So…I have to admit…I am a huge Chelsea fan. Have been since I really became a big time soccer fan. It started in 2006 when I came across a Chelsea game in the Premier League. It was just meant to be. They were called the Blues (also a big Kentucky Wildcat fan and the Big Blue Nation), they had a left back Ashley Cole #3 and that was the number and position of my son. Destiny struck and I have been a hard core Chelsea fan ever since. Fast forward to 2019/2020 season and Chelsea vs. Liverpool this weekend. It has been an interesting year for Chelsea. They are under a 2 term transfer ban and not able to sign any new players. That has forced them to bring up players from their dynamic academy program and play very young players.

The youngsters are really doing well and maybe, just maybe, the transfer ban will be a benefit. The core of Chelsea for the next 10 years could be playing for the team right now. Mason Mount, Tammy Abraham, Tomori, CHO, Reece James. Christian Pulisic, Kepa, RLC, Gilmour, Christiansen…..all players under 23 and all contributing to the senior team this year. On Sunday, Chelsea played league leaders and experienced Liverpool. I thought, not much of a chance for Chelsea, but maybe a draw. It was a tough game to watch for sure. A game as a fan you feel you deserve to win or deserve at least a draw. The Liverpool goals were set plays and one of them was a bit sketchy. Chelsea has a goal reversed by VAR, by an inch maybe….pretty harsh….really really harsh. They score in the second half, dominate the last 25 minutes, have two very good chances that fall short and lose. Really felt like Chelsea were the better team. Liverpool was in danger. Two set play goals. Ugh. Liverpool did not deserve the 3 points, but as they say….that’s soccer. Check out the highlights.

Another big story line was Manchester City. A really really disappointing loss last week to Norwich City, 3-2. How would they respond, would they have a hangover and come out flat. Could Pep get them back on track quickly. Well, I think they are going to be just fine! 8-0. Holy Toledo!

Plus, I just have to mention two other scorelines.

Manchester United gets beat 2-0 by West Ham United.

Tottenham gets beat by Leicester City 2-1.

Two Top 6 and even Top 4 contenders go down to teams that have no right beating them. It’s going to be an interesting race for the Top 4. A few teams might crack into that space. Man City and Liverpool are locks….after that….it’s wide open.

Race for the Title & Champions League Top 4

We had 8 winners for the week:

1. Liverpool with a 2-1 win over Chelsea. 6-0 to start the season
2. Bournemouth 3-2 over Southampton.
3. Manchester United falls to surging West Ham United 0-2.
4. Sheffield United takes down Everton 2-0..
5. Leicester City takes down Tottenham 2-1.
6. Manchester City crushes Watford 8-0. They were mad!!
7. Arsenal 3-2 over Aston Villa playing with just 10 men.
8. Burnley with a 2-0 win over Norwich City.

Race for Top 4. Win-Tie-Loss

1. Liverpool 6-0-0. 18 Points.
2. Manchester City   4-1-1 13 Points.
3. Leicester City 3-2-1 11 Points
4. Arsenal 3-2-1 11 Points
5. West ham 3-2-1 11 Points.
6. Bournemouth 3-1-2 10 Points. 

Tottenham, Manchester United, Burnley, Sheffield United, Chelsea and Crystal Palace all with 8 points and in positions 7-12.

Relegation Zone

Not many teams separating and lots of similar records right now. There are 8 teams still within 3 points of the relegation zone. Here are the teams that bring up the 18-19-20 spots. Only two teams without a win and they bring up the last two spots.

18. Aston Villa 1-1-4 4 Points

19. Wolverhampton 0-4-2 4 Points.

20.  Watford 0-2-4 2 Points

Match Day 7 Preview

Game of the Week. #4 Arsenal v #8 Manchester United. This is a really big game for Manchester United. They are not playing well,. The coach is on the hot seat. They barely survived a lower tier team in a mid week game. If they lose to Arsenal, the fans will be in an uproar.

The International Break is over, Premier League soccer is back and there were some interesting results from match Week 5. Last year Liverpool raced out to an early lead and then was methodically chased down and passed late by Manchester City. This year…..Liverpool is off to a fast start, the only unbeaten, untied team in the league….and well, can they change the ending this year. They look unstoppable. Manchester City looks beatable with a couple of wobbles early….actually a really big wobble. More on that in a moment.

