Kinda Slow

 Union, USMNT and transfers.  Not tons to discuss...

The One That Got Away

The Inter Miami faithful could not have been too happy watching their former prospect Julian Carranza score one goal and force an own goal in their 4-1 loss to the Union.  Perhaps they can draw comfort that Lionel Messi will be arriving soon.

Glesnes shows he can score from closer than 40 yards out

You can't call a June match a must-win game, but the Union really did need to secure all three points in this home fixture against one of the conference's weaker sides.  The 4-1 final makes it look like Philly more than took care of business.  And yet...

I was getting game updates on the phone.  For much of the match, Miami were outpossessing (over 75/25 at times!) and outshooting the Union. Final stats weren't that much better.  xG was only 1.00 -.96 favor the Union.   This doesn't look like a 4-1 pasting.  Sure, Wagner's corner delivery was near-perfect for Glesnes to flick on for the first goal.  Carranza showed clinical finishing skills on the second but was lucky the ball came to him when it did.  Flach's goal (seen here) to make it 3-0 was a classical miniature golf shot - he got it through just before the swinging gate closed and the wind mill vane swept by.  The fourth was an own-goal.  High quality finishing or luck?  Both probably.  Miami's only tally was an own goal too, meaning much of their possession was toothless.  But we only managed three shots on goal.  

Credit to Jim Curtin.  His post-match comments suggest he was not fooled by the final score.  His observations included::

They gave us some problems. It was difficult for us to get around the ball. We chased a lot and we talked at halftime about how we're at our best when we're all sprinting together 10 yards rather than jogging around for 100 plus yards, and I think they understood that. Didn't  really fix it in the second half, but give the guys credit for grinding out a 4-1 that maybe wasn't indicative of the game.

That's exactly what I want to hear after a performance like that.  We like the points but have work to do.

Note that the Union also got some outside help with DC United beating Cincinnati and Columbus edging Nashville.  We're one behind 3rd place Nashville (with a game in hand to boot) and two behind second place New England.  Cincinnati are still a distant nine points up.

Jamaica Almost Said You Won't (apologies to Jackson Browne)

The USMNT had their hands full in the Gold Cup opener against Jamaica.  They needed a goal in the 88th minute from Brandon Vazquez (this week's YouTubeableMoment) to rescue a 1-1 draw with the Reggae Boys.  Jamaica spent most of the match with a lead thanks to the Union's Damion Lowe (header goal at 13 minutes) and Andre Blake (several game saving stops like he usually provides for us).  This shouldn't be a complete surprise given that the US is going mostly with the new guys while Jamaica's squad includes the likes of Demairi Gray, Leon Bailey and Michail Antonio.  A loss wouldn't have been a total disaster given the strength of the rest of the group but snatching the draw will make things less scary.  By the way, I  was going to open with the classic line about ties and sisters but Ted Lasso's right - it's a creepy expression.  

Things were much easier Wednesday night as the team scored early and often in a 6-0 rout of Saint Kitts & Nevis.  It was 3-0 by the 16th minute.  Shots were 34-2 and shots on target were 15-0.  Now, a draw with Trinidad & Tobago on Sunday will be enough to advance to the knockout stage.  If I have deciphered the brackets correctly, it would be better to win the group as that would likely mean the US wouldn't face Mexico until the final (that's assuming Mexico win Group B).

Mexico Learned How to Play.  Uh Oh

So I watched Mexico dismantle Honduras 4-0 on Sunday.  They looked like a team interested in doing well this tournament.  I have their match wtih Haiti on now. Lots of shots but no goal in the first half.  El Tri got two fairly quick goals in the second and I was ready to hit publish but then Haiti scored to make it 2-1.  So now I have to wait for the match to finish.  I forgot that Mexico traditionally do well in the group stage of the Gold Cup so maybe I shouldn't make too much of it anyway.  Oops, two goal lead restored as I write.   

Quarters are next Saturday and Sunday so we'll have the line ups in next week's post.

EPL Players Joining the LIV Golf Tour Saudi Pro League

Saudi Arabia is making more moves into the world of soccer, this time by signing big name players to the Saudi Pro League.  Ronaldo started the trend, signing in January.  Since then, the likes of Benzema, Kante, Koulibaly and Neves have followed suit.  Rumors on other signings abound.  

Spurs pay $50 million to sign Madison

The pace of transfers has also picked up.  Havertz has gone from Chelsea to Arsenal.  Gundogan has gone
to Barcelona.from Man City, who picked up Kovacic from Chelsea (wait, who's left at Stamford Bridge?).  Of interest to Newcastle fans was the transfer of James Maddison from Leicester to Tottenham for $50m.  He had been on the Magpie radar.  I wasn't all that keen on him when the price tag was like $80 m but wouldn't have minded signing him for that fee.

