underlined with a clear objective: get the result. In fact, if the Verde Amarela can snatch the win in Wembley, they will record three consecutive wins against UEFA opposition for the first time since 2016, when they beat Italy (twice) and Russia.

As you might expect though, this more pragmatic approach has been met with some criticism in Brazil. Detractors have labelled this team as “boring” and playing in a style that goes away from the roots of the team. Their 2022 Copa América win, in particular, felt like Brazil were constantly in cruise control, getting the results they wanted but without dazzling.

Bia Zaneratto To Step Up?

As mentioned, Marta won’t be available for selection as she continues her rehab after suffering an ACL injury back in March 2022. Neither will Debinha. With those two absent, Brazil will be shorn of a combined 173 international goals.

However, Sundhage has other options, notably Bia Zaneratto.

Bia scored three goals in the 2022 Copa América, and six more when Brazil also won four years earlier. She doesn’t only provide goals though, with her 31 open-play attacking sequence involvements at Copa America 2022 the most of any Brazil player. That shows how integral she is not only in the finishing of moves but in the build-up of them too.

Brazil Copa America Femenina Attacking Sequences

Tamires The Cornerstone

If there’s anything more Brazilian than flair and confidence on the ball, then it’s a marauding, attacking full-back. Granted, the men’s team have lacked one of those for a while, but in Tamires the women’s side has one of the most attacking full-backs on the continent.

The 35-year-old from Corinthians, who boasts three Copa Américas, two Copa Libertadores, four Brasileiraos, three Paulistaos and two titles in the Danish First Division, is one of the most decorated players in Brazil.

She is a vastly experienced and consistent performer for her national team. Since Sundhage’s arrival, she’s played 41 games for La Canarinha and has played more minutes (3077) than anyone else. She has created 42 chances over that time, putting her third in that regard, and delivered five assists. She’s whipped in 129 crosses from open play – four times more than any other player – and her attacking stats show her importance to the build-up of the team.

But it’s not only in attack that Tamires proves her worth. Since Sundhage’s appointment, she averages 2.9 tackles per game (fourth highest), 1.1 clearances (fourth highest), 2.0 interceptions (second highest) and 5.9 recoveries (second highest) amongst players in Brazil who have played 20 or more games.

Averaging 31 carries per game and 6.7 passes into the attacking third, Tamires has shown time and time again to be one of the most dependent performers for Brazil.

Trial by Fire

With Brazil’s first-choice goalkeeper Lorena out with injury, and in a race against the clock to be available for the World Cup, the position in between the sticks is up in the air. Camila (Santos), Leticia (Corinthians) and Luciana (Ferroviaria) have been called up but only the latter has seen minutes since Sundhage’s appointment, and only 90 minutes at that in a 4-0 win against Mexico in 2019.

Elsewhere, Luana Bertocelli (Corinthians) and Andressa Alves (Roma’s second-highest goalscorer in Serie A) have returned after long absences and some young talent – like Ferroviaria’s youngster Aline Gomes – will vie for the last remaining spots as we approach the World Cup.

And that’s perhaps the even bigger story at play. Not only are these two sides in competition for a trophy, something that in Brazil’s case would show they’re worthy contenders at the top of the sport, but these players are all playing for crucial squad spots ahead of Australia & New Zealand 2023.Women’s World Cup 2023: Picking England’s 23-strong squad

Charlotte Harpur and more Oct 24, 202210

England have been drawn in group D at the 2023 Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, where Sarina Wiegman’s side will face Denmark, China and a play-off winner. But who should make the cut for the 23-strong squad? Who is the one player England really need to be fit next year? And what are the difficult decisions?

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The Athletic’s Charlotte Harpur and Florence Lloyd-Hughes debate who they would select. Pick your squad in the comments section below…

Charlotte Harpur’s England squad

Goalkeepers: Mary Earps (Manchester United), Ellie Roebuck (Manchester City), Sandy MacIver (Manchester City)

Defenders: Millie Bright (Chelsea), Lucy Bronze (Barcelona), Jess Carter (Chelsea), Rachel Daly (Aston Villa), Alex Greenwood (Manchester City), Esme Morgan (Manchester City), Leah Williamson (Arsenal), Lotte Wubben-Moy (Arsenal)

