International Duty for Spirit and DC Power, Baby Yanks Fight, Ream Says Goodbye, Records Fall, and more: Wednesday Freedom Kicks
Welcome to Wednesday everyone. We’ve got a lot of news today. There were plenty of international call ups for the Spirit and DC Power and the USMNT played. Let’s hop straight to it.
USWNT roster named ahead of October international window (SSFC)
This international window, the USWNT will play a pair of huge friendlies against the top ranked women’s team in the world, Spain. Yesterday, Emma Hayes announced the roster for the team that will take on La Roja in Chester and at Rowdy Audi. A pair of Spirits will represent the local 11 on the roster and former Spirit Ashley Sanchez makes her return to the USWNT. Check out Donald’s breakdown of the roster.
But that’s not all….
The Spirit’s Italian dynamic duo also received call ups for Italy’s pair of World Cup qualifier playoffs against Belarus. I look forward to seeing Cantore scoring bangers for Le Azzure as they try and make next year’s tournament.
Morgan will join The Lionesses as they face off against Greece in a pair of World Cup qualifier playoffs.
Claire Constant will join Haiti this international window as Les Grenadières face a tough pair of friendlies against Japan and Australia in France.
Ethiopia maybe not be in next year’s World Cup, but they are still involved in CAF qualifying for the Olympics. Leading the way for Lucy in their pair of qualifying matches against Rwanda will be their captain and DC Power’s leading scorer, Loza Abera.
Loudoun got the 4-1 win over Sporting Jax this past weekend, and two players scored braces for the club. Both Christian Torres (top of the list) and Eddy Davis III (#7) received acknowledgement for their standout performances. Performances like this are becoming a habit for Davis III, which likely means he’ll be breaking DC fans hearts on behalf of the Union when his loan to Loudoun ends. The duo, along with Pacifique Niyongabire all made the starting line up for the USL Team of the Week.
Match Preview: D.C. United vs. SC Paderborn 07 | Wednesday, September 30, 2026 (DC United)
DCU have a friendly tonight against Bundesliga side SC Paderborn 07. Check out DC United’s preview of their match against the newly promoted side.
NATIONAL WOMEN’S SOCCER LEAGUE NAMES MEGHAN FREY SENIOR DIRECTOR OF PATHWAYS AND DEVELOPMENT (NWSL)
NWSL’s press announcement featured many business buzzwords (I just missed filling up by buzzword bingo card), but Frey’s role breaks down to strengthening the talent pipeline of players and coaches into the league.
Albert, 17, breaks Pulisic mark as youngest USMNT scorer (ESPN)
Poch’s Baby Yanks won again, this time against Chile. In the process, something cool happened. Julian Hall became the youngest American to score in his first two games (He gets a pass on playing for Red Bull). Then with the fourth US goal of the night, Dortmund’s Mathis Albert surpassed Christian Pulisic as the youngest player to score for the USMNT. I’m sure US fans will respond to the youth movement seemingly moving apace in the measured, rational manner it demands.
Tim Ream, USMNT World Cup captain, announces retirement from international soccer (The Athletic)
It was generally understood that Ream’s time with the USMNT was at its end, but he was able to make it official in front of fans in his hometown, which is a well deserved honor. From beginning to end, he had the second longest USMNT career after DaMarcus Beasley, which isn’t bad company to be included with.
‘The emperor is naked’: Uefa president Ceferin takes new swipe at Infantino (The Guardian)
Welp, FIFA and UEFA are still going at it.
Bayern expected to finalise Kane extension after international break (Yahoo Sports)
It appears that Kane’s dream of kicking in the NFL and some readers dream of seeing him do double duty in a city with a football team and an NFL team will have to wait. His new deal with the German powerhouses is reported to last until 2029.
What did I miss?
If Keisuke Kurokawa plays against Paderborn, I may scream.
Hopefully it’s a chance to go “OMG, it’s Antley with the chair!!!”
The USMNT has a lot of potential impact players already, but I think the player I’m most jazzed about from last night is actually Brooklyn Raines of the NE Revolution. He is not an impact player in the final third, but he’s a very consistent, mobile, smart, and effective build up and out of possession midfielder who knows he’s not Cavan or Albert. His job is to get it to those players, and cover them.
I was impressed with how high his floor was as a midfielder in the first half, but when Tyler Adams came in for Mehmeti (who is 17, and still quite raw), him and Gaines immediately made the midfield an impassable mire for the opposition.
He also pretty much single handedly tracked down a breakaway player across an appreciable space late to stymie his progress. In any other era, that breakaway doesn’t get atrested by the US, and our game plan is to play cautiously so it doesn’t happen.
At 21, he’s a real piece on the depth chart, and him and Adams at double pivot looks great already.
Precisely Because we have a lot of finesse and flair players coming through, he’s very valuable for the team structure
I really didn’t believe this was on FOX regular,
But DC United vs (of all matchups) Paderborn is fully on FOX
To clarify, I thought for sure the above referred to some outer rim FOX affiliated subscription streaming platform that even FOX employees would be surprised if you handed over cash for the service,
But nope, it’s on cable
If I understand correctly, tonight’s match is airing at 7:30 on FOX 5 in Washington, DC. How cool is that?! Also, it looks like there is pre-match coverage starting at seven o’clock.