A Sebastian Giovinco double helped Toronto FC to a 4-0 victory over Eastern Conference rivals New York City FC on Sunday. Giovinco skipped around an attempted tackle from Andrea Pirlo like he wasn’t even there (which is close to the truth) and curled in his first goal from distance.
Patrik Eler channeled Thor in his team’s Ligue 2 opener on Friday, striking an incredible goal from nearly 40 yards out. The ferocity and speed with which the ball was struck gave the goalkeeper little chance to save the shot, even from such a long distance.
The United States defeated Jamaica 2-1 in the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup Final thanks to phenomenal goals from Jozy Altidore and Jordan Morris. Altidore struck a pinpoint free kick on the stroke of halftime, but Je-Vaughn Watson equalized for Jamaica shortly after the break. With extra time looming, Morris dispatched a blistering effort in the 88th to give America the Cup.
The return of Bruce Arena as manager of the USMNT has been close to perfection — he’s now unbeaten in 14 matches, and he’s managed to lift his country back to the top of CONCACAF.
On one hand, preseason friendlies definitely do not matter. On the other hand, preseason friendlies between teams like Chelsea and Bayern Munich definitely matter.
Not for any competitive reason, of course. When Bayern and Chelsea met in the International Champions Cup Tuesday, Munich's 3-2 win wasn't predictive of anything. No, the Chelsea-Bayern friendly definitely mattered because we hadn't seen elite soccer in a while and missed players doing things like what Thomas Muller did.
If you have not been watching UEFA Women's Euro 2017, you have been missing out. The Netherlands beat Belgium 2-1 on Monday, but the moment of the match came when Belgium's Tessa Wullaert lobbed a volley over the beleaguered Dutch goalkeeper for an incredible long-range goal.
Approaching his 40th birthday, Italian shot-stopper Gianluigi Buffon has been open about his plans for the future over the summer. If Juventus fail to win the Champions League this season, Buffon claims he’s “99.9 percent” certain that he’ll end his professional career after the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
If Buffon is able to win that elusive Champions League title, his competitive nature would see him return to the field in an attempt to win the FIFA Club World Cup the following season.
Megan Rapinoe took her NWSL-leading goal tally to 12 from 15 matches with a remarkable hat trick in Seattle’s 5-4 victory over Sky Blue FC on Saturday. The Reign squandered a 4-0 lead, but Rapinoe rescued her side with an immaculately placed left-footed shot at the death.
Regardless of where you stand in your level of MLS fandom, there’s no denying that the league provides an abundance of goals. In 2017, 659 have been scored through 225 games — good for an average of 2.93 per match. Horrific defending from the likes of Minnesota United, Real Salt Lake and DC United certainly helps to elevate this number, but we’re not complaining.