World Cup Playoff Madness, Tottenham Crisis Continues, and more: Tuesday Freedom Kicks
Morning DC Footy Folks! Another international break has come upon us and normally I am pretty bummed because it’s filled with useless friendlies. However at the end of this international break we will finally have a complete bracket of 48 teams for the upcoming World Cup! The remaining 6 spots will be decided via the intercontinental playoffs (more on that below) and the European playoffs. The team I will be rooting for most during this break will be Bolivia as the DC metro area is home to the largest Bolivian community in the US. Having the Bolivian national team compete in their first World Cup since 1994 will definitely make the DC area feel more alive during the actual event.
Anyways, onto the footy news!
The Hey Spirits Crew does an in-depth breakdown of the draw against Louisville and we all learn what rest defense is!
NWSL Power Rankings: Angel City rising, but can’t best Thorns (ESPN)
Portland sit at the top of the rankings. The Spirit sit about half way at 9th in the rankings.
MLS Power Rankings: Nashville displaces LAFC, Caps to go No. 1 (ESPN)
We aren’t doing so hot in the power rankings (#22), but this is an improvement on last year when we were rooted in the basement of the rankings. As a whole, the Eastern Conference is struggling this year with only 3 teams placing in the top 10.
Tottenham’s fans did their bit. Then the football started – and everything went wrong ($The Athletic)
For any of you American Spurs fans, just know that I am keeping you in my thoughts and prayers this season!
Has CAS’s Stance on UEFA Article 5 Finally Curbed the Multi-Club Ownership Trend? (Inverted Fig)
I’ve got a pair of interesting blogs for you. First, we look at the state of multiclub ownership in Europe. This could affect Kang and her portfolio of teams…
2026 nwsl week 2: g+ pass networks & shot charts (beyond the vaudevillian cane)
Next, if you’re a data nerd, there’s a ton of interesting graphs, numbers, and musings here analyzing the latest NWSL match day info.
Also if you’re looking for more random stats, here’s one for ya:
As I mentioned in the intro, there will be 22 teams competing for 6 spots left in the World Cup. This article covers the inter-confederation playoffs, but the European ones will be happening concurrently. Can Italy qualify for the World Cup or are they doomed to miss a third (!!!) tournament?
Many are (rightfully) concerned with ICE agents being present at airports.
Zinedine Zidane reaches verbal agreement to take France job – sources (ESPN)
The World Cup hasn’t even started yet but some succession plans are already being finalized for after the tournament.
That’s it from me folks! See you in the comments!
In the Power Rankings department, Matt Doyle has DC at 15 (up from 16 last week), which is actually good enough for 5th among Eastern Conference teams (behind Nashville, Miami, NYC, and Charlotte)
I was a little confused, since I automatically scrolled all the way to the bottom, and then had to keep going up and up.
15 still feels a little high, but a lot of other teams are tripping on their own feet, and we’re just being competently mediocre. Which, as Doyle points out, is a big improvement! It’s also very similar to what Jason Anderson was saying going into this season was that if we were successful, we would look very boring. And so we have, but we’ve been doing a pretty good job of stymie-ing our opponents. The few times that we’ve made some big mistakes, we’ve gotten punished (Bartlett against Miami, Johnson against Austin, Hopkins’s handball against Chicago), but we’ve had some fortune go our way too, so it’s evened out so far.
Once Louis and Herrera get healthy, we might see some more dynamism. Once Pirani is able to come off the bench, that will be good. Maybe Clark and Kijima make more of an impact with increased playing time.
Being good defensively can be a little boring, but it’s still a great improvement over the last few years.
Defense wins championships.
(it is an improvement, no doubt)
Two thoughts: Matt Doyle now has DCU at #15 in his power rankings.
Also, I like coaches who learn. Last year, in the final, Gonzalez kept Hershfelt on too long. She wanted to play, didn’t want to come off. Many of the best “players’ coaches” respect the wishes of their best players, trust their instincts. He did in the final and it cost the Spirit. This year, Rodman gets a collision test and even though she wants to stay on, he takes her off. Yeah, it’s a collision risk and he can justify it by saying she felt dizzy. But what I think is that Gonzalez learned from the Final. He learned not to defer to star players/team leaders when it comes to the question of “can you keep going?” because your leaders and elites players will always want to stay on the field. Being cautious with potential head injuries is always good. But I also think he has learned from last year–and he’s quicker to pull someone who still insists they can keep going. Our roster is deep enough everywhere (except goal) where it’s better to rely on the “eye test” (she’s struggling) vs. the “will power test” (she says she can keep going).
RG3 with Kirk Cousins(!) on the bench vs Seattle in the playoffs. I was there. Ridiculous at every level.
Knee destroyed.
Literally the moment I went from a casual NFL viewer at times with my dad to “this sport is not something I can sanction.”
Think it hit me particularly hard cuz RG3 was the closest thing to a great soccer 10 that I’d ever seen in American Football. He was a dynamic, exciting artist, and the sport only allowed for his bravery and audacity to be rewarded with thuggish, malevolent tackles and incoherent medical policy.
When the below story dropped in 2021, absolutely confirmed my resolve to not support it with a glance.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/sports/nfl-halt-race-norming-which-assumed-black-players-had-lower-n1269435
I think we’ve already mentioned these somewhere. Here are the MLS player call-ups for this international window: https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/every-mls-call-up-march-2026-international-window
DCU:
Missed out in yet another World Cup tickets draw.
As for being a Spurs fan, the hits keep coming. MoCo Spurs have been gathering at Saints Row in Gaithersburg, but the brewpub is closing after May 2.
Yeah, I’ve given up on the possibility of WC tickets–just too expensive. Instead, my bros and I are going to Chicago to see the warmup match against Germany.