Well, we better get to that, can’t really wait on this one. Manchester City lost their first game of the season, 3-2 to newly promoted Norwich City. Oh my….let me repeat that, you might have thought you misread that..Manchester City, last years Premier League champions just lost to a newly promoted club. Holy Toledo. Have I ever mentioned that this league was really, really difficult. That on any give day, the worst team can beat the best tam. It basically happened. I still can’t believe it even though I wrote it twice. What the heck. I hear Man City has lost a key defender for a few months who was holding the defense together, but still. They are pretty deep. Let’s see how it happened.

As with most big upsets, there is a weird play or two. A lot of woodwork for Manchester City, but then the really, really bad turnover and score for the third Norwich goal. That was really sloppy for a team with this talent. A real give-away. Plus a real gift for Liverpool!!

As a Chelsea fan, got to give them some love. A 5-2 win and hat trick from Tammy Abraham. Currently with a transfer ban, and it forced Chelsea to promote from within and add some high quality club players from the Academy. So far this year, Chelsea has 10 goals. All 10 from young players promoted this year, and maybe some who would not be on the roster if there was no ban. Maybe the ban will work out long term….but would like to sigh a few players too, just sayin’. Check it out.

Race for the Title & Champions League Top 4

We had 7 winners for the week:

1. Liverpool with a 3-1 win over Newcastle. 5-0 to start the season
2. Chelsea 5-2 over Wolverhampton.
3. Manchester United with a solid 1-0 win over Leicester City.
4. Southampton 1-0 over Sheffield United.
5. Tottenham with a 4-0 thrashing over Crystal Palace.
6. Manchester City losing to Norwich City 3-2. WQow!
7. Bournemouth with a 3-1 win over Everton.

Dud of the week, Version 2. Arsenal gave up a 2-0 lead and drew against Watford!

Race for Top 4. Win-Tie-Loss

1. Liverpool 5-0-0. 15 Points.
2. Manchester City   3-1-1 10 Points.
3. Tottenham 2-2-1 8 Points
4. Manchester United 2-2-1 8 Points
5. Leicester City 2-2-1 8 Points.
6. Chelsea 2-2-1 8 Points. 

Arsenal, West Ham, Bournemouth, and Southampton coming in in spots 7-8-9-10.

Relegation Zone

Hard to know after 5 games but teams are starting to show their quality. Not many teams separating and lots of similar records right now. There are 12 teams still within 3 points of the relegation zone. Here are the teams that bring up the 18-19-20 spots. Only two teams without a win and they bring up the last two spots.

18. Newcastle 1-1-3 4 Points

19. Wolverhampton 0-3-2 3 Points.

20.  Watford 0-2-3 2 Points

Match Day 6 Preview

Game of the Week. #1 Liverpool v #6 Chelsea. Can someone knock off Liverpool. A tough game for Chelsea. Two of their best defenders Rudiger and Kante are out with injuries and they still have 2-3 of their best players who have not returned to the team from last season injuries. Recent form has been good and they are scoring goals, but a bit leaky of defense especially with the two out. Feels it will take a monster game to take down Liverpool….but hey, Norwich City just took down Manchester City….so anything is possible in the Premier League.

Champions League is Coming!

Games start this week in the group play. Stay tuned for updates and posts.

Match Day 3 is in the books! Our first Top 2 match up of the young season, and it wasn’t Liverpool v. Manchester City….that’s the first surprise of the year. It was Liverpool v. Arsenal.

It was also the week of Top 6 meltdowns and disappointments. Manchester United looked like they had found a way to scrape out a late draw versus Crystal Palace with a goal in the 89th minute. I must say, I was bummed when I saw that…too bad for Crystal Palace. But fate intervened and Palace fired in a extra time winner in the 93rd minute….wow.

And then there is Tottenham,. An early season draw against Manchester City showed signs they were a contender. They had the talent to compete against the leagues best on the road and secure a draw. Maybe Tottenham was signaling they were ready to compete for a Title. They are a vewry talented team….but with a history of being a bit of a head case with strange losses. games where they disappear, etc. So, they are playing Newcastle, off to a terrible start and in the relegation zone with 0 points in their first two games. You know the end of the story already, of course, Tottenham fires a dud and is outplayed by Newcastle and loses 1-0. Their was a VAR shout for a penalty that did not get called and VAR did not reverse, but sounds like Newcastle was deserving. Tottenham does a very Spursy thing and loses.

Liverpool faced off against Arsenal in the Game of the Week. Arsenal is another strange club. A ton of talent, but just can’t find a way to win the big games and challenge for trophies or Titles lately. In a big early match up, Arsenal fell behind near half and never really challenged. Down 3-0 and getting a late goal to make it a little more respectable. It was just a rough day for Arsenal….Liverpool showed their class and dominated the game. It didn’t help that new defender David Luiz gave up a silly, sloppy PK against Salah early in the second half and then got beat badly by Salah later in the half. Here are some highlights.

