The United States earned a massive point at the Azteca on Thursday night to make its path to the 2022 World Cup that much clearer, but there's a lingering feeling that the team could've returned home with all three had it been more clinical in the final third.
I’m not going to lie. The USMNT’s final three World Cup qualifiers have me nervous.
I can’t recall a time I’ve been this anxious over a sporting event. Gregg Berhalter must get his injury-riddled team through the gauntlet of Mexico, Panama (the only home game) and Costa Rica.
Editor’s Note: See update at bottom.
The Orlando Pride are, by their very name, a symbol of the LGBTQ+ community. Many of the Pride’s most prominent players have been gay, and Exploria Stadium includes 49 rainbow-colored seats as a memorial to the victims of the 2016 Pulse nightclub mass shooting. But apparently, the word “gay” is too political for the team.
The Champions League draw for the quarterfinals and eventual semifinal matchups was held on Friday, with the eight remaining teams discovering their paths to glory. Some sets of fans *cough Liverpool* will be ecstatic with the Champions League draw. Others, not so much. Here is the full draw and the Champions League quarterfinal odds.
The quarter-finals are set! ✔️
“When is the March USMNT roster coming out?” is the question fans have been asking for about a week now. The U.S. has its three final and biggest World Cup qualifying games to close out March.
Fans are eager to know who the American players will be that play Mexico, Panama and Costa Rica to try to qualify for Qatar this winter. In the past, the USMNT would release the roster via social media the week before the first game of a qualifying window.
For the final window of qualifying the USMNT is doing things a bit different.
Benfica pulled off a smash-and-grab victory in Amsterdam on Tuesday defeating a much better-looking Ajax side 1-0 to advance to the Champions League quarterfinals winning 3-2 on aggregate.
If you watched the game on Paramount+ then you also suffered an unbearable 90 minutes where the audio was about one second ahead of the video on screen. One second doesn’t sound like a whole lot, but it becomes very apparent while watching.
They're not finished. They're still two of the planet's best footballers and will battle for the game's biggest prizes over the next few years, but it's clear now that the 2021-22 season marks a personal decline for both Lionel Messi and Cristiano that's indicative of life as a professional athlete in your mid to late thirties.
For Messi, it'll be the first time in 14 years that he doesn't surpass 30 goals across all competitions. He's at seven with just 10 matches remaining.
The last time I rolled out this USMNT striker depth chart/power rankings article was seven months ago. Despite including nine center forwards, Ricardo Pepi wasn't even on the list — the 18-year-old was still a week away from receiving his first senior call-up, and things really escalated quickly from there.
This week, Tom Brady decided to end his one-month retirement and return to the NFL. Carli Lloyd should do the same, just so she finds something else to put her energy into besides sticking her foot in her mouth.
Carli Lloyd ended an illustrious career last fall, hanging up her cleats after winning two Women’s World Cups, two Olympic gold medals and FIFA World Player of the Year in 2015. She retired as the second-most capped USWNT player and in the top five in goals and assists in USWNT history.
March Madness is finally here. No, not that silly basketball tournament that once again left your school out (what, just me?). I’m talking real madness: The 2022 NWSL Challenge Cup. If it’s anything like the start of last year’s edition, you won’t want to miss a minute.