Fresh off helping Mexico to the CONCACAF U-17 Championship title last month, 16-year-old Californian Efraín Álvarez has registered his first goals for the LA Galaxy, notching a brace in the club’s 3-0 U.S. Open Cup victory over Orange County FC on Wednesday night.
The U.S. has advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup after shocking tournament-favorite France 3-2 in Bydgoszcz, Poland, on Tuesday. Trailing 2-1 with just over 15 minutes remaining, the USMNT U-20s came storming back with late goals from Sebastian Soto and Justin Rennicks.
The U.S. secured passage to the Round of 16 at the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup by defeating Qatar 1-0 thanks to a goal from 19-year-old PSG forward Timothy Weah on Thursday. It was, in all honesty, the American’s worst performance so far in Poland, but the result sees the team finish runners-up behind Ukraine in Group D.
The U.S. now awaits the result of tomorrow’s meeting between France and Mali — a France victory or draw will see a knockout round clash against Les Bleus, but a Mali victory would see the U.S. play against the African side.
The best young women’s player on the planet is from a town in Scotland with a population of 33,698 inhabitants, and that’s what makes our beautiful game so glorious. How is 20-year-old Erin Cuthbert this good? How has she managed to lift Scotland to its first-ever Women’s World Cup appearance? Why isn’t she the talk of the global footballing community?
For many Americans, win = good and loss = bad. It’s ingrained in the psyche of a sporting nation that values hundreds of points in a single game — the highest entertainment consisting of a series of start-stop mini games that bear no resemblance to the intricate processes that dictate the 90 minutes of play on a soccer field.
Argentina’s U-20 World Cup campaign is off to a glorious start in Poland, thanks in large part to Atlanta United’s Ezequiel Barco. The 20-year-old attacker scored a penalty in the 63rd minute to put Argentina up 2-1, and then he scored what would prove to be the match-winner in the 71st with a stunning side-foot volley from distance.
The United States opened U-20 World Cup play with a frustrating 2-1 loss to Ukraine in Bielsko-Biała, Poland, on Friday. Ukraine scored with its first shot on target, but the U.S. responded with a brilliant 14-pass move to equalize. However, despite holding 67 percent of possession and registering 10 shots, Ukraine scored the game-winner off a corner kick in the 51st minute.
In great news for Jamaica, the 2019 Gold Cup and fans attending the USMNT’s upcoming friendly against the Reggae Boyz at Audi Field in Washington, D.C., 21-year-old Bayer Leverkusen winger Leon Bailey is reportedly finally set to make his international debut for the side after years of disputes between the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF), the player and his representative, step-father Craig Butler.
It’s raining sideways in Herzogenaurach on Monday evening with the temperature hovering in the low 40s. With a colossal match against Augsburg — one place above Schalke in the desperate battle to avoid the Bundesliga relegation playoff — looming the following Sunday, you could forgive Weston McKennie for being in a foul mood after traveling over 400 kilometers from Gelsenkirchen to arrive at adidas headquarters in Herzo for an evening of interviews.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Wayne Rooney may grab the headlines, but Major League Soccer is seeing noticeable growth from the other side of the career timeline. Efrain Alvarez, Paxton Pomykal and Gianluca Busio have already had tremendous starts to their 2019 campaigns and should continue to be regular contributors for the Galaxy, FC Dallas, and Sporting Kansas City, respectively.