Weather Delay Can’t Stop Mbappe, The World Glazes Messi, and more: Tuesday Freedom Kicks
Moring DC Footy Folk! I hope you all weren’t as inconvenienced by the storm yesterday as France vs Iraq was yesterday (more on that below). Let’s jump into some quick hits for your Tuesday Freedom Kicks!
A few USMNT updates from our old friend, Steven Goff. Also, it seems as though Pulisic could get some reps in against Türkiye.
Holy weather delay, Batman! Also, we’ve got a genuine superstar golden boot race on our hands!
Argentinian national treasure Lionel Messi stands alone at goalscoring pinnacle (The Guardian)
Former DCU beat reporter, Pablo Maurer, has a piece on the greatness of Messi.
Álvarez says move from Atlético Madrid is best for everyone (ESPN)
Well this certainly could ruin the focus inside of the Argentina camp.
Finally, here’s your slate of games for today:
| Teams | When | Where | Watch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portugal vs. Uzbekistan | Tue., June 23 at 1 p.m. | Houston, TX | Fox |
| England vs. Ghana | Tue., June 23 at 4 p.m. | Foxborough, MA | Fox |
| Panama vs. Croatia | Tues., June 23 at 7 p.m. | Toronto, ON | Fox |
| Colombia vs. Congo | Tue., June 23 at 10 p.m. | Guadalajara, JA | FS1 |
I kind of wonder what Turkiye is going to field.
Their best, without question.
They don’t have a game to look forward to, haven’t scored a goal, and their national and sporting pride has been dealt a morale draining injury with these two losses against what most perceived as the two weakest in a diluted group.
They will want to ruin the host’s day, and fly out of here with a promise that their next tournament appearance will be worth tuning in for.
For the US, it’s a more interesting question. Seems likely they’ll want to give Pulisic some limited second half minutes to test out his calf, but they’ll have tough choices with the yellow card holders and stars.
Poch will want to maintain substantial momentum, and though Adams, Richards, Jedi, and Flo have been vital for our form in the wins, a suspension for any of them, or worse, an injury scare are to be avoided.
I actually think we could get the win without them. Berhalter can manage and has incredible discipline and decent passing quality, McKenzie did really well with Richards recovering, Arfsten is effective going forward as a wingback at least, and Pepi and Wright would love the chance to get on the field and the scoresheet.
Zendejas, Aaronson, Weah, there are players who are effective and hungry.
I’m assuming Poch will balance to maintain levels, but our depth and all five subs are going to be huge.
So Miguel Almiron has picked up a one game suspension for his red card for covering his mouth while in a situation of confrontation. So he’ll miss the final group stage game against the Aussies.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7378934/2026/06/23/miguel-almiron-ban-fifa-world-cup/
So FIFA wants to go the American Football coin toss route and apply it to PK shootouts. Instead of 2 tosses where the 1st decides who shoots first and the 2nd decides who picks what side the shootout is on. They will do one toss where the winner will decide either to shoot first/second or decide which side to the shootout is on. If IFAB approves the proposal in time it might get used for the World Cup knockout rounds.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7386940/2026/06/23/world-cup-penalty-shootout-rules-coin-toss/
Not that we talk much about college soccer here, but the NCAA just approved eligibility rule changes. Athletes will now be limited to 5 years of eligibility. The clock will start when they first enroll in college or at the start of the academic year after they turn 19, whichever occurs first. I can definitely see this rule getting challenged.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7386334/2026/06/23/ncaa-age-athlete-eligibility-rule-changes/
John Strong woke up this morning and chose violence in his England-Ghana commentary. He’s included things like “As we know, the English struggle here in Massachusetts” and referred to Wayne Rooney as simply “Former DC United manager Wayne Rooney”