D.C. United trades international slot for GAM, Bethi in training, and more: Friday Freedom Kicks
Happy Friday!
D.C. United Acquires $75,000 in 2026 GAM from Chicago Fire FC in Exchange for a 2026 International Roster Slot (D.C. United)
If you’re not going to use the slot, you might as well trade it for some Garberbucks.
In news that came as a major relief to those of us who watched Washington Spirit’s game against Chicago Stars last weekend, Mélissa Bethi was participating in portions of yesterday’s open training. She probably won’t be healthy, for Saturday’s game, though, as Ashley Hatch told Roey Hadar that she’s been training for the 10 role this week:
Former England striker Andy Carroll says he was sexually assaulted in 2021 (The Athletic $)
Not a lot to say here, but it took a lot of courage to report this, both now and in the criminal proceedings, and I’m glad he was taken seriously.
The NWSL’s Struggling Teams Are Falling Behind (Defector)
We’ve long known that some of these owners are reluctant to spend to promote and improve their teams, while the league uses them as an excuse to hold everyone back in terms of salaries.
It’s time to create a U.S. women’s ‘open cup’ (The IX Sports)
I have some concerns about piling additional match responsibilities on the small roster sizes of women’s teams, but something like this could give bench players more chances to play, in addition to being a lot of fun. Dennis Nolasco pitched the idea of a Spirit-Blues game in Annapolis, and I am interested.
Chris Richards is Zavier Gozo’s neighbor at Crystal Palace and now his guide through a first USMNT camp (Yahoo! Sports)
Steven Goff with a story on the friendship between Chris Richards and Zavier Gozo, as well as some general USMNT camp news.
The international break is hitting some MLS teams hard. With a possible 14 total players, CF Montreal reportedly asked the league to postpone their game against Cincinnati but were denied:
Haaland continues prolific World Cup form in Norway win over Denmark (ESPN)
The group stage of the UEFA Nations League began yesterday, and World Cup darling Erland Haaland led his team to victory in a tight match. Meanwhile, Tai Baribo’s Israel lost to Austria and had a player sent off for a goal celebration, which I wasn’t aware was an option.
Finally, here’s your schedule of matches for the weekend: no DC Power game after their Tuesday morning match, but the Spirit are playing a home game on a Saturday for once.
| Teams | When | Where | Watch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Loudoun United FC vs. Sporting JAX | Fri., Sep. 25 at 7:30 p.m. | Jacksonville, FL | ESPN+ |
| USA vs. Peru | Sat., Sep. 26 at 4:30 p.m. | Orlando, FL | TNT, Telemundo |
| Washington Spirit vs. Angel City FC | Sat., Sep. 26 at 6:35 p.m. | Washington, DC | Ion |
| D.C. United vs. Vancouver Whitecaps | Sat., Sep. 26 at 10:30 p.m. | Vancouver, BC | Apple TV |
Props to Andy Carrol for having the courage and wherewithal to report it and face his abuser in court.
Making Hatch the 10 continues to erode my limited confidence in Gonzalez’ personnel use and assessment.
I do think Hatch is good at distributing, but it’s her ability to do that while holding up and pinning a defender is what makes her such an effective target forward. But her in the pocket, and you have none of that.
Adrian is exceptional at squad vibes, atrocious at getting the most effective configuration and role alignment, and I can’t stand it.
I just don’t know who else he could deploy there from the current roster. Hal hasn’t worked in that role, Ngock and Sullivan are more defensive, and I don’t see any of the other forwards as a better fit than Hatch.
To me, this is more of a squad construction problem than a coaching one. At no time this year has there been more than one healthy natural 10 on the team.
Cantore
Him not realizing that Cantore floating around an actual target forward would work makes me think he’s never watched her play for Italy. Or doesn’t grasp what he’s seeing.
Especially if Cantore leads the line and Hatch is underneath, pure player evaluation failure.
Cantore is not going to be as suited to the 10 as Bethi, but she’d lock into her skillset just seeing Hatch up there doing what she does
Bethi will probably be back by the time Luvanga is ready
Annapolis Blues vs Spirit would go crazy especially if its a competitive game rather than a friendly. Spirit would surely win…unless…
I assume you mean the Annapolis Blues women’s team. That seems like quite a mismatch. Not sure what’s the point.
If you mean the men, it’s probably a mismatch going the other way.
Are you suggesting that a minor league men’s team is better than a top-level professional women’s team?
Better is a subjective perspective, at least in this context. But, yes, I think they would run the Spirit into the ground.
Is anybody going to Audi Field on Sunday? There is a friendly between Paraguay and Bolivia. Ticket prices are higher than for DC United versus Paderborn, for some reason.