Midfielders: Fran Kirby (Chelsea), Jess Park (Manchester City, on loan at Everton), Georgia Stanway (Bayern Munich), Ella Toone (Manchester United), Keira Walsh (Barcelona), Katie Zelem (Manchester United)

Forwards: Lauren Hemp (Manchester City), Chloe Kelly (Manchester City), Lauren James (Chelsea), Beth Mead (Arsenal), Alessia Russo (Manchester United), Ebony Salmon (Houston Dash)

Florence Lloyd-Hughes’ England squad

Goalkeepers: Mary Earps (Manchester United), Ellie Roebuck (Manchester City), Sandy MacIver (Manchester City)

Defenders: Millie Bright (Chelsea), Lucy Bronze (Barcelona), Jess Carter (Chelsea), Rachel Daly (Aston Villa), Alex Greenwood (Manchester City), Demi Stokes (Manchester City), Lotte Wubben-Moy (Arsenal), Leah Williamson (Arsenal)

Midfielders: Fran Kirby (Chelsea), Georgia Stanway (Bayern Munich), Ella Toone (Manchester United), Keira Walsh (Barcelona), Katie Zelem (Manchester United)

Forwards: Lauren Hemp (Manchester City), Chloe Kelly (Manchester City), Lauren James (Chelsea), Beth Mead (Arsenal), Alessia Russo (Manchester United), Ebony Salmon (Houston Dash), Bethany England (Chelsea)

Who is the one player England really can’t do without?

Harpur: Keira Walsh makes things tick in England’s midfield. There is no player in the world, let alone in England, who pulls the strings like she does in that deep holding role. She is irreplaceable.

Walsh, England Walsh makes England tick (Photo: Catherine Ivill – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)

Lloyd-Hughes: Millie Bright has been exceptional in the last year and is crucial to their defence. She’s become a bit of a trump card going forward, too. She’s been one of Wiegman’s most consistent performers, as has Walsh, and their fitness and form will be crucial over the next year.

Is there an area in which you think England are a bit light?

Lloyd-Hughes: In midfield or at No 9. Alessia Russo doesn’t have the best injury record but England are relying on her quite a lot given Ellen White’s retirement and the inexperience of Ebony Salmon. England have an exciting attacking line but it’s that central presence where they’ve struggled in recent games. The midfield looks light of options if England were to lose Walsh or Georgia Stanway.

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Harpur: England lack depth in midfield, hence why I’ve added Jess Park and Katie Zelem. If the starting midfield stays fit then fine, but if injuries creep in, there is a significant gap in the second string in terms of quality and experience.

Walsh, Ella Toone, Fran Kirby and Stanway have built connections over the last year that withstood the toughest pressure during the European Championship. A missing link and a makeshift midfield who have never played in a three together could be exposed in transitions.

Which was your toughest selection call?

Harpur: Leaving out Bethany England. Wiegman picks her players on minutes and form at club level and England is just not getting the game time at Chelsea.

Beth England, England, Lionesses Chelsea’s England misses out in Harpur’s squad (Photo: Harriet Lander – Chelsea FC/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)

Lloyd-Hughes: Squad players. If every player is fit, I think England’s starting XI picks itself, based on the Euros success. But as soon as they lose a few through injury, it becomes a lot tougher to fill the gaps and for it to work as effectively.

Who else do you think could make a case for inclusion over the next nine months?

Lloyd-Hughes: Maya Le Tissier and Jess Park. A lot of people were shocked that Le Tissier didn’t make Wiegman’s last squad after the injuries to Leah Williamson and Lucy Parker. Wiegman said she was close but just missed out as others had shown more important defensive qualities. Le Tissier is definitely on the cusp and is having a brilliant season at her new club Manchester United.

Park has been one to watch for a while, having impressed with Manchester City since she was 16. This season, she’s on loan at Everton and has already had a massive impact. Starting regularly and being one of the team’s main attacking outlets will take her game to another level and the performances have already got her a call-up to the senior England squad this year.

Maya Le Tissier Le Tissier has played for England Under-23s and could make a case for inclusion in the senior squad (Photo: Aitor Alcalde – The FA/The FA via Getty Images)

Harpur: If Bethany England starts scoring at club level then she may yet earn her spot in the squad. The same goes for Nikita Parris at Manchester United, who was only called up in October following injuries to Parker and Williamson.

