Friday's soccer news has the Europa League roundup for USMNT players, starting with Jordan Pefok subbing out in the 63rd minute of Union Berlin's 1-0 home win over Braga in group D. Robin Knoche converted a 68th minute penalty and Union goalkeeper Frederik Ronnow made three saves to keep the clean sheet. Union Berlin is in 2nd-place on nine points, trailing group leaders Union St-Gilloise by four . . .
A tactical preview of Concacaf countries at the 2022 World Cup
By Clemente Lisi – NEW YORK, NY (Jul 18, 2022) US Soccer Players – We interrupt your focus on MLS and preseason tours this summer with talk about the upcoming World Cup. The tournament, now just four months away, remains on the horizon as fans around the world await the start of Qatar 2022. For those with an eye on Concacaf, the confederation will have four representatives at the tournament in the . . .
Costa Rica in group E, losses for USMNT World Cup opponents
Wednesday's soccer news starts with Costa Rica beating New Zealand 1-0 in Doha to advance to the 2022 World Cup. Joel Campbell scored the game's only goal in the 3rd minute with Keylor Nevas making four saves to keep the clean sheet. Costa Rica becomes the fourth Concacaf team to advance and will play Spain, Japan, and Germany in group E. Concacaf last won a playoff in 2015 when Mexico knocked out . . .
Five substitutes and a changing game
By J Hutcherson (Jun 14, 2022) US Soccer Players - On Monday, the International Football Association Board officially made five substitutes an option for any "top level competition," along with increasing the bench from 12 to 15 players. Neither of these moves were exactly surprising, but they underline issues for the contemporary game. In an era where players, officials, pundits, and fans are . . .
The Eastern Conference gets interesting
Monday's soccer news starts with the situation in the Eastern Conference for the teams currently in 3rd through 8th-place. Three points separate all of them, creating a situation where any slip could have a team the odd one out in the playoff picture. Right now, that's Atlanta United in 8th-place on 36 points. With Major League Soccer's unbalanced schedule, this is normally where we'd spend time . . .
Manchester City beats RB Leipzig 6-3, Philadelphia out of the Champions League
Thursday's soccer news starts with the Champions League where Tyler Adams's RB Leipzig lost 6-3 at Manchester City. Nathan Ake put City up in the 16th and an own-goal doubled the lead in the 28th. Christopher Nkunku pulled a goal back for Leipzig, but a first-half stoppage time penalty from Riyad Mahrez made it 3-1 City. Nkunku scored again in the 51st. City's Jack Grealish added a fourth goal in . . .
The changing scope of leagues, competitions, and calendars
By J Hutcherson (Aug 24, 2021) US Soccer Players - We're already well into an era of change across world soccer. From the Nations League concept started in Europe and embraced by Concacaf to World Cup expansion to FIFA's delayed Club World Cup revamp. UEFA alone has now added a third European club competition with yet another Champions League revamp looming. Last month, CAF made a new African . . .
The level of difficulty in the Octagonal
By J Hutcherson (Aug 3, 2021) US Soccer Players - If there's a takeaway in this era of Nations Leagues and compacted schedules, it's that whatever just happened only counts for so long. The Concacaf Nations League ended a little over a month before the Gold Cup began. Now it's World Cup qualifying set to start on September 2. What's already clear is that success in this region is even more of a . . .
Group C concludes, USMNT gets Jamaica in quarterfinals
Wednesday's soccer news starts with the USMNT learning its opponent in the 2021 Concacaf Gold Cup quarterfinals. Jamaica finished 2nd in group C and will play the United States on Sunday night at AT&T Stadium (9:30pm - FS1). Costa Rica won the group with a 1-0 shutout of Jamaica at Exploria Stadium and will play Canada in the quarterfinals. Bryan Ruiz scored the game's only goal in the 53rd . . .
Four takeaways from the opening phases of the 2021 Gold Cup
By Charles Boehm – WASHINGTON, DC (Jul 16, 2021) US Soccer Players - With Thursday's second match night of group B in the books, we're now halfway through the 2021 Gold Cup round-robin stage. The outlines of the knockout bracket are taking enough shape for some general observations can be made about the latest edition of Concacaf's top tournament. Here's four. Issues for Cinderella teams It's a . . .
