USWNT October roster, final home matches for D.C. teams, and more: Friday Freedom Kicks
Happy Friday! We have an abbreviated Freedom Kicks today since I was up late last night working with some clients in another time zone. Please share your own Kicks in the comments, and have a good weekend!
Emma Hayes names her USWNT squad for October friendlies (SSFC)
Trinity Rodman will not be joining the team for camp this month, which is for the best, if you ask me. She’s still recovering from a back injury, and I want her getting ready for playoffs, not playing three international friendlies in one week! Washington’s Casey Krueger and Hal Hershfelt will be joining the team, though.
The MLS Players Association put out this video of Russell Canouse talking about his illness and return to soccer:
NWSL Weekend Take-Off: Thorns end Pride unbeaten run, Spirit tweaks deliver (Pro Soccer Wire)
Jason Anderson’s weekly column on what you should know about the NWSL includes a section on formation changes made by the Washington Spirit to adjust for the loss of Andi Sullivan to injury.
Winless but not hopeless: what is going on at Premier League’s bottom four? (The Guardian)
Seven matches is a very long time to go without a win.
Man federally charged for arson resulting in injury at Inter&Co Stadium (WESH2 News)
Don’t throw flares in a crowded stadium!
Finally, your schedule of events for the weekend. This weekend features the final regular season home games of 2024 for all three of D.C. United, Loudoun United, and Washington Spirit.
| Teams | When | Where | Watch |
|---|---|---|---|
| D.C. United vs. Charlotte FC | Sat., Oct. 19 at 6 p.m. | Washington, DC | Apple TV |
| Loudoun United FC vs. Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC | Sat., Oct. 19 at 6 p.m. | Leesburg, VA | ESPN+ |
| Washington Spirit vs. Chicago Red Stars | Sun., Oct. 20 at 5 p.m. | Washington, DC | NWSL+, MNMT |
While I think Thomas Tuchel is probably a decent hire for the England mens team, it is worth noting that no manager has ever won a mens world cup for a country other than his native one. It’s got to change at some point, but it’s pretty wild that it’s lasted for this long.
Don’t think that should stop anyone from hiring a foreign tactician. A lot of British pundits have the most British take ever- that it should be written into the bylaws that only someone from their nation should coach a national team- but that’s pretty absurd to me. They have really bloviated on it, though.
I’m betting this will make England more competitive, and if Tuchel can win the big prize, the big club jobs will be his to pick. However, Tuchel is at this point a short term benefits rage goblin with manipulative tendencies who sours any player pool after two years, so the FA would do well not to extend him
I’m familiar with that. And here’s the rationale–very few teams have won WCs–especially recently. And those that have, have strong domestic leagues (or at least teams) and have developed a lot of good coaches. For instance, the best coaches in the world aren’t German but if the German NT needs a new coach, there are about half a dozen great candidates who are all German. Ditto with France. Ditto with Spain.
Tuchel is “probably” a great choice. I say probably because I think he’s a tactical wizard who wears out his welcome in the long term. So to ask him for a 2 year commitment is probably realistic–beyond that, who knows.
Reminds me of the New York Red Bulls fans throwing flares from the top bowl at the last DCU game at RFK. They threw them down into the one of the fan areas behind the goals. I don’t know if anything ever came of it.
I remember that classless and dangerous act. Incredible.
Yes. They were banned from RFK for life.
Well played
Annie, I’m with you about Rodman. To me, it’s less about playing in 2 friendlies. It’s more about how hard the USWMNT practices are, how much players get pushed. Rodman doesn’t need the travel or the hard practices even though Hayes has said no player will be in more than 2 matches for this upcoming series (thus, the 26 person roster).
So how do we think the game against Charlotte turns out tomorrow?
If they aren’t up for this, they shouldn’t be in the playoffs. 3-1 DCU.
If Schnegg is healthy enough to come in for the last 30 minutes then I think we jump out of the gates at high intensity and snatch an early lead before holding on for dear life the last fifteen minutes to win 2-1.
If Schnegg isn’t good to come in and shore up the backline……then probably a tie.
Ask not what your gut will do for you, ask what you can do for your gut…
Seriously, I’m staying smooth brained and hunchless as long as possible.
I have an anniversary party to go to on the Blue Ridge (Chester Gap Winery). I was in the wedding. This one unfortunately has breast cancer battle involved, but she has fought well and is doing ok. My girlfriend’s son just got a very nice birthday present. So, it’s Apple TV+ archives for me.
DC is motivated and in form. I don’t know if Charlotte has anything to play for (?). DC wins on Benteke header and a Pirani blast. 2-1 DC wins. See you at the playoff games, or next year…(sigh).
I hope the refs bring their A game to this one. Meaning, that they turn invisible and keep the players on the field (unless something is truly over the top).
In the spirit of international exposure, Darth Garber has ruled that Inter Miami can select one player each from the national teams of France, Spain, Italy, and Portugal, waving the salary cap for the playoffs.
While its not a huge difference, Charlotte is still playing for seeding. They can finish anywhere between 5th and 7th, depending on how their game and others go. It would essentially be the determining factor on if they play Columbus, Cincy, or Orlando in the first round
In my head, I’ve told myself that this is a winnable game (or at least a tie-able one). And I do think they can do it, especially knowing whats on the line. That being said, DC doesnt exactly have the best record in their last game of the season. Between 2006 and 2023, DC won their final game of the regular season THREE TIMES in that 19 year span (2006, 2021, 2023). So, uh, yeah, a bit nervous about that. At least there is a path in even if they do lose, but that’s gonna take a lot of help.
I expect the game will be over by 8:00 pm…but a lot of fans will be showing up during the second half, surprised they have missed most of the game.