Morning folks,

It’s Wednesday, so your two favorite brothers are back in your inbox with the latest soccer news. Have at it!

• 3️⃣ 9️⃣ MLS Match Day 39 Recap

• 🇺🇸 USMNT Turning Point

• 🌎️ World Cup Update

• 🤔 Decision Day Scenarios

• ⚽️ Goal of the Week

• 😂 Meme of the Week

MLS Match Day 39 Recap

Decision Day is on Saturday. Just 5 games last weekend. Let’s chat through them.

The Vancouver Whitecaps beat Orlando City 2-1 for their 8th straight league game unbeaten. The win propelled the Caps atop the Western Conference for the first time since June 25th. It was Thomas Müller who scored the winner in the final seconds, his 6th goal to go along with 3 assists in the 6 MLS games he’s played. Fair to say this has been a superb DP signing. Orlando has fallen from grace a bit. They’re now 7th in the East and just one point above the play-in line. They need a win on Saturday against Toronto to avoid the wild-card round.

Austin FC beat LAFC 1-0 to ensure they don’t drop to the wild card round. Owen Wolff’s 83rd-minute header was the difference. The win locks up a 6th-place finish for Austin. LAFC didn’t have either of its star attackers as both were on international duty. This game would’ve likely looked much different had they been playing.

FC Dallas stumbled on the road against the Galaxy, losing 2-1 after Logan Farrington went down with a red card in the 16th minute. They’ll now try to keep their Wild Card spot with Farrington (red card) and Petar Musa (yellow card accumulation) suspended for Saturday’s matchup against Vancouver. With the win, the Galaxy may have saved itself from the Wooden Spoon.

The Seattle Sounders beat Real Salt Lake 1-0 to make things very interesting at the bottom of the Western Conference playoff table. Real Salt Lake can clinch a playoff spot with a win against St. Louis on Saturday. Anything else, and they’ll need help from other teams.

Lionel Messi likely secured his second straight MVP award with his 2 goal/1 assist performance in Miami’s 4-0 win over Atlanta. He’s now at 26g/18a on the year, and set a new MLS record with 9 multi-goal games this season. He’s the first player in MLS history to have two seasons with 35+ goal contributions. He’ll likely take home the Gold Boot award unless Denis Bouanga pulls off some heroics on Saturday. Inter Miami is the second team in MLS history to have back-to-back 60+ point seasons (FC Dallas 2015/16).

USMNT Turning Point?

The USMNT just had its best camp under Pochettino. Here’s what went down.

USA 1 - 1 Ecuador

After a tumultuous first year with Pochettino in charge, the Yanks finally looked like a team with an identity. Ecuador came out flying, pressed hard on the backline, and Enner Valencia scored a vintage counterattack goal. Early panic. But then, something new. The US didn’t fold. They played through it and had one of the best 2nd half performances in the Poch era.

Malik Tillman was the best player on the field, and we’ve said this a few times lately. Six chances created, calm on the ball, and the assist to Folarin Balogun for the equalizer. It was his 11th goal contribution in his 17th start for the USMNT. There’s no longer an argument about who our starting striker is. This is Flo’s job to lose.

The US had more shots, shots on goal, possession, and over 250 more passes than Ecuador. We were unlucky not to win. Poch dropped this quote on his IG Story after the game. Sounds like our culture is trending down the right path, and as Poch said early on, just be patient.

USA 2-1 Australia

Pochettino made 6 changes to the starting lineup against Australia. The US controlled the game early but gave up a sloppy goal from timid defending. Then Christian Pulisic picked up a knock and exited the game in the 28th minute. Shortly after, Chris Richards intercepted a ball, and the US quickly turned it into an attack before Christian Roldan slipped in Haji Wright for a goal.

