For those looking forward to turning on their television sets in late June to get a glimpse of the comforting quadrennial event that is the United States versus Ghana, you’ll be shocked to discover that the World Cup will no longer feature a clash of the old enemies. Tragically, a rivalry dating back to time immemorial has been scuppered.
The USMNT are set to try to qualify for the 2018 World Cup against Trinidad & Tobago at a smaller venue than originally planned, and one thing we are happy to report is that everything is going EXTREMELY WELL with the playing surface.
Yes, NOTHING OUT OF THE ORDINARY to report. NOTHING AT ALL.
It’s getting harder and harder to deny the hype of Christian Pulisic; it’s getting harder and harder to find new superlatives for the teenager. Pulisic, who recently turned 19, was brilliant for 55 minutes but that was all he needed to inspire the United States to a crucial 4-0 rout of Panama in World Cup qualifying on Friday in Orlando.
FC Dallas played an ineligible player in a 0-0 draw with Orlando City on Saturday. MLS said on Friday the FC Dallas punishment would be a mere slap on the wrist, allowing the team to keep the point it earned. The league fined FC Dallas $75,000 in General Allocation Money and an additional $25,000 for the roster violation.
Because Christian Pulisic is too old and will never accomplish anything, we present to you the next American Messi: 9-year-old Alessandro Cupini (no relation to Cuphead). The Kansas City native will be moving to Italy next year to train with AS Roma according to a press release, an impressive step for a young American.
A thrill in sports not typically associated with soccer, the MLS playoff race is a unique feature when compared to European leagues like the English Premier League or Spain’s La Liga. But it sure does make the final weeks of the season exciting.
This year in the Western Conference, eight teams are competing for five remaining playoff spots with less than three weeks left in the regular season. With two three-way ties among the top eight teams, the race for the six playoff berths will go down to the wire, so let’s take a look.
The United States has qualified for every World Cup since 1990. Only once in that span did the Americans need a result on the final day of qualifying. That came in 1989 when the U.S. traveled to Trinidad and Tobago needing nothing less than a win to procure a trip to the 1990 World Cup. The USMNT again travels to Trinidad and Tobago on Oct. 10 needing a result to extend its streak to eight straight World Cup appearances.
TMZ Sports reported Tuesday that USWNT and Orlando Pride striker Alex Morgan was part of a group asked to leave Disney World after an incident at a bar in the Epcot Center. According to TMZ, witnesses said there was a confrontation between members of Morgan's party and another party at a pub in the U.K. section of Epcot. Police were called, and several members of Morgan's group were reportedly asked to leave.
FC Dallas has been in a free fall in recent months. The club has won just once since a 2-1 win over Montreal on July 22 saw FC Dallas briefly move to the top of the Western Conference, a span of 12 matches that included more than bad losses. It could get even worse after an apparent illegal substitution late in Saturday’s 0-0 draw with Orlando City.