Tuesday's soccer news starts with the latest rescheduling of a summer tournament. The Tokyo Olympics will move to next summer, with the International Olympic Committee making the announcement earlier today. Concacaf Men's Olympic qualifying would've already been underway in Guadalajara. The USMNT U-23s would be playing Mexico, Costa Rica, and the Dominican Republic in Group A. With the official . . .
5 USMNT players in the Eredivisie
By Clemente Lisi – NEW YORK, NY (Mar 23, 2020) US Soccer Players – The USMNT was supposed to be preparing for a Thursday friendly against the Netherlands in the Dutch city of Eindhoven. It was supposed to be a big test for the Americans as they prepared for the Concacaf Nations League and World Cup Qualifying. Instead, none of this seems to matter at the moment. The USMNT last played on February 1 . . .
La Liga will wait for government approval
Monday's soccer news starts with Spain's domestic leagues now turning toward the government to approve an eventual restart. Though international soccer is well on record for not wanting government interference in a country's soccer operations, Spain is moving ahead with a common sense move other countries should follow. "The Monitoring Commission established by the current RFEF-LaLiga . . .
The pandemic reminds us what matters, and what doesn’t, about soccer
By Charles Boehm – WASHINGTON, DC (Mar 20, 2020) US Soccer Players - In a matter of weeks, the coronavirus outbreak has transformed lives across the planet. From the relatively modest sacrifices of working from home and other social distancing to the nearly 9,000 and counting who've died from the illness around the world, people are facing fears and challenges with little to no precedent in our . . .
Stadium construction continues in MLS
By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON, DC (Mar 18, 2020) US Soccer Players - The game is on hiatus, and most of the fans are stuck at home waiting for regular life to return. Meanwhile, preparations for the future of soccer continue in several MLS cities. Soccer-specific stadium construction pushed MLS from unwanted houseguests in arenas not built with the game in mind to the chief tenant in glittering, . . .
The revised future of FIFA’s Club World Cup
Wednesday's soccer news starts with FIFA president Gianni Infantino confirming that the revamped Club World Cup won't be happening on schedule. With EURO 2020 now EURO 2021 and CONMEBOL also moving the Copa America to next summer, FIFA's Club World Cup will need to vacate its spot on the schedule. That's good news for Concacaf, since the Gold Cup would overlap with a club tournament designed to . . .
5 soccer books while we wait
By J Hutcherson (Mar 17, 2020) US Soccer Players - Let's start with the not at all problematic idea that the best soccer books were mostly written years ago. There's a reason almost every list mentions Nick Hornby's Fever Pitch, a book that is closing in on its 30th birthday. Harry Pearson's The Far Corner came out in 1994. So did Simon Kuper's Football Against the Enemy. Joe McGinniss's The . . .
EURO 2020 and Copa America postponed to next summer
Tuesday's soccer news starts with UEFA and CONMEBOL responding to the need for a compressed club schedule by pushing EURO 2020 and the 2020 Copa America to the summer of 2021. Both tournaments are now on the schedule for June 11 - July 11, 2021. "It is an extraordinary measure for an unexpected situation, and therefore responds to the fundamental need to avoid an exponential evolution of the . . .
UEFA’s decision
Monday's soccer news starts with Europe waiting to see what UEFA has planned for the rest of the 2019-20 club season as well as this summer's EURO 2020 tournament. UEFA is meeting remotely with stakeholders on Tuesday to try to determine a strategy in uncertain times. The limited postponements through the end of the March international window now seem like a short-term answer that will need . . .
Inter Miami and Chicago wait for their home debuts
By Charles Boehm – WASHINGTON, DC (Mar 13, 2020) US Soccer Players - This week Major League Soccer made the decision to suspend its 2020 season for at least a month due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Other sports leagues at home and abroad have made similar moves to help slow the spread of the pandemic, and it's a no-brainer given the high stakes. For MLS in particular, though, it's a potentially . . .