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Le Tissier has shone on the domestic stage but there is no desperate need for her in the back line. Park’s call-up to the most recent international camp shows she has impressed Wiegman and the England manager will nurture her development.

And finally… how far would your squad go at the World Cup?

Hughes: Well, it all depends on how the draw pans out from the group stage onwards, but I’m confident England can get to the final, injuries notwithstanding. There’s a lot of football to be played between now and July 2023.

Harpur: To the final but some challenging obstacles lie in England’s path. Let’s look at where we’re at in nine months.

Really for her to see her on the pitch, but for now, for us, it’s most important that we play games and that we get prepared for the World Cup. The door Is not closed, but at this moment she’s not in the squad and I chose other players as centre-back.”

Brazil’s Marta is back and ready for her sixth World Cup, still hungry to win and entertain

Meg Linehan Feb 22, 2023

Marta turned 37 years old on Sunday. On that day, she played 38 minutes in a loss to Canada, Brazil’s second match of the SheBelieves Cup and her second appearance on the field since March 2022, when she tore her ACL in a NWSL Challenge Cup match. Hours after the loss to Canada, Marta was serenading her team back at the hotel for her own birthday. Marta has always been one of one, and at this point in her storied career, there isn’t much that has not already been said about the depth of her talent, the legacy she will leave and the magic she has created time and again across the world. But continuing to highlight these things remains important, both to understand exactly what her role is now on this particular version of the Seleção under head coach Pia Sundhage and to take those moments of magic as they come, to hold them up to the light and treasure them for what they are.

Marta’s still dancing. It looks different now, especially compared to the height of her powers — breaking ankles, impossible angles with any part of her foot, testing the laws of physics and finding them unsuitable for her purposes.Last week in Orlando, her home NWSL hometown, fans cheered her every time she rose to keep warm while on the bench. The anticipation for her return was a tangible feeling in the stands, as fans in canary yellow, Orlando Pride purple and red, white and blue all watched her every move. In unison, they lifted their voices in joyful cheers when “10” finally blinked onto the substitute board, shared that cathartic moment when she took those first steps back out onto the grass at Exploria Stadium, and finally exploded as she took a handful of touches down the wing before feeding the ball across to Debinha for the winning goal against Japan.A rainha had returned.The respect is still there, unabated. Megan Rapinoe told the media on Tuesday, “Marta’s just the greatest player, I think, that’s ever played in our game.” “Marta’s Marta, you know?” said Lynn Williams, laughing as if that explained everything.

After the match against Canada on her birthday, Marta initially asked Brazil’s press officer to stay close to translate her answers from Portuguese to English as she prepared to speak to reporters. But by the time the second question was asked of her, she was already answering herself, intently looking at each reporter with each new inquiry.

For anyone who’s been around women’s soccer for a while, there’s no feeling quite like having Marta’s undivided attention. It’s not just because of the accolades or the thoughts of defenders she’s destroyed throughout the years, but because when Marta fixes her attention on something — even something as mundane as a question she’s probably gotten a dozen times before — you suddenly get a sense of what it’s like to be staring her down when she has the ball at her feet. You want each word to count.

Do you feel the same way now that you did 20 years ago when people cheer your name?

“I still have the passion,” Marta replied. “I’m still hungry to win, doing things on the field for people to keep screaming my name. So yeah. I have the same feeling.”She’ll stop when she doesn’t have that feeling anymore. With her sixth World Cup only months away, and after a long and grueling rehab process when others at this stage would’ve just retired, it seems safe to assume that the feeling is as strong as ever. She doesn’t take the crowds for granted either, or the fact that her mere presence on the field can cause the decibel levels to rise.“It’s something that makes you feel extra motivated every day,” she said. “Because of course, I say I want to do a nice show, outside (of) the field, but most of the time on the field for these people. They deserve that, and we deserve them to be here, and to enjoy this nice moment with us.”

Marta speaking to reporters after the loss to Canada. (Photo: Meg Linehan)

There is a future version of this Brazil team without Marta, the last of a core trio that also included Formiga and Cristiane that defined the Seleção for well over a decade. This new version will still be molded by Marta, though, in the standard she sets on the field, in training environments and more so in all the moments untouched by public eyes.

