USA

Futsal’s importance to developing great footballers has never been a secret. 

Brazil is the standard-bearer of the hard court game that favors ball control, passing in tight spaces and creativity over any sort of physical advantage. Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Neymar, Pelé and Philipe Coutinho all played extensively in their youth, and what they learned and practiced on the court translated beautifully onto the pitch.

The United States Women's National Team Players Association (USWNTPA) on Wednesday labeled the U.S. Soccer Federation's offer of identical contract proposals for both the men's and women's teams as a nothing more than a publicity stunt.

The U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF) announced its offer on Tuesday as part of an effort it said was to align the women's and men's national teams under one collective bargaining agreement.

With Villarreal and Atalanta lying in wait, Manchester United travelled to Swiss Super League champion Young Boys knowing that three points was vital against the side 30 places beneath them in UEFA’s club coefficient. 

All eyes were on Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s team after the manager again fielded the exciting quartet of Cristiano Ronaldo, Bruno Fernandes, Jadon Sancho and Paul Pogba that’d decimated Newcastle on Saturday.

The UEFA Champions League group stage begins on Tuesday and many Americans will be googling “how to watch Champions League 2021.” There are three answers to that question: Paramount+, watch in Spanish or break the law and stream it illegally.

How To Watch Champions League 2021/2022 Season (In English)

TV: None

Streaming: Paramount+

Ever since CBS acquired the broadcasting rights to the Champions League in 2020, the world’s largest annual tournament is almost entirely streamed for American fans. 

Ricardo Pepi scored his team-leading 12th goal to help host FC Dallas record a 1-1 draw against the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday in Frisco, Texas.

Pepi returned to action after missing FC Dallas' last match while participating with the United States Men's National Team for World Cup qualifying. The 18-year-old homegrown player made quite the impact after his diving header off Justin Che's cross beat a diving JT Marcinkowski to forge a 1-1 tie.

Pepi has scored four goals in his last three MLS matches.

Bayern Munich thrashed RB Leipzig 4-1 on Saturday to go up to second in the Bundesliga on the quest for a tenth straight league title. 

Tyler Adams, who played every minute of World Cup qualifying for the USMNT, didn’t feature in RB Leipzig’s defeat. The 22-year-old has still made headlines for his comments on Bayern’s tendency to purchase the best talent from the Bundesliga.

Austin FC signed 16-year-old Owen Wolff, the second-oldest son of head coach Josh Wolff, to a first-team contract on Thursday.

Wolff is the first homegrown signing in Austin's history.

The FIRST EVER #AustinFC Homegrown!

Owen Wolff is #VERDE now!

The USMNT injury updates include a mixed batch of good and bad news.

Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel gave a Christian Pulisic injury update after the American forward suffered a knock to the ankle during the USMNT’s 4-1 victory against Honduras. Good news U.S. and Chelsea fans, Pulisic will only be out for 10 days.

“For Christian, unfortunately he came yesterday on crutches and he has an ankle injury with about 10 days," Tuchel said.

If there’s one thing you should take away from Season 2 of Ted Lasso, it’s that mental health is of utmost importance. Christen Press probably already knew this, and on Thursday the USWNT forward announced she would be stepping away from the beautiful game to focus on herself.