Michael Bradley returned to the U.S. national team one year and one day from the worst day in U.S. men’s soccer history. He returned just in time to guide his team to a 4-2 loss to Colombia on Thursday in Tampa, Florida, with the pro-Colombian crowd chanting “Olé!” with glee in the closing minutes after Colombia scored three goals in 23 minutes in the second half.
Where were you when the bomb dropped?
It was, on the whole, a riotous day on this planet of ours. Australia had necessitated extra time to get past Syria in the AFC playoff. Holland was officially bounced after failing to defeat Sweden by a margin of seven (although Arjen Robben tried his damnedest).
Shortly after 7:30 pm ET, Lionel Messi’s hopes of even appearing at the 2018 World Cup appeared doomed after Romario Ibarra had given Ecuador a first-minute lead over a desperate Argentina side in Quito.
One year ago, the U.S. men’s national team traveled to Cuova in Trinidad and Tobago on the final day of Concacaf World Cup qualifying. All the USMNT needed was a win or draw or at the very least have Mexico or Costa Rica get a win to keep its World Cup hopes alive.
None of it happened, and it was the darkest day in the history of the USMNT.
It has been exactly a year since the USMNT lost to Trinidad and Tobago in Cuova to be knocked out of the 2018 World Cup. It was the first time since 1986 the U.S. failed to reach a World Cup (men’s or women’s) and it sent shockwaves through the country.
The USMNT’s first competitive match after more than 600 days will be played in Minnesota on June 18. The 2019 Gold Cup schedule, venues and dates were announced Tuesday and the U.S. is going to be setting up in the Midwest for the 15th edition of Concacaf’s championship tournament.
Since losing to Trinidad and Tobago to be knocked out of the 2018 World Cup one year ago Wednesday, the USMNT has played some meaningless friendlies with a bunch of young kids and an interim coach.
For the first time ever, the gala for the Ballon d’Or will also include a presentation for the inaugural awarding of the Kopa Trophy — a prize given to the world's best under 21 player, so really just another Golden Boy because we really need more individual prizes in this sport, don’t we?
Regardless, the 10 finalists for the prize include:
Weston McKennie went more than 30 appearances without scoring a goal for Schalke. Now the 20-year-old American midfielder has two goals in as many games.
McKennie scored a dramatic late match winner against Lokomotiv Moscow in the Champions League on Wednesday in Russia. It wasn’t quite the impact he was hoping to make in Russia in 2018, but it was a great moment for the Texan to score his first goal for the club he joined in 2016.
Writing is a craft that must be honed over years of practice.
But sometimes a GIF just perfectly sums up everything you want to put on a page.
YESSS!!
Borussia Dortmund climbed to second in the Bundesliga table — just two points behind leader Bayern Munich following its surprising draw with Augsburg on Tuesday — after thumping Nurnberg 7-0 at the Westfalenstadion on Wednesday.
Since returning from a muscular injury, Christian Pulisic has been at his best for BVB, scoring in back-to-back matches before assisting on Dortmund’s first goal on Wednesday.
The American winger went on an impressive run before carving open Nurnberg’s backline with a sensational pass for Jacob Bruun Larsen’s opener.
Twenty-year-old American midfielder Luca de la Torre — a native of San Diego, California — scored his first competitive goal for Fulham on Tuesday in the Cottagers' 3-1 win over Millwall in the League Cup. Not only did De La Torre bag Fulham’s second of the day, he also assisted Joe Bryan on the first and Cyrus Christie (#COYBIG) on the third.
Here’s his first for the club.