Mention Diego Lainez to USMNT supporters and they’ll immediately think of Matt Miazga’s relentless trolling of the diminutive winger back in September of 2018. What they won’t recall is that the then 18-year-old was the best player on the field in Nashville, form which he carried over into the Liga MX Apertura playoffs and a $14 million transfer to Real Betis.
Jimmy Maurer made seven saves through regulation and a 30-minute overtime, then had the only stop in an eight-round penalty shootout as FC Dallas upset host Portland following a 1-1 draw on a rainy Sunday night in the first round of Major League Soccer's Western Conference playoffs.
Dallas advanced to the next round while the Timbers, who captured the MLS is Back Tournament earlier this summer, were eliminated. Dallas will play the winner of Tuesday's game between Los Angeles FC and Seattle.
The USMNT defeated Panama 6-2 in Austria on Monday with braces from Nicholas Gioacchini (age 20) and Sebastian Soto (20) complimented by strikes from Giovanni Reyna (18) and Sebastian Lletget.
Beating Panama isn’t the be-all and end-all in international football — unless you’re England, then you’re winning the 2018 World Cup — but it's the perfect barometer for how this USMNT (fielding its second-youngest starting lineup of all time) will handle itself come next summer’s CONCACAF Octagonal.
A new era of the USMNT dawned on Thursday with Giovanni Reyna and Konrad de la Fuente playing in a front three that’ll soon be able to call upon Christian Pulisic and Josh Sargent for assistance. Watching the U.S. isn’t just fun again, it’s blissful.
The rise of Sergiño Dest has been meteoric. After all, it’s only been 459 days since he made his league debut with Ajax and 380 since he committed his international future to the USMNT.
But this is a 20-year-old who forced his way into the starting 11 of a title-winning Ajax side before convincing Barcelona to part with $25 million. And early returns in Catalonia have been good — Dest was arguably Barça’s best player in El Clásico.
Barcelona forward Ansu Fati will be sidelined for four months after undergoing knee surgery, the LaLiga club said on Monday.
Fati, who turned 18 last month, ruptured the internal meniscus in his left knee during Barcelona's 5-2 home win over Real Betis on Saturday.
"Ansu Fati has been operated on successfully by Dr. Ramon Cugat... under the supervision of the Club's medical staff," Barcelona said in a statement. "The player will be out for approximately four months."
It’s been almost a full year since we saw a USMNT with European-based talent defeat Cuba 4-0 to advance to the Nations League Final Round — although a largely domestic-based squad defeated Costa Rica back in February — but the U.S. is finally able to welcome its Yanks Abroad back into the fold for a pair of November friendlies against Wales in Swansea and Panama in Austria.
Ísak Bergmann Jóhannesson might not be a familiar name to many soccer fans, but with Liverpool, Manchester United and Juventus already scouting Iceland's teenage sensation it's about time you became acquainted with one of football's future stars.
Barcelona's 17-year-old midfielder Pedri may not have got on the scoresheet in his side's 2-0 Champions League win over Juventus but the teenager was the unmistakeable star in a victory that gave life to his wounded side and put him on the map.
Given a second start in a row despite looking fazed in Saturday's 3-1 defeat by Real Madrid, Pedri played with ambition and bravery against the Italian champions, driving Barça's play with slick passing and confident dribbling.