When USMNT manager Gregg Berhalter was making his media rounds this summer, every single news outlet hit him with the same question: Can center back John Brooks make the World Cup roster after being frozen out for a year?
This holiday season, for a 28-day period beginning Nov. 20 and ending with the final on Dec. 18, the FIFA World Cup is going to captivate the United States to a degree never before seen in the tournament’s 92-year history.
Instead of the usual talk of politics at the Thanksgiving table, get ready to listen to grandma wax lyrical about the strength of the Spanish midfield and the overlooked quality of Serbia’s attack as the national conversation turns global while the world's greatest sporting event unfolds in Qatar.
Another week, another opportunity to explore the depths to which I will exploit recency bias. Is Leadership Council member Christian Pulisic really being left off the plane or is that just a crutch for article formatting? Is Jesse Marsch a traitor to his nation for taking off Brenden Aaronson before full-time? Is Joe Scally the defensive infiltrator we've been having sleepless nights about?
It's only 25 days until the USMNT plays a friendly against Japan in Germany, and Gregg Berhalter has to answer these questions.
We experienced our penultimate UEFA Champions League draw Thursday before the 2024-25 competition throws the 'Swiss model' at us, so we've got to enjoy the concept of a Champions League group of death while we still can.
The draw has gifted us some tantalizing matchups like PSG vs. Juventus, Milan vs. Chelsea, Bayern Munich vs. Barcelona, Liverpool vs. Ajax and Real Madrid vs. Celtic, and don't forget the tournament starts earlier this year (Matchday 1 is Sep. 6-7) because of the World Cup. Let's get down to business.
Leeds United are flying high after a fine start to the Premier League season but manager Jesse Marsch has told his squad to keep their feet on the ground and maintain their momentum if they are to stay in the top four.
Leeds convincingly beat Chelsea 3-0 last weekend to move up to third — two points behind leaders Arsenal — a position they will have to get used to after narrowly escaping relegation last season following Marsch's arrival in March.
They also beat Yorkshire neighbors Barnsley 3-1 on Wednesday to move into the third round of the League Cup.
The Champions League draw 2022-23 date is set for Thursday, Aug. 25, and we now know the 32 qualified teams that'll be drawn into eight groups of four. The group stage draw takes place in Istanbul, Turkey (also the location of the final) at 12 p.m. ET with English-language coverage provided by CBS Sports on Paramount+ and Spanish on Univision and TUDN.
It's worth mentioning that the group stage will be contracted over an eight-week period this fall because of the start of the 2022 World Cup on Nov. 21.
A congratulations is in order to the people of Harrison, New Jersey, who'll likely be counted among the last to have witnessed one of the final live performances of Lionel Messi in an Argentina jersey.
The Welcome to Wrexham trailer was released Wednesday ahead of the show's premiere on Aug. 24 on FX and Hulu, and I'll be damned if it isn't just a reality version of Ted Lasso. Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney are working toward the same goals at Wrexham AFC as Ted at AFC Richmond, and the beautiful thing is that Reynolds and McElhenney have approached their ownership of the club with the same sort of genuine passion and engagement. Here's the synopsis.
It's almost been four months since Seattle made history by defeating Pumas to become the first MLS team to win the Concacaf Champions League, and although we've still got some time before we start the 2023 competition, we can start making predictions with the Liga MX field already filled and the MLS representatives now (somewhat) predictable.
This here is Week 3 of our keeping track of Americans abroad in these power rankings that aren't really power rankings, and I declare this edition a collector's issue. That's right, fire up the printer, make sure you've got the necessary ink levels and print this whole webpage out for posterity.
This was the week the USMNT made a strong claim to be retroactively awarded the 2021 FIFA Club World Cup after beating Chelsea 3-0 at Elland Road.