Race for the Title & Champions League Top 4

We had 9 winners for the week:

1. Aston Villa with a 2-0 win over Everton.
2. Liverpool with a 3-1 win over Arsenal.
3. Chelsea with the first win of the Lampard era, 3-2 over Norwich City.
4. Crystal Palace late goal for the 2-1 win over Manchester United.
5. Southampton 2-0 over Brighton.
6. West ham with a 3-1 win over early disappointment., Watford.
7. Leicester, an early surprise team, with a 2-1 win over Sheffield United.
8. Manchester City with a solid 3-1 win over Bournemouth.
9. Newcastle United with thwe stunner of the week, 1-0 over Tottenham.

Top of the Charts Win-Tie-Loss

1. Liverpool 3-0-0. 9 Points.
2. Manchester City   2-1-0 7 Points.
3. Arsenal 2-0-1 6 Points
4. Leicester City 1-2-0 5 Points
5. Manchester United 1-1-1 4 Points.
6. Burnley 1-1-1 4 Points. 

Tottenham, Brighton, Sheffield United and Crystal Palace each with 4 coming in in spots 7-8-9-10.

Relegation Zone

Early days but someone has to be at the bottom. Now just one team that has not earned a point. Here are the teams that bring up the 18-19-20 spots.

18. Southampton 1-0-2 3 Points

19. Newcastle United 1-0-2 3 Points.

20.  Watford 0-0-3 0 Points

Match Day 4 Preview

Game of the Week. #3 Arsenal v #7 Tottenham. In the Head Game Derby this week, we’ve got the two teams both looking for an early season win after both having very disappointing games last week. Who will gain some confidence and who will sink further into the abyss with a loss. It should be interesting.

High School soccer is fast approaching. More to follow in the coming weeks!

Match Day 2 is in the books! An interesting week with some foreshadowing of the season ahead of us. Our first real clash of potential League winners as Tottenham took on Manchester City. Our first big VAR controversy as well. It didn’t take long. Love it or hate it….VAR is here to stay!

The Game of the Week was Tottenham vs. Manchester City at Man City. A clash of two of the Top 3 from last year and likely 2 of the 3 who have a real chance at the League title this year. The game lived up to it’s billing. Here are some highlights.

Manchester City dominated portions of both halves but as can happen in soccer, found it difficult to score. The game’s scoring picked up 20 minutes in with some excellent play from city and a well crafted cross and header. Tottenham responded with a quick strike to tie. City continued it’s possession game and Kevin DeBruyne served up his second assist of the game for a 2-1 halftime lead. Some pretty interesting second half goings on. First, in what was the 2nd fastest goal from a sub in the past 5 years, Lucas Moura entered the game in the 56th minute…… and 14 seconds later scored….yes, that’s right 14 seconds. Okay maybe it was 18 seconds, but oh my, what a substitute that was by the coach. You jog out onto the field for a corner kick, slip into the crowd, the kick launches, you leap…header,…bam….goal! Wow! 2-2. And then the controversy. After Tottenham survives assault after assault on their goal. Shot after shot and is about to scrape out a well earned tie, at the 92nd minute with time running out, Manchester City finally finds the goal on a corner kick. The ball deflects over to Gabriel Jesus who takes a touch and curls in the game winner. The crowd goes nuts, the players celebrate, the announcers call it the clear game winner. But funny thing, the center ref is just standing in the box. He is pointing at his forearm and listening to his headset. Just calm as can be. It becomes clear after a few minutes that they are not restarting the game. There is a VAR challenge for Handball. And the Goal is REVERSED. Oh my! New hand ball rules in FIFA this year state that any goal or action leading to a goal where there is a handball, even if accidental, will lead to a disallowed goal. In the slo-mo replay the initial ball that looked like a glancing header was actually a deflection off the Manchester City player’s forearm. That’s accidental, but it was a handball. VAR caught it correctly. Don’t hate VAR, hate the rule if you are a City fan. And if a Tottenham fan, isn’t VAR amazing! That was a valuable 1 point for Tottenham and a boost of confidence to gain a point at City early in the season. Watch out for Tottenham.

Race for the Title & Champions League Top 4

We had 6 winners for the week:

1. Arsenal 2-1 over Burnley to start 2-0 for the season.
2. Liverpool with a 2-1 win over Southampton to match Arsenal.
3. Everton eases past Watford 1=0.
4. Norwich City with their first win as a promoted team, 3-1 over Newcastle.
5. Bournemouth over Aston Villa 2-1.
6. the early surprise Sheffield United with a 1-0 win over Crystal Palace.

