USA

Last night, D.C. United defeated the Columbus Crew 3-1 at Audi Field thanks to goals from Luciano Acosta, Wayne Rooney and Paul Arriola, but the complexion of the match would’ve been wildly different had the Crew’s 22nd-minute opener been allowed to stand.

With the score level at 0-0, referee Ted Unkel got mixed up in the play with United in possession. A pass intended for Acosta never reached its mark because of the ref’s interference, and Wil Trapp immediately released Pedro Santos going the other way. Santos hammered home his finish, 1-0 to the Crew.  

Richard Ledezma, an 18-year-old Phoenix native, scored his first goal since joining PSV Eindhoven on Saturday, netting in a 1-1 draw for the U-19s against NAC Breda.

Ledezma, a dual national who has represented the USMNT at youth levels but remains eligible to represent Mexico, moved to the Netherlands in December. 

It’s raining sideways in Herzogenaurach on Monday evening with the temperature hovering in the low 40s. With a colossal match against Augsburg — one place above Schalke in the desperate battle to avoid the Bundesliga relegation playoff — looming the following Sunday, you could forgive Weston McKennie for being in a foul mood after traveling over 400 kilometers from Gelsenkirchen to arrive at adidas headquarters in Herzo for an evening of interviews. 

Giovanni Reyna scored on a 24-yard free kick to cap a rally from two goals down as the U-17 USMNT beat Canada 3-2 to open the Concacaf U-17 Championship on Thursday in Bradenton, Florida. 

Reyna, the son of former USMNT captain and current NYCFC director of operations Claudio Reyna, had a goal and an assist for the U.S. youth team as it began its quest to qualify for the U-17 World Cup to be played in Brazil later this year.

In March, FIFA confirmed the use of VAR — video assistant referees — for the 2019 Women’s World Cup, something it really had to do after its successful implementation at the 2019 men’s World Cup. 

On Thursday, FIFA named the 15 video assistant referees who will man the booths at this summer’s Women’s World Cup — and we do mean man.

All 15 VAR picks are men. 

Coach Jill Ellis unveiled her USWNT World Cup roster for the 2019 Women’s World Cup on Thursday, the 23 players who will attempt to defend their title and win a record fourth championship.

The 2019 USWNT World Cup roster includes few surprises. Half of the squad (12 of 23) returns from the 2015 team, including eight who started the final. 

 BACK FOR FOUR

DeAndre Yedlin made a big move after the 2014 World Cup, leaving his hometown club Seattle Sounders for Tottenham Hotspur in August of that year. Five years later, his youth club Crossfire Premier has been denied solidarity payments on the transfer (which cost the English Premier League club about $3.71 million), ESPN’s Jeff Carlisle reported.

The Portland Thorns FC faced Sky Blue FC in a 2-2 draw continuing their unbeaten streak (5-0-3) on Sunday.

Sky Blue took an early lead after Carli Lloyd netted a goal in the sixth minute and again in the 18th minute.

The Thorns continued to fight back and found the back of the net in the 32nd minute when Christine Sinclair slotted a ball across the 6-yard box picking out Emily Sonnett, who put the Thorns on the scoreboard. 

While the Premier League overseas actually has an exciting title race for once, the best race of 2019 might be across the pond in Major League Soccer. We’re less than 10 games into the season, but the 2019 MLS Golden Boot race is shaping up to be something special.

Case in point: Wayne Rooney’s free kick against Columbus on Wednesday night.

There are few athletes in the world who have won as much as Kristine Lilly.

She’s got two Women’s World Cup trophies, two Olympic gold medals and four NCAA championships. She appeared in more international matches than anyone in the world — men or women — while playing for the most dominant team in the history of sport.