USWNT lose, MLS viewership up while attendance is down, and more: Friday Freedom Kicks
Happy Friday! For me, it is both very happy and very busy as I am preparing for a VACATION next week. Of course that means that this week has been more stressful than usual, but that is how it goes.
USWNT vs. Portugal live updates, lineups, highlights, and analysis (Pro Soccer Wire)
Yes, it’s a friendly in an off year, but this was not a good performance by the U.S. Women.
Trinity Rodman and the Power of Being Human (The Women’s Game)
Sam Mewis is one of the best at getting female players to open up, and this interview with Trinity Rodman is no exception. Rodman talks TikToks, being vulnerable with fans, and missing playing with her Triple Espresso counterparts in this episode.
Building a USL young player Best XI: Championship, League One standouts to know (Backheeled)
Loudoun United’s Abdellatif Aboukoura is featured as one of the best young players in the USL.
Dest’s USMNT starting spot doesn’t look as safe as it once did (ESPN)
This article looks at all the players in the USMNT player pool, and between injury, defensive weakness, and discipline issues, Sergiño Dest’s return to the starting lineup is looking questionable.
MLS regular season data shows 29% viewership growth over 2024 (Sports Business Journal)
This is not what I would have predicted, given the discourse about MLS Pass on Apple TV this year. (Personally, I would have guessed the double-gating would depress viewership and put off new viewers in particular.)
MLS average attendance down 5% in 2025 ahead of World Cup (Sports Business Journal)
You win some, you lose some.
Lionel Messi extends Inter Miami contract through 2028 (ESPN)
I was a little surprised by this, although I guess I didn’t see him going anywhere else before retirement. Will he ever play at Buzzard Point? Honestly, I hope not. Keep the streak going. Might as well.
This is not strictly soccer news, but we wish the best for our friends working at the Washington Post. For ownership, this feels very self-inflicted.
Finally, here’s the schedule of games for this weekend. between MLS playoffs and the Women’s FIFA window, there is just one game for our local teams!
| Teams | When | Where | Watch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Loudoun United vs. North Carolina FC | Sat., Oct. 25 at 5 p.m. | Leesburg, VA | ESPN+ |
Bezos is really showing his whole ass at this point. Need to figure out a lot of solutions to societal problems in spite of these people, with their money.
Over these last several years I have totally come around to the idea that billionaires need to be taxed out of existence. $999,999,999.99 is plenty.
Entirely self-inflicted by Post ownership. I’d say even worse than Levien and Kaplan, although possibly more purposeful than what Levien and Kaplan have done.
I’m actually in favor of the Messi deal. Having him in the league is a net positive, even if there’s so much focus on him. Getting other top players and also very promising young players to come for a chance to play with him is also a good thing. I’d be a lot more thrilled if it was my team, but hey. And other teams are getting great performances out of top veterans like Son and Muller. Heck, we can say largely the same thing about Benteke (although we may be seeing the beginning of the decline with Benteke that these other teams might see with their stars). I think that MLS can always be a place for older stars, but it can still create amazing players on its own.
I still can’t shake the feeling that DC ownership is going to try and replicate this by bringing in Jesse Lingard.
Messi playing in the league might be a net positive for now, but this strikes me as a a minor boom with a potentially much larger bust coming down the pipe.
Messi attracts attention, more so than anyone on earth despite his age. He’s gonna be done soon. The only players left even close to his notoriety are Mbappe, Haaland, maybe Vini Jr. Salah could be included, but he seems likely to retire in Saudi for all the money. When Messi hangs it up, we won’t be able to fill that hole for years, potentially ever.
Which wouldn’t have been as much of a problem if MLS and Garber didn’t make his presence so much as temporary shot in the arm as the central pillar of their business model and relationship with Apple.
This feels closer to a NY Cosmos thing scenario than MLS should ever have gotten close to. The league structure is still formatted for financial mindfulness and parity, and Miami has dealt that a fatal structural blow.
So, while Messi might be good for now, it could be crap sooner than anyone involved has planned for.
Someone in MLS *should* be backing up the truck for Salah. He’s an incredible player and would bring the kind of attention that Son has brought to LA. Which is about as good as you can get without being the literal GOAT.
Agreed that the league is really just kicking the fan down the road though. It’s a depressingly late-stage capitalist maneuver to cash in on a dwindling asset instead of investing a fee extra pennies on the basics.
There’s literally zero chance MLS competes in the market when Saudi see the opening. Salah would have to make the decision to leave over 100 million or maybe even 200 million on the table for a lifestyle choice. And if MLS somehow managed to outbid, it would be a ruinous waste of resources on a scale unseen in sports history.
There’s an argument to be made that Salah could run his already fading legs out here and it would be fun, but it would not remotely be worth it.
Annie
Would it be possible to add USWNT, USMNT to listings ? There’s a lot of interest in those among Commentariat?
Yeah, that’s bad news at the Post. And yeah, it seems self-inflicted. Tough result for the US Women. And I think that had nothing to do with the missing players. That was a veteran midfield that had trouble with Portugal in the WC and then had trouble again. I also think the coaching staff didn’t do a good job–the team wasn’t ready for Portugal and did a lousy job “solving problems.”
I watched the game. Hayes is gonna have to make a choice soon about Lindsey Heaps. She can’t start. She’s not the type of player to make an unquestionable bastion of the team to the detriment of literally everyone else. Coffey is that kind of player. Rose may still be that kind of player by 2027. Heaps is not the connector not partner for anyone.
Imagine, if you will, a player not press resistant enough to dribble, not mobile enough to shuttle, and too attack focused to support. I swear, moment by moment, given the fact she was not the AM, her positioning moment to moment could not have been less helpful nor rational.
We have incredible options, and she is not one of them. Time to prioritize what Coffey needs than whatever that was, cuz her connection to the previous era is not worth it.
Brenden Aaronson just nimbly poached an opener for Leeds against West Ham that might be the sliding doors moment for these two clubs and their hopes of remaining in the EPL next season.
Leeds up 2-0 at halftime.
https://youtu.be/-6V7IpJgBUY?si=mBVHPhyenh3stmM8