As the world heals from the pandemic, pick-up matches are on their way back as well. Pick-up matches exemplify all the best parts of soccer: intense rivalries, healthy competition and the opportunity to sharpen your skills.
Fresh off his contributions in the UEFA Champions League final, Christian Pulisic is expected to start Thursday when the United States men's national team faces Honduras in a CONCACAF Nations League semifinal in Denver.
Pulisic came on as a substitute in the 66th minute of Chelsea's 1-0 victory over Manchester City in Porto, Portugal. In a prime scoring chance, Pulisic had a shot that went just wide of the left post with an opportunity to give Chelsea a two-goal lead.
On Monday Gregg Berhalter announced the 23 players that will represent the USMNT in Denver at the CONCACAF Nations League finals. The list comprised of four players from Major League Soccer and the other 19 scattered across Europe.
Here's the full roster.
Goalkeepers:
Zack Steffen (Manchester City)
Ethan Horvath (Club Brugge)
David Ochoa (Real Salt Lake)
Defenders:
John Brooks (Wolfsburg)
Tim Ream (Fulham)
Matt Miazga (Anderlecht)
As Christian Pulisic takes over Europe with his dashing smile and unstoppable skills on the pitch, you will be surprised to hear that nobody has locked down this young American star. Similar to the way Pulisic has his way with defenders, the young American star should have his options for potential love. He has proved to look sleek with a scruffy beard for the winter to cuddle up with and looks just as nice with it shaved off — how is this soccer star single?
After defeating KRC Genk on April 17, the final day of the regular season in the Belgian League, Royal Antwerp will open the Championship Playoff against Genk on Friday.
Despite the 3-2 defeat, Genk managed to finish fourth, three points ahead of Oostende, to claim the final spot in the playoff tournament. Nigerian international Paul Onuachu scored both of Genk's goals in the loss — his 28th and 29th of the season, as the towering 6-7 forward claimed the title of top scorer for the 2020-21 campaign.
Porto scored the goal of the competition during Tuesday’s UEFA Champions League quarterfinal second leg. If you’re looking for the other Chelsea vs. Porto highlights, I’m afraid to tell you that there isn’t much to see.
The Blues advanced to their first Champions League semifinal in seven years despite Porto winning 1-0 on the night. Chelsea advanced 2-1 on aggregate.
To provide a taste of how riveting the affair was, here’s a highlight of the first shot on target … in the 64th minute.
TURIN, Italy - Juventus eased to a 3-1 victory over Genoa on Sunday to keep alive their faint hopes of making it 10 successive Serie A titles this season.
The champions raced into a comfortable lead inside 22 minutes thanks to goals from Dejan Kulusevski and Álvaro Morata, the Spanish striker converting after Cristiano Ronaldo had hit the post.
Ronaldo with the assist off the post for Morata pic.twitter.com/Fy2YiLvZUT
Two Tyler Boyd goals vs. Antalyaspor on Wednesday helped his new club secure three points and put some more pressure on USMNT head coach Gregg Berhalter.
In the dark days of U.S. men’s soccer, a player who had five goals in five games for a quality European club would be a shoo-in for a spot on the national team’s roster. Today there’s such an overflow of talent that a guy like Boyd flies inconspicuously under the radar.
With 10 matches remaining, it’s as you were in LaLiga with the three top sides all winning over the weekend.
On Saturday, Karim Benzema’s brace lifted Real Madrid over Celta Vigo. On Sunday afternoon, Luis Suárez’s 500th career goal gave Atlético a nervy win over Alavés. On Sunday evening, Barcelona decimated fifth-place Real Sociedad 6-1 for a fifth straight league win.