Loudoun Takeaways, Constant Call Up, AI Scouting, World Cup Kits, and More: Thursday Freedom Kicks.
Happy Thursday everyone! Last night I had the opportunity to go photograph a Women’s Premier Soccer League match in the St Paul area. It was the fourth WPSL and the seventh non-league game I’ve gotten to photograph in the last month. If you haven’t been to a WPSL, NPSL, or other local league match yet, I would recommend doing so. The experience is kind of like what it was like to see DC United or the Spirit play at the Soccerplex. Its soccer, but without all the ancillary stuff that goes on in a stadium. For me its been a really antidote for all the World Cup drama burnout that I’ve been feeling as it is a reminder of what is enjoyable about watching soccer. Also its always good to support local soccer. I’ll get off my soapbox and get on to the headlines.
Takeaways from Loudoun’s 4-1 mauling in MoBay (DP)
In Loudoun’s last outing, they got thumped. There really isn’t anything that can be gleaned from a result like that is there? Well, Ryan is here, always looking at the brighter side of life, to highlight the key takeaways from the match.
Between the Spirit and DC Power, you could field a full starting line up plus a good number of reserves from the players called into international camps during this (and generally every other) window. The list continues to grow. Haitian manager Pia Sundhagen once again called DC Power’s Clair Constant into camp for friendlies against New Zealand and Equatorial Guinea.
I’m not sure about everyone else, but I read the headline, rolled my eyes, and thought to myself, “I can see this going horribly wrong.” Then I read on and found out that this was discussed by a former consultant who has never worked in soccer before… And now I feel so much worse. AI can be a great tool to assist, it needs to be augmented by scouts who watch players play. Unfortunately, I’m afraid this is code for cut down on scouting because AI will do all the work.
Also, can we add the phrase “paradigm shift” to some sort of banned list for over used business terms that essentially mean nothing anymore? Anyone opposed?
2026 World Cup: Group F Preview (SSFC)
Group F will be a fun group to watch. It features the Dutch, Japan, Sweden, and Tunisia. Personally, I am taking the Dutch and Japan to make it through. Neither team will waltz through and it should be great to watch. Checkout SSFC’s preview for more.
Bayern Munich could reignite Sergino Dest interest after PSV price tag revealed (Yahoo UK)
Windows without matches can lead outlets to some speculative places in search of content. I would argue this article fits that description. While there is some truth to Bayern’s interest, he’s not their top target. Also who knows what impact (positive or negative) the World Cup will have on his value.
The arrangement between the city, the organizing committee, and local teams and businesses will send 1,400 kids and their caregivers to a match, with a meal voucher and a scarf. This is a great thing and likely will make life long memories for those in attendance.
Suspended Union executive has reportedly failed to complete MLS training (The Guardian)
Tanner has not completed his mandatory “restorative practices” training and this not resumed his role with the Union. It feels to me like both parties are waiting for everyone’s attention to be on the World Cup so Tanner can quietly depart the organization. I’m glad to see Pablo keep the focus on the situation as homophobic, sexist, and racist behavior has no place in society.
One of the most popular 2026 World Cup kits may not be worn at the tournament (The Athletic)
Its actually two of the better looking kits that may not get to appear. One is Curaçao’s away kit. The other is Japan’s away uniform. This is a bummer. The US would be so lucky to have their second kit look as nice as either of these.
I’ll end with this.
I often marvel at the atmosphere around the USWNT under Emma Hayes. The players always seem to be having fun and see to enjoy being around each other. Here is another example.
You would never see this with USMNT players.
What did I miss?
DC just announced that Kim Joon Hong has been permanently transferred to the Korean club he was loaned out to
So does that free a U-22 slot?
Yes, at least for 2027. And an international slot then. I don’t know whether we ever got explicit confirmation that those things were open this year because of his loan, but either way, they’re not an issue now.
Gabriel Pirani is a lock to be moved this window as well, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if Caden Clark got moved on too. That would leave newly-minted U22 Jackson Hopkins as the last one of that designation on the roster.
International spot was 100% open already. U22 spot was unclear, but presumably open as well based on how U22 loans were defined on the rest of the MLS Roster Breakdown. But no question on that now.
