Spirit Host Utah, USMNT Tune Up Coverage, World Cup Issues Escalate, and More: Wednesday Freedom Kicks
Before we dive into the hard news, Audi Field Roof Desirers will be pleased to hear that Ryan Keefer found a tidbit in this Washington Business Journal paywalled article that suggests Jason Levien is trying to get funding together for that long yearned for roof. So, thank Keefer for putting real money into letting you know.
On to the rest!
The Spirit play at Audi Field tonight! Kickoff is 7 PM Eastern, streaming on Victory+
DC Power play tomorrow, also at 7 PM Eastern, streaming on Peacock.
2025/26 Concacaf W Champions Cup Finals Schedule Confirmed – CONCACAF
The Spirit of course have qualified for the North American showdown that is the CONCACAF W Champions Cup, and the opening fixtures are out.
USMNT players speak up about what Pochettino the coach is like– ESPN
This article features player quotes and examines the culture Poch has sought to create within the USMNT camp ahead of the World Cup. We will, of course, probably learn more AFTER these players are done jockeying for the Argentine’s favor. This future date where the incentive to praise Poch ends completely is likely rapidly approaching, as Pochettino continues to express a longing to coach in England once more. (Telling that that statement is just vaguely for the country, and not about the rapidly collapsing Spurs club he used to manage).
USMNT Player Tracker: Pulisic clicks, Tillman strikes, and Balogun’s bragging rights– The Athletic
Certain USMNT stars did well this weekend as the USMNT approaches their first World Cup tune up game against Portugal, which kicks off Saturday at 3:30 PM Eastern. Goal.com also has a breakdown of the key positional battles going into the match. Additionally, those hoping to see (or not see) Romelu Lukaku play the USMNT in Tuesday’s tune up will be disappointed/delighted, according to goal.com
‘Good Riddance’: Landon Donovan Goes Off On Dual-National Star For Hesitating On US Soccer– Outkick
On a podcast he hosts with his long time former teammate, Tim Howard, Landon Donovan talked. As per usual when it comes to the fraught decision facing dual internationals to assess their national team futures, Donovan was one sided and unhelpful. Probably matters not a fig to Noahkai Banks for next cycle, but please, stop talking.
USWNT Faces Japan Fresh Off Winning the 2026 AFC Women’s Asian Cup Championship– US Soccer
Of note for the USWNT as they look forward to an unusual 3 game friendly series against Japan in April: Japan is really good. Though a 1-0 victory over Australia in the Asian Cup Final is laudable in itself, that they shut out their rivals in (checks notes) Sydney, Australia should do nothing to make the US comfortable.
OK, there’s some not great news regarding the upcoming World Cup, so let’s get through that now.
Complaint filed over World Cup ticket prices– BBC
Football Supporters Europe have filed a complaint with FIFA, asking that the organization abandon variability ticket pricing, as well as a freeze on April sale pricing. Seems perfectly reasonable. Likely won’t change much.
If SoCal hotels, stadiums host ICE agents, employees can miss work, union says as World Cup nears– Los Angeles Times
Unite Here Local 11, the union that represents thousands of hospitality workers in SoCal, is trying to prepare for the likely circumstance that their members would be targeted by ICE officers housed in the hotels they work in. The concerns are certainly justified.
World Cup fans from several nations are facing $15k bonds to enter the U.S.- and players may not be exempt– The Athletic
You can read the article to find out which countries are grappling with this prospect, but, and hear me out, how about none of them? None sounds good. Pure insanity.
Antoine Griezmann to leave Atlético Madrid and join MLS’s Orlando City– The Guardian
35 year old French global superstar, Antoine Griezmann, is officially headed to Orlando. He’s an incredible talent, even in his twilight, but ESPN’s Jeff Carlilse does express doubts whether a club that have managed a single win in five league games will be transformed totally by this move.
Thought I’d take a moment to cover the UEFA Women’s Champions League Quaterfinals. Yesterday, Arsenal put a 3-1 hurt on a Chelsea side that did feature Alyssa Thompson and Naomi Girma, while Lindsey Heaps and second half sub, Lily Yohannes were upset by Wolfsburg as Ol Lyonnes failed to overcome a first half strike and lost 1-0. Today’s action features a matchup between Real Madrid and Barcelona at 1:45 PM as well as Phallon Tullis-Joyce’s Manchester United taking on Bayern Munich at 4 PM. All games streaming on Paramount+
Five Potential MLS Destinations for Mohamed Salah—Ranked– Sports Illustrated
Egyptian, EPL, and Champions League legend, the one and only Mo Salah, is likely leaving Liverpool this summer. It’s unclear where he will land exactly, but, given the alarming destabilization of the Middle East in recent weeks which shows no true sign of cooling off, Turkiye and Saudi Arabia suddenly seem like less certain options. So, this article might have merit it would have lacked about a month ago.
