The Spirit Play in Mexico, Europe Winds Down as World Cup Approaches, Prank in Munich Stuns, and More: Wednesday Freedom Kicks
Hello, District Press readers! OK, I’ve got a lot of links today. I’m not culling the herd, so let’s get to the news!
In case you missed it when it dropped yesterday, Matti Peltola sat down with Donald for an interview. Honor them both by reading what came of that meeting.
Erkut Sogut’s journey: From Germany’s factory town to DC United– Turkiye Today
I do not pretend to be familiar with this publication, and therefore do not fully endorse it as a source. However, it exists and dropped this morning, so here it is.
Football: How to watch Trinity Rodman and Washington Spirit in the CONCACAF W Champions Cup– Olympics
Of note: The Spirit compete in a CONCACAF W Champions Cup match tonight in Pachuca, Mexico. The kickoff is 10:30 EDT on Paramount+ and for free on CONCACAF’s Youtube channel.
If you should doubt this match is happening, well, The Spirit want to assure you with the art of dance…
Esme Morgan has once again earned a callup to the England squad. She’s really grown tremendously with The Spirit as a defender, let’s see if it translates to more responsibility and playing time for her nation.
The Spirit receive a big boost from the return of dynamic utility player, Deb Abiodun, from an unfortunate injury setback. Ashley Hatch has also posted an Instagram story detailing her test run of traveling with her husband and their baby on a plane, so it seems likely that Hatch will be returning from maternity leave relatively soon, as well.
Pretty neat.
USMNT Tracker: Pulisic’s pivotal pass and Trusty’s title-winning heroics– The Athletic
The Athletic covers USMNT players as they wrap up their club campaigns and look forward to the summer tournament.
USMNT’s Tyler Adams: Andoni Iraola has taken Bournemouth to new heights– ESPN
Adams speaks about his admiration for departing Bournemouth manager, Andoni Iraola, as the only EPL manager he has known leaves the club at season’s end. There have been plenty of rumors about Adams’ future as well, but his club fate remains to be seen.
USMNT, Lyon midfielder Tessmann subject to summer transfer interest: Sources– The Athletic
Tanner Tessmann is drawing interest, and seems destined for a club change this offseason.
USWNT Big Board: How the 2027 World Cup team is taking shape– ESPN
While the Men’s World Cup is very rapidly approaching, the Women’s World Cup next summer is also on the horizon. That means Hayes has decisions, and the almost nauseatingly deep pool of talents comes into focus. ESPN delves into the squad possibilities and apparent locks. Editorial license: It’s likely that Tara Rudd and Emily Sams are indeed “on the bubble,” but, IMO, two of the probably “locks” are far less talented.
World Cup resale ticket prices continue to drop, including for USMNT opener– Goal.com
Goal.com has you covered for what are still massively unfair ticket prices- don’t feel bad for FIFA, is what I’m saying.
Empty rooms and Fifa cancellations – US hotels fear World Cup washout– BBC
Numbers look dicey for the hotel chains and businesses who thought a profit windfall was in the bag for this summer’s tournament.
MLS lobbying Ifab to explore stopping clock for pauses in play– The Guardian
If realized, this would be quite the development for MLS, and could have wide ranging implications for the sport in general.
MLS Power Rankings: Nashville SC Dominate, Multiple Managers Fired and More After Matchday 14– Sports Illustrated
Let’s hear it for the ones who care about these.
Arsenal win first Premier League title in 22 years after Man City draw– ESPN
Massive news for the EPL as Arsenal manage to secure the Premier League Title with a game still to play. 82 points across 37 games was enough for the London based club to end their 22 year drought. Manchester City failed to keep pace, tying Tyler Adams’ AFC Bournemouth side yesterday in the spoiler’s stadium. Both Arsenal and Man City will play meaningless games this coming Sunday, so EPL viewers can enjoy other offerings a bit more easily.
