USL and PA agree to Gainbridge Super League CBA, Washington Spirit sign Melissa Bethi, and more: Friday Freedom Kicks
Happy Friday! Things are more-or-less back to normal in the soccer world and, much as I enjoy the World Cup, I’m finding it nice to get back to some of my other hobbies. Such as attending Washington Spirit home games.
USL and USLPA reach tentative agreement for first collective bargaining agreement in League history (GSL)
There’s not a ton of information yet, but this is great for the players!
Washington Spirit Signs Midfielder Mélissa Bethi (Washington Spirit)
The third of three promised signing announcements: Mélissa Bethi is a midfielder who plays for the Algerian National Team. Like the other two signings, she is expected to play at WAFCON, beginning this weekend.
Loudoun United FC and Forward Arquímides Ordóñez Agree to Mutually Terminate Contract (Loudoun United)
I’m surprised by this departure. He was a decent goal-scorer for the club.
MLS Great & U.S. Soccer Legend Joins Major League Soccer’s Player Development Leadership (MLS NEXT Pro)
D.C. United alumnus Eddie Pope is taking on a big new role!
Leicy Santos Is In The Right Spot (Defector)
Santos is in great form right now and an essential factor in Washington’s strong performance this season.
Grading FIFA’s changes to the World Cup, from expansion to hydration breaks (ESPN)
World Cup hangover continues.
Where Goals Come From: FIFA Men’s World Cup Edition (American Soccer Analysis)
Relatedly, I found this comparison of World Cup goals to league goals to be interesting.
2026/27 Concacaf Nations League Groups Confirmed (Concacaf)
The tournament will serve as qualifiers for the 2027 Concacaf Gold Cup. Why are there three different leagues of different sizes and formats? I don’t know!
One of the Spirit Squadron capos has been diagnosed with leukemia, and the group is helping to raise money for his treatment. If you would like to help out, the link to donate is below:
Finally, your schedule of events for the weekend. D.C. United are back at home on a short turnaround, with the Spirit following them on Sunday, while Loudoun play away.
| Teams | When | Where | Watch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Loudoun United vs. Indy Eleven | Sat., July 25 at 7 p.m. | Indianapolis, IN | ESPN+ |
| D.C. United vs. Toronto FC | Sat., July 25 at 7:30 p.m. | Washington, DC | Apple TV |
| Washington Spirit vs. Denver Summit | Sun., July 26 at 7 p.m. | Washington, DC | Victory+ |
I ended up with a different stance on hydration breaks than I expected
The intent of the hydration breaks is fully corporatist. I’m avidly against rampant commercialization, and I was deeply annoyed when this change was announced.
However
Having seen them in practice, regardless of the FIFA cynicism, the effect of them is worth it, and it’s worth considering implementing them broadly in a confined, restricted, and specified way in situations where heat is not a factor at all.
The game has gotten faster, more demanding, and the number of games has ballooned and shows no signs of decrease. Clubs and governing bodies will always take the payout of more games, and players have shown no unified desire to put their increased pay on the line to preserve their own bodies and form.
The mid-half breaks will significantly help with fatigue and (yes) hydration. Injury assessments can be more easily planned on and accurately assessed, the gamble of the “do we sub?” question mitigated- which in and of itself would improve player longevity. And I firmly disagree with the assertion that tactical input mid half hurts the game. If anything, it makes it less mindless. How many times have soccer heads anticipated eagerly a halftime tactical adjustment? We would get it 3 times a game instead of once. That’s better soccer, IMO.
If it’s no more than 2:30 minutes, and they have to stay in the confines of the pitch and simply listen to the coaches, I think it should stay
That said, it needs to be fully codified and enforced in such a way that FIFA can’t just move the goal posts Willy nilly.
It’s high time that we didn’t just let them drag things down a slippery slope just cuz they’re so corrupt that they’ve maxed out disdain.
Yay for people who can keep an open mind and learn from experience!
Not exactly what happened to my view
It’s still pretty clear that FIFA knew it would be hot, and an evil thought entered their head for further commercialization
It just happens that their built in excuse for more ad revenue happens to be a stumble into a good idea that offsets other problems in the global game
It did make the tournament better and safer, despite their actual intent
Just think about how many times Rooney would have said “I would have subbed all 11 guys off at the Hydration Break if I could have” instead of just Half Time.
But in seriousness, I can also see the merits of having a short break (might need a warming break in some places once we make the calendar shift). There’s a similar concept that was introduced (also somewhat controversially) in Nascar within the last decade or so where they break up each race into 3 “stages.” They essentially throw a caution at 2 pre-determined points in the race to allow the broadcast to go to commercial without having to miss green flag racing. They also award some points to the top 10 at the end of each stage, to give the drivers something to race for. This can end up making the middle of the race more exciting than it otherwise would have been, but there are also plenty of examples where the strategy of the race is compromised by the cautions or it interrupts good racing. So it ends up having pluses and minuses that fluctuate week to week. Would imagine we’d get a similar thing here where some games would benefit from having a break, while in others the flow would be interrupted.
I know in the US vs Zimbabwe World Rugby Nations Cup match 2 weeks ago there was an impact of the normal first half hydration break. The US was leading 12-0 and controlling the flow despite discipline issues then the hydration break happened. Coming out of the hydration break Zimbabwe started punishing the Eagles ill-discipline with set piece execution (line outs and scrums) and went into half up 15-12. Then out of the half the US just settled in better and kept Zimbabwe off the scoreboard the rest of the game though Zimbabwe’s defense did improve a bit after the 2nd half hydration break. The rankings were basically the same at the time but as of the last ranking update on Monday, following this past weekend’s matches to end the summer international window, the US is ranked 14th and Zimbabwe 25th in the Men’s rankings. The US is at the upper end of what World Rugby calls tier 2 nations while Zimbabwe is towards the bottom of tier 2.