Top of the Charts Win-Loss-Tie

1. Liverpool 2-0-0. 6 Points.
2. Arsenal   2-0–0   6 Points.
3. Manchester City   1-1-0 4 Points.
4. Manchester United 1-1-0 4 Points.
5. Brighton 1-1-0 4 Points.
6. Tottenham  1-1-0   4 Points.  

Bournemouth, Sheffield United and Everton each with 4 coming in in spots 7-8-9.

Relegation Zone

Early days but someone has to be at the bottom. Three teams have not earned a point and bring up the 18-19-20 spots.

18. Newcastle 0-2-0 0 Points

19. Southampton 0-2-0 0 Points

20.  Watford 0-2-0 0 Points

Match Day 3 Preview

Game of the Week. #1 Liverpool v #2 Arsenal. We had #1 v. #3 last week, so we up it a bit and get the first #1 v. #2 of the season, and not the two we expected. Liverpool—yes, Arsenal—no! This is a huge game for Arsenal. Just like Tottenham, Arsenal needs to prove they belong in the Top 4 conversation as well as the title conversation. A win makes a huge statement to the league and to the players themselves. Can Liverpool take over the favorite spot….can Arsenal open the race even further this year. Must see TV for sure. Saturday at 11:30. Check it out.

MLS Update

Teams are thru 26/27 of the 34 games schedule and here is an update on the Standings.

Eastern Conference (Top 7 make the playoffs)

1. Philadelphia 45 Points 26 games
2. Atlanta United 45 Points 27 games
3. NYCFC 44 Points 25 games
4. NY Red Bulls 41 Point 27 games
5. DC United 39 Points 28 games
6. New England 35 Points 26 games
7. Toronto FC 34 Points 27 games

American Conference (Top 7 make the playoffs)

1. LAFC 61 points 26 games Points
2. Minnesota United 42 points 27 games
3. La Galaxy 41 points 26 games
4. Real Salt Lake 40 points 26 games
5. Seattle Sounders 40 Points 26 games
6. San Jose 38 Points 26 games
7. Portland 37 Points 25 games

High School soccer is fast approaching. More to follow in the coming weeks!

Match Day 1 is in the books! A few surprises for sure, but unfortunately, for the rest of the league, a bit of the same story from last season. Manchester City and Liverpool and all the rest was the story of last season and after 1 week of results, it could be more of the same in 2019/2020. I know, only one week, but the top two teams from last year both showed they are ready to go, up to the task, and if you are going to catch us….you better step up because we are not stepping back! Manchester City out of the gate really fast and Liver[pool not too far behind after week one. The surprises….well, Sheffield United, newly promoted, found a late goal to earn a point on opening day! The same old ,same old….5 of the historic Top 6 had wins on opening day. The only loss, Chelsea, was against another Top 6 in their game against Manchester United.s Chelsea

the Game of the Week was Chelsea v. Manchester United. A Top 6 clash on opening day. It was a cracker of ma game in the first half. Chelsea out-playing Manchester United, but fell victim to a sloppy play in the box and PK for a 1-0 halftime lead for Man U. Chelsea was also victim to the post. Two shots that had the GK beaten, both found the left post. What could have been 2-0 or 2-1 with the sloppy PK, turned in 1-0 deficit. The second half was the tale of counter attacks. Chelsea played well, but Man U found 3 times to counter, Chelsea did not handle any of them well….very sloppy getting back and shutting down the moves, and a little bad luck with a deflection, lead to a 4-0 thrashing of Chelsea. If you look at the stats, Chelsea had more possession, more shots, more shots on goal, but got nothing to show for it. A bit humbling for new manager Frank Lampard, but I guess as well, a wake up call on the defensive side of the field. Plus, that’s soccer sometimes. Some games you don’t get the result you might deserve from the quality of your play. Here are some highlights.

Don’t the goals just sound better in Spanish! Just sayin’.

Race for the Title & Champions League Top 4

Win-Loss-Tie

1. Manchester City 1-0-0. 3 Points.
2. Manchester United   1-0–0   3 Points.
3. Liverpool   1-0-0 3 Points.
4. Brighton 1-0-0 3 Points.
5. Burnley 1-0-0 3 Points.
6. Tottenham  1-0-0   3 Points.  
7. Arsenal  1-0-0   3 Points.

