Giovanni Reyna made quite an impression in his competitive debut with the Borussia Dortmund U-19 squad. It just wasn’t as good as his younger teammate.
Reyna, a 16-year-old American, scored in the first minute of Dortmund’s 9-2 win over Wuppertaler SV in the U-19 Bundesliga season opener on Sunday. His 14-year-old teammate, Youssoufa Moukoko, did even better, scoring six goals in his U-19 debut.
Francis Jacobs became the youngest soccer player to sign a professional contract with a U.S. club when he joined Orange County SC, the club announced Monday. Orange County competes in the USL Championship, the second division of U.S. soccer.
Last night in Lima, Peru, Honduras upset Mexico after a penalty shootout to advance to the final of the 2019 Pan American Games. It’s a largely meaningless U-22 competition with understrength youth teams, so the Mexican Football Federation won’t be overly bothered by the result, but manager Jaime Lozano will be irked that his side couldn’t hold on to a 1-0 lead with just over 10 minutes remaining.
Especially since that 1-0 lead was built on one of the finest goals of the summer.
In a rematch of the 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship Final, Spain got revenge on Germany to capture its fifth title, moving the nation level with Italy as the most successful in the history of the Euro U-21 competition.
Spain last achieved U-21 glory when winning back-to-back titles in 2011 and 2013. That extremely skilled cohort included the likes of Juan Mata, David de Gea, Cesar Azpilicueta, Javi Martinez, Isco, Koke and Dani Carvajal, and the 2019 group is sure to achieve just as much international success, if not more than that highly skilled generation.
The story of the 2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship so far has been the play of Romania, which is participating at the tournament for the first time since 1998. After finishing above Portugal in qualifying, there was a sense that this could be the finest Romanian generation in 20 years, but no one could’ve predicted the start they’d make at this U-21 Championship.
Romania began play last Tuesday with an emphatic 4-1 victory over Croatia, including goals from the highly touted Ianis Hagi and Tudor Băluță.
After pulling off one of the upsets of the tournament, the USMNT U-20 squad’s run in the 2019 U-20 World Cup came to an end with a 2-1 loss to Ecuador on Saturday in Poland.
The Concacaf champions beat France in the Round of 16 to knock one of the favorites out of the tournament, but the CONMEBOL champions proved too much for the Baby Yanks.
Scoring on your rival? Awesome.
Scoring on your rival in a knockout tournament? Awesomer.
Scoring on your rival with a goal from midfield? Awesomest.
Antonio Blanco ripped a shot from 45 yards in a 1-1 draw with Barcelona on Saturday, advancing Real Madrid 3-1 on aggregate into the Copa del Rey Juvenil semifinals.
Blanco’s equalizing goal came with the match in the balance. Barcelona attempted to cross midfield only for the Madrid player to steal the ball, take one touch and blast a long-range effort over the Barça keeper.
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.
Erling Braut Håland is an 18-year-old striker for Red Bull Salzburg. Sparingly used, he netted one goal in 82 minutes over two matches in league play during the 2018-19 campaign.
Son of former Leeds United and Manchester City player Alf-Inge Håland, Erling Braut showed he’s got a bit of his father’s mean streak in him playing for Norway on Thursday at the U-20 World Cup.