International Soccer

CAPE TOWN - World Cup places will be up for grabs at the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, which kicks off in Morocco on Saturday, with the top four finishers guaranteed a spot at the 2023 finals in Australia and New Zealand.

Africa previously had three places at the 2019 Women’s World Cup in France, but with the field for the 2023 tournament expanded to 32 teams, there are now four automatic berths for the continent and the chance of two more places via a proposed 10-team playoff tournament.

The USWNT huffed and puffed its way to a 2-0 victory over Colombia on Tuesday night in Sandy, Utah. It was hardly the first time the Americans struggled to put away lower competition, and with World Cup and Olympic qualifying less than a week away, you have to wonder if it’s time to start worrying about the USWNT’s rebuild. 

Heading toward the World Cup, the USMNT needed to do something drastic to alter its approach to set pieces. 

In the 14-game qualifying cycle, the U.S. managed only three goals from set pieces. They all came in a single match — the 3-0 victory over Honduras in Minnesota. It's also worth noting that Kellyn Acosta, the best dead ball specialist in the squad, provided the service on all three and is expected to start on the bench in Qatar as Tyler Adams' backup.

Carson Pickett made history on Tuesday during the USWNT’s 2-0 friendly victory against Colombia as the first player with a limb difference to play for the national team. Pickett is a fullback and had a quality 90 minutes against Colombia playing at left back.

The United States men's U-20 team beat Costa Rica 2-0 on Tuesday night to advance to the semifinals of the Concacaf U-20 Championship in Honduras, clinching a place at the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup and moving one win away from a spot at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

The Philadelphia Union's Paxten Aaronson — younger brother of Leeds United and USMNT attacker Brenden Aaronson — was man of the match for the USYNT with both goals.

Zack Steffen is expected to spend the 2022-23 season with EFL Championship club Middlesbrough on loan from Manchester City. The Zack Steffen Middlesbrough loan took place after City decided the American was no longer the best choice as the backup goalkeeper.

Manchester City has ironically found another “Stefan” as the backup and is looking to sign Stefan Ortega from Arminia Bielefeld.