The USWNT huffed and puffed its way to a 2-0 victory over Colombia on Tuesday night in Sandy, Utah. It was hardly the first time the Americans struggled to put away lower competition, and with World Cup and Olympic qualifying less than a week away, you have to wonder if it’s time to start worrying about the USWNT’s rebuild.
Heading toward the World Cup, the USMNT needed to do something drastic to alter its approach to set pieces.
In the 14-game qualifying cycle, the U.S. managed only three goals from set pieces. They all came in a single match — the 3-0 victory over Honduras in Minnesota. It's also worth noting that Kellyn Acosta, the best dead ball specialist in the squad, provided the service on all three and is expected to start on the bench in Qatar as Tyler Adams' backup.
Carson Pickett made history on Tuesday during the USWNT’s 2-0 friendly victory against Colombia as the first player with a limb difference to play for the national team. Pickett is a fullback and had a quality 90 minutes against Colombia playing at left back.
The United States men's U-20 team beat Costa Rica 2-0 on Tuesday night to advance to the semifinals of the Concacaf U-20 Championship in Honduras, clinching a place at the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup and moving one win away from a spot at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
The Philadelphia Union's Paxten Aaronson — younger brother of Leeds United and USMNT attacker Brenden Aaronson — was man of the match for the USYNT with both goals.
Zack Steffen is expected to spend the 2022-23 season with EFL Championship club Middlesbrough on loan from Manchester City. The Zack Steffen Middlesbrough loan took place after City decided the American was no longer the best choice as the backup goalkeeper.
Manchester City has ironically found another “Stefan” as the backup and is looking to sign Stefan Ortega from Arminia Bielefeld.
The upcoming Mexico friendlies schedule was released on Tuesday, and it was announced that El Tri will play Peru and Colombia in the U.S. in September. There will also be a third friendly in November vs. Sweden in Girona, Spain.
What is the group of death World Cup 2022? With all 32 spots filled and the tournament in Qatar fast approaching, it's time to reveal The18's collective rankings for all eight of the competition's groups.
By asking our writers to individually rank each group, we've taken their responses and found the average of their picks. The two easiest groups fell far below the other six in our rankings, while we also had a clear selection for the feared "group of death."
*Groups ranked from softest to hardest*
The United States men's U-20 team hammered Nicaragua 5-0 on Saturday to advance to the quarterfinals of the Concacaf U-20 Championship in Honduras. Victory over Costa Rica on Tuesday would guarantee passage to the 2023 U-20 World Cup in Indonesia, but the ultimate goal is a win in the semifinals on July 1 to book a place at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
San Diego Wave midfielder Taylor Kornieck had an unforgettable night on Saturday when made her USWNT debut and netted her first goal. The 23-year-old got on the end of a Megan Rapinoe free kick in the 90th minute and flicked it off her head to the far post to make it 3-0.
The United States women’s national team defeated Colombia 3-0 on Saturday in Commerce City, Colorado, during the first of two friendlies. The game was frustrating at times for the USWNT as the team failed to score two penalties and missed a plethora of chances but ultimately got the job done.
In the end it was two perfect Rose Lavelle assists to Sophia Smith that unlocked the game for the USWNT. There’s a chance that Lavelle has laser vision because these two assists were about as good as it gets.