USMNT Gold Cup roster, London City fined, and more: Friday Freedom Kicks
Happy Friday! We’re about to kick off a nice, long Memorial Day weekend. I personally will be enjoying doing nothing, and I hope you all have plans you are similarly looking forward to.
Mauricio Pochettino names 27-man USMNT training roster ahead of Gold Cup (SSFC)
The USMNT’s Gold Cup roster is missing some big names and has five newbies, and am I crazy if I say I’m interested in seeing what they can do?
Gold Cup absences worst-case scenario for U.S. World Cup hopes (ESPN)
It seems like Jeff Carlisle thinks that I am.
London City Lionesses fined £15,000 for approaching player through DMs (The Guardian)
Michele Kang’s Women’s Super League team has been fined for literally slipping into a player’s DMs.
DC United draws Nashville SC in US Open Cup Quarterfinal after Jordan Farr’s penalty shootout heroics (The DP)
D.C. United’s Wednesday night Open Cup match had an absolutely insane finish. I’ve included the highlights video below if you didn’t get a chance to watch live.
2025 US Open Cup Round 5: Who should be voted TheCup.us Player of the Round? (TheCup.US)
Jordan Farr is deservedly up for Player of the Round for his four penalty saves.
For those of you with Instagram, D.C. United also posted some fun videos of Jordan:
These Travelers Plot Their Airport Starbucks Run Down to the Minute (Wall Street Journal $)
A Wall Street Journal article about how best to order coffee in an airport is not where I expected to see Hal Hershfelt’s name popping up this week.
Kansas City Current defender Alana Cook placed on season ending injury list (KC Current)
Tearing an ACL, MCL, and meniscus at the same time is brutal. Best wishes to Alana in her recovery!
Filipino Women’s National Team Standouts Carleigh Frilles and Katrina Guillou Celebrate AAPI in the District (DC Power FC)
Happy AAPI Heritage Month!
Finally, here’s your schedule of events for the weekend. Loudoun United are on a break, while both D.C. United and DC Power have a quick turnaround from their mid-week matches.
| Teams | When | Where | Watch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washington Spirit vs. Seattle Reign | Fri., May 23 at 10 p.m. ET | Seattle, WA | Prime |
| Old Glory DC vs. NE Free Jacks | Sat., May 24 at 5 p.m. ET | Quincy, MA | ESPN+ |
| D.C. United vs. NY Red Bulls | Sat., May 24 at 7:30 p.m. ET | Washington, DC | Apple TV |
| DC Power FC vs. Tampa Bay Sun FC | Sat., May 24 at 7:30 p.m. ET | Tampa, FL | Peacock |
| DC Defenders vs. Houston Roughnecks | Sun., May 25 at 4 p.m. ET | Houston, TX | Fox |
Have a good weekend!
Ooh awesome deal for rugby lovers between World Rugby and CBS Sports concerning Paramount+.
https://www.cbssports.com/general/news/world-rugby-inks-deal-making-cbs-sports-new-home-paramount-to-stream-every-rugby-world-cup-match-usa-games/
That means no longer having to deal with FloRugby for USA matches.
And I get Star Trek!!!!
Old Glory DC vs New England Free Jacks has been decided as the Match of the Week for MLR. And they are calling it the Red, White, and Blue bowl as those are the team colors for both teams.
Old Glory DC’s Connor Buckley is interviewed on this week’s MLR Weekly Rugby Round Up https://rugbywrapup.com/2025/05/mlr-weekly-old-glory-dc-star-conner-buckley-exclusive-highlights-best-recap-opinion-picks/
I share your curiosity about what this men’s team can do, maybe I’m even rather excited? While the GK, CB and forward positions are a little unsettled, Pochettino seems to be letting the guys make their case. I’m really only unhappy with Ream being involved since he’s going to be a liability in a footrace. Otherwise, we have a lot of bite in that midfield, some smooth possession players, and some guys who will provide magic (McGlynn and Luna). I think they will all play with fire and make their case for the WC roster.
It did seem like Poch got more fire out of that MLS camp roster than the full complement of stars recently. Not sure what to make of that.
Rather than harp on things like mentality that the old USMNT guys like to whip out, I’m willing to bet some of those European guys are burnt out. There’s certainly guys who think their club is better than the national team and hang their heads when things aren’t perfect, but I’m not sure that’s the case with everyone. The MLS guys get to have a life, have more time to mentally and physically recover (CL/WC guys aside) and are definitely hungry to show that they deserve a shot. Some of them also happen to just be firey and play tough no matter who they’re playing for.
Yeah, I could see that. I’m not particularly nonplussed that most of the ones we’d consider stars are gonna miss out. Except for Gio, it’s possible that a lot of them are close to the red zone in terms of minutes played, and could use a summer off as much as they can get one. But I hope that the stars realize that, while playing for the USMNT might feel like a common slog now, and a PR chore to boot, they better fucking grasp that a (mostly) US World Cup is once in their entire careers. If Pulisic thinks Milan is a bigger deal than that, he’s not worthy to pick up balls for this team.
Annie, I don’t think your enthusiasm and optimism is misplaced. I think the MLS folks are going to view this as an opportunity to be included on the first team roster. I expect a lot of brio from the players.
Bummer about Alana Cook. Loved watching the highlights. And I’m do glad that Jackson Hopkins is back and playing.
I’m really intrigued by the two 20 year olds, Freeman and Downs, The level of athletes we don’t have enough of at the USMNT. Get them on a glide path to stardom.
That said, with DC facing Chicago during that camp, I’m disappointed that Chris Brady and Brian Gutiérrez were not called up. Still, we’ll get to face an RSL side without Diego Luna on the night the Gold Cup kicks off.
One of the plusses of having a crap team to root for is that none of our players are missing games for Gold Cup.
Old Glory can clinch a playoff berth if they beat 1st place New England this afternoon.
Interesting look at playing time for American players between Old Glory and the Free Jacks.
https://gloriousrugby.com/article/old-glory-has-already-won-red-white-blue-bowl?fbclid=IwY2xjawKfLOJleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHmIzYtNgLcr1SR-7l57yyvAD9M4A1VmtZd5oWx-xFFLLb54iun6vjGgqiy_k_aem_JCRMhGYEm5W4QrCiDH8VSA