USMNT manager Bruce Arena has announced his 24-man squad for vital World Cup qualifiers against Honduras and Panama at the end of March. This represented the first opportunity for Arena to include European-based talent, but it’s clear that he’s also given a fair shake to the MLS players that impressed during January camp.
Tigres moved one step closer to their first-ever CONCACAF Champions League title by defeating Vancouver Whitecaps 2-0 in the first leg of the semifinals. An own goal from ‘Caps defender Kendall Waston and a half-volley from Chilean international Eduardo Vargas will have Tigres confident of seeing things through ahead of the return leg in Vancouver.
Vancouver surprised everyone by making it this far in the competition, and their only hope was to give themselves a chance at BC Place by defending resolutely in the first leg.
Eryk Williamson, a sophomore at the University of Maryland and a potential DC United Homegrown player, smashed a half-volley from almost 25 yards out that crashed in off the inside of the left post to send the United States U-20 team to the final of the 2017 CONCACAF Championship. The victory also clinched the American's spot at the FIFA U-20 World Cup.
After last year’s all-Liga MX semifinal round in the CONCACAF Champions League, we’ve been given some welcome variety in this year’s edition with two MLS sides reaching the semis for the first time since 2012-13.
FC Dallas, the 2016 MLS Supporters’ Shield and US Open Cup winners, will play Pachuca, champions of the 2016 Liga MX Clausura. In the other tie, the Vancouver Whitecaps, victors over the New York Red Bulls in the quarterfinals, will play Tigres, the side that won the Liga MX Apertura championship in December.
The United States U-20 team defeated a Mexican U-20 side that hadn’t lost a match since 2009 on Monday in the classification stage of the 2017 CONCACAF U-20 Championship.
The loss for Mexico means that they’ll need a result against El Salvador on March 1 to qualify for the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup in South Korea. If Mexico were to lose or draw that match, the US would clinch their spot before even playing their final classification match against El Salvador on March 3.
We all know the legitimate questions that greet every disappointing showing from the USMNT: why does the US struggle so mightily when it comes to developing players from a young age? Why can’t we develop a star player? Why isn’t the American system doing a better job at finding Hispanic talent?
The extremely complex process of youth soccer development in America is hampered by the pay-to-play system, the daunting task of casting a net over millions of U-6 to U-18 players and the lack of qualified coaches to ensure their development.
As temperatures drop below freezing and blizzard warnings grip the Midwest, it feels as though winter has been here forever and shows no sign of abating. So it’s with an envious eye that we follow the 2017 CONCACAF Beach Soccer Championship in the Bahamas.
The tournament, contested by 16 nations from February 20-26, will crown the region’s champion and decide which two teams will qualify for the 2017 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup. On Friday, the quarterfinals will be contested and it looks like everyone is having a helluva time.
The 2016-17 CONCACAF Champions League resumed last night, and a matchup between the New York Red Bulls and Vancouver Whitecaps guarantees that at least one MLS side in preseason form will advance to the semifinals of the competition.
MLS declined to revamp the scheduling of the tournament because the alternative was to hugely disrupt MLS playoffs, and it’s pretty obvious which knockout competition is more important to the league.
Las clasificaciones de FIFA son algo extraño, como Foo-Foo the Snoo de Dr. Seuss. No tienen nada de real y usualmente cambian la realidad, pero son usados como referencia frecuentemente e incluso son utilizados como marco de referencia para competiciones internacionales.
Las últimas clasificaciones mundiales de la FIFA salieron hoy y no hubo cambios en los primeros cinco.
1. Argentina
2. Brasil
3. Alemania
4. Chile
5. Bélgica
In recent weeks the NWSL’s headlines have been all over the place, offering both fans and critics something to point at. For the supporters the 2017 draft took place and two new ownership groups have bought into the league. While critics will focus on the league players moving to Europe and how the 2016 champions could be sold and moved that easily.