Benteke leads Golden Boot race, USMNT vs. NZ preview, and more: Tuesday Freedom Kicks
Happy Tuesday, everyone! I am heading off to a conference this morning, where I will be spending the rest of the week at a conference center with some colleagues I haven’t met before. Wish me luck!
After their win over the weekend, more than one D.C. United star got some recognition from the league. Christian Benteke and Mateusz Klich are both on Team of the Matchday, while Troy Lesesne was named Coach of the Matchday.
MLS Golden Boot tracker: Who will win in 2024? (MLSsoccer.com)
Related: Benteke’s in the lead for the Golden Boot race!
Over in the NWSL, Trinity Rodman’s goal from this weekend is up for Goal of the Week. Hers obviously took a lot of skill, but as always, there’s some stiff competition.
Canada won by being more American than the USMNT (Stars and Stripes FC)
A post-mortem of the USMNT’s loss this weekend that argues Canada played with a traditionally American style: “being athletic, team oriented, tall on set pieces, exploitative in front of goal, fast on the counter, tough defensively and good at goalkeeping.”
USMNT, still in coaching limbo, looks to rebound against New Zealand (Washington Post)
Now that that’s out of our system, here’s a preview of tonight’s game, when the men hope to redeem themselves against New Zealand.
Spirit coach Giráldez: ‘Unbelievable’ Sullivan deserves USWNT recall (Pro Soccer Wire)
More of Jona Giráldez’s comments on Andi Sullivan after this weekend’s game because stanning Sullivan is an official stance of this website.
Roster mismanagement led to Crew having no backup GK (Sounder at Heart)
Not everyone’s feeling sorry for Columbus Crew in the midst of their goalkeeper woes.
That’s all for now. Have a good week, everyone!
I appreciate that everyone on United is doing their best to help make Ally Mackay’s job this offseason really hard.
Martin Rodriguez and Cristian Dajome have been stepping up as very positive contributors. Russell Canouse has returned and is getting some game time. Even Pirani (whose contract isn’t up, but whose position might be one Mackay is looking to bolster) has started bagging goals. Pedro Santos hasn’t been flashy, but has been solid, and Klich has had a consistent level of good performance all season.
Suddenly, only Tyler Miller is looking like the one higher priced guy that definitely will be moving on at the end of the year. It’s a nice problem for Mackay to have.
I hope Canouse is back for next year. And congrats on the Match 31 Team members.
Tough indeed. Based on last season I don’t think he’ll hesitate for a moment to make some cuts in favor of younger and less expensive options, though. I think Santos will not be offered a contract (as much as he’s struggled to keep pace, he’s been healthy when needed and has provided some fun moments). Dajome probably won’t be back unless he takes a payout, which is possible. I see only one of Rodriguez or Klich staying around barring a last minute extension for either one. Canouse, I’m worried we’re seeing his last games with us (though thankful that he’s back on the field). He’s going to have suitors around the league.
I feel bad for Miller, he definitely got starts when the team was at their absolute worst. I’m sure he’ll get some minutes somewhere around the league.
I’m more bullish on Canouse’ chances of remaining. I think he’ll find his way back by the end of the next offseason, and they’ll wait for him. The Klich vs. Rodriguez dynamic is spot on, and if we can keep him on similar wages, I think Rodriguez should win. Not a DP, arguably is playing sharper in the midfield. Klich subtly affects play, but I don’t think this league is about nuance and marginal gains when it comes to DP impact. I would like to see what Rodriguez, Peltola, and Canouse could do together in midfield, maybe even in the 4-2-3-1 we started with. For a DP, if we want to unlock Benteke, I say we get a really outstanding right winger who can do it all, especially crossing
Annie, good luck with the conference. Rodman has my vote–I thought it was a good combination of skill, impact (come from behind to tie the score), flamboyance-entertainment.
Will The District Press be adding DC Power to their coverage?
I did write a season preview a few weeks back (https://thedistrictpress.com/2024/08/17/preview-dc-power-fcs-inaugural-season-begins-today/), and you can expect to see some coverage of their home opener this week. I don’t think we have the bandwidth right now to cover them as much as we do the Spirit, but I am hoping to do occasional check-ins throughout the season.
Got a nice email for renewing season tickets. About an 8% increase. I could feel the charm offensive coming over the past few days with various emails, especially touting “all the new season ticket holders coming on board”(pressure tactic) The promise of various upswings notwithstanding, this shows incredible gumption. I have been down this road before. At least it wasn’t some multi-year deal in fine print (but I will read this one carefully).
Try this: As a season ticket holder from the start, and being roofless for several years without compensation, we would like to lock you in at your current rate. We’d also like to provide you with a joy stick that applies electric shocks to the referee crews so as to enhance your gameday experience.
DCU has a policy for season ticket holders. You will automatically be renewed on Sept 24,unless you opt out before then. There is a process to opting out. I assume this is for annual plan holders, as opposed to several year commitments. I am in the former.
This was intended as FYI, I am neutral about it. I suppose it makes sense.
When I opted out a few years ago the process was a mess. It involved having to call them a couple of times to get it done because even though they have a web form it didn’t count.
All those calls were the sales people trying to get me to not cancel. I still get calls and emails from the sales office asking me to renew as well.
https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/40999064/mauricio-pochettino-usa-men-head-coach-fifa-world-cup-2026
Mauricio Pochettino officially named USMNT coach through WC ’26.