Hatch has a Surprise, Pulisic Sorta Doesn’t, DC United Plays Tonight, And More: Wednesday Freedom Kicks
Congratulations are in order to Ashley Hatch (and a bit to opposing goalkeepers till she returns), cuz Hatchie is pregnant! There have been brutal things about this year, but seeing an NWSL where players feel safer to make these decisions without as much financial worry is a good thing, and, dangit, just love Hatch and this for her!
https://www.dcunited.com/news/match-preview-d-c-united-charlotte-fc-on-wednesday-july-16
In more sobering news, DC United must play another soccer game. It’s tonight at Charlotte, 7:30, on Apple TV.
Our very own Donald brings the coverage with some serious depth to the roster additions made by DC Power Football Club.
https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/45747642/usa-agyemang-move-championship-derby
Patrick Agyemang gets his move signed, sealed, and delivered to Derby County in the English Championship. No doubt he’d like to parlay this to a stint in the top flight, this gets his foot in the door in England.
So, uh, not much of a news story, but, Pulisic has club ambitions with AC Milan that don’t include Saudi Arabia currently. Moving on.
https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/45747125/fifa-world-cup-2026-tickets-sale-date-apply
FIFA deliver not a ton of information. I’m sure this is fine. It’s not like they just messed this up this summer in the US, amirite? Geez.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6493304/2025/07/15/mls-players-club-world-cup-bonus-deal
MLS and the MLS Players Association reach an agreement for bonuses based on Club World Cup participation. Don Garber gets to personally hand the cash to Miami and LAFC (that last bit is not in the article).
https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/45739129/mls-power-rankings-messi-cant-stopped-miami-back-top
Congrats to Messi for his brace run, and Garber for letting Miami do whatever they want in an otherwise parity bound league.
Sadly, we’re not in the US Open Cup anymore. If you want to watch the rest, here’s the info.
It’s not too late to get yourself invested in this dynamic, and at the moment, high-scoring Women’s Euro tournament! Speaking of which, Italy takes on Norway today at 3 PM on FOX. A lot of commentators I’ve listened to think Norway is stacked with talent, yet pretty disappointing in their team ethic and play, while Italy has done well to make this stage, and have no such chemistry issues.
Finally,
You’d have to think the price tag here would be more eyewatering than any sliced onion, but if Liverpool combine Isak with Wirtz and their other acquisitions, scary for the rest of the league.
That’s all I’ve got! Get in the comments with other stories, and have a great sporting day!
The Adidas website has the DC third jersey up (under coming soon), but we can at least see what it looks like early:
https://www.adidas.com/us/d.c.-united-2025-archive-authentic-jersey/JI7354.html
Looks like a 96/97 throwback?
Looks like they go on sale at 10 am
Gabriel Pec got fined for his simulation in the 69′ from Saturday nights game:
https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/gabriel-pec-fined-by-mls-disciplinary-committee
Johnny Cardoso to Atletico Madrid:
https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/45342199/usa-midfielder-johnny-cardoso-joins-atletico-madrid
Still very hard to grasp how he’s so valued in La Liga, but sucks with the USMNT.
I love the snark re: DC playing more games. I’ll be watching with morbid curiosity moreso than fandom. It was pointed out by Matt Hilliard of All Points Bulletin that we do especially poorly against teams with good offenses and bad defenses (see, SJ, Chicago). So…there will probably be goals.
https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/45751449/charlotte-fc-host-2026-mls-all-star-game
2026 MLS All Star Game in Charlotte next year.
Talonesque, your writing today is simply epic!
More eye watering than slicing an onion? Magic….
Congrats to Hatch on her pregnancy. I have to wonder how this affects her availability for the later parts of the season. There are about 3.5 months left. Typically couples won’t announce pregnancy at 8-9 weeks and she announced to the team early June.. So I would think she’s going to be missing for the playoffs if not sooner.
You don’t want to be hitting the ground a ton even in the early stages of pregnancy, I’d be shocked if she continues
DC has officially announced that Rene Weiler is the new coach. Goff reports his contract is through the end of 2027
United has a fair number of players already under contract for 2026, and some others like Aaron Herrera and Luis Barraza that are doing a good job of making a case for coming back. However, United has one empty DP spot currently, one coming open at the end of this season when Klich comes off the books, and Christian Benteke has an option that could be declined. Weiler could bring in three new DPs, which could go a long way to reshaping this team in his image. There’s also at least one U22 slot available, and possibly two if they don’t exercise Pirani’s option.