A Test Down South

The Union have a tough fixture on Sunday down in Atlanta.  I'll actually get to watch that one as it is the national game on Fox at 4 pm.  Atlanta are a prohibitive favorite and a performance like last week will result in zero points.   

You can go right from that match to the USMNT final group stage match vs Trinidad & Tobago at 7 pm also on Fox.  The Group B final matches are later Sunday.  There are also final group stage matches on Tuesday for C and D.  Hard to know which ones will be the most relevant since those groups haven't even played their second matches yet.

Yeah, not a lot to work with.  Miss those spring weeks when there was good stuff on every day.

Isn't It Nice To Be Back Home Again?

apologies to James Taylor

Back from California, not completely sure what day or time it is.  Just the Union result to report on but figured I'd get back to something close to a normal schedule.

Keep Shooting

The Union were in Orlando Wednesday night but I was in Santa Monica so all I could do was follow the updates on my phone while drinking Topa Topa Brewing Company's Dos Topas Lager.  Dismayed to see them fall behind 2-0 in the second half but then Jack McGlynn slipped in this long shot in the 60th minute to cut the deficit in half.  At first you wonder why the keeper didn't move but as Danny Higginbotham explains, he was anticipating a touch from Carranza or someone else in the box.

The 107th career shot is a charm for Martinez

With time running out, I was getting ready to accept the loss when the screen changes and the score is 2-2 on a 90th minute shot from Jose Martinez.  I had no idea how amazing the goal was until I saw the highlights.  This is an easy choice for this week's YouTubeableMoment (linked fixed); it could end up being a candidate for Goal of the Year.  

In our section at Subaru Park, we sort of make fun of Martinez whenever he takes a shot.  So many end up high or wide or high and wide.  Jim Curtin summed it up well:

Incredible, incredible goal, obviously from Jose. He's now 1-for-286, I think.  The guys are just giving him alot of stick in the locker room.

For the record, Martinez now has one goal in 107 shots.  I fear that at Subaru Park, we will hear cries of "shooooot" whenever Martinez touches the ball in the attacking half.  Also, for the record, Martinez does a lot of other things well, mostly defensively; we just have low expectations about his shooting.  

A good point on the road, especially after the loss on the weekend.  The march to the top of the table, or at least second place, has slowed but sitting in fourth, four points out of second isn't so bad after that earlier slump.

Plundering Scots

Sorry I didn't alert everybody to Matchdays 3 and 4 of qualifying for next year's European Championships.  Recent results are here and group standings are here.  We note that both England and Scotland have four wins each so far.  As a reminder, Germany are in as the host nation, the top two in each group make it and then three more are added in a playoff process that includes 12 teams based on their performance in the UEFA Nations League, slightly countering my argument that Nations League are glorified friendlies.

Scotland's win over Norway was a bit improbable.  They trailed the hosts 0-1 late but scored in the 87th and 89th minutes to take all three points.  Check out this call of Kenny McLean's game winner, possibly the best use of sheep in color commentary.  

Speaking of Glorified Friendlies...

The 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup kicks off on Saturday.  I guess technically it is the championship of our federation but it has no where near the cachet of, say, the European Championship.  An article in Goal said something to the effect that "besides bragging rights for the continent, the winning nation gets $1 million."  It used to be a bigger deal when it got you into the FIFA Confederations Cup, a very useful competition for World Cup preparation.  That competition is no more so it's just bragging rights and money.

There are 16 countries who qualified through various routes divided into four groups.  After group stage play (6/24 through 7/4), the top two from each group go on to the quarterfinals (7/8-9) with the semi finals on 7/12 and the final on 7/16.

The USMNT (defending champions by the way) are in the group with Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago, and St. Kitts & Nevis.  Odds are pretty good they make it out of the group.  Note that there are just five players from the recently concluded Nations League competition and the roster has many players looking to make a name for themselves in this World Cup cycle.  In other words, this could be considered the B team.  US matches on 6/24 and 6/28 are at 9:30 on FS1.

We prefer Blake in his Union kit thank you

Somewhat annoying is that the MLS schedule continues unabated whilst the Gold Cup competition is running.  For the Union, this means no Andre Blake or Damion Lowe for at least four matches and up to six if Jamaica make to the finals.  Other teams are hurt too but it's hard to understate the difference Blake makes for this team.

