With the USWNT and Spain knotted at 1-1 after the hour mark at the Stade Auguste-Delaune in Reims on Monday, La Roja’s Patricia Guijarro broke free on the left-hand side of the U.S. defense and fizzed a shot just wide of Alyssa Naeher’s far post. It was in this moment that a possible upset of historic proportions went from “there’s no way in hell” to “oh shit, this kinda feels like it’s happening.”
The U.S. women’s national team cruised through the group stage of the Women’s World Cup, overpowering its three opponents by the tune of 18 goals for and zero against. It was the most dominating group-stage performance in the history of the tournament.
Now it gets trickier, starting with a round-of-16 matchup against Group B runner-up Spain on Monday.
For the last decade, Freddy Adu has been quixotically rediscovering his love for the game and declaring himself a much more learned and focused footballer. The problem is, over the course of the last five years, he’s only played 34 professional games, basically the same amount that Harry Kane plays in a week.
By holding World Cup host France to a draw today, Nigeria could’ve secured passage to the Round of 16 for the first time since 1999. For close to 80 minutes, that looked like the Super Falcons destiny.
Step forward the VAR.
First, the referee looked at the monitor to review a collision in Nigeria’s box between Ngozi Ebere and Viviane Asseyi. The ref decided it was a penalty and sent Ebere off for her second bookable offense.
Up stepped Wendie Renard for the spot kick. Her initial attempt clipped the outside of the post and went directly behind for a goal kick.
The Women’s World Cup began Friday with host France dismantling South Korea 4-0. It was a thrilling show from Les Bleues, who put down a marker as the team to beat this summer.
But all ESPN.com wants to talk about is Eden Hazard and Euro 2020 qualifiers.
It’s absurd. It’s preposterous. It’s the USMNT Gold Cup roster. I mean, would you look at this? I can’t believe this. These are the guys Gregg Berhalter thinks can defend our CONCACAF crown while simultaneously building a longterm project that’ll secure us our first-ever World Cup triumph in 2022?
Please, get outta here with this. Not these fools. I don’t like these guys; I don’t trust these guys.
In the upcoming July issue of FourFourTwo, Argentine legend and current Dorados manager Diego Maradona provides us with a fascinating thought: “If Manchester United need a coach, I’m the man to do it,” he says. “I know they sell lots of shirts around the world, but they need to win trophies, too. I can do that for them.”
Apart from the match itself, last night’s most anticipated action in Madrid was I̶m̶a̶g̶i̶n̶e̶ ̶D̶r̶a̶g̶o̶n̶s̶ ̶w̶a̶i̶l̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶o̶n̶ ̶s̶o̶m̶e̶ ̶d̶r̶u̶m̶s̶ taking place inside the beIN Sports studio at the Wanda Metropolitano, where longtime Premier League rivals José Mourinho and Arsène Wenger sat side-by-side for pregame, halftime and post-game analysis of the 2019 UEFA Champions League Final.
Loris Karius doesn’t need defending. He's a professional athlete. He’s impossibly good-looking; his girlfriend even more so. He makes over $1.5 million annually. He plays for one of Turkey’s biggest, most successful clubs.
Carlos Vela is on fire in Major League Soccer. The El Tri star has done a great job building off an excellent start to his MLS career with Los Angeles FC. His first season ended with 14 goals out of 28 appearances. This year, he's picked up right where he left off, scoring 14 goals in just 14 appearances for LAFC.