A 70-year-old keeper, an unlikely critic of World Cup prices, and more: Friday Freedom Kicks
Happy Friday! I think we’ve got a pretty good mix of news and fun stuff in the Kicks today, but feel free to share more in the comments, as always.
D.C. United to play the Ethiopia National Team in a Friendly at Audi Field on July 11 (D.C. United)
For the third year in a row, D.C. United will play the Ethiopia National Team. With the game occurring in the midst of the World Cup, we could see a number of United’s starters, looking to stay sharp during the break.
70-year-old soccer player plays in official match (Washington Post)
Playing goalie at 70 years old, let alone in an official match, is wild.
2026 World Cup: Trinity Rodman is at the Center of Sport, Style, and Culture (Complex)
An interview with Trinity Rodman about becoming the highest-paid woman in soccer, her fashion, and her splashy new Adidas ad. Speaking of:
I won’t make it a habit to share ads, but this was pretty fun.
Trump says he ‘wouldn’t pay it either’ in response to USMNT World Cup ticket prices (The Athletic $)
If Infantino thought his made-up Peace Prize was winning him an ally, he don’t know Trump.
MLS’s CCC run comes to an end | Thursday Round-Up (Tactics Free Zone)
A little commentary from Matthew Doyle’s blog about MLS’s failure to make the changes necessary to win the Concacaf Champions Cup and be taken more seriously as a result.
Johnny Cardoso’s USMNT World Cup hopes dim after Atlético Madrid announces ankle sprain (Yahoo! Sports)
In case you missed it yesterday: an ankle sprain incurred in training means Johnny Cardoso may miss out on this year’s World Cup. Steven Goff also reported that Chris Richards will miss the beginning of the US training camp to compete in the UEFA Conference League final with Crystal Palace.
Now, some good news for the World Cup:
Schedule and Venues Confirmed for 2026 U-20 Championship (Concacaf)
This tournament serves as a qualifier for the U-20 World Cup in 2027 and the 2028 Olympics. The U.S. young men will play in Group A with Cuba, El Salvador, and Haiti.
Statement from Canada Soccer regarding the Vancouver Whitecaps (Canada Soccer)
Canada’s federation has expressed support for the Whitecaps remaining in Vancouver, though it’s not clear to me what they’re doing to help that happen.
For some Friday fun, I really enjoyed this video of the D.C. United guys debating how many pigeons they could take in a fight:
Finally, here’s your schedule of events for the weekend. Saturday is looking BUSY, though all of our soccer teams are playing away this weekend.
| Teams | When | Where | Watch |
|---|---|---|---|
| DC Defenders vs. Louisville Kings | Sat., May 9 at 1:30 p.m. | Washington, DC | Fox |
| Loudoun United vs. Brooklyn FC | Sat., May 9 at 7 p.m. | New York, NY | ESPN+ |
| DC United vs. Nashville SC | Sat., May 9 at 9:15 p.m. | Nashville, TN | AppleTV |
| DC Power vs. Spokane Zephyr | Sat., May 9 at 10:30 p.m. | Spokane, WA | Peacock |
| Old Glory DC vs. Seattle Seawolves | Sun., May 10 at 1:30 p.m. | Fairfax, VA | ESPN+ |
| Washington Spirit vs. Seattle Reign | Sun., May 10 at 7 p.m. | Seattle, WA | Victory+ |
Have a good one!
Great Adidas ad. Still doesn’t beat the ads Cantona but it’s good. And that’s great news about Shakira.
That video with Trinity and other soccer stars was great. Reminds me of some of the “classic” ones from the early 2000s.
Also, I’m so happy that Shakira is doing a World Cup song. That Jelly Roll song was not it…
So to get some coverage from the Post again, DCU and the Spirit just need to sign a 70-year-old…
Im sure Jason Anderson would advocate more than anyone to bring King Kazu over to DC lol
The DCU game is also going to be broadcast on FS1.
Fingers crossed we get Lloyd Sam on that call
Fox is not Apple, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see different commentators
I dont believe Sam is with Apple any longer, and he has called other MLS games on FS1 this season. And jus checked, his Twitter bio was also updated to say that he’s a commentator for FOX now
Actually crazy that they lost him. Although I bet Fox has a lot more salary room for him
NJ Transit has dropped fares for trips to World Cup Games at MetLife from $150 to $105 after anonymous private donors will cover some of the costs.
https://gothamist.com/news/nj-transit-reduces-world-cup-fares-will-still-charge-105-for-trains-to-games
All the grifting in this World Cup is painful. It is stripping away the joy of it all.
When isn’t their grift with a major sporting event?
The NWSL announced additional games added to the red card suspensions of North Carolina Courage defender Feli Rauch and Angel City FC midfielder Maiara Niehues. Rauch for pulling the hair of a KC Current player while contesting a ball in the air. Niehues for striking an opponent on the back who had just fouled a teammate.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7262494/2026/05/07/nwsl-additional-suspensions-hair-pulling-striking-opponent/
Apparently the school year for kids in Mexico ends on July 15. But they are ending the school year early on June 5 due to the World Cup and a predicted “extraordinary” heat wave.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7262899/2026/05/08/mexico-world-cup-school-year-heat/
And I bet Iran wishes they were playing in that extraordinary heat wave. Sigh.
This is an article about rituals players do in baseball, but I think it very much applies to players in other sports as well.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7259106/2026/05/07/baseball-rituals-mlb-neoroscience/
Old Glory games are also broadcast on Monumental Network.
FIFA is holding World Cup opening ceremonies at the first group game for each of the 3 host countries featuring musical artists from each of those countries. Additionally it will hold special ceremonies at the games on July 4th in Houston and Philly in honor of America’s 250th birthday.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7262593/2026/05/08/fifa-opening-ceremonies-perry-buble-america-250/
Apparently Tanner Tessman is out “until the end of the season” at Lyon due to a muscle strain.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7264057/2026/05/08/tanner-tessmann-usmnt-lyon-injury-world-cup/
Isn’t the end of the French season like…next week?
Yeah, the article I saw said it wouldn’t impact him for the WC camp.
Except, of course, if he is not fully fit in time, he might not make in on the USA roster.
My Facebook memories just showed me a video of Tally Hall back in 2016 at RFK. He was going along the line of player escorts standing at the railing of one of the baseball dugouts and throwing the ball so they could head it back during warmups.