DC Power draw, AFCON opens with a bang, and more: Monday Freedom Kicks
Hey y’all. Welcome to winter! Yesterday marked the winter solstice so we’re officially starting to get more sunlight every day for the next 6 months. While we prepare for Christmas, here’s the news from the weekend:
DC Power got their first clean sheet of the season, holding Carolina Ascent to a 0-0 draw to close out the fall portion of the season. They will have a winter break for about 7 weeks.
Hosts Morocco beat stubborn Comoros in Afcon 2025 opener (BBC)
Morocco gets the 2-0 win, complete with a bicycle kick goal, over Comoros to open Africa Cup of Nations.
Exclusive: DC United 2026 Home Kit Leaked (Footy Headlines)
If this is the new 2026 home jersey, what do you all think? I’m hoping it comes with red shorts and white socks.
USA Soccercast, Episode 167: US Soccer World Cup Ticket Draw Info, USA Soccercast Merch! (SSFC)
On the latest USA Soccercast, I break down what to expect on the upcoming US Soccer draw for World Cup tickets and…we got some new merch!
World of Concacaf x Stimulus (Stimulus)
Also, my other podcast – World of Concacaf – also came out with some fresh gear! If you need some last minute holiday gifts (that won’t arrive in time for Xmas but at least you’ll get it soon), you know I got you covered!
We got some more information on DC United’s #1 draft pick from Markovic himself.
London City Lionesses sack manager Prêcheur while West Ham close on Guarino (The Guardian)
Michele Kang has decided to make a change at the head coaching position for LCL. We’ll see who takes over as the season continues.
In today’s example of We’re All Getting Old:
Adams to miss at least two months with torn MCL (PSW)
Tyler Adams will once again have to come back from an injury as he will miss 2-3 months with a torn MCL. The hope is that he’s back in time to be fit for the USMNT friendlies in March.
Finally, the Hey Spirits Awards voting is now live! What players and moments are you casting your vote for? Hit the comments and discuss!!
For some players, injuries seem inevitable, and it’s often more about timing than anything.
Adams is one of those players.
It might actually be beneficial for his chances at the World Cup that Bournemouth look set to comfortably stay in the Premier League while not really climbing the heights, though they’ll want to finish in some sort of European spot. Hopefully they wouldn’t rush Tyler back for 8th or 7th place status.
If he can get back with about two months left in the season and get back into playing form, it’s probably better for the USMNT than other scenarios
I think I share in your sentiment about the new jersey, Donald. Its simple and a bit plain on its own, but not bad. Some red shorts would go a long way with it. The jersey itself seems close to the ~2016 one. I do tend to appreciate when more red is incorporated into the jerseys…we are the “black and red” after all.
It is about as interesting as the tidy whitey of yesteryear. More savings on my credit card. I believe I understand how to generate wealth now…..
Stay home
Yeah, the red shorts are going to need to be a necessity with that. If you have those, it’s a fine look. Almost even classic.
Agreed. I’d like it to be more exciting, but “Black Adidas Shirt” is arguably our classic look. Though I do hope that this isn’t more indicative of what the shirts will look like across the league as a whole
Excellent call here. The league has done better in recent years of getting some more distinctive jerseys, and I’d hate to see a return to bland form.
I’m not sure what the development timeline is, but I was hoping the seeming popularity of the Heritage kit might influence the design of the new jerseys. Guess not
United posted another “landing soon” video on their Facebook page last night. They did that before Tai Baribo’s signing too. I’d imagine this will be Sean Nealis, but it could also be Keisuke Kurokawa. If it’s someone other than those two, that would be a pretty big surprise, and in which case, hold on to your butts!
I liked the Markovic interview, and I’m feeling good about his selection. It’s funny though that his impression of DC is that they played Georgetown and there were some good coffee places around. “The coffee shop” is maybe the closest thing that Audi Field has to an “RFK racoon,” and the fact that the GM is Mesut Ozil’s former agent… well it all ties together nicely.
I kind of doubt that Markovic will ever wind up anywhere close to Olney, MD, but the Royal Bagel Bakery there has my favorite coffee in town.
DC announces that they have officially signed Sean Neallis.
$200k GAM in 2026, $150k in 2027. Goff notes “Nealis made $626,250 in ‘25, out of contract after ‘26.” So, DC will most likely need to re-sign him at some point this year if they actually want to keep him (which, given that they’re using GAM in 2027 for him, Id imagine they’d want to)
They may well want to re-sign him, but I don’t think there’s any urgency to do so. See how he does, see how Markovic develops. I think Rowles’s deal is up at the end of the year too, and it may be a case of do you want to keep Rowles or Nealis, but not necessarily both.
At any rate, I think Nealis is going to be a good addition. He brings size and attitude to the line. I believe that Jason Anderson called him a “battler.”
He’s a former captain. Good leadership has been lacking back there since Birnbaum’s decline, so hoping that part of his profile helps elevate everyone else.
We’ll also see what kind of goalkeeper we get, and how well they can organize a defense.
Per Goff, DC is in discussions with Sean Johnson to bring him in as a few agent. Hopefully we can get a good year out of him and he can take Kim under his wing and help develop him
Genuinely don’t rate Sean Johnson particularly high for such an experienced veteran- he has some good stops, but also some wince inducing weaknesses he’s never shirked.
Personally don’t think he’d teach Joon much that he wouldn’t learn from a good coach and some more reps in a better system.
Anyway, it seems likely to happen, in which case, hope I’m wrong
Well, I certainly think good coaching is more important than having a solid veteran taking your playing time. But for the team, having a guy who has performed well recently and in the past with good and bad teams is more important than throwing Jun-hong into the fire again. Since the top tier of free agent GKs got snatched up, Johnson is a good short-term option. We’re rebuilding and it’ll be much easier and more palatable to do that with a solid veteran over a (still rather unknown) USL guy and someone who really looked unprepared last season.