US Soccer Vibe Check: The USWNT and USMNT Both Play TODAY! 🦅
The only thing worth celebrating this 4th of July...The USWNT continues their slate of friendlies vs. Canada, while the USMNT faces off against Guatemala in the Gold Cup semis.
It’s not every day both our US women and men have games, and that alone is something to get excited about!
The USWNT Continues to Soar
Freshly ranked #1 in the world by FIFA, our USWNT played two dominant friendlies against a hapless Ireland last week, continuing their solid run of form under increasingly impressive Emma Hayes. While Ireland isn’t the most formidable of opponents (FIFA-ranked #25), any time the USWNT takes the field it’s an opportunity for the team as a collective and the players as individuals to make a mark. Particularly with Hayes’ ever-expanding player pool in her attempt to create more competition in the squad’s ranks and generate depth, every game matters.
To the games!
Game #1: June 26th, Commerce City, CO
USA 4, Ireland 0
Patterson (Lavelle) 18’
Coffey (A. Thompson) 45+4’
Lavelle (Sentnor) 53’
A. Thompson 63’
Game #2: June 29th, Cincinnati, OH
USA 4, Ireland 0
Biyendolo (Sears) 12’
Rodriguez 42’
Ryan (Moultrie) 66’
A. Thompson (Hutton) 87’
Big Takeaways
Rose is Back in Bloom 🌹
After a lengthy spell on the sideline due to injury, one of our most creative playmakers and a key attacking threat, Rose Lavelle, made her first start for the USWNT this year in game #1. Rose was up to her usual tricks, maestro-ing in the midfield where she provided a peachy cross off of a well-worked short corner to Avery Patterson for the USWNT’s first goal, and then tucking one away for herself in the second half. It’s a delight to see Rose back in the mix, as she brings a seasoned leadership to a young team in addition to her silky skill.
Alyssa is Locked tf in 🔒
As deeply biased ACFC fans, we’re always going to be Team Alyssa Thompson. But no matter who you root for, there’s no denying the ridiculous form the 20-year-old is in right now. She scored in each of the two games (nabbing an assist in game #1 as well), with her first goal—IN WHICH SHE PASSED THE BALL TO HERSELF!!!!—particularly exemplary of her skill, speed, and confidence.
Newbies Patterson and Hutton Impress
Emma has been giving a lot of looks to a lot of players over the last few camps, and we’re all for it. A few newcomers have risen to the top of the pack in our eyes, like 23-year-old wingback Avery Patterson (Houston Dash), and 19-year-old center mid Claire Hutton (KC Current). Though a defender, Patterson has an attacking mindset at right back, getting forward consistently and even onto the scoresheet in game #1 with a thumping header.
Meanwhile Hutton has impressed in the midfield where she’s been involved in much of the team’s build-up play, dolling out dimes like her cheeky chipped assist to Alyssa in game #2.
Next Up: USWNT vs. Canada
July 2nd (today) at 4:30pm PT/7:30pm ET, Washington, D.C.
Where to watch: UNIVERSO/truTV/TNT/fuboTV/Max/Peacock
Our girlies will take on Canada next, who will surely pose much more of a challenge than Ireland. Canada is #8 in the world in FIFA’s latest rankings, coming off of a solid showing at the Paris Olympics where it took a PK shootout loss to Germany in the quarter-finals to be eliminated. They have a strong core of talented players, and its always a showdown between North American rivals whenever these two play.
Get all of the USWNT games on your cals by subscribing to our Soccer Freaks Google Calendar!
The USMNT Wills Its Way to the Gold Cup Semifinals
After starting the summer international window with back-to-back losses in friendlies against Türkiye (1-2) and Switzerland (0-4), the USMNT have found a way to win in the CONCACAF Gold Cup. It hasn’t been pretty, but the team won all three of their group stage games, then eked out a PK shootout win against FIFA-ranked #54 Costa Rica in the quarter-final. Now, they’ll face the tournament’s Cinderella story squad in Guatemala (FIFA-ranked #106).
