USWNT coming to Audi Field, Miami United betting allegations, and more: Friday Freedom Kicks
Happy Friday! I am looking forward to a lot of women’s sports this weekend, starting with NCAA women’s final four tonight (My men’s bracket is very busted) and then the first round of the She Believes Cup tomorrow. Plus a nice dinner for my husband’s birthday tomorrow night. Let’s get the weekend started with Friday Freedom Kicks!
USWNT planning to play final Olympic tuneup at Audi Field (Washington Post)
The game would be on Tuesday, July 16 against either Zambia or Morocco. Kind of wish I’d found out before I bought tickets to the July 13 game in New Jersey.
I couldn’t find an official story for this one yet, but it seems like it will be one to watch:
USMNT rises to 11th in FIFA world rankings (Stars and Stripes FC)
The two place increase reflects the team’s recent Concacaf Nations League win. Argentina and France remain #1 and 2.
U.S. Soccer sets third-round schedule for 2024 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup (U.S. Soccer)
Loudoun United will play Richmond Kickers on Wednesday, April 17.
Lío entre el Washington Spirit y Jonatan Giráldez (Mundo Deportivo)
The story is in Spanish, but there was some very silly drama around Washington Spirit’s announcement of the Leicy Santos signing. The inclusion of a quote from incoming coach Jona Giráldez got Barca fans all worked up about whether he was paying enough attention to his current team. Giráldez is now denying he said the quote, and the Spirit have removed it from the release.
Juventus probe racist abuse of Weston McKennie by Lazio fans (ESPN)
Glad Juventus seems to be taking this serious. Related: does Lazio have the worst fans?
Caleb Porter guarantees last-place Revs will beat Charlotte FC (Pro Soccer Wire)
Banter!
Your fun video today is Trinity Rodman, Candace Parker, and Jaedyn Shaw trying to score a goal against Shaq. Trin went easy on him, in my opinion.
We’ll close things out with the schedule for the weekend. Have a good one!
| Teams | When | Where | Watch |
| Old Glory DC vs. RFC Los Angeles | Sat., Apr. 6 at 5 p.m. ET | Boyds, MD | MNMT |
| D.C. United vs. Columbus Crew | Sat., Apr. 6 at 7:30 p.m. ET | Columbus, OH | Apple TV |
| D.C. Defenders vs. Houston Roughnecks | Sun., Apr. 7 at 4 p.m. ET | Washington, DC | Fox |
| Loudoun United FC vs. Birmingham Legion | Sun., Apr. 7 at 5 p.m. ET | Birmingham, AL | ESPN+ |
A day doesn’t go by without hearing about the stupidity of fanbases around the world. At least regarding the USWNT and the Spirit, I hope these are just growing pains from trying to yank the best managers out there. It’s a decidedly bad position to put four teams in (their current and future), not to mention dealing with the insanity of rabid online fans. I don’t want the norm to be having to wait for the end of off-sync calendars.
Regarding the “silly little drama” triggered by the comments of future coach Jonatan Giraldez on the Spirits’ signing of Leicy Santos, I read the article in Spanish by Mundo Deportivo differently than “Giraldez is now denying he said the quote.”
First, the Spirits’ press release quoted Giraldez directly— three sentences worth. I strongly doubt that the Spirit would have made the whole quote up.
Second, let me quote the key part of the article:”pasadas unas cuantas horas, desde el club azulgrana respondieron que Giraldez no había realizado ningunas declaraciones al respecto y que el técnico vigues estaba centrado al 100% en lo que resta de temporada en el FC Barcelona al mismo tiempo se había asegurado con su futuro equipo
Yeah, I suppose I should have said the club is denying he made the statement. My guess is Spirit staff wrote the quote for his approval and got it, but he didn’t technically “say” anything.
Thank you Annie for collecting all this!
That’s a plausible guess.
Third, continuing …”que no vuelva a occurir nada parecido al respecto “.
As I read it, Giraldez never denied making the statement about the Leicy Santos signing.
“Pasadas unas cuantas horas” … “after quite a few hours had passed” … “desde el club azulgrana respondieron” … “from the blue and scarlet club THEY responded” …
“Giraldez no había realizado ningunas declaraciones al respecto” … “Giraldez had not carried out any declarations in that respect.”
Indeed, I think what clearly happened is that Barca fans raised a stink (still smarting from losing their all-conquering coach to Michele Kang’s willingness to pay Giraldez FIVE TIMES his Barca salary), Giraldez refused to lie that he’d never made any statement, but told Barcelona management “Say whatever is needed to dampen the fan outcry” and asked Spirit to quietly withdraw the comment and not seek anything more for publication until he arrives in June.
So, rest easy , Spirit fans. We are not gaining an untruthful coach.