Names in and of themselves are not all that interesting. It’s the meaning behind a name, bestowed upon a child at birth, that makes it special. When Giovanni Alejandro Reyna was born in Sunderland, England, to a pair of U.S. soccer players in 2002, the future Borussia Dortmund star was given a name that proved prophetic for his footballing prowess.
It finally happened.
After decades of battling, the U.S. Soccer Federation has agreed to pay its men’s and women’s players equally, a landmark deal and the first of its kind in the soccer world.
U.S soccer men's and women's national team players will receive equal pay and prize money, including at World Cups, after they came together to agree on landmark collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) with the U.S Soccer Federation on Wednesday.
U.S. Soccer becomes the first federation in the world to equalize FIFA World Cup prize money awarded to both women's and men's teams for participation in their respective World Cups.
On Monday, Clint Dempsey answered questions from the media before his induction into the 2022 National Soccer Hall of Fame.
One of the most important things Gregg Berhalter and the USMNT established over the course of qualifying was the trusted centerback pairing of Miles Robinson and Walker Zimmerman. On Monday, however, Atlanta United confirmed that Robinson had suffered a ruptured left Achilles tendon during Saturday's win over the Chicago Fire.
Gregg Berhalter was invited on ESPN’s flagship SportsCenter show to talk about the U.S. men’s national team 200 days before the Americans open the World Cup in Qatar. The USMNT coach talked plenty of soccer and did his best to dumb it down for the average SportsCenter viewer. As the interview concluded, host Scott Van Pelt showed the USMNT jersey Berhalter had given him. It was far too small for the 6-6 anchor and not quite sized for any of his three children, either. It was for SVP’s beloved dog Otis.
Van Pelt was nearly brought to tears.
The rivalry between México and United States is not only in the field. It's becoming more and more common to see both nations battling to convince young, talented dual-citizen soccer players to commit to their programs. Ricardo Pepi, Julián Araujo and Jonathan Gómez are the most high-profile cases last year, but the list grows and grows down the line. One example is the Cowell brothers, Cade and Chance.
My initial reaction to the news that the 2022 World Cup was being played in the winter was a mix of outrage and annoyance. Fast forward to present day and I along with every other USMNT fan couldn’t be happier that Qatar is hosting a winter tournament. A growing USMNT injury list is the reason.
The United States men’s national team has scheduled a juicy, enticing friendly game against Uruguay on June 5. This will be one of four games the USMNT plays in June. Uruguay — ranked 13th in the world — will be the highest ranked non-Concacaf opponent the U.S. has faced in over a year.