Wednesday's soccer news starts with Jordan Pefok getting the late winner on the opening night of the 2021-22 UEFA Champions League group stage. Young Boys beat Manchester United 2-1 at home, playing a man up from the 35th minute. Trailing from the 13th, Nicolas Ngamaleu equalized for Young Boys in the 66th. A halftime substitute, Pefok took advantage of a deflected backpass to score five minutes . . .
Philadelphia tries for a Champions League turnaround
Tuesday's soccer news starts with Club America hosting Philadelphia in the second-leg of their Concacaf Champions League semifinal series tomorrow night (9pm ET - FS1). Club America took a 2-0 lead at Estadio Azteca on August 12. Separating the games by over a month that included an international break is an interesting choice. Whether it's a benefit for either team is part of the scenarios . . .
Juventus and Chelsea in group H
Monday's soccer news starts with Juventus looking for points in Serie A. Weston McKennie subbed out in the 72nd minute of their 2-1 loss at Napoli with the game 1-1. Napoli scored in the 85th to remain tied on points at the top of the table after starting the season with three straight wins. Juventus, meanwhile, has one point from three games and a -2 goal difference. "Defensively we played . . .
Goal for Carter-Vickers, win for Musah’s Valencia
The roundup of USMNT players in Europe starts with Cameron Carter-Vickers scoring the opening goal in his first game with Celtic. Carter-Vickers put Celtic up in the 64th minute on the way to a 3-0 home win over Ross County. Albian Ajeti added goals in the 70th and 85th minutes. “I thought we played well," Carter-Vickers said. "I thought we persisted as they were tough to break down as it took . . .
MLS Week 24: Pepi scores, Seattle stays on top
Week 24 of the 2021 Major League Soccer season starts in Atlanta where United shut out Orlando City 3-0 at home on Friday. George Campbell opened the scoring in the 25th minute. Orlando gave up an own-goal in the 38th and Ezequiel Barco made it 3-0 in the 72nd minute. Brad Guzan made two saves to keep the clean sheet. "The test for us, and credit to the players, when we started to prepare for . . .
Ricardo Pepi pushes forward
By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON, DC (Sep 10, 2021) US Soccer Players - It was just yesterday that USMNT and FC Dallas striker Ricardo Pepi was a precocious talent emerging from the Texas border town of El Paso. Okay, so “yesterday” is a bit of an exaggeration, but not by much. Pepi’s rise from local kid with potential to national team star happened so quickly that most of us just missed it. While some . . .
The USMNT moves on from a tricky September
Thursday's soccer news starts with the USMNT turning around a World Cup qualifier in Honduras. Down a goal at the half, reorganizing around substitutions made the difference. With Ricardo Pepi getting his first start, first cap, and the go-ahead goal, the United States once again showed that a new look can get a result. Here are three things we learned from the win at Honduras. Adjustments . . .
Honduras 1 – USMNT 4, Concacaf World Cup qualifying
The United States picked up three points on the road in Concacaf World Cup qualifying, beating Honduras 4-1. Honduras opened the scoring in the 27th minute through Brayan Moya. Antonee Robinson subbed on at halftime and equalized in the 48th minute. In his first game with the senior squad, Ricardo Pepi headed in a DeAndre Yedlin ball in the 74th minute. Pepi assisted on Brenden Aaronson's goal in . . .
Ambition and expectation in the MLS playoff race
By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON, DC (Sep 8, 2021) US Soccer Players - There's a point in every race when competitors off the lead pace have to make a move if they want a chance at victory. In some cases, kicking into high gear is part of the strategy. Giving it everything down the stretch can be a part of the game. It's not a direct comparison with how a playoff race tends to work. Still, every MLS . . .
The end of the September window in Concacaf World Cup qualifying
Wednesday's soccer news starts with the USMNT in action tonight against Honduras (10pm ET - Paramount+) to close out the September international window. Two points from two games so far are causing issues for the program, already dealing with unmet expectations. A result in Honduras might stifle some of those complaints, but it's a safe assumption that they'll carry into the October window. As . . .