7 teams with a win on opening day win and all with 3 points with the difference being Goal Differential at this point in the season

Relegation Zone

Early days but someone has to be at the bottom. Seven teams lost and all have 0 [points but again on Goal Differential here are the official bottom three.

18.Watford -3 GD

19. Chelsea -4 GD

20.  West Ham United -5 GD.

Match Day 2 Preview

Game of the Week. #1 Manchester City v #6 Tottenham Hotspur. A big early game with two of the pre-season favorites. Can Tottenham make a statement there are three teams in the running….will Manchester City put the hammer down and remind Tottenham they are not ready for prime time.

MLS Update

Teams are thru 26 of the 34 games schedule and here is an update on the Standings.

Eastern Conference (Top 7 make the playoffs)

1. Philadelhphia 45 Points
2. Atlanta United 42 Points
3. NYCFC 38 Points
4. NY Red Bulls 37 Points
5. DC United 37 Points
6. New England 34 Points
7. Toronto FC 33 Points

American Conference (Top 7 make the playoffs)

1. LAFC 52 Points
2. Seattle Sounders 39 Points
3. LA Galaxy 38 Points
4. Minnesota United 38 Points
5. San Jose 38 Points
6. Real Salt Lake 37 Points
7. FC Dallas 36 Points

Well, it was almost the perfect day, almost.

Let me start by sharing how the day started. Not sure if it was just the area I live or if this impacted a wider area of Charter Spectrum customers, but I woke up excited about the game and decided to flip on the pregame show and see what the experts on FOX were saying. Well, that’s weird, the FOX channel on the TV in the bedroom is not working. Maybe it’s a problem with the TV….no….the channel above and below FOX are working, that’s strange. Let me go check a different TV….the kitchen TV—no good, FOX is down. The final shot in the family room….no luck, FOX is down. Only 1 station on the entire cable network is down, and it’s the channel about to broadcast the WORLD CUP FINAL featuring the greatest team ever in the entire world, the US Women’s team, really… no way…that makes no sense at all. Sabotage from the French for beating them, someone at FOX who fell asleep at their desk and forgot to push a button, Russian collusion, China interference….it can’t just be a crazy fluke that this is the only station not working! What the heck!

Thank goodness for Ipads, Fox Now app and Chrome cast. But still, can you really fathom FOX losing their channel until well into the second half of the game. That’s pretty bad, I mean really bad. And Direct TV just dumped FOX, is that somehow related. I digress….the problem was solved and I am watching the game. Whew! Crises avoided.

Women’s World Cup

USA v Netherlands The game itself really did live up to a finals expectation. Quality play on both sides, great shots, great saves, a bit of drama with no score at halftime. A bit of controversy with the first goal. Was that really a PK…I mean as a fan I’ll take it….it was a pretty high boot and it did nmake contact, but if I am Netherlands, that one hurts a bit. Did that really stop a goal scoring chance. Rapino buries it for her 6th goal and third PK conversion of the tournament. And then for me….the moment of the tournament….the single best goal I saw all week. Rose Lavelle with the stunning run, step over, cut back and rocket shot to the side net. For a GK who had stopped about everything including an amazing save on an Alex Morgan rip , she didn’t really get close to stopping this one. Without this goal, lots of talk about a cheap victory on a PK, a hollow win with a controversial goal, but no more. Rose put an end to all that talk very quickly. And then the game broke open. It could have been 4-0 very easily. A few goals certainly left on the pitch from ther to the end. Oh man, how did Dunn not score, how did Heath not score, how did Morgan not score. bit all good, Rose saved the day and the US finished off a well deserved World Cup win. Number 4 for the USWNT and now having won half of the 8 tournaments. The true powerhouse in Women’s soccer for sure. Let’s get right to the highlights.

Some take a ways from the game. The first point is a repeat from the pregame blog, but still pretty relevant.

–The US team just looks better than everyone they play. The ball movement, the physicality, the athleticism, the quality of play….they certainly deserve the #1 spot in the rankings. Offensively, they have players who can break you down in Heath, Rapinoe and Morgan. And then there is Rose Lavelle, who looks like maybe the best midfielder in the world, and is also a Badger (UW Wisconsin graduate). Take a look at these highlights.

–First, people forget about the amazing slide tackle from Dunn to win the ball, and then the vision of Mewis to find Lavelle in midfield, but then it’s all Rose. Amazing, really amazing!!

–Sam Mewis is a beast in midfield. I think she was my second favorite player in the final. Big, fast, physical but with great touch and great vision. What a player.