Kylian Mbappe’s knee injury misdiagnosed after Real Madrid staff scanned wrong leg- The Athletic
We close with the sad news that Real Madrid’s sharpie budget apparently is empty. Otherwise, they would have marked the correct leg. Seriously, what on earth…
That’s all I’ve got! One-up me in the comment’s section, and have a great sporting day!
DC announced this morning that Gabe Segal, who has been listed as “Out” for every game this season so far with a “Lower Leg” injury, is now getting surgery on his ankle. He’ll be out for 3-5 months.
oof
The real question is which Gabriel on the roster will be more productive over that 3-5 month period.
Oof, you woke up a tiny bit petty today. Gabi isn’t what most people want but he’s not as terrible as you guys make him to be. First goal against Philly doesn’t happen without him. Also, have you guys notice, especially last game, that basically the ball never even reached the attacking players? Calling out Pirani is fine but how about also calling out Hefti for never connecting any of his passes in our last game. Every single time he would pass, he would either pass to the opposite team or to no one. Good defending, awful attacking progression. Hoping that Aaron gets fit soon.
I don’t think you can argue that Hefti is doing a worse job as a right fullback than Pirani at second striker. That’s just not thing.
Pirani has to prove he can perform in moments where he becomes central to play, and it hasn’t been the case. Last season he capitalized on moments where he was a forgotten element, and that’s not going to happen as much in his current role.
I think we’d all be relieved if he started contributing, cuz we need special moments up top, but doesn’t feel like your defense is better than fandom.
Our offense came to life in the final ten minutes when Hefti really pushed up into the attacking third.
And yes, Pirani made that nice play to hold off a teenage defender for Philadelphia to lead to our goal. I’m waiting for him to make a second nice play this season.
He’s also the first case I’ve ever seen of a player with decent ball control, but who has not incorporated deception at all into their technique. It’s always “I’m going to dribble here” and never “make the defender think I’m doing something else.” I really don’t know how those two things can coexist.
Especially in a Brasilian!
I understand that Mo Salah likely isn’t coming to DC. But we need a right winger, we have a coach that has plied his trade in Egypt, and we have an owner that loves bringing in old Premier League players. I would enjoy this quite a bit.
But yes, unlikely to happen.
I honestly don’t know if Salah is a big fan of the US at this point, given recent developments, but living a relatively short drive from the White House…
Yeah, West Coast would be my bet if he comes.
He just signed with Miami
They mentioned FC Dallas and Kansas City as potential destinations?! Come on Doc Sogut! Pull your agent magic!
If we really had a chance to sign Salah but didn’t make the effort, that’s that for this club.
As much as Donovan is arguable the most important USMNT player of the last 20 + years, I often perceive his analysis of the USMNT to be jaded by his being left off the 2014 World Cup team and anything to do with Jurgen Klinsmann. Part of me wonders if the fact that Banks is German-American and Kinsmann brought a lot of dual nationals, particularly German-Americans into the USMNT. He was often criticized, sometimes fairly, for it.
On the subject of dual nationals, I agree Donovan’s position is unhelpful. Just because as a dual national himself, he never felt anything other than American doesn’t me he should use that as metric. Everyone is unique. Its possible for families drawn from different cultures and heritages to raise their families in a way that a person can feel part of both. Its not a binary choice.
That he seems to not understand the fluidity of this soccer professional’s choice is pretty close minded. Banks has a fondness and history with both countries, they’re both strong programs, not making an immediate decision is a sign of thoughtfulness about it. Donovan consistently acts like any hesitation even is some sort of slight, or a sign of disdain.
If Tim Howard and Jimmy Conrad decided to do media together, I would watch and listen the hell out of that. As is, I ignore them both for setting up shop with Donovan and Charlie Davies, respectively, who both suck.
I have a slightly different take. Donovan came from a generation of American players (especially early) where MLS wasn’t that strong, the USMNT didn’t have a lot of technical expertise/players in big leagues. But we had great GKs, our NT played a lot of games together, and we bled on the field–very passionate about it.
I do agree that Donovan feels that such passion is the first thing you ask of anyone on the NT. That’s what he told Kilns when Donovan was told he wasn’t going to Brasil–that even if he didn’t have the legs he used to have, he’d still bleed for the team more than some of the other guys Klinsman was bringing instead.
So yeah, some of it is a little bit of bitterness. But I’ve heard Dempsey, Gooch, and others of that same generation lament about the NT players don’t care as much, too pampered, don’t care as much about being on the NT. And I don’t think that’s true. I just think that you had players under Arena and Bradley who were totally committed to the NT effort in a way that was unique.