First USMNT Friendlies of the New Cycle Loom, Spirit Callups, Kane Kicking, and More: Thursday Freedom Kicks
Welcome to Thursday. OK, enough chit chat.
On to the news!
The Spirit organization houses international quality talents, and the callups of Gabby Carle, Tamara Bolt, and Sandy MacIver to their respective national teams are a testament to that dedication to quality acquisition. The Bolt Brazil callup (her first ever) is especially gratifying, hope she gets some time to show her stuff in the upcoming break.
DC Power are starting to gain some momentum in their own league play.
There is some notable news in the USWNT world this week that I wanted to highlight before devoting article space to the preceding USMNT friendlies this international break:
Fox makes ‘easy decision’ to sign three-year Arsenal deal- BBC
She’s stalwart, she’s in her prime, she’s playing in the Champions League, and she is happy where she is. Give it up for Foxy, who may sneakily have one of the highest soccer IQs in U.S. Soccer history.
Lily Yohannes stakes her claim as USWNT’s present in strong UWCL start with OL Lyonnes- CBS
Yohannes is also taking off in her European soccer journey. Worth clicking into the clip of her assist in OL’s utter demolition of Servette, because her backheel let for the goal is pure, disrespectful filth.
USA vs. Peru, 2026 USMNT Friendly: Scouting Peru- Stars and Stripes FC
The USMNT is taking on Peru on Saturday at 4:30 PM Eastern, and there’s a lot of fun and exciting callups from this as yet untapped generation coming through.
Is Sullivan the next Olise? Comparisons for USMNT’s top young stars- ESPN
This sort of talk does nothing to moderate the hype train, but it’s early cycle, why not dream? Just don’t Freddy Adu this one in your own minds, people. Be cool.
Sergino Dest Confronts USMNT’s World Cup Collapse: ‘You Have to Show Character’- Sports Illustrated
Hey, I’m not gonna talk Dest out of pushing himself and his teammates more this cycle.
The headline is somewhat misleading for the content. While Kochen is under contract with the Spanish giants, he has been cutting his teeth of late in Denmark for Lyngby. The relegation threatened club is one of those classic shooting gallery development spots for Diego. At a mere 20 years old, he’s got plenty of time to become a dominant goalkeeper, and he has a chance to impress Poch in the coming break.
USMNT coach Mauricio Pochettino reflects on World Cup and looks forward to future- NBC4 New York
Poch explains the reason he re-signed with U.S. Soccer in an expanded role.
Rebecca Bernal has a rewarding experience in what sounds like an utter devastation for their opponent.
Infantino looks set to stay, but FIFA faces a new war over power- Reuters
Infantino has managed to cling to his role as FIFA President and seems likely to retain it. The organization however, has become a veritable civil brawl of harsh divides and court intrigue after Infantino’s ill advised stake-selling scheme was exposed. It seems the organization is under serious threat. Stop. Police.
Harry Kane serious about future as an NFL kicker once football career is over- ESPN
Gonna close on this. Still-active England goalscoring legend, Harry Kane, clearly gets a kick out of American Football. It appears he wants to make the pursuit of that kicking his next profession. There’s little doubt some team in the states won’t seize the opportunity for publicity and the expansion of international brand awareness with both hands and probably their teeth.
This is long presaged, and he does have a knack for it.
That’s all I’ve got! One-up me in the comments, and have a great sporting day!
If Harry Kane to the US is to become a reality, likely only cities that have both an MLS team and an NFL team will compete for his signing. That leaves…17 options I think. Well how many of them have access to multiple high end golf courses?! Also DCU has a rather positive history when it comes to signing older Englishmen who is currently the all time goal scorer for the national team. All I’m saying is there’s a nonzero chance that Kane comes to DC!
This certainly would be a marquee signing if DCU management wants to make a splash. And there is a nonzero chance that Harry Kane wouldn’t score goals, no matter where he is.
My only concern there would be having 3 DPs that all play the exact same position. Which doesn’t seem like the best use of the resource
There’s zero chance that an NFL team signs a kicker who is doing double duty, playing in MLS earlier in the week or weekend, given the high risk of injury in soccer games.
I also wonder about his being a placekicker at all. Will a guy with his bank account come here in his late 30s to face guys who outweigh him are far stronger, and are probably faster than him, on kick returns?
I posted this late in yesterday’s kicks, but based on this post from the El Salvador national team, it seems like Ordaz might be available for DC this weekend, which would be a huge help
https://x.com/fesfut_sv/status/2102783688912027906
DC is now full on International Roster Spots. And by that, I mean we sent our unused one to Chicago for $75K GAM
https://www.dcunited.com/news/d-c-united-acquires-75-000-in-2026-gam-from-chicago-fire-fc-in-exchange-for-a-2026-international-roster-slot