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What’s happening footy friends,
Even with no MLS play last weekend, we have a jam packed edition for y’all. 1,607 words. Dig in.
🏆️ MLS Conference Semifinal Previews
🇺🇸 USMNT November Camp
🤯 Major Changes Coming to MLS
🌎️ World Cup Qualifications
⚽️ Goal of the Week
😂 Meme of the Week
MLS Conference Semifinal Preview
8 teams left. It’s going to be an incredible weekend.
LAFC vs Vancouver Whitecaps - Saturday, 6:30 pm PST at BC Place
Both clubs had superb summer signings that have elevated already good teams. LAFC has seen a 0.43 PPG boost since Son joined. Vancouver has a 0.36 PPG boost since Muller came aboard. LAFC has eliminated the Whitecaps from the previous two postseasons, but this Whitecaps team is much better.
FC Cincinnati vs Inter Miami - Sunday, 5 pm ET at TQL Stadium
Cincinnati beat Miami 3-0 in July, and they can do it again. But with the form Messi is in, it won’t be easy. This game will come down to which team’s star player has the bigger impact.
Philadelphia Union vs NYCFC - Sunday, 7:45 pm ET at Subaru Park
NYCFC was dealt a brutal blow over the weekend after their leading scorer, Alonso Martinez, injured his knee while on international duty with Costa Rica. It’s believed to be a torn ACL. The two teams split their regular-season meetings, each winning one game 1-0. The Union is trying to become the 9th team to win the Shield and MLS Cup in the same season.
San Diego FC vs Minnesota United - Monday, 7 pm PST at Snapdragon Stadium
Two teams with opposite tactical approaches to the game. San Diego loves to possess the ball, break through presses, and play at a high tempo. Minnesota is happy to concede possession, take advantage of counterattacks, and is lethal on set pieces. Something has to give.
USMNT November Camp
The second-to-last camp before the World Cup was a smashing success. Here’s what went down…
USA 2 - 1 Paraguay
The US played well in their win over Paraguay. It was none other than Gio Reyna who was the star of the game. He opened the scoring in the 4th minute with a header off a beautiful cross from Max Arfsten. It was his first goal for the US since March 2024. Boy, it’s good to see him back. Then he delivered the game-winning assist to Folarin Balogun. Balo was invisible for most of the game until that moment. It’s his 3rd goal in his last 4 games for the USMNT.
Max Arfsten, Brenden Aaronson, Tanner Tessmann, and Sergino Dest were other bright spots as well.
The game ended in a wild scuffle that included a benches-clearing brawl. Looks like we’ve got a little fight in us, I love it! Overall, I’m very pleased with this result. The US has 3 wins and 1 draw in the 4 games since Pochettino moved to 3 in the back. This was also our 4th straight unbeaten game against FIFA-ranked top 40 teams.
USA 5 - 1 Uruguay
Pochettino started a heavily rotated squad against Uruguay, and it resulted in the best result under his command.
Sebastian Berhalter opened the scoring with an absolute stunner off a unique set piece. Minutes later, Alex Freeman headed in a cross from Berhalter. In a loaded group of midfield players, I would not be surprised if Berhalter makes the squad solely for his set-piece contributions. Then Freeman did his best Christian Pulisic impersonation, weaving through defenders before hammering home the third goal. Diego Luna wanted to get in on the fun. He slotted home a ball from Timothy Tillman. And the route was in full effect. But the first half ended poorly with a lazy defensive mistake that led to a bicycle kick from Uruguay.
This is the first time the US has ever scored 4 goals in a half versus a FIFA Top 15-ranked team. In the second half, Tanner Tessmann joined the party with a header off a gorgeous cross from Gio Reyna.
This was the best performance in the Pochettino era. The US has 4 wins and 1 draw in the 5 games since Pochettino moved to a back 3. This was also our 5th straight unbeaten game against FIFA-ranked top 40 teams. After months of doubting Pochettino’s decisions, it seems like we, like much of the media, were wrong.