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“Just to give you an example,” Brazil’s head coach Pia Sundhage said after the match against Canada, “when she entered the game, just a couple of minutes afterwards, she was taking two people on the dribble.” But, Sundhage continued, she’s most fascinated by Marta’s technique to find the final pass — a technique that she’s still trying to harness fully.

“If we have a little bit better timing, a little bit of finishing, those will be goals that come in a couple of months,” she said. “I hope.”

The connection between Sundhage and Marta has been aided by a common language (Swedish), but the two of them crossed paths plenty even before Sundhage took over following Brazil’s round of 16 exit in the 2019 World Cup — one made famous by Marta’s direct, impassioned plea to the young players of Brazil to be ready for their turn on the team.

Marta, for two decades, has been defined by her hunger and a will to win. She has also been defined by her joy.

“It doesn’t matter where you are, she is a pleasure to be around. That energy that Marta has — and she is old — that is contagious,” Sundhage said, smiling wryly as she got in her own acknowledgement of Marta’s birthday in Nashville. “It tells me that it has nothing to do with age, it’s all about how much you love the game. And she does.”

“It’s never just been Marta,” Rapinoe told the media on Tuesday. “It’s been Formiga and Marta and Cristiane and so many other players.”

While Brazil has always had special players, Marta has that extra shine that sometimes makes people forget.

“Being able to couple that old-head wisdom of Marta with players like Debinha, Kerolin, it’s just crazy. Obviously, they’ve proven it in the league and at the international level,” Rapinoe said. “They’re just really an annoying handful all the time.”

Marta with her teammates before Canada vs. Brazil at GEODIS Park in Nashville. (Photo: Erin Chang/ISI Photos)

So. If you know what Marta can do, how do you prepare to make sure she can’t?

Her return for SheBelieves Cup, even on limited minutes, gives opposing teams a reminder of what she’s capable of, how she can provide a spark from nothing. U.S. head coach Vlatko Andonovski said ahead of the tournament finale that Marta’s return ensured this roster was playing against the best as part of their World Cup preparations, exactly what they need at this point in the year.

“She showed the first game how special she is,” he said on Tuesday. “She comes in and makes a difference, so we expect nothing less against us. She has the quality to change the game on the spot with individual brilliance, and that’s not a secret. She has been doing that for so many years, and it’s exciting to see her back and exciting to play against her.”

While much of the USWNT is familiar with Marta, Wednesday’s match will provide an instructive look at Marta’s current role with the team and another different tactical match-up in Brazil. The opening match against Canada fell a bit flat (and understandably so, considering everything happening off the field for the players during this tournament), and Japan forced the USWNT to problem solve. Brazil could be the heavyweight opponent of the SheBelieves Cup.

“We know (Marta)’s so dynamic, I think a lot of their attacking players, their style of play is so dynamic and a lot of interchange, a lot of movement,” U.S. center back Naomi Girma said on Tuesday. “I think we’re expecting that, and just as much as we can read it and communicate to negate any of their threats, that will be really important for us.”

Owning the tempo of the match and locking down Brazil’s transition game will be key, said Girma. And as for Marta specifically? “She’s dangerous. The closer we can be to her, the more pressure we can get, the better.”

Marta in motion against Canada. (Photo: Erin Chang/ISI Photos)

Williams also expected Brazil to flex their ability to transition. “The last time we played them, they overloaded the right side — and they have Marta, who’s a very skillful player. Being disciplined, being patient, not letting them manipulate our shape and making sure our lines are compact, not letting them play through us.”

The U.S. is the only team in the tournament sitting on two wins, putting them in prime position to three-peat as SheBelieves champs, so they’ll only need a win or draw against Brazil to lift the trophy in Frisco.

“Now, it’s a little bit complicated for us,” Marta said, back in Nashville. “We know that we need to win against the U.S., and do well. But most important for us is to see the players we have here. They have the opportunity to play. No matter who we start the game (with), you’re not gonna see the same team who started the game.”

A win would be nice, but there are also other goals to consider: player development, building chemistry, getting her own minutes up — maybe even a full half, this time around? No matter what, she had a promise.

“I’m pretty sure in the right moment, we’re gonna be ready for everything.”

The Journey to the Cup series is part of a partnership with Google Chrome.

