USA

The first ever Gold Cup Group Stage Draw has pitted the USMNT against the foes from up north, Canada. Joining the U.S. and Canada in Group B is Martinique and the winner of a play-in round that will be one of the following teams: Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Bermuda, Barbados or Haiti.

In case you are unfamiliar with the structure of the 2021 Gold Cup, I refer you here. 

After an exciting weekend of NWSL matches with plenty of goals and quality plays, the games continue on Wednesday, Sept. 30 at 10:00 p.m. EST with the Portland Thorns welcoming OL Reign to Providence Park. 

The Thorns are coming off their first match — and win — of the Fall Series after defeating the Utah Royals 3-0 on Sunday, Sept. 20. Simone Charley, Lindsey Horan and Sophia Smith all tallied goals. Smith debuted for Portland, scored her first professional goal and truly showed why she was the No. 1 draft pick in 2020. 

Rookie defender Madison Hammond collected a bunch of firsts after her OL Reign faced off against the Utah Royals in their Fall Series debut.

Hammond, a graduate of Wake Forest University, made her first appearance for the Reign during the match and became the first Native American to play in the NWSL. (Hammond is Navajo.)

Richie Laryea and Sophie Schmidt made history by becoming the first Canadians ever to simultaneously win MLS and NWSL Player of the Week honors. Laryea was named MLS Player of the Week after he tallied one goal and two assists for Toronto FC. Houston Dash midfielder Schmidt scored, had an assist and played a crucial role in the Dash’s third goal to defeat Orlando Pride, earning herself Budweiser Woman of the Week.

Both of the Canadians showed off their composure and creative abilities, and they are both, without a doubt, representing their nation one accolade at a time. 

Anthony Fontana, Ilsinho and Brenden Aaronson each scored one goal to lift the host Philadelphia Union past Inter Miami 3-0 on Sunday night.

Kacper Przybyłko recorded assists on the first two goals for the Union, who are 4-1-0 in their past five games. The Union (8-2-4, 28 points) picked up three points in heavy rain without captain and midfielder Alejandro Bedoya (suspension for yellow-card accumulation) and right back Ray Gaddis (hamstring).

LA Galaxy II parted ways with defender Omar Ontiveros on Saturday, three days after he was found to have used a racial slur during a USL Championship game against the San Diego Loyal, which is coached by former USMNT star Landon Donovan.

The league on Friday suspended the 25-year-old Ontiveros for six games, tacked on to his one-game ban for the red card he received in the 1-1 draw on Wednesday night.

A strange season is about to get stranger for the Vancouver Whitecaps.

Following the MLS is Back Tournament, the Whitecaps played six consecutive games against Canadian rivals Montreal and Toronto, owing to travel restrictions and COVID-19 quarantine requirements.

Sunday night, after road games at Real Salt Lake and Los Angeles FC, the Whitecaps (5-8-0, 15 points) will play host to the Portland Timbers (6-4-3, 21 points) on what will be their home field for the remainder of season — Providence Park in Portland.

Colorado's game Sunday against visiting Sporting Kansas City was postponed after one Rapids player and three staff members tested positive for COVID-19.

The tests were conducted on Thursday and Friday, according to a statement released by the league Saturday.

The match between the Colorado Rapids and Sporting Kansas City on Sunday Sept. 27 has been postponed.

Players kneeling before games in support of the Black Lives Matter movement will ensure that it remains a topic of conversation and help bring about change, said Real Salt Lake and former Queens Park Rangers (QPR) defender Nedum Onuoha.

Former England striker Les Ferdinand said last week that taking a knee had become nothing short of a PR stunt and that the real message was being diluted.