There should also be the option to buy out two players if they so desire. If Levien et al are going to invest a club record coaching salary in Weiler, hopefully they’ll be willing to spend the money to help get him the roster he wants. Things like having to buy out Steve Birnbaum’s salary (even though he retired and then moved to a different job in the organization) should be in the rear view.
Kasper (swiveling around in his chair): We meet again…
Weiler (puzzled): We’ve never met.
Kasper: Haven’t we? (Laughs maniacally)
Weiler: ….
Kasper (whispering): We all float down here…
Goff reports that Lukas MacNaughton and David Schnegg have both received green cards. That’s great work, especially on Schnegg’s part! That gives United some good flexibility to bring in some more international talent. I do wonder if Matti Peltola and/or Boris Enow are close to getting their green cards too.
Not sure if we should be thanking Schnegg,the Austrian embassy, or both, but that was quick!
I would imagine, given the, uh, political climate, Peltola is probably more likely to be close to a green card than Enow
Yeah, I was thinking about that too.
If I remember correctly, I think one of the Philadelphia players is from Cameroon, and his family wasn’t even able to come here with him and I remember that being a sticking point. So the league doesn’t have a great record with Cameroonian players
Good Aryan stock.
Herrera has struggled since coming back from the Gold Cup, but hard to see the team getting a much better option at the position — plus, there are so many bigger priorities.
Not sure about Barraza. Best I can say is he does seem more solid than Joon.
Ter Stegen might be available soon.
Amazing that we cleared out the GK room and possibly got worse all-around except for the 3rd slot (if Farr is indeed an animal at PKs). I cannot fathom going into next season with either Barraza or Joon (as he’s played up to this point) as our starter. Not sure that’s possible if the FO is convinced that Joon was worth the cost and development time.
Joon can depart and work on his game elsewhere. I think that was either nerves or terrible scouting. Barraza at least has composure. Farr has epic history, and should be featured in the Legacy Kits photoshoots.
Schnegg’s girlfriend sat with me for a game, very nice person. She’s American, so I wonder if that had a play in things. They met in Austria, so there may have been an earlier start to things (I know nothing and did not remotely discuss it).
I believe on a Pitch Pass episode, Schnegg confirmed that they were engaged.
Ever curious about the cap situation.
Buying out rest of Klich’s contract would not just create a DP slot, but also DP-equivalent cap space, no? The team has 3 empty roster slots now, and could create at least one more by putting Fletcher on season-ending injury list. Also, there’s at least one player out on loan — Karamoko. Maybe DCU could use that spot through the end of MLS season, as Hakim doesn’t even seem to be up to Loudoun levels, much less MLS. And perhaps Pirani is let go. If the cap flexibility is there, that’s 5 or 6 slots Weiler could use in this window…
…(and /or next — plus other slots opening up in the offseason, like Leal’s and maybe Benteke, maybe MacNaughton or Antley, or others farther down the bench). The opportunity is there to remake at least a third or even half the roster, if the cap space can be found).
Very ambitious! We need to get you into the FO!
Didn’t they already use the buyouts?
They bought out Birnbaum, they cannot (not do they want to) buy out Klich
In 2025, teams are allowed 2 buyouts.
Yes, but not with how DC did it. Per MLS rules, you cannot use a buyout on a player that has been traded, even if you retain part of his salary.
https://bsky.app/profile/stevengoff.bsky.social/post/3lfq6m6645c2u
The Spirit’s incoming Italian attacker, Cantore, just had a gorgeous assist to carry the Italian women’s team to the semis of the Euros.
DC look largely ok defensively. Antley faced a ton of pressure on the right and we needed to make some sort of adjustment before that goal – too many dangerous low crosses. Unfortunately, we didn’t and we’re down.
Those departure rumors hit and Pirani goes on a heater.
He’s three goals away from being in the top 25 goalscorers in DC United history. That, to me, is crazy.