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The case for and against Julie Ertz’s risky return to the USWNT

Claire Watkins

March 28, 2023

Julie Ertz last played for the USWNT at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. (Atsushi Tomura/Getty Images)

U.S. Soccer shook up the international game with one simple announcement on Tuesday morning: Julie Ertz is going to be playing professional soccer in April. The defensive midfielder returns to the U.S. women’s national team roster for the first time since the Olympics in 2021, having also not played in the NWSL since May of that same year.

Ertz battled a knee injury to return to the USWNT in time for a bronze-medal performance in Tokyo, and since then has taken time off for the birth of her son Madden in August 2022.

Prior to her absence, Ertz was a USWNT mainstay as the defensive-minded conductor of the midfield that the team has struggled to replace since the Olympics.

Why the U.S. needs Ertz back

Head coach Vlatko Andonovski’s decision to bring Ertz back into the fold raises questions about the team’s inability to imagine a future without her. The team has relied heavily on the Washington Spirit’s Andi Sullivan in a similar role with varied results. Sullivan is a possession-style player, which differs from Ertz’s ability to cover an immense amount of space defensively. The U.S. also tried Kristie Mewis, Lindsey Horan and Taylor Kornieck in similar roles, playing more attacking-minded midfielders out of their natural positions.

Andonovski’s U.S. has experimented with help defense in the seams between the central defense and the attacking midfield, but it has never quite committed to the dual-No. 6 pivot likely necessary to fill defensive gaps and move the ball forward consistently. In some games, like the USWNT’s SheBelieves match against Canada, the current midfield has looked fluid and effective. But in others, like the USWNT’s SheBelieves match against Japan and friendlies against top European sides in 2022, the middle of the pitch became an area of weakness.

“We’re excited to have Julie back. We know the quality of the player that she is, and that if she comes anywhere near her best, she will certainly help us win a World Cup,” Andonovski told the media after the roster announcement.

The coach’s statement is as much an encouraging sign as an acknowledgement that the team still needs a bruising defensive midfielder who can disrupt and re-distribute.

Ertz not only has the ability to progress the ball through short and simple passes, but she can also recover turnovers that occur in front of her when she is in full control of her explosiveness. Horan, Rose Lavelle and Ashley Sanchez have the creativity in the attacking midfield to draw defenders in and create space for the USWNT’s arsenal of winger talent, but when the ball is misplaced, the team has struggled in defensive transition. When you play high-risk, high-reward passes, you have to have a plan for how to adjust when challenged, and a healthy Ertz papers over the cracks in the system.

Ertz, Emily Sonnett and other USWNT veterans will appear in April camp after dealing with injuries. (Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images)

The unknowns of Ertz’s return

Despite the optimism surrounding the announcement, there’s actually no guarantee Ertz is fully healthy, though Andonovski expressed full confidence in her high-performance setup.

“I had a chance to see some of the training and firsthand, training with MLS Academy boys,” he said. “She trained with a personal high-performance coach, or personal technical coach, and was up to the level that a lot of professional players were training, or sometimes even harder.”

Despite her extensive personal training, Ertz hasn’t played a professional soccer game in over 600 days, something Andonovski said she is trying to rectify. The 30-year-old now becomes the highest-profile NWSL free agent still on the market. What her sprint speed looks like, how her touch on the ball adjusts, and how many minutes she can play at the highest level will determine whether the benefits of bringing her back outweigh the costs.

Calling into camp a player who has not trained with a club team for so long flies in the face of Andonovski’s repeated claims that current form matters when making roster decisions. The U.S. has spent months building a young group into a new core for both the present and the future, and inserting a very different type of player threatens to upset the delicate balance of roster personalities.

But also, if Julie Ertz is available, how do you say no?

“If somebody’s 80 or 90 percent is still better than somebody else’s best, then too bad,” Andonovski said. “Anyone that will help us win the World Cup will be considered.”

Those cases have to be considered carefully, he continued, with the understanding that the team can’t carry too many injuries into a grueling international tournament like the World Cup. But since the current squad has been unable to find a definitive answer for a position of need, all other options will be considered.

Ultimately, the decision to bring Ertz in as a defensive specialist and a leader might be exactly what the U.S. needs. Or it could further imbalance a roster on a tight-rope act between the past and the future.

“As everyone else, she will have to earn some minutes,” Andonovski said. “Nothing is going to be given.”

Claire Watkins is a Staff Writer at Just Women’s Sports. Follow her on Twitter @ScoutRipley.

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