Gregg Berhalter has made his first public decisions as U.S. men’s national team coach, picking the 2019 USMNT roster for the January camp. Berhalter, hired on Dec. 2, named 27 players based entirely in MLS for the annual three-week January training camp, which will culminate in friendlies against Panama and Costa Rica.
America took over the Bundesliga for a brief moment during the Schalke-Bayer Leverkusen match on Wednesday in Gelsenkirchen. Weston McKennie, 20, soared above everyone on the pitch to get his head to a corner kick, which was then turned in for a Haji Wright goal, the 20-year-old’s first in the Bundesliga.
The Cruz Azul curse continues. After being repelled by a combination of Club América goalkeeper Agustín Marchesín and the crossbar in the first leg, a poor piece of attempting to play out the back ultimately doomed Cruz Azul in the second — the ever impressive Edson Álvarez punished the slack play with a curling effort from the top of the box, and then the El Tri star registered a second at the death to confirm América’s 13th title.
Cruz Azul failed to land a shot on target throughout the 90 minutes.
How can the U.S. ever expect to win a World Cup when its star player can’t even grasp Concacaf-rules football?
Christian Pulisic, the 20-year-old Borussia Dortmund who is already perhaps the USMNT’s best player, was a part of the FIFA 19 World Tour with a new video that dropped this week. Pulisic faced off against BVB teammate and FIFA 17 cover boy Marco Reus in a no-rules match of FIFA 19.
No rules means just what you’d think: no offside, no fouls, no bookings.
After being officially unveiled as the next manager of the USMNT on Dec. 2, Gregg Berhalter went on a whirlwind media tour where he was asked how he’d fix U.S. Soccer and deliver the 2022 World Cup by recreating the style of play American fans have come to expect when watching Manchester City play from their couch on Saturday mornings.
Berhalter handled himself in a refreshing manner after the fool’s paradise of Jurgen Klinsmann and warbling smugness of Bruce Arena, although that obviously won’t placate exceptionalists who demand he be named Zinedine Zidane.
PSV Eindhoven hadn’t done much in way of attacking in the opening 10 minutes of its Champions League match with Inter Milan. But one awful giveaway later, this Hirving Lozano goal vs Inter put the Dutch club on top.
In the 13th minute of their Group B match in Milan, Steven Bergwijn took advantage of some sloppy play in the back to gain possession in the attacking third. He quickly found Chucky Lozano darting into the box and the Mexico international headed the cross past Samir Handanovic for the game’s first goal.
According to leaks from Todo Sobre Camisetas and Footy Headlines, Mexico will look to reclaim the Gold Cup in 2019 wearing black jerseys. Back in 2015, El Tri debuted black home kits to be worn at the Copa America — the first time in nearly 50 years that Mexico had abandoned its traditional green for something more radical.
It's going to happen: A Club América vs. Cruz Azul Liga MX final will kiss 2018 goodbye. La Máquina beat Monterrey, and Las Águilas destroyed Pumas in the semifinals last weekend, thus securing the high-voltage final most soccer enthusiasts in Mexico were looking forward to.
Newcastle United wingback DeAndre Yedlin was sent off for the first time in his 73-match Premier League career on Sunday during Newcastle’s crushing 2-1 defeat to Wolves. With the score level at 1-1 in the 57th minute, a terrible touch from the USMNT defender allowed Wolves’ Diogo Jota to charge through on goal, and Yedlin’s tactical foul outside the box resulted in a straight red card as the last defender.