The soccer news starts with Orlando City joining Portland in Tuesday's MLS is Back final after knocking out Minnesota United 3-1. Nani put Orlando up in the 36th minute, doubling the lead in the 42nd. Mason Toye pulled a goal back for Minnesota in the 83rd minute. Benji Michel finished off the Orlando goals six minutes into stoppage time. "We're very happy to be in the final," Orlando City coach . . .
Portland moves on at MLS is Back
The Portland Timbers took a spot in the MLS is Back final, beating Philadelphia 2-1. Jeremy Ebobisse put Portland up in the 13th minute with Sebastian Blanco doubling the lead in the 70th. Andrew Wooten pulled a goal back for the Union in the 85th minute. "We don’t play for the commentators. We don’t play for the writers," Portland coach Giovanni Savarese said. "We play for our fans, for . . .
MLS is Back is full of surprises, whatever that means
By J Hutcherson (Aug 4, 2020) US Soccer Players - If Major League Soccer successfully restarts the regular season this month, it's a safe assumption that MLS is Back won't matter. Certainly, the group stage results counting in the league table becomes an issue, but that depends on how many games MLS expects to play. If it's enough, the clubs in the league of four-game losing streaks will manage. . . .
USMNT players in the 2019-20 Champions League
Tuesday's soccer news starts with a look at the two USMNT players in the 2019-20 Champions League. It's not exactly surprising that it's a shortlist for Europe's top competition, finally set to complete the round of 16 on Friday and Saturday. For Tyler Adams's RB Leipzig, it's a longer wait. RB Leipzig knocked out Spurs 4-0 on aggregate on March 10 to advance to the quarterfinals. They already . . .
The interim tag in MLS
By Clemente Lisi – NEW YORK, NY (Jul 27, 2020) US Soccer Players – The MLS is Back Tournament had its first coaching casualty when Atlanta United FC parted ways with Frank de Boer. In his place, the team promoted Stephen Glass as interim. Glass, who coached USL side ATL UTD 2, takes over while the team conducts a coaching search. Moving on from de Boer seems bold, but going 0-3 last month at MLS . . .
USMNT players in the 2019-20 Europa League
Monday's soccer news starts with the return of the Europa League later this week. The round of 16 continues on Wednesday, picking up where European soccer's secondary competition left off following the March 12 matchday. Three USMNT players were active in the tournament when it went on hiatus. That number is now two with Matt Polster leaving Rangers for the New England Revolution. Polster's . . .
Pulisic scores in FA Cup final, MLS is Back moves to the semifinals
The roundup of USMNT players in Europe and Mexico starts with the FA Cup final. Though the result didn't go Chelsea's way, Christian Pulisic once again had a strong performance for Chelsea. Pulisic opened the scoring in the 5th minute in the 2-1 loss to Arsenal at Embley. Pulisic subbed out in the 49th minute with a hamstring injury. Arsenal equalized from a 28th minute penalty, scoring again in . . .
The favorite and playing the underdog at MLS is Back
By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON, DC (Jul 31, 2020) US Soccer Players - If Major League Soccer was going for "unpredictable" with the MLS Is Back tournament in Orlando, they couldn't have planned it any better. The group stage threw up plenty of surprises. The round of 16 delivered its fair share of eyebrow-raising moments. We can't expect anything less from the quarterfinals. This isn't to say you . . .
Ream’s Fulham takes another step towards the Premier League
Friday's soccer news starts with Tim Ream's Fulham advancing in the Championship promotion playoffs. Fulham lost the second-leg 2-1 at home to Cardiff City, but advanced 3-2 on aggregate. Cardiff scored in the 8th minute with Neeskens Kebano equalizing for Fulham in the 9th. Cardiff scored again in the 47th minute. Fulham advances to play Brentford in the single-leg promotion final on Tuesday at . . .
Concacaf’s new 2022 qualifying format sets expectations in the region
By Charles Boehm – WASHINGTON, DC (Jul 30, 2020) US Soccer Players - This week Concacaf rolled out its grand new plan for the 2022 World Cup qualifying cycle. On Monday, the confederation unveiled a revised format and timetable for the road to Qatar in the wake of the upheaval caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, it released the rescheduled dates for the final phase of the inaugural . . .
