Happy United (States Men’s National Team) Day! This Wednesday sees a plethora of soccer action, so let’s get right to the kicks!
Five Things to Know: Panama (US Soccer): Get to know the USMNT Gold Cup semi-final opponent. They kick off at 7:306 tonight.
USL to vote on adopting promotion, relegation system (The Athletic): To be clear, this is a vote to open up the discussion to consider promotion and relegation within the USL system. I’m sure the internet will be civil in discussion; after all, pro/rel has never been a contentious subject in the United States before.
Matchday 25: What to know, how to watch on MLS Season Pass (MLS): D.C. United may be off today, but that is not the case for everyone (finally… some teams really need to catch up on their games in hand).
D1A | L’AS Eupen s’intéresse à Victor Palsson alors que Davo veut retourner en Espagne (Sudinfo): Could Belgian team AS Eupen be poaching United’s Victor Palsson? Transfer windows breed rumors!
The NPSL Mid-Atlantic Conference semi-finals are tonight. The Annapolis Blues take on Grove Soccer United while the Alexandria Reds face off against Greenville United FC. If Annapolis and Alexandria win, we’ll see a rematch (on July 15) of the regional color rivalry that saw Alexandria just recently beat Annapolis dramatically 2-1.
Match Preview: Maryland Bobcats FC vs. Club De Lyon FC (Maryland Bobcats): Oh, did you not have enough soccer to watch between the USMNT, MLS, and our local teams in NPSL playoff action all happening simultaneously? Here’s another 7:30 kickoff to add to your picture in picture in picture in picture.
Don’t forget to check out the Hey Spirits podcast to hear our very own Annie and André discuss the Spirit!
That’s all for now! Let us know your kicks in the comments!
Keeping my eye on the Chicago-Montreal game. That’s a six pointer. Let’s hope for a draw. We got that luck last week when Charlotte and NYC drew at NYC.
I hope the Red Bulls’ luck runs out after getting a bullsh*t win at home against New England. If anyone would be gifted two points by an officiating error, it would be the Red Bulls.
Victor Palsson had some time off to take care of “family matters” while in Iceland. Was that laying groundwork in Belgium or elsewhere for a transfer? Probably not, since he then went and played 90 minutes against Miami.
Palsson has been pretty useful as the RCB in the three man backline. Still, he makes nearly $900,000 and moving that on would give the club some flexibility if they’re looking to make some moves. The team could cover him with either Birnbaum or Hines-Ike, but I think the overall quality, and certainly the depth of the backline would take a hit.
Not to mention he’s literally our only option for spelling Durkin and Canouse when O’Brien is gone. I still think we need a body centrally whether he stays or go, but if Palsson does go, we likely need that body and a CB.
Yes, Palsson’s versatility is key for me. DC can recall Akinmboni but he’s not a CM, obviously. Santos may be able to slide into CAM but then you’re just moving your depth issue out wide. DC’s only other CM is Garay and he has been in and out of Loudoun’s lineup so not sure if that’s the ideal move.
Funny how we are talking about DC being money tight while also reading tweets about Miami getting Messi, Busquets, and Jordi Alba (plus possibly more moves) despite already having 4 (yes 4) DPs on the roster, according to MLS’ own website.
Didn’t Miami get smacked already for roster shenanigans with DPs in a previous season or was that Atlanta?
It was definitely Miami.
Yup it was Miami. Gregore is their fourth DP, but is on the injury list so technically he doesn’t count but still funny to point out given their recent nonsense.
Yeah, I more and more get the sense from the Messi saga that he’s not so much wanting to up the quality of the players around him in his talks with the league as have his friends/entourage around- there were even rumblings around Sergio Ramos’ camp, which would have been even more ridiculous. The reality is, the league could easily have shifted a single DP out of the league with minimal fuss to make room for Messi, but his two former teammates? Don Garber must be mainlining tums and whiskey right now.
I’ll admit, I didn’t know Miami still had 4 DP’s, but yeah, that sounds like them.
Some pigs are more equal than others…..
Tomorrow the Collegiate Rugby Shield will be played.
https://www.collegiaterugbyshield.com/
The Major League Rugby College Draft will be held on August 17, 2023 at 6:30 PM ET and be televised on Fox Sports 2 (US) and The Rugby Network (globally). Old Glory DC wll have the 6th pick. https://www.collegiaterugbyshield.com/
Interesting read in The Athletic about the effects of changes to UK work permits affects MLS and other leagues in the US: https://theathletic.com/4686380/2023/07/12/uk-work-permit-rules-mls-usmnt/
Also noted in there is that MLS has been moved from Band 4 up to Band 3, which is the same band as Brazil’s Seria A as Argentina’s Primera Divsion.