Quarter-Final: June 29th, Minneapolis, MN
USA 2, Costa Rica 2
Penalties: 4-3
🇨🇷 Calvo (Pen)
🇺🇸 Luna (Arfsten) 43’
🇺🇸 Arfsten (Tillman) 47’
🇨🇷 Martinez (Mora) 71’
This quarter-final had it all— giving away a penalty kick, missing a penalty kick we were given, making up for all of the penalty kick fails by winning the game in a penalty kick shootout. It wasn’t the solid performance we would prefer to see 349 days before co-hosting the 2026 World Cup, but the players finally showed the “grinta” that manager Mauricio Pochettino has been preaching, and that has to count for something. Right? RIGHT?
Big Takeaways
Poch is Making Lemonade 🍋
It’s important to note that 10 of the team’s go-to players are missing from the roster during this window due to injury, the Club World Cup, and simply choosing not to play (drama!*). Standing in alongside a handful of returning veterans and fringe players are seven mostly MLS players getting their first caps. While not what he envisioned for this tournament, it’s clear Poch is choosing to make lemonade, using this window to broaden the player pool and make the program more competitive. But what’s even more evident is that when it comes to getting the next tier of players up to par, he’s got his work cut out for him!
Malik Tillman Has Arrived
Malik Tillman is quite possibly the brightest spot in what has otherwise been a pretty dark* summer for the USMNT. After years of trying to no avail, the 23-year-old attacking mid/winger has finally figured out how to translate his brilliant Champions League level club performances to the pitch for the US. Tillman has been dominant in the Eredivisie in the Netherlands for PSV Eindhoven, and just completed a big-time transfer to Bayer Leverkusen in Germany’s Bundesliga. His play is a mix of Tyler Adams work rate and crunching tackles, Gio Reyna’s creative playmaking, and Weston McKennie’s ability to find the ball in the box. Not a bad cocktail!
There’s a New Matt in Goal
While a student at Harvard, Matt Freese devoted an entire research project to the science of penalty kicks. On Sunday, the 26-year-old goalkeeper put that project into practice when he saved three of Costa Rica’s penalty kicks, sending the USMNT to the semifinals of the Gold Cup.
It was a performance that should safely put Freese in the running to be the team’s new number one goalkeeper. The other Matt, Matt Turner, was the consistent number one under previous manager Greg Berhalter, but with Poch at the helm, the spot is now up for grabs. Turner has struggled to get regular minutes for his club team in the EPL, which often shows in rusty performances. But the less-tested Freese is far from flawless either, making a costly error with his feet against Haiti. To that we say, may the better Matt win!
Next Up: USMNT vs. Guatemala
July 2nd (today) at 4:00pm PT/7:00pm ET, St. Louis, MO
Where to watch: FS1/Univision/TUDN
Just because Guatemala is ranked 106 in the world, doesn’t mean we can’t lose to them. Just ask (FIFA-ranked #30) Canada! For Guatemala to beat our neighbors to the north in the quarter-finals (ultimately in a PK shootout of their own), they took a page straight out of the CONCACAF playbook and played an extremely physical, counter-attacking game, and we expect the same against us today. For the USMNT to win, we’ll need attacking playmakers Tillman and Diego Luna to be at their creative best, while center backs Chris Richards and Tim Ream lock it down on set pieces and fast breaks. Look for newcomer forward Patrick Agyemang to be our target man in the box.
Get all of the USWNT games on your cals by subscribing to our Soccer Freaks Google Calendar!
*It’s been a dark and dramatic summer window for the USMNT and we plan to cover it in detail… eventually! For now, we can confirm that even as he stirs up drama with his Dad, Christian Pulisic remains as boring as ever.
USA USA USA USA USA
Very informative! At what time do the women play on Friday? Where/how can it be viewed?
Cheers,
Dadster