Southampton expelled from Championship playoffs over Spygate– ESPN
Massive scandal in the Championship. There’s an appeal coming, but it’s quite a storm in the hunt for promotion to the Premier League promised land.
1860 Munich fans insult Bayern Munich with fake club crest during trophy parade– Yahoo
What do you do when your far more acclaimed, prestigious, and moneyed city rivals win the top flight for the umpteenth time and are celebrating in the streets? If you’re 1860 Munich fans, it’s give the mob a massive banner to unfurl and show the drones. What did the drones see? Some very rude words and an incredibly devastating prank stunt. – this link will take you to Youtube.
A-F-C-T-O-G-O, Putting on an Awesome Show: Revontulet Entering Season Five– Northland Soccer Journal
We’re gonna close out with a story from The USL W League concerning Minnesota Aurora FC. District Press’s own PJ Ryan wrote it from his home city. In this era where sports journalism is badly weakened by lack of funding, and commercialism mars the sport we all love in incredibly irritating ways, PJ shows us what we can do despite it all.
That’s all I’ve got! One-up me in the comments, and have a great sporting day!
So proposing taking the clock stopping from rugby are we MLS? That’s part of why there’s bonus time and not stoppage time at the end of the 1st half and end of the game in rugby.
“Improving gamesmanship” and “stopping time wasting” are just code words for “we could add commercials here”
Yeah the only time during a time stoppage that at lest MLR shows commericals is the hydration break at around the midway point of each half. Though its really annoying to come back from the commercial to discover that play has already restarted.
It should be noted that IFAB are sending out all the signals that they are deeply not into this to the league.
The league wants this bad, and that does suck
My dude. Clock-stopping has existed in almost every major sport for a long time — and in soccer, existed in the original US first division, the NASL. It continues to exist in college soccer.
True
The marketing from Concacaf and the participating clubs still doesn’t do it justice, but today should be considered one of the biggest days in Spirit and overall DC soccer history. We’re playing a road semifinal in Mexico and have a real chance to bring home a Concacaf title, DC’s first since 1998, and then play for a world title, which wasn’t an option yet back when DCU won in ’98.
Let’s go Spirit!
Should be a great game, albeit incredibly late for East Coast viewers
At Pachuca though. That altitude will be brutal. Hope the Spirit can grab an early lead, because their lungs and legs will be failing later.
In English Football League (EFL) ‘Spygate’ news.
Sources:
There is an ESPN article about it above
Sorry I missed it.
Poor 1860, they just insist on looking classless, and irrelevant.
That said:
The Pokal awaits, Bayern vs Stuttgart. Saturday kickoff is 2pm.
German Embassy has partner with DC Bayern 11 Club to host a party at O’Sullivans. Clarendon Metro stop, Orange line. It looks like the party starts at 1:30.
Ahem.
Manchester City tied ***Matai Akinmboni’s*** Bournemouth.
Ha, as far as I know, Akinmboni has never even been boosted to the first team bench in an injury crisis, so…
It has not sat right with me to see the soccer intelligentsia of this country fall all over themselves to talk about how awesome Sam Sarver chugging a beer was.
And yeah, it was cool. But it came about because fans were throwing stuff on to the field, which typically the intelligentsia never miss a chance to castigate those fans for said throwing of things. Which is also right. Fans shouldn’t throw shit.
But then some guy with a hairline resembling theirs picks up a beer and foams it all over his face, and it’s not him making the best of an unfortunate fan response. They call it MLS heritage and are having a dandy old time with it. It feels like that incentivizes player reactions, which in turn incentivizes more throwing of things and bad behavior by fans. And one of those days, something unfortunate could happen.
Anyway, I don’t like to be a sourpuss, but I was really surprised at just how universally positively the soccer journalists were responding to this action. It reminded me of how the enforcers of league rules would talk about how smoke was forbidden in the stadium, but then it would show up in marketing materials anyway. You can’t have it both ways.