I rag on the competition but you know I'll probably be watching.

The Silly Season aka The Summer Transfer Window

Type in EPL transfer news and you'll get a long list of stories and rumors that we will ignore for the time being.  Our policy will be to discuss once they've actually occurred.  The full list so far is here.  Most of the action to date has been players released.  Newcastle have signed Yankuba Minteh but he will go right out on loan.  Chris Wood's loan to Nottingham Forest was made permanent.  Dennis and I are giving thumbs up on Aston Villa's free transfer of Youri Tielemans; a good addition for their congested schedule this fall. 

Not Messi Around

The Union host Inter Miami tomorrow at 7:30.  Not my turn to go and it's behind the paywall so this is a WPEN 97.5 match for me.  Lionel Messi probably won't be playing for Miami until July 8th at the earliest.  Happy to see he's coming over but also happy we won't have to face him.  The U are big favorites here and I'd like to see them get all three points.

Now, if I can just get my body back on EDT...

So What'd I Miss?

 apologies to Lin-Manuel Miranda and Daveed Diggs

Our first Hotel California

Left for SF on Thursday 6/1.  Not totally off the grid so I saw a few things live and saw highlights of other stuff as we made our way from San Francisco to LA over a leisurely two weeks.  Stops in Berkeley, Monterey, Big Sur and Pismo Beach so far.  Definitely not in Kansas anymore.

FA Cup Final - Part II of the Treble

I did get to see that one live since it was before we left.  Decent enough match/Manchester derby.  Gundogan had two goals but don't forget DeBruyne had two assists before leaving at 76 minutes.  Thought the handling call on Grealish was incredibly harsh (exactly what is a natural position of the arms when making an off-balance leap?) but it did make the game more interesting.  At 2-1 in the closing minutes, Garnacho (who made United much more competitive coming on for Eriksen) hit the crossbar. So City were the better side but it was still close.

No World Cup For U-20

Also before I left, the USMNT U-20 side went rather quietly into the night, falling 0-2 to eventual champion Uruguay.  The match was closer than the score indicates as the second goal was an unfortunate own goal.  On the other hand, they didn't look especially threatening, so it was probably a fair result.

Desparate Enough

On the Wednesday before we left, I did take in the second half of the Europa Conference League Final between Fiorentina and West Ham.  That one looked headed for extra time until Jarrod Bowen took a beautiful through ball from Paqueta to steal the match in the 90th minute.  Yeah, it's a lower tier competition and I watched only to kill time waiting for the laundry to dry, but as you can see here, David Moyes was happy enough.

Champions League Final - The Treble is Complete

This one was tougher, with kickoff at noon but departure time for the wedding at 1:30.  Saw the first half and a little of the second in the hotel room.  Had the live stream on the phone on the drive to the church.  Still about five minutes to go when we headed to the pews.  Checking the phone as discretely as possible as we waited for the bride to come down the aisle.  Fortunately, the final whistle came before the first notes of Pachelbal's Canon in D.  Very happy I was not that guy who yelled "Goal" in the middle of the ceremony.  

Probably due to the disrupted viewing, I don't actually remember much of the match.  I want to attribute that to Inter's execution of catenaccio.  Maybe a bit unfair as Inter had more shots and more shots on goal than City but as the announcer pointed out, going in 0-0 at half time, Inter probably felt they were winning.  They did not however have the moment of perfection provided by Rodri, who scored the match's only goal on a laser from the top of the box; we make it this week's YouTubeableMoment.  City get the EPL title, the FA Cup and the Champions League.  Sure they spent a lot of money and have more resources than just about anybody but it's still a signature achievement.

I Know the Way to San Jose

Ironic that I'm out here in California, about 30 minutes up the road, as the Union are taking on San Jose.  But I'm still at the wedding reception.  I could only check in the progress of the match throughout the night.  The stats suggest the U were the better side, outperforming San Jose on most metrics; notably xG was 2.05-.8 favor Philly.  But without seeing the match, it's hard to know if that's a fair assessment.  Probably didn't help that they had to abandon the 3-5-2 after Lowe got hurt.  The 1-2 final was their first loss in a while.

CONCACAF Nations League

Speaking of lower tier competions.  I still maintain that these Nations League formats are glorified friendlies.  The US took care of Mexico 3-0 in the semis and Canada 2-0 in the final.  I didn't see the semi but Dennis tells me the US were dominant in building a 3-0 lead and then the match descended into various forms of shithousery.  Unfortunately the US got caught up in too, losing Dest and McKennie for the final via straight red cards.  