–The PK, well, honestly, it was a pretty soft PK. A high boot, a dangerous play, and in a different spot on the field, you call a penalty and play on. But in the box that becomes a PK. Didn’t feel right, didn’t feel deserved, but that’s the rules and why you have to defend differently in the box. Again, really happy for the Rose Lavelle goal to eliminate any controversy about a well deserved win.

–Jill Ellis kept attacking! No 5-4-1 and play it safe and defend all game after the goal. And it worked, the USA had chance after chance and did not give up many opportunities.

–Vivianne Miedema. Thank goodness we don’t play against her very often. She has scored like a gazillion goals and has multiple records already at just 22 years old. Wow. So glad she did not get to rip many shots but she looks very dangerous as a striker.

Gold Cup Update

So close. So close. I was really pulling hard for the US Men’s team to get the US double and win the Gold Cup. But—it was just not meant to be. In a game where they had the more dangerous chances and had the best chances to score, they just could not find the net. An early save on Pulisic, a heart breaking miss from Altidore, Arriola with the miss by only a yard, an amazing header off the line after then GK was beat on a header from Jordan Morris. Ugh. How did we not score. And although Mexico had an extended stretch of possession to start the second half, it felt like we were weathering the storm and were suffering a bit, but we were playing thru it. And then just one moment of magic. A steal and back heel pass and a one time shot that went bar down. Oh man. That was a tough one to watch.

The US men had a great tournament, showed well on their first national stage with a new coach and an influx in young talent, but also showed they are still a year or two away from reaching their best. World Cup qualifying is in another year and with that I think these young stars will start to leave their imprint and qualify and maybe even have a deep run in 2022.

—The Mexico high press in the second half caused the US a bunch of problems. They could not keep possession playing short. 1 or 2 passes and then a turnover. That was the story. If they had opted earlier to play deep to a target player, maybe the goal does not develop. Maybe. Mexico was a little better, the US just needed a little different game plan to clear out the half. A little different shape to connect passes. Something.

–If only just one of those amazing chances goes in, then maybe a different result. If just one of the many corners produces a goal, then maybe we win. So many shots, so many chances. Ugh! Here are some highlights.

Copa America Update

Brazil v Peru. We all expected a Brazil win and we got one. The pre-tournament favorite and they played like it. A dominating performance, even playing a man down for the last 20 minutes. Here are highlights of Brazil’s march thru the tourney to the title.

Pretty appropriate that it’s a 4th of July weekend with the recent results. If all goes as planned, it will be a Red, White and Blue weekend, or more precisely, a really big Sunday at least. The US Women’s National Team plays for a World Cup Title at 10:00 on Sunday morning and then later that night, The US Men’s National Team plays for a CONCACAF Gold Cup title at 8:00. It is a really big day for US Soccer. Sandwiched in between is another final, Brazil v. Peru in the Copa America finals. If you love soccer, you should really be getting excited for Sunday.

Women’s World Cup

It’s hard being #1 and having all those expectations on you, but the US team has lived up to expectations on their way to the finals. I have not been able to catch every minute, but have been able to catch the majority of the games and did record and watch the entire semi-final game against England. Let’s get right to the highlights.

It was quite a game, full of quality play, a bit of drama, some controversy, and in the end, one big moment. Some take aways from the game.

–The US team just looks better than everyone they play. The ball movement, the physicality, the athleticism, the quality of play….they certainly deserve the #1 spot in the rankings. Offensively, they have players who can break you down in Heath, Rapinoe and Morgan. And then there is Rose Lavelle, who looks like maybe the best midfielder in the world, and is also a Badger (UW Wisconsin graduate). Take a look at these highlights. The nutmeg was epic! A little lost in the win over England was Rose’s impact on the first goal. It was an awesome cross from Kelly O’Hara and a wonderful header from Christen Press, but did you catch the dummy from Rose? The play starts with a midfield pass from Heath right at Rose. She has the field awareness to see O’Hara flying down the wing and rather than taking a touch, she dummies the touch, lets the ball roll under her legs and right into the path of O’Hara….and well, you know the rest. A more selfish player takes a touch there and no goal. Really good stuff from Lavelle on that play. Wow, how did she see that.

–I watched the other semi-final with Sweden v Netherlands and the game just does not look quite the same. I think I get spoiled watching the US team.

–If you are England, you are feeling a bit unlucky or maybe that you didn’t get a fair result. The offside and the PK will likely get discussed for a bunch of years. One of those remember when moments. All of England will remember that game where they got robbed and missed the PK. The offside was really close. In live play I thought maybe she was off, but when they showed the VAR review, wow, that was close. I am pretty sure all of England now hates VAR.