The US came out attacking in the second half. Haji Wright curled a filthy left footer into the far post in the 51st minute off another Christian Roldan assist. One of the best finishes from a US striker this year. Roldan might’ve just locked in his World Cup spot after being an afterthought a year ago. The US had more than double the number of completed passes as Australia, and overall had control of the game. It was the first come-from-behind win of the Poch era, and a big one, just days after he preached about building culture.

World Cup Snapshot

As we inch closer to the World Cup, we’ll be giving you occasional updates on what lies ahead for the tournament.

Aside from the USA, Mexico, and Canada, which qualify automatically, 28 other Nations have etched their place into the world’s greatest sporting event. The 2026 tournament will be the first in history to have 48 teams, expanding from the usual 32.

Each region has a specific number of guaranteed bids into the tournament, totaling 43. The remaining 5 spots are for the 3 hosts and two playoff spots. Here’s who has qualified so far from each region.

UEFA (16 guaranteed bids): England

AFC (8): Australia, Iran, Japan, Jordan, Qatar, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan

CAF (9): Algeria, Cape Verde, Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Morocco, South Africa, Senegal, Tunisia

CONMEBOL (6): Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay

OFC (1): New Zealand

CONCACAF (3 excluding the hosts): TBD

So far, three nations have qualified for their first World Cup ever — Cape Verde, Uzbekistan, and Jordan. Cape Verde is particularly fascinating.

The island nation off the west coast of Africa punched its ticket on Monday after beating Eswatini 3-0. With a population of just 530,000, they’ll be the second smallest nation to ever participate in the World Cup behind Iceland. They qualified atop their group, ahead of Cameron, who’ve been to 8 of the past 11 World Cups. Steven Moreira, the standout defender for the Columbus Crew, plays for Cape Verde and will be there next summer.

This is one of the beautiful things about the tournament expanding. Nations that would have never had a chance before get their shot. And as you can see, it means everything.

Decision Day Scenarios

Almost every playoff spot is locked up, and now teams are just jostling for position. Here are the biggest storylines to follow.

Western Conference:

Nobody had Vancouver and San Diego fighting for the top spot to start the year, but here we are. San Diego (60 points) can jump Vancouver (63) with a win and Vancouver loss. They’d be the second expansion franchise ever to win their conference.

Two wild-card spots are up for grabs. Colorado and San Jose can capitalize on Dallas and Salt Lake losing over the weekend. If Dallas and Salt Lake win this Saturday, they’re in. If they both lose and San Jose wins, the Earthquakes sneak in. If Colorado wins and Salt Lake loses or draws, they’re in. It should be chaotic. Exactly how you’d like it.

Eastern Conference:

Charlotte, NYCFC, and Nashville are all playing for the #4 seed to lock in home-field advantage. Nashville could fall into the wild-card game if things go wrong for them against Inter Miami. Chicago, Columbus, and Orlando are also all trying to stay out of the wild card game. Get your popcorn ready.

Wooden Spoon:

The award for the fewest points in MLS. It’s between DC United, Atlanta United, and the LA Galaxy. If DC United loses against Atlanta, the crown is theirs. If Atlanta loses, it’s theirs. The Galaxy continued their piss poor defending on Saturday but rescued a win and likely avoided the “award”.

Goal of the Week

This has nothing to do with MLS or USMNT, but we simply had to share.

It’s maybe the craziest goal I’ve ever seen.

Meme of the Week

The race nobody wants to be a part of.

Quick Hits

• Atlanta United & USMNT’s Brad Guzan will be retiring after this season (Link)

• U-20 USMNT bounced from World Cup in Quarterfinals (Link)

• Messi to launch Mess Cup, a soccer tournament for U16 teams (Link)

• Christian Pulisic names Serie A Player of the Month (Link)

• La Liga to host a Barcelona vs Villarreal league game in Miami (Link)

• MLS Best 22U22 List (Link)

• Orlando City SC is interested in Tottenham star Richarlison (Link)

That’s a wrap. Please give some feedback below :)

Max & Mason