USMNT

A beautifully chaotic Gold Cup quarterfinal between the USMNT and Jamaica produced a dramatic winner on Sunday night in Arlington after 20-year-old forward Matthew Hoppe earned the Americans’ passage to the semis with a header in the 83rd minute.   

With an average age of 23 and average cap collection of just 12, there was a question of nerves — especially after a large crowd at AT&T Stadium had belted out "The Star-Spangled Banner" to animate the enormity of the occasion. 

The USWNT on Friday filed an opening brief in the appeal of its lawsuit against the U.S. Soccer Federation, saying the decision to dismiss it was based on flawed legal reasoning.

The brief, filed with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, asks that the ruling be reversed and the case sent back to district court to be heard by a jury.

Gianluca Busio stood in the center circle at Children's Mercy Park on Sunday afternoon, awaiting the whistle to kick-off the USMNT’s Gold Cup group finale against Canada. 

When it sounded, the 19-year-old moved the ball to James Sands on the backline. The defender launched it forward at Sam Vines, who initiated a bit of head tennis that allowed the U.S. to suddenly overwhelm the left-hand side numerically.

Daryl Dike scored twice to help the U.S. men's national team to a 6-1 victory against Martinique in Kansas City, Kan., on Thursday - a win that advanced the U.S. to the quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Gold Cup.

The U.S. and Canada qualified from the four-team Group B with 2-0-0 records and six points, with one match left. They will play Sunday in Kansas City with the top spot at stake.

Haiti and Martinique, each with a pair of losses, also play Sunday, in Frisco, Texas.

FC Dallas announced the transfer of midfielder Tanner Tessmann to Serie A side Venezia FC on Thursday.

The 19-year-old signed a homegrown deal with Dallas ahead of the 2020 MLS campaign and has appeared in 26 games (15 starts), including seven games (six starts) this season. He has taken 20 shots and tallied one assist.

Welcome back then Gold Cup. 

On Saturday night, the tournament began with Trinidad and Tobago taking a point off Mexico in front of over 41,000 in Arlington, Texas. On Sunday afternoon, the action continued with Martinique taking an early lead on Canada before John Herdman’s side replied with four unanswered.

All this to say: you never know what the hell is going on in Concacaf.

When it comes to Olympic soccer, Americans generally know the women’s team is going to compete for gold. The USWNT has won four golds and one silver in six prior tournaments. The U.S. men are a totally different story, resulting in American soccer fans asking themselves every four years: Is USMNT in Olympics?