Highlights

Brandon Vázquez came off the bench to score in the 88th minute as the U.S. men's national team salvaged a 1-1 draw with upset-minded Jamaica on Saturday in the first match of the CONCACAF Gold Cup in Chicago.

Vázquez, of FC Cincinnati, entered six minutes earlier and was in the right spot in front of the goal when a Jesús Ferreira cross deflected off Jamaican defender Dexter Lembikisa.

Tucked between the Nations League final and Gold Cup kicking off, MLS Matchday 20 found a way to keep fans excited. The early games brought the heat while the late-night slate kept the stove warm on a day packed with goals despite stars across the league missing out. 

Brazil's legendary national team has played 89 different countries over the course of its storied history but only two nations have managed to face the Seleção without tasting defeat. Norway, surprisingly, has a record of two wins and two draws against Brazil (including a famous victory at the '98 World Cup), and the other nation actually beat them on Tuesday: Senegal.

When it comes to rookies in the National Women's Soccer League, most of the discussion has centered around No. 1 overall pick Alyssa Thompson. The headlines write themselves when you're talking about an 18-year-old who's already scored some spectacular goals for Angel City and is challenging for the USWNT World Cup squad.

But what about No. 2 overall pick Michelle Cooper, the forward who won the 2022 Hermann Trophy as the nation's best college player with 19 goals and 11 assists in 22 games during her sophomore season at Duke?

The Concacaf Nations League trophy has only ever known one home, and it's staying put after the USMNT defeated Canada 2-0 on Sunday in Las Vegas to claim their most coveted prize of the summer. 

Canada came into this one with genuine belief that they could claim their first continental crown since the 2000 Gold Cup, but the pressure is now on manager John Herdman after the Americans — led by the interim mind of B.J. Callaghan — nullified their talented attack and provided all the entertainment going the other way.

ROTTERDAM - Serial winner Dani Carvajal converted the decisive spot-kick to hand Spain a first title in more than a decade as they edged Croatia 5-4 in a penalty shootout to win the Nations League in Rotterdam on Sunday.

The 31-year-old, who has won five Champions League titles with Real Madrid, calmly chipped home Spain’s sixth kick of the shootout as they claimed their first silverware since the 2012 European Championship.

Just six games were contested on Matchday 19 as many teams enjoyed a week off before having to do it all again this coming Wednesday. With 29 teams, the league schedule can easily become discombobulated, especially with rescheduled matches and bye weeks. To accommodate this, MLS Matchday 19 gave these teams a chance to catch up and re-level the playing field. While there may have been fewer games, the quality on display was as high as ever.

Pablo Ruiz scored a remarkable goal from just inside his own half of the field and visiting Real Salt Lake continued their strong away form with a 2-1 victory against 10-man D.C. United on Saturday night.

Early in the second half, Danny Musovski added what stood as the match-winning goal for Salt Lake (6-7-5, 23 points), which completed an MLS-best-tying fourth road win of the season.

The United States men’s national team dominated Mexico in the Concacaf Nations League semifinal with a 3-0 victory. What should have been a moment to celebrate was disgraced by fights between players and repeated homophobic chants from Mexican fans.

Before we get into the disgusting ending of the game, let’s take a quick look at the highlights.