–The PK, well, honestly, it was a pretty easy save as PK saves go. Now, no PK saves are that easy in a World Cup semi-final. It was not well hit, but all the credit to Naeher for the proper read, and the composure to collect the save. I have seen those sneak under a GK before, so well done and what a moment. If England gets that goal, who knows, momentum has shifted, England are energized, another goal was in the cards. And the US must count itself a bit lucky as well, if Sauerbrunn doesn’t accidentally foul White, I think it’s a goal for England. It was a tap in from there. Sauerbrunn tries to cut her off but is not in a good position so she pulls off and then the accidental clip of the heal. Oh man!

–With all due respect to coach Jill Ellis, why does she go to the 5-4-1 late in games when the US is in total control. She knows her team and is a well respected and very successful coach. Just confusing a bit. The moments the other teams have looked the best against the US in when we go to the 5 back set up. I get she is trying to protect a lead, but it seems to welcome more pressure and more scary moments. So far so good, all wins, but man, that makes me nervous. We have so much offensive firepower, lets just go possess rather than sit back and absorb pressure. Oh well, that’s all I got there, just an observation from a fan.

–Netherlands is European Champions but ranked 8th in the World coming into the tournament. England and France were ranked 3 and 4. Could this be an easier game for the US. Throw out the standings and records in a World Cup final, this will be a Battle. Go USA.

Gold Cup Update

The US Men’s team is finding their form and moved on to the finals with a hard fought and exciting win over Jamaica on Wednesday night. This is a huge game on Sunday. after missing out on the recent World Cup….the low point in US Men’s Soccer history for me….this team has the chance to redeem themselves and take a little glory along the way. A Gold Cup title would be the US statement that we are back. And as well, there has been a little changing of the guard under new coach Gregg Berhalter.

This is Christian Pulisic’s team! Just 20 years old and now recognized as the top American player in the world. He has carried this team all tournament with assists and timely goals. He netted 2 last night in the 3-1 win. His confidence and swagger are evident. He is the man! As well, the youth is now delivering results. Weston McKinnie, also just 20, has stepped up his game and is scoring goals. Tyler Boyd, 24, Zach Steffan 24, Tyler Adams, 20 and Paul Arriola 24 are other players earning their spots and creating a young core for the future.

Shout out to Chelsea. They signed Christian Pulisic this summer. I am really excited as a Chelsea fan to watch Pulisic all year in a Chelsea jersey, now being coached by just appointed club legend Frank Lampard. A big day for me!!

Back to the Gold Cup. The US has wins over Guyana, Trinidad & Tobago, Panama, Curacao, and also Jamaica. And now, they face their biggest rival for the title. Mexico. It should be interesting. The two teams know each other well, both are in need of a boost in their international status, they don’t like each other very much so expect some fireworks on the field. It will be a battle of the top two teams in CONCACAF. Mexico, world ranking #18, the early favorite to win the Gold Cup, but the US, world ranking #30 but improving, surging a bit the last two weeks and are undefeated in the tourney. Go USA.

Copa America Update

Brazil v Peru. Well, we all expected Brazil to get to the championship game, but we are all a bit surprised by Peru. Peru had a win-loss and tie in the group stage but advanced to the quarter finals. Then they survived a 0-0 OT game and won on PK’s against Uruguay. Big upset. And in the semi-finals they took down current champions Chile 3-0. On the other side of the bracket, Brazil defeated Argentina and Lionel Messi. Messi has many trophies to his name, but has never had much success with the National Team. Copa America titles and World Cup success has eluded him. There is now a Messi curse on the National team. They just seemed destined to disappoint, even with a ton of talent on the pitch.

World Rankings have Brazil #3 as the clear favorite over #21 Peru.

So–everyone get their popcorn ready, get a few lemonades iced down and get ready for a day of high quality soccer. It could be a really big day for US Soccer. A really big day!!

Time to get caught up! Lots of action right now in the International Soccer World so figured it was time to catch up a bit and get you some updates.

Wisconsin High School Girls Tournament

Once Memorial got knocked out, it was hard to keep focus on the high school season, but the tournament rolled on and for those of you like me, who were bummed and didn’t want to keep up, but now want to know, here you go. They re-seed the final 4 teams each year once they reach State, to try to get the best finals match up, so the Seeds represent the re-seeding process.

