Springtime is finally here, marking a return to outdoor soccer across the country after a particularly brutal winter. It's time to play the game the way the Football Association intended.
With the changing of the season comes certain rites of spring that all players will recognize.
#1. Securing the bag.
The weather's warming, the flowers are blooming and your local MLS side is calling — it's tailgating season. If you're looking to schedule an outing, here are 10 players who are worth the price of admission.
There's no sound science behind this ranking so warning, some readers might be offended. But I really don't think you'll have a bad time watching any of these guys play live.
#10. Jordan Morris | Seattle Sounders
Position: Left winger
The league table is finally taking shape as the top teams separate themselves from the pack while the league's cellar dwellers cling to every point that will hopefully save their seasons. There were several struggling teams that earned massive wins while some top teams slipped up, making for another thoroughly entertaining matchweek.
Premier League relegation is a simple concept: Your team was not good enough this season so they, and two other teams, have to drop down to the tier below (the Championship) and will play their games there next season. Conversely, the Championship will promote three teams to the Premier League to take their places (let’s not get into the playoffs). This toing and froing happens all the way down the league structure.
Major League Soccer is bound by parity and married to the chaos that comes with it. With late goals, monumental upsets and high-scoring affairs, Matchday 8 was one for the books.
Based off what we've seen from the Concacaf W Championship and SheBelieves Cup, a USWNT World Cup roster prediction seems like a pretty straightforward exercise — Vlatko Andonovski hasn't been tinkering away with his squads.
However, the dramatic recall of Julie Ertz showed us that certain veterans can't be ruled out with three months of club ball still to be played. There are proven stars returning from longterm injuries who'll be watched closely by the staff, and let's just hope that Mallory Swanson is the only late addition to the casualty list.
MLS Matchweek 7 proved severely dichotomous to the league’s image. Fans were treated to the best that MLS offers with individual brilliance, age-defying heroes, local rivalries and close games. However, it was an alleged incident that occurred between San Jose and New York that left an extremely sour taste in fans' mouths.
A week on from international matches and MLS has returned to full strength. The superstars have reappeared, replacing the excuses that swam in their wake and results are once again indicative of each team’s true ability.
Life under new manager Wilfried Nancy left a bit to be desired for the Crew. The former CF Montréal boss saw his new side secure just four points from its first four matches, but back-to-back dominant displays have given this marriage a new outlook.
The USMNT finished the Nations League group stage with another demonstration of its strength out wide as Christian Pulisic, Brenden Aaronson and Gio Reyna all had their moments, but Ricardo Pepi made a statement up top with three goals in two games to trigger a storm of "I knew we should've brought him to Qatar!" takes on Twitter. Virgil van Dijk got lucky.
A grain of salt. Perhaps the perfect idiom for MLS Matchweek 5. As teams traversed the FIFA-recognized international break, it became abundantly clear that some squads were better at handling life without their superstars than others. This imbalance made for some surprising results, but overall, a thoroughly entertaining week of games.