USWNT wins, Canada spygate story develops, and more: Friday Freedom Kicks
Happy Friday! The 2024 Olympics continue apace, and I am having a great time watching random sports I’ve never watched before in between so much soccer. On a related note, you may have seen yesterday’s match thread. Some of you requested a place to chat about US soccer matches, so we’ll be trying to put one up for each of their games in the Olympics.
Swanson brace powers USWNT to Olympic opener win over Zambia (Stars and Stripes FC)
Donald’s recap of the US’s 3-0 win against Zambia in their first match of the Olympics.
USWNT player ratings: Swanson, Horan star in Olympic win over Zambia (Pro Soccer Wire)
I agree with a lot of Jason Anderson’s thoughts on yesterday’s game. Emma Hayes’s obvious decision to slow down the match instead of increasing goal differential was a head-scratcher for me as well.
Canada’s men’s and women’s soccer teams have relied on drones and spying for years, sources say (TSN)
Canada’s Olympic spying drama got even messier yesterday, with this report that both the men’s and women’s teams have been recording other teams for years, including at the women’s gold-winning Olympics tournament.
We also learned that the “uncredited analyst” caught filming this year is in fact the director of the Canada Soccer’s Women’s Excel program. Finally, the Canada Olympic Committee has decided to send head coach Bev Priestman home to Canada, where she will not be coaching the rest of the Olympic games. What a dang mess!
Here’s Trinity Rodman compared to some fine art as a palate cleanser:
Takeaways from Loudoun United’s first loss in two months (The DP)
Yesterday, Ryan broke down Loudoun’s mid-week loss and why it might not bode too poorly for the team.
Leagues Cup tiers: Ranking every MLS & Liga MX team (MLS)
D.C. United not in the bottom tier!
Leagues Cup Boycott: Here are the supporters’ groups protesting the tournament (Hudson River Blues)
I shared a link about one boycott on Tuesday, and apparently it’s a bigger thing than I thought.
Six-time French soccer champion Bordeaux renounces professional status (Sports Illustrated)
The erstwhile champs had just been relegated to France’s third-division league. That’s a pretty far way to fall.
Finally, here’s your calendar of events for the weekend:
| Teams | When | Where | Watch |
|---|---|---|---|
| D.C. United vs. Atlanta United | Fri., July 26 at 8 p.m. ET | Atlanta, GA | Apple TV |
| Loudoun United vs. Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC | Sat., July 27 at 7 p.m. ET | Pittsburgh, PA | Paramount+ |
| Washington Spirit vs. NJ/NY Gotham FC | Sun., July 28 at 6 p.m. ET | Chester, PA | Paramount+ |
Enjoy your weekend and today’s Opening Ceremony!
Jason Anderson very effectively answered why Emma Hayes chose Corbin Albert over Croix Bethune as a second half substitute.
Hopefully, we’ll see Croix against Germany.
If Shaw and Smith are out for Germany, I think Bethune is a reserve attacker (with Dunn moving up to replace Smith and Bethune being the sub for Dunn or Rodman on wings).
But… I wanted them to release the Croix-ken
I saw what you did there
:^)
United is not overwhelmingly good, but neither are Atlanta or Santos Laguna. We might have a shot at getting out of the group!
This Canada thing is weird. Like Dan Snyder Weird Lite
I knew there was something fishy when they kept referring to the drone operator as an “uncredited analyst” or some sketchy vague descriptor. That he happens to be a long-time employee of the federation is pretty bad. That past/present employees have been pressured to engage in spying or risk their careers is even worse and points to the federation as a whole being in on it all.
Also, never liked Herdman. Always seemed like a prick. I don’t think Toronto is reaching the glory days of Vanney even if they offload their dead weight.
Damn it, I’m just seeing that Lewis O’Brien is going to LAFC on loan. How is it that these teams can seemingly sign whoever they want and we’re supposed to be out of budget space?
LAFC is also apparently going after Antoine Griezmann, on top of signing Hugo Lloris and Olivier Giroud.
Sad to see O’Brien go somewhere else in MLS, but I have hopes that Boris Enow will be better than him.
Top MLS teams do get additional allocation money — but DC United’s cries of poverty never added up in my mind.
Darth Garber is pleased.
While we’re talking about adding players, there’s an entire 2nd division French roster that’s up for grabs.
Thinking about David Schnegg and Boris Enow… who was the last non-DP international signing that really panned out for DC?
Lewis O’Brien? Brendan Hines-Ike? Or does it go all the way back to Junior Moreno and Joseph Mora?
(I’m not counting players with previous MLS experience, so Yamil Asad and Chris Durkin don’t count.)
ZOLTON! If for the name if nothing else.
ZOLTAN! ZOLTAN!
CAN DP GIVE US A SIMPLE THREAD FOR TONIGHT’S MATCH?
Pro-rel is a blight on soccer. France now has no major league team in its six largest metro area. A team that has been professional since 1937 is no longer professional, shedding jobs in the industry. Fewer people will get to experience top flight soccer and fewer will become fans. Fewer talented young players will have access to academies and training to possibly make the highest levels. Pro-rel is literally causing the sport to contract. Bordeaux would still be a major league team if there was not pro-rel.
Agreed. While it can be exciting, this is also an example of why it’s bad. One year, if there had been relegation, MLS would have had no teams in NYC and DC–a disaster for a national league in a country of this size.
Very meaty post Annie.
First, this drone thing is a disaster. Does anyone thing NZ might appeal for a reversal of their result with Canada? Does this color the Canadian women’s Olympic Gold?
Second, the DCU-Atlanta match is not only on Apple TV, it’s on for FREE
Third, I know the conventional wisdom is that Hayes should have sought to pile on the goals. That would be nice. But I have a different take. She’s got a very young team by US standards. She “blooded” some new players, gave people a break. The Germany match will be big. And a lot of the likely starters for the US will have fresher legs. To me, this is Hayes saying “we’re not going to advise on goal difference. We’re going to advice by beating the Germans so goal difference isn’t the decider.”
It could be as simple as she wants to preserve her best attacking talents after Smith got a knock.
Also, any updates on Sophia Smith?
https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/40649684/leagues-cup-dc-united-santos-laguna-moved-audi-field-poor
The DCU Santos Laguna match will now be played at Subaru Park and DCU is getting hit with a fine over the field conditions at Buzzard Point.
Good. I know the City wants the stadium to have as many events as possible. And the owners want to bring in as much income as possible from a range of events. But they need to preserve a great playing surface.
Peltola is much better in midfield. He doesn’t cover the most ground but he’s composed and tackles better when he’s not backpedaling.
Wow–what a wild one. DCU gets 2 points by winning on PKs. DCU–except for the beginning of the second half–owns possession, creates lots of chances. 2 of the 3 goals are lovely ones created by lots of nice touches. The “new guys” looked good. I wish we’d been tighter and won it in regulation–got all 3 points. But overall, a good game.
Defending was reckless and basically atrocious. Lesesne made the switch back to Bono in time to get this result (I never understood why Troy sat him, much less continued to play Miller despite really ineffective play). Laguna will shred this defense, Unless Troy can adapt and make tactical changes (and maybe personnel changes…Enow?).