Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Mason and I could not be more grateful for all 9,788 of you who read this every week. It was another awesome week of soccer. Let’s get into it.

• 🏆️ Conference Semifinal Recap

• 🇺🇸 Yanks Abroad

• 🇺🇸 World Cup Roster Preview

• 🟡 Wilfried Nancy Departs the Crew

• ⚽️ Goal of the Week

• 😂 Meme of the Week

Conference Semifinal Recap

All 4 managers of the Conference Finalists are in their first year in charge of their squads. Nobody expected San Diego or Vancouver to be here before the season. It’s been a fun year. MLS doesn’t disappoint.

Inter Miami put on a masterclass in their 4-0 thumping of FC Cincinnati. Messi had a goal and three assists. His 12 goal contributions breaks the MLS record for most in a single postseason. They’ve scored 12 goals in 4 playoff games, Messi has scored or assisted in every one. I don’t know what other superlatives to write about this man. He may single-handedly win this all for Miami. I feel for Cincinnati, though. They were good all year. They just happened to face the greatest player of all time in peak form. They’re far from the first team to have done that. They’ll be back. I’m sure of that.

NYCFC beat the Philadelphia Union 1-0 on the road to book a date with Messi and friends in the Eastern Conference final. They scored a brilliant team goal, finished off by old timer Maxi Morales. Matt Freese came up big all night, making 5 saves, including this point-blank stop. Philly had their chances with 2.53 expected goals to New York’s 0.89, but ultimately they couldn’t find the back of the net. It’s a brutal way to end an incredible year, Union fans should still be proud

San Diego FC defeated Minnesota United 1-0. The lone goal was fantastic. Corey Baird saved the ball from going out with a backheeled assist to Anders Dreyer, who hammered it past Dayne St. Clair. It was the only shot on target San Diego had after dominating 66% of possession. San Diego will host an incredibly resilient Vancouver side in hopes of becoming the second expansion team ever to reach the MLS Cup final.

The Vancouver Whitecaps ousted LAFC in one of the best playoff games in recent MLS history. The Whitecaps blew a 2-0 lead, went down to 10 men after a red card, and then went down to 9 men after an injury, only to force the game to penalties and win on the final spot kick (full penalty shootout here). It was an epic 120+ minutes of soccer. Some of it, beautiful, like Son’s breathtaking free-kick equaliser. Some of it ugly, like Vancouver defending for their lives down 2 men. But nonetheless incredibly entertaining. Vancouver prevailed against all the odds. What a remarkable season they’ve put together. Next up is a daunting road clash with the best expansion team in MLS history. Bring it on.

Yanks Abroad

Christian Pulisic scored in the Milan Derby to help give AC Milan a crucial 1-0 win. In the last 3 seasons, Pulisic has 48 goal involvements, tied for first in Serie A with Lautaro Martinez. He’s also tied for first with 5 goals scored in Serie A this season.

Cameron Carter-Vickers World Cup dreams are likely over after he suffered a setback to his achilles injury that took place in October. The center back said it was doubtful he would be ready for next summer 😥.

Malik Tillman scored his 3rd Bundesliga goal of the season and added an assist in Bayer Leverkusen’s 3-1 win against Wolfsburg. He’s averaging 0.55 goals per game and is tied for 3rd in goals scored as an attacking midfielder in the Bundesliga.

Weston McKennie scored a towering header in Juventus’s Champions League game against Bodo. It’s his 8th UCL goal.

Tim Weah scored a blast for his first Ligue 1 goal. He followed it up yesterday with an assist in the Champions League.

World Cup Player Pool

Last week’s November friendlies got us thinking just how hard it’s going to be for Mauricio Pochettino to choose a 26-man squad for next Summer’s World Cup. So we wanted to dig into the player pool and make a rough estimate of where everyone stands. So much can change in a year, so we’ll be wrong about a lot of this, but here’s how we see things playing out.

Roster Locks: Christian Pulisic, Chris Richards, Tyler Adams, Weston McKennie, Folarin Balogun, Timothy Weah, Malik Tillman, Antonee Robinson, Sergino Dest, Matt Freese

It was quite the year for Matt Freese. He got his first call-up, first cap, and now seems to be entrenched as our starting keeper. His performance against Philadelphia will only solidify it more. The others are your usual suspects who are simply too talented to keep off the roster. They’ll be there if health permits.

I would be surprised if they’re not on the roster: Diego Luna, Tanner Tessmann, Alex Freeman, Ricardo Pepi, Haji Wright, Mark McKenzie, Tim Ream, Myles Robinson, Max Arfsten, Joe Scally, Brenden Aaronson

These guys will be on the team save for a collapse in form.

Okay, that’s 21 players. Here’s who can round out the squad.

Battling for a spot: Josh Sargent, Patrick Agyemang, Aidan Morris, Sean Zawadski, Johnny Cardoso, Patrick Schulte, Chris Brady, Matt Turner, Jonathan Klinsmann, Yunus Musah, Gio Reyna, Sebastian Berhalter, Alex Zendejas, Alex Roldan

The big question here is who backs up Matt Freese. I don’t feel like any of them have locked in a spot, even Matt Turner. I believe Gio Reyna will be on the squad, especially after last week’s performance, but it’s still not a sure thing. Yunus Musah, Alex Roldan, and Sebastian Berhalter also have one foot in the door but will need to solidify themselves over the coming year.

On the outside looking in: John Tolkin, Auston Trusty, Luca de la Torre, Jack McGlynn, Zack Steffen, Damion Downs, Brian White, Jesus Ferreira, James Sands, Noahkai Banks

There’s a lot more you can add to this last list, but aside from Jack McGlynn, it’s difficult to see any of these players finding a way onto the squad.

We’re curious who you think has the #2 spot behind Matt Freese. Vote below.

Wilfried Nancy Departs the Crew

Major League Soccer is losing its best coach. Tom Bogert reported that the Columbus Crew’s Wilfried Nancy is finalising a deal to become the next manager of Celtic, the Scottish Premiership Champion.

According to Bogert, during Nancy’s last contract extension with the team, there was an understanding that this day may come. He’s had interest from European clubs for a couple of years, and he wanted to make a move when the right opportunity presented itself. That time has come.

The Crew will get compensated by Celtic for the move. And they’ll begin their search for his replacement immediately. Nancy will leave with a club record 71 wins. He won MLS Cup in his first season in charge and Leagues Cup last season.

This is not just a massive loss for the Crew but for MLS as well. Nancy orchestrated a beautiful brand of soccer in Columbus that his league has rarely seen. He will be incredibly difficult to replace. For a league that is trying to compete with the best leagues in the world, I think it’s understated how important having world-class coaches is. All the press is about bringing in better players and loosening spending rules to do that, and rightfully so. But keeping coaches like Nancy is equally important.

Goal of the Week

That’s a 30+ yard free kick SCREAMER to help send High Point to their first Sweet 16 in school history.

Meme of the Week

I’m not sure which team had the worse week. Damn, I’m sorry Ohio soccer fans. I guess Hell is Real.

Quick Hits

• FIFA finalises pots for World Cup draw (Link)

• Pittsburgh Riverhounds beat FC Tulsa in the USL Championship final (Link)

• Rose Lavelle scores the winner to give Gotham FC their second NWSL Championship (Link)

• US Soccer launches ‘Pathway Strategy’ to decrease the cost of youth soccer and develop world-class players (Link)

• MLS owners begin succession plan for Don Garber (Link)

Enjoy the holiday with your families and see you next week!

Max & Mason