Springtime is finally here, marking a return to outdoor soccer across the country after a particularly brutal winter. It's time to play the game the way the Football Association intended.
With the changing of the season comes certain rites of spring that all players will recognize.
#1. Securing the bag.
The weather's warming, the flowers are blooming and your local MLS side is calling — it's tailgating season. If you're looking to schedule an outing, here are 10 players who are worth the price of admission.
There's no sound science behind this ranking so warning, some readers might be offended. But I really don't think you'll have a bad time watching any of these guys play live.
#10. Jordan Morris | Seattle Sounders
Position: Left winger
The league table is finally taking shape as the top teams separate themselves from the pack while the league's cellar dwellers cling to every point that will hopefully save their seasons. There were several struggling teams that earned massive wins while some top teams slipped up, making for another thoroughly entertaining matchweek.
There was a time when fashion was not a thing in soccer. Players entered the fields wearing their club's kits and black cleats, and that was about it. Over time, however, the worlds of fashion and soccer collided, unleashing a plethora of trends and fads onto pitches across the planet.
Some of those trends have become staples, such as colorful boots, while several others have faded away in the attempt.
We know fashion is cyclical and anything can have a glorious return, but here we adventure into a list of soccer fashion trends that we will most likely not see again.
Premier League relegation is a simple concept: Your team was not good enough this season so they, and two other teams, have to drop down to the tier below (the Championship) and will play their games there next season. Conversely, the Championship will promote three teams to the Premier League to take their places (let’s not get into the playoffs). This toing and froing happens all the way down the league structure.
Based off what we've seen from the Concacaf W Championship and SheBelieves Cup, a USWNT World Cup roster prediction seems like a pretty straightforward exercise — Vlatko Andonovski hasn't been tinkering away with his squads.
However, the dramatic recall of Julie Ertz showed us that certain veterans can't be ruled out with three months of club ball still to be played. There are proven stars returning from longterm injuries who'll be watched closely by the staff, and let's just hope that Mallory Swanson is the only late addition to the casualty list.
With many experts having predicted that the winner of the 2022-23 UEFA Champions League will emerge from the blockbuster quarterfinal tie between Manchester City and Bayern Munich, City's 3-0 beatdown of Bayern in Tuesday's first leg at the Etihad is quite the statement from the Sky Blues.
There's still a lot of thinking yet to come from Pep Guardiola, but this City team can kill you a myriad of ways (unlike Chelsea and Real Madrid), is UCL battle hardened (unlike Benfica, Inter, Milan and Napoli) and has Erling Haaland (unlike Bayern).
The Bay Area in California won the bid to become the home for the National Women’s Soccer League’s 14th team. The new club is backed by USWNT legends Brandi Chastain, Aly Wagner, Danielle Slaton and Leslie Osborne along with global investment firm Sixth Street.
It’s not clear yet where in the Bay Area the new club will be, but it will begin play in the 2024 season.
The NWSL is officially coming to the Bay Area in 2024!
The Second Round of the 2023 U.S. Open Cup kicks off Tuesday with clubs from the third (USL1/NISA) and second (USLC) divisions now joining the fray — there will be cupsets.
After a two-year hiatus because of the pandemic, 2022 was one of the competition's best years with Union Omaha (USL1) reaching the quarterfinals and Sacramento Republic (USLC) going all the way to the final before MLS side Orlando City won its first piece of major silverware.
A week on from international matches and MLS has returned to full strength. The superstars have reappeared, replacing the excuses that swam in their wake and results are once again indicative of each team’s true ability.
Life under new manager Wilfried Nancy left a bit to be desired for the Crew. The former CF Montréal boss saw his new side secure just four points from its first four matches, but back-to-back dominant displays have given this marriage a new outlook.