Managers

Anthony Martial has denied refusing to be in Manchester United's squad for Saturday's Premier League game against Aston Villa after interim manager Ralf Rangnick said the Frenchman did not want to be involved.

The 26-year-old forward has started only two league games this season and has not featured since a 3-2 win over Arsenal on Dec. 2. Martial's representative has said he wants to secure a move in January to get more game time.

United are struggling for players due to injuries, COVID-19 and the Africa Cup of Nations but Martial played no part in the 2-2 draw with Villa.

American fans are dying to see the USMNT January roster that will take on El Salvador, Canada and Honduras in the crucial upcoming World Cup qualifiers. The fixation on the roster is so intense that fans brushed aside defender Aaron Long’s marriage.

Roster out?

— Tactical Manager (@ManagerTactical) January 6, 2022

For reasons good and (mostly) bad, the National Women’s Soccer League has had a lot of turnover in management positions over the last 15 months, from ownership to coaches. But there’s reason to be excited about the newest addition to the NWSL, made Thursday by the KC Current heading into their second season as a club. 

There was but one major global international soccer tournament in 2021. For some reason, the coach who inspired an underdog victory in that competition wasn’t deemed worthy by FIFA to even be a finalist for the organization’s FIFA Best Coach of 2021 award. Not that we’re the least bit surprised; we’ve long learned to expect the worst from FIFA.

LAFC will introduce former United States men's national team defender Steve Cherundolo as their next manager on Monday, ESPN reported.

Cherundolo, 42, replaces Bob Bradley, who left the team after his contract expired at the end of the 2021 season. Bradley was later named the head coach at Toronto FC.

Cherundolo managed the Las Vegas Lights, LAFC's USL Championship affiliate, last season.

Sierra Leone are hoping to prove competitive and lay the foundation for future qualification as they compete at this month’s Africa Cup of Nations finals for the first time in a quarter century, coach John Keister said.

Having last qualified for the 1996 edition in South Africa in only their second appearance at the finals, the west African country returns hoping to become a more regular participant, according to their Manchester-born coach.

LONDON - Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku was left out of the squad to face Liverpool at home on Sunday after saying he was dissatisfied with his role at Stamford Bridge.

The 28-year-old, who signed from Inter Milan in the close season for a club-record $132 million, told Sky Italy recently that he was unhappy with manager Thomas Tuchel's system. Lukaku also said he would like to return to Italy at some point in his career.

Asked about the Belgian international's comments ahead of the Liverpool game, Tuchel said they were "not helpful."

Christian Pulisic is in a bit of a form slump heading into the holidays with only one goal in his last 11 appearances. An inconsistent number of starts can be attributed to the poor form with only four of those 11 appearances being starts. Another issue comes in the form of a question. What position does Pulisic play?