I do hope we prioritize a 3rd DP over trying to fill out the U22 spots this summer, though.
I would still like to fill both the DP and at least one more U22 slot (Pirani’s). We would need to open an international slot, or buy one from another team, if one or both of those players aren’t American, but I would be happy if we brought in the equivalent of some other team’s Ted Ku-DiPietro for the U22 slot.
Kim’s ability to keep clean sheets in Korea is genuinely impressive. I hope he continues to do well there. I commend him for taking the risk to move to a new country at a young age and try it out, and I did hold a bit of hope that he could build up his skills and confidence and come back next year to potentially unseat Sean Johnson. That said, this is probably the best move for all involved. I doubt United got much in the way of a transfer fee, but were mostly just looking to move on from the player.
Between his taking an international slot, an U22 slot, adjusting to a new country, under siege behind an atrocious backline, and not having the communication skills necessary to manage his defenders… it’s just the right move. With Farr also moving on, it’s a good sign for Leveille being a few steps closer to minutes in goal. And it’ll be a much easier roster/budget designation for the team.
More Goalie News! DC has loaned Jordan Farr to Loudoun for the rest of the 2026 season.
Big loss here for DC — who else are they going to get to do promos with Antley??
I guess that means we aren’t expecting to make the playoffs and needing a penalty kick stopper in Jordan Farr on hand.
Tbh, I wish they were giving that Haitian kid that kind of opportunity. He needs to get some reps.
We’re getting that MLS Next Pro news any day now. Any day.
FIFA has u-turned on allowing clear plastic reusable water bottles to be brought in by fans at World Cup games. Color me surprised at this turn of events.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7331461/2026/06/03/fifa-world-cup-water-bottles-u-turn/
Vodka
More goalkeeper news! Ryan Keefer shared a link to a Loudoun United page saying they’d acquired Jordan Farr on loan. However, the link went a “404 Page Not Found.” So, maybe that’s not happening, but more likely it was just sent out a little prematurely.
Jordan Farr did pretty well in his appearances last year, typically in some really unforgiving circumstances. And of course we’ll all remember his Open Cup penalty heroics. He seems like a great locker room guy, and good for the socials as well.
This does give Grant Leveille a better opportunity to speed up his professional development a bit. Farr has made the bench a few times this year when Weiler has named two goalkeepers to the subs bench, and that would give Leveille a chance to get MLS experience.
Farr’s contract is up after the end of this year, and probably is the end of the road for him at DC.
Fwiw, on Twitter, Loudoun shared a video of Farr saying that he was happy to be here, so I would imagine the link to the article is probably either delayed, or it went out prematurely as you noted
They’ve now removed the post, so I would imagine they just sent it out too early
Mad moments from World Cups over the years.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7278815/2026/06/03/world-cup-maddest-moments/
Though somehow the 2002 World Cup quarterfinal handball by Germany didn’t make the author’s top 20.
I just started reading “The Long Game” by Leander Schaerlaeckens about the history of the USMNT. I figured it’s a good time to try and finish that before the World Cup starts up.
In a cycle going back about 10 years now, DC has made promising off-season moves, only to either stand pat or get worse after an improvement from the previous year’s failures. Is there perhaps a glimmer of hope that the new management is trying to get better *every* window instead of thinking things will just work out? There’s a lot of potential for upgrades now with the addition of Dozell and the subtraction of Herrera and Pirani.
The issue is and will always remain with Kaplan and Levien, they really have an all consuming desire to be checked out and complacent when it comes to DC United squad development. They want coaches to overperform resources so they don’t have to expend them, not cuz it’s a vision of a build. If the fans seem happy with however this season ends up, and the team has some stable pieces, they’re gonna pull the sleep mask back on in a heartbeat and check out till the next gnashing of teeth from a distraught fanbase wakes them.
We need real owners, I just don’t think this dynamic is alterable with them.
Sadly, I concur entirely. I and I have had nothing but friendly interactions with them. I walked on 30 years of season tickets, I doubt they noticed.
Well gave up a goal on a free kick to Germany pretty darn quick. And the Germans are slicing and dicing the US.