W Gold Cup quarterfinals set, Portland Timbers end jersey sponsorship, and more: Leap Day Freedom Kicks
Happy Thursday everyone, and it’s Leap Day! You will not have these Freedom Kicks occur on February 29th for 4 more years, so let’s get right to it!
The W Gold Cup saw some drama last night in the final matches of the group stage. And no, it wasn’t necessarily the action on the field. It was the fact that due to other tiebreakers being exhausted, Concacaf had to actual draw lots to determine who finished in 8th place between Costa Rica and Puerto Rico.
So, after the Paraguay-El Salvador match concluded, Concacaf conducted the drawing of lots in the media room at Shell Energy Stadium in Houston. Ever seen lots drawn? Well, here you go!
It’s a brutal way to be eliminated, but Costa Rica moves on and Puerto Rico goes home.
So, here’s our quarterfinal matchups:
After a report by The Oregonian outlined that the CEO of DaBella was facing a lawsuit over sexual harassment allegations, the Portland Timbers immediately ended the company’s kit sponsorship.
Spain beat France to win inaugural Women’s Nations League (ESPN)
Spain is the very first UEFA Women’s Nations League champion, defeating France in the final.
Germany win Nations League play-off to reach Olympics (BBC)
Germany is in the Olympics, defeating the Netherlands in the playoff. The Dutch will be watching the Olympics from home.
2024 Southeastern PA Soccer Hall of Fame class and award winners announced (Philly Soccer Now)
Congratulations to Nicole Barnhart, who will be inducted into the Southeastern Pennsylvania Soccer Hall of Fame in May!
Power Rankings: FC Dallas, Portland Timbers soar after MLS is Back (MLS)
DC United climb to 12th in the recent MLS Power Rankings.
Premier League clubs set to back Uefa-style framework of financial rules (The Guardian)
19 EPL teams are set to embrace new financial frameworks that are aimed at keeping everyone in check.
Leap into your Thursday!
Happy birthday to Perry Kitchen!
Funny, I am wearing my Heart of Midlothian jersey. Leap Day weirdness continues….
Go JamTarts!
He had a great career for a guy that turned only 8 today
Well, much to discuss.
First, matching up against Colombia–potentially that’s a tough match. Colombia is capable playing a very similar match tactically to what Mexico did to the US. And that’s kryptonite to the US (pressure on the backline, quick attackers, forcing the US to pull people back in to midfield so the frontline is starved for service).
Next, that’s cheesy, deciding who goes and who stays based on a coin flip.
Congrats to the Spanish woman (not that this is a surprise). I’m glad Aitana Bonmati-Conca spoke out about the lack of reforms, about how almost nothing has changed. A few heads got lopped off but otherwise it’s same old-same old.
And that’s a bummer about the Netherlands and the Olympics.
As far as fair play financials, that’s a good thing. A very good thing. And that’s something Europe needs a lot more of. You get clubs like my beloved Barcelona who spend and spend. And then to offset their debt look for ways to generate more money (by playing more matches, by forming super leagues). And you get huge gaps between the haves and the have nots,
Interesting read about how Wales Rugby National Team Winger Louis Rees-Zammit has come stateside to join the NFL’s International Player Pathway 10 week program. He wants to give playing in the NFL a shot.
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2024/feb/12/i-thought-it-was-the-right-time-louis-rees-zammit-excited-about-nfl-pursuit
Hooray! Argentina in quarterfinals v Brazil on Saturday.
Sounds like Hammarby and AIK have both demurred on trying to bring in Mohanad Jeahze, so it looks like he’ll be a DC United player for the foreseeable future. Perhaps the reason he didn’t dress was because they were trying to figure out a move back to Sweden, and with that off the table, Jeahze may well be playing again for DC. He might make his 2024 debut in Portland.
I can’t shake the feeling they want him out of the dressing room more than they want to keep him off the field.
It’s just as likely he’s expensive and takes up an international slot. We’ll see though. I don’t see Santos making it through the summer as a LB once teams are in shape and can exploit his lack of pace. Antley seems at least adequate, thankfully (with only part of a game of data).
Jeahze definitely needs to either go to free up cap space or have a stellar season. I still don’t really get letting Jacob Greene go, but hopefully the academy/Loudon can get us another depth piece at fullback.
Graham Jones is definitely still on Troy Lesesne’s radar, and seems to be the odds on favorite to be the next homegrown signing. Is he more ready to contribute at an MLS level than Jacob Greene? I guess that’s what the DC decision makers are seeing.
I guess my question is, if they would rather have his cap space and international slot than his play, why did they wait till this point to ship him? Why did he survive all of preseason and the European January window? I don’t know if we’ll ever hear one way or the other, but something stinks here, and I’m guessing it’s the one whose behavior led to legal issues.
Might be worth commenting on the lack of development for a USMNT player. Gio Reyna and Nottingham Forest look to be even more of an ill fit in reality than they were on paper. I fear that this move is already looking to be a bust in terms of playing time and influence. I don’t believe that this is a behavior thing as much as a square peg, round hole scenario with play style and squad size. He would be wise to phone his agent about the next thing.
His agent? Phone his parents….
In retrospect, after the group matches, Argentina’s best match may have been the 0-0 draw with Mexico.
Don’t forget to get your Fantasy Teams set up in MLS Fantasy. I’ve created an Open League for District Press that you can register for here: https://fantasy.mlssoccer.com/#classic/leagues/23976/join/C2SPKY72 . It will start this week. I’ve also created a head-to-head league that you can register for here: https://fantasy.mlssoccer.com/#classic/leagues/23978/join/HLLTDS9L . It also will start this week.