Leagues Cup and Europa Conference League qualifying
Friday’s soccer news returns to the Leagues Cup round of 32 where new England drew 2-2 with Atlas at Gillette Stadium, advancing 8-7 on penalties. Trailing 2-0 from goals from Mateo Garcia in the 8th and Jordy Caicedo in the 11th, Gustavo Bou scored for the Revolution in the 30th and equalized in the 79th. Atlas’s Anderson Santamaria saw red eight minutes into stoppage time. Moving to penalties, Atlas failed to convert in the 8th round while New England went eight for eight.
“It feels good to be able to help the team advance,” New England defender Andrew Farrell said. “We were all pumped to go through. Obviously going down 2-0, we were just like, ‘Next play, next play. Stay in the game.’ We trusted each other and we trusted our team. We have a really good team. We haven’t lost a home game yet, so we don’t want to do that. I’m excited to be able to contribute.”
The Red Bulls beat NYCFC 1-0 at home on a 31st minute Omir Fernandez penalty. Red Bulls goalkeeper Carlos Coronel recorded the shutout with three saves.
Philadelphia and DC United finished 0-0 at Subaru Park with the Union winning 5-4 on penalties. Philadelphia failed to convert in the opening round and DC failed to convert in rounds 4 and 5.
Queretaro advanced with a 1-0 won over UNAM Pumas at Audi Field. Angel Sepulveda scored in the 74th minute and Queretaro goalkeeper Fernando Tapia kept the clean sheet with six saves.
Charlotte and Cruz Azul finished scoreless at Toyota Stadium with Charlotte advancing 4-3 on penalties. Charlotte failed to convert in the 1st and 5th rounds while Cruz Azul failed to convert in rounds 2, 3, and 6.
Moving to the USMNT players in Europa Conference League second round qualifying, Kenny Saief subbed out in the 90th minute of Neftchi’s 2-0 home win over Zeljeznicar Sarajevo to advance 4-2 on aggregate. Saief opened the scoring in the 19th and Eddy Silvestre made it 2-0 in the 68th minute. Neftchi plays Beskitas in the third round Main Path with all the next round of qualifiers on August 10 and 17.
Sam Rogers was on the bench for Rosenborg’s 3-2 home win over Crusaders to take that series 5-4 on aggregate after extra time. Jayden Nelson put Rosenborg up in the 33rd with Crusaders equalizing on the night and on aggregate in the 45th. With the series in extra time, Rosenborg’s Isak Thorvaldsson scored in the 102nd with Crusaders equalizing again in the 105th. Leo Cornic scored Rosenborg’s winner in the 108th minute. Rosenborg gets Hearts in the next round of qualifying.
Owen Otasowie wasn’t in the squad for Club Brugge’s 1-0 loss at AGF with Club Brugge advancing 3-1 on aggregate. AGF scored in the 3rd minute. Club Brugge plays KA in the third round.
An abbreviated preview with the start of the Scottish Premiership season this weekend. Cameron Carter-Vickers is the only USMNT player involved as the season begins, with defending champions Celtic the easily identifiable favorite under new manager Brendan Rodgers who was in charge for back-to-back triples in 2016-17 and 20-18. Once again, Carter-Vickers should be a regular in Celtic’s defense as he demonstrated over 29 Premiership games last season on the way to clinching the title early. Carter-Vickers has been a part of back-to-back Premiership and League Cup trophy winning squads, adding the Scottish Cup to complete last season’s triple.
“I think the standards have been set here over many years,” Rodgers said. “It’s the standard of Celtic, it’s not just what’s been done over the last five or ten years. Celtic is a club that has a high expectation and high standards that are always set and any manager that comes in here, that’s what you embrace and it’s also what you look forward to. So for me, I understand what those standards are, and that was one of the big reasons for coming back here, to try and continue and develop those, improve those.”
Also in the soccer news, Matthew Hoppe has joined San Jose on loan from Championship club Middlesbrough. “Matthew is an exciting, young player who has already gotten a lot of experience in a number of different leagues,” San Jose GM Chris Leitch said in the press statement announcing the move. “He has also played at the international level and was a big part of the US Gold Cup victory in 2021. With his ability to play multiple positions, he is going to be an important addition to our attacking core.”
WEEKEND SOCCER TV
Saturday has the World Cup round of 16 on FS1: Switzerland vs Spain at 1am and Japan vs Norway at 4am. Netherlands vs South Africa is on FOX at 10pm.
Premiership on CBS Sports: Celtic vs Ross County at 7:30am. Ligue 2 on beIN Sport: St Etienne vs Grenoble Foot 38 at 9am. Ecuador’s Primera A on GolTV: Universidad Catolica vs Tecnico Universitario at 2pm, Orense vs Delfin at 4:30pm, and El Nacional vs Aucas at 7pm.
ESPN Deportes has the Bayer Leverkusen vs West Ham friendly at 7:30am, Eintracht vs Nottingham Forest at 9:30am, and Crystal Palace vs Lyon at 3:30pm. Fox Deportes has Wolverhampton vs Rennes at 7:45am and Everton vs Sporting at 10am. ESPN2 has Real Betis vs Real Sociedad at 7pm and Atletico Madrid vs Sevilla at 10pm.
Sunday has the World Cup round of 16 on FOX: Sweden vs USA at 5am.
ESPN has the Manchester United vs Athletic friendly at 11am and ESPN Deportes has Toulouse vs Roma at 1:30pm. Ecuador Primera A on GolTV: Mushuc Runa vs Independiente del Valle at 2pm and Barcelona vs Gualeceo at 7pm. Peru’s Primera Division on GolTV: Carlos Manucci vs Cesar Vallejo at 4pm. Honduran Liga Nacional on Fox Deportes: Marathon vs Vida at 5pm. Guatemalan Liga Nacional on Fox Deportes: Xinabajul vs Coatepeque at 7pm.
Monday has the World Cup round of 16 on FS1: England vs Nigeria at 3:30am and Australia vs Denmark at 6:30am.
Fox Deportes has the Bayern Munich vs Monaco friendly at 11am. CBS Sports has Liverpool vs Darmstadt at 2pm. Ecuador’s Primera Division on GolTV: LDU Quito vs Deportivo Cuenca at 8pm. All Times Eastern
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Photo by the New England Revolution