Pochettino turned over every stone. He gave players who didn’t previously have opportunities a chance on the international stage. Some of those players, like Diego Luna and Sebastian Berhalter, have excelled. All the while, it’s lit a fire under other players like Gio Reyna, who realized they had better take advantage of their opportunities when they came. And everyone is better because of it. We should’ve never doubted you, Poch.
My goodness, it is going to be incredibly difficult to pick the 26 players for next summer.
Major Changes Coming to MLS
Major League Soccer made one of the biggest changes in league history last week. The MLS Board of Governors agreed to shift the competition calendar to a Summer to Spring schedule to align with the world’s top soccer leagues. The change will start in 2027. Here’s what you need to know:
There are two major reasons why MLS is making this change
Aligning their schedule with the world’s top leagues allows teams to better buy and sell players globally. With the current alignment, during the busy European summer transfer window, when the world’s best clubs may offer huge sums for MLS players, MLS teams don’t want to give them up as they’re preparing for a playoff push. The inverse is true in the winter. The change will also significantly reduce conflicts with FIFA’s international windows, so MLS stars don’t have to miss games while on international duty.
The change moves the MLS playoffs and Cup final to May, when there is much less competition for eyeballs with the NFL and College Football.
You may be asking, what does this mean for the cold market teams? MLS will take a mid-season break from mid-December to early-February to account for this. So while there will still be some frigid games being played, the change isn’t as big as you may think. It’s a 91% overlap with the existing schedule. The league will also take a strategic scheduling approach to have cold-market teams play more away games during those cold months.
MLS will hold a mini-season of 14 games from mid-February to May of 2027 to bridge the transition.
The league will also be adopting a single table format. This will eliminate the existing two conferences, and 5 new divisions of 6 teams each will play under one unified league table. Each team will play the teams in their division twice and everyone else once. The divisions are to be determined, but will likely look something like the photo below.
The change was made with near-unanimous approval from the league’s executives, including nearly all of the colder market teams. Tom Bogert reported that Chief Soccer Officers around the league think this will have a massive impact on their ability to build better rosters.
In addition to this change, it was announced that MLS and AppleTV have made big amendments to their broadcasting deal (full details here). The biggest change for fans is that AppleTV will no longer require an additional payment through MLS Season Pass. Instead, all you’ll need is an AppleTV subscription.
These changes will usher in a new era for MLS. It’s a long-needed move that will play a pivotal role in MLS competing with the world’s best leagues.
World Cup Qualifications
42 out of the total of 48 teams have qualified for the World Cup (full list here). The last 6 teams will be determined in March after a UEFA playoff (4 teams) and an Inter-Confederations playoff (2 teams).
Here’s a snapshot of what happened over the past week.
England finished qualifying with an 8-0 record and didn’t concede a single goal. Although their group consisted of Andorra, Serbia, Latvia, and Albania.
Norway has qualified for its first World Cup since 1998. The great Erling Haaland scored this volley to beat Italy. It was his 11th straight game with a goal, tying the record in men’s international soccer. Norway will be a dark horse to pull off a 2018 Croatia-like run next summer.
Speaking of Italy, they have failed to secure automatic qualification for the third straight World Cup.
Nigeria has failed to qualify for their second straight World Cup after losing to DR Congo in the CAF play-offs.
Haiti is going to their first World Cup since 1974 after a 2-0 win over Nicaragua.
Curacao, the Caribbean island nation of just 150,000 people, has become the smallest nation to ever qualify.
Scotland beat Denmark in insane fashion to qualify for their first World Cup since 1998. Scott McTominay scored an incredible bicycle kick, and then Kieran Tierney hit a banger in stoppage time for the winner. Madness!!
Ireland booked a spot in the playoff with their dramatic 96th-minute winner. Look at what it means to the Irish!
Goal of the Week
A sublime free kick
Meme of the Week
Minnesota’s 2027 Starting Lineup 😆
Quick Hits
Phew, that was a big one. Hope you liked it. See y’all next week 👊
Max & Mason
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