Spirit’s W Champions Cup schedule, Gold Cup begins, and more: Friday Freedom Kicks
Happy Friday! With both the Concacaf Gold Cup and FIFA Club World Cup starting this weekend, we’ve got a lot of tournament and international soccer news today.
Washington Spirit Releases 2025-26 Concacaf W Champions Cup Group B Schedule (Washington Spirit)
These games have the potential to be pretty fun, although I agree with but I do worry about the impact the additional playing time and travel will have on a team already struggling with injuries. Hoping to see a lot of rotation!
USWNT coach Hayes: Rodman set for July return (Pro Soccer Wire)
This would also help quite a bit!
D.C. United to play the Ethiopia National Team in a Friendly at Audi Field on August 2 (D.C. United)
For the second year in a row, D.C. United will play a friendly against the Ethiopia National Team in what they’re calling the “Ethiopia Soccer Legacy Match.”
New FIFA women’s rankings were revealed yesterday. I know the points are based on an arcane process that’s open to gaming, but when a team (PRK) can stay in the top 10 despite going 1W-2D-1L in 2024 and not playing in the first half of 2025, I think some changes are in order.
2025 Concacaf Gold Cup: Group A Preview (Stars and Stripes FC)
The Gold Cup group stage begins this weekend. Get prepped with SSFC’s group-by-group previews. Group B’s preview is out already as well.
Marcelo Sarvas returns to La Liga as Oscar Ramirez’s technical assistant (Liga Deportiva Alajuelense)
An update on a former D.C. United player.
FIFA Club World Cup: Ranking all 32 participants (The Athletic $)
In a ranking based not just on talent on the field, The Athletic puts Bayern Munich on top of the 32 Club World Cup competitors, with the MLS teams all in the 20s. If you prefer to rank your teams by other methods, I also found a jersey ranking from ESPN.
With one year until the World Cup, is the USMNT ready? (ESPN)
A deep-dive look into what questions the USMNT need to answer before the World Cup next year. (My answer to the question posed in the headline would be a much shorter: no.)
What “Where goals come from” says about your NWSL team after 10 games (American Soccer Analysis)
On a less dire note, American Soccer Analysis took a look at how all 14 NWSL teams are scoring this season, and Washington Spirit lead them all on xG from set pieces and goals from progressive passes!
Finally, here’s your schedule of games for the weekend. Another busy Saturday, but none of the soccer matches are overlapping for once.
| Teams | When | Where | Watch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Loudoun United FC vs. Detroit City FC | Sat., June 14 at 6 p.m. ET | Leesburg, VA | ESPN+ |
| Old Glory DC vs. Chicago Hounds | Sat., June 14 at 7 p.m. ET | Bridgeview, IL | ESPN+ |
| DC Defenders vs. Michigan Panthers | Sat., June 14 at 9 p.m. ET | St. Louis, MO | ABC |
| D.C. United vs. Real Salt Lake | Sat., June 14 at 9:30 p.m. ET | Sandy, UT | Apple TV |
| Washington Spirit vs. Portland Thorns | Sun., June 15 at 4 p.m. ET | Portland, OR | CBS |
Have a good weekend, and stay safe out there!
International update per Goff: Rowles, Fletcher, and Enow are back with the team and should be available for tomorrow’s game. Peltola remains with Finland for U21 Euros, and Herrera remains with Guatemala for the Gold Cup.
He also doesn’t expect any previously injured players to return for this week (so definitely no Benteke or Hopkins, and I assume no Peglow either)
Still a brutal number of key absences, but better.
RSL is basically a Diego Luna team, nearly to the extent that we’re a Christian Benteke team, and he’s out with the USMNT. Should be… well, not a good one, but an even one?
u21 euros? but Peltola will be 23 next month…..
Apparently, the FIFA Club World Cup is having a massive problem with ticket sales. No. Stop. Police.
Even before ICE turned into the neo-SS, no one was taking the CWC seriously except perhaps the people playing in the competition. Especially not at the price point the tickets were going for. Fan sentiment is that either they are glorified friendlies or a messy cash grab by FIFA (which it is).
Yeah, the administration apparently wants the Club World Cup goers to carry papers. Infantino might have given Trump a literal trophy, but he seems to be learning they’re not friends.
So, the Capital Cup is no longer a thing, then?
It was never a thing. Just a cash grab. DC United usually didn’t even report on its games.
DCU will probably not report on this one as well. Last year there was no program, no identification of either Ghanaian or DCU players who were mostly scrubs and academy players. A shameful way to fill the twentieth ticket on a STM.
I really liked the data in the ASA analysis on goals for NWSL–good stuff.