I’m really surprised that we haven’t seen some kind of disciplinary action from MLS on the player, tbh. The guy actively drank a beer and continued to play the game (albeit only for a few minutes). Does that not violate some sort of league drug/substance policy? Not saying he should get suspended or anything, but I’m surprised I haven’t seen anything about even a fine or something similar.
I’m expecting at least as to Sarver that it will be a one-time celebration — both because a goal like that is a rare enough thing, but also because I’m sure he’s been told that it can’t repeat. That said, it brought back memories of Alecko Eskandarian.
Also, bald dudes proudly celebrate Sarver. No connection between the hair n your head, and the RPMs in your legs.
Fox unveiled its full studio analyst and anchoring team for the World Cup.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7293968/2026/05/20/fox-world-cup-team-broadcast/
Thiago Alcântara, former Men’s Spanish National Team midfielderJohn Obi Mikel, former Men’s Nigerian National Team midfielderJuan Pablo Ángel, former Colombian Men’s National Team forwardClint Dempsey, fromer US Men’s National Team forward/midfielderAlexi Lalas, former US Men’s National Team defenderCarli Lloyd, former US Women’s National Team forward/midfielder
Whatever the panel, if it features Alexi or Lloyd, those “luminaries” will find ways to make their insecurities everyone’s problem
What a curious comment. Alexi is the best soccer commentator ever! Lots of fun and very smart about the game. I’m not as familiar with Lloyd as a commentator, but maybe there is some kind of unspoken bias here?
I want to live in a country where differences and the contributions of immigrants are celebrated and acknowledged.
Alexi Lalas rode onto the stage on a pony for a US vs Mexico game wearing a cowboy hat and dressed in full border patrol czar cosplay.
His participation is in alignment with the political and economic forces that… well, gas prices are starting to turn people away, even if the brutality didn’t.
In the US Open Cup last night. St Louis tied 2-2 with Houston in regulation and extra time then bounced the Dynamo on penalties winning 4:2. Orlando thrashed Atlanta 4-1 last night.
Tonight the Columbus Crew host NYCFC and the Colorado Rapids host the San Jose Earthquakes.
League disciplinary committee has handed out fines after this past weekend’s games.
https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/vancouver-whitecaps-fc-s-yohei-takaoka-fined-by-mls-disciplinary-committee
Et tu, Talon?
This is Jesse Marsch erasure, plain and simple.
Also, technically, erasure of Javi Gracia and Big Sam Allardyce, who both failed to hold off relegation for Leeds, but Adams only had a brief spell playing for Gracia before injury sent him to the surgeon, and never got to play or even train for Big Sam.
Ah, I forgot his singular year with Leeds, I stand corrected.
Although, Jesse is such an annoying turd in the punch bowl now, I’d be fine with a bit more erasure
So looks like Inter Messi…I mean Inter Miami… are trying to sign Casemiro. The issue is that the LA Galaxy hold his Discovery Rights. Also how the hell would he fit on Miami’s roster and have the roster still be compliant with the rules. The only things I can think of is either they move one of their DPs in the secondary transfer window. Or they sign him to a non-DP non-TAM deal for this season then resign him to a TAM or DP deal for next season….
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7295093/2026/05/20/casemiro-inter-miami-signing-mls-la-galaxy-manchester-united-brazil/
More than likely Darth Garber and the league office will bend or change the rules so that Miami can get Casemiro. Also how much is Miami going to compensate LAG for the Discovery Rights?
Can we get Mo Salah or Bernardo Silva, then?
Heck, I was just checking to see what Paul Arriola’s salary was these days, in case there was any interest on his part in coming back.
(It’s $1 million. That’s probably a little too steep for where he’s at professionally these days.)
Too bad because we could really use him on the right wing right now.
UMBC announced today that Nico Banks is joining them for the Fall season. Interestingly, in the announcement, they say his affiliation is “DC United MLS Next”. I don’t know much about the DC academy kids, but from what I can dig up he seems to be a defender.