Division 1 Semifinals
#4 Muskego (16-4-2) 2, #1 Waunakee (18-3-2) 1
#3 Divine Savior Holy Angels (14-6-4) 1, #2 Bay Port (21-3) 0

Division 2 Semifinals
#1 Whitefish Bay (24-1) 5, #4 Marshfield (14-8-2) 0
#2 Oregon (17-0-1) 2,  #3 Brookfield East (8-13-1) 0

Division 3 Semifinals
#1 Catholic Memorial (24-4-1) 5, #4 Ashland (20-3-2) 0
#2 Edgewood (18-2-2) 3, #3 Notre Dame (13-7-3) 1

Division 4 Semifinals
#1 The Prairie School (17-3-2) 2, #4 Kettle Moraine Lutheran (14-12) 0
#2 Oostburg (18-1-4) 0,  #3 St. Mary Catholic (18-5-1) 0 (Oostburg advances 4-3 in the shootout)

Championships
Division 1 – Muskego (17-4-3) 2, Divine Savior Holy Angels (14-7-4) 1 Division 2 – Oregon (17-0-2) 1, Whitefish Bay (24-1-1) 1 – (4-1 shootout) Division 3 – Catholic Memorial (25-4-1) 1, Edgewood (18-3-2) 0
Division 4 – The Prairie School (18-3-2) 2, Oostburg (18-2-4) 0

I’ll just mention is quickly, but I still think the private and public schools being in the same tournament is a mistake. The private schools have a clear advantage in player pools and it shows in the results. Two titles and a 2nd place for private schools when they make up a pretty small pool of the total teams in the state. Interesting. It gets worse on the boys side.

UEFA Gold Cup and Copa America

The Gold Cup is heading to the Knock Out stages in the next few days. A bit confusing with all these tournaments, but the governing body for soccer, FIFA, has 6 different group associations and every two years, runs a championship for these 6 groups.

The groups include: Asia, Africa, South America, North America, Oceania and Europe. The North America federation is called CONCACAF, short for Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football. The tournament is referred to as the Gold Cup. Mexico has won the tournament 10 times, but the USA has won it six times. Since 1991, Mexico has 7 titles, USA 6 and Canada 1. This years tournament is close to having a final 8. Four groups of 4 play in the group stage and they move into a knock out stage of 8 teams. The USA has advanced into the Quarter-finals after a dominating 6-0 win over Trinidad & Tobago on Saturday. Quarter Finals begin the weekend of June 29th. Panama, Costa Rica and Mexico all look to advance. Usa Highlights below. For those that remember, it was Trinidad & Tobago that eliminated the USA from World Cup qualification a few years back. That was the low point of US Soccer in my lifetime. This was a bit of a revenge game, but not sure it takes the sting out of missing the World Cup.

Copa America is deep into the Group stages as well. Copa America is the championship for CONMEBOL, the FIFA Confederation for South America. These are many of the best teams in the world and the competition is intense. Uruguay has won 15 tournaments, Argentina 14 and one of the world’s storied programs, Brazil, has only won 8 Copa America trophies. That’s a tough tournament to win!! Quarterfinals start June 27/28th with 3 teams already qualified…Venezuela, Brazil and Columbia.

Women’s World Cup

We are deep into the knock out round with 3 teams already qualified for the quarter finals. Top seed and favorite, USA is rolling after their first three games and looks to be building something special in their search for another World Cup trophy. 18 goals in the Group Stage sets a record. Their next match is Monday against Spain. The teams that have already qualified for the Quarter Finals…Norway, England and Germany. The winner of France-Brazil (currently tied 1-1 late in the second half) also advances today. There have been 7 Women’s World Cups. The USA has won 3 trophies, Germany 2, Norway 1 and Japan 1. Can the USA make it 4 of 8! Let’s go!

Here are the highlights from the last game against Sweden. The first real test for the USA.

UEFA Europa League

Chelsea! Chelsea! Chelsea! As a Chelsea fan, it was a great ending to the season. A top 3 finish, and a Europa League Championship over Arsenal. A dominating performance with some glorious goals. Check it out.

UEFA Champions League

A Premier League double as Liverpool earns a Champions League trophy. For the first time ever, the four finalists for the two big European club trophies were all from the Premier League. Chelsea defeated Arsenal and Liverpool defeated Tottenham. This wa not a wide open affair as Liverpool settled into a defensive posture after getting their first goal. But a Champions League title will make you do strange things and Liverpool finished off a great year with one of their biggest trophy in years. Their 6th Champions League trophy. An early PK on a strange hand ball made it 1-0 and a late 87th minute goal finished off the scoring at 2-0.

More Gold Cup, Copa America and Women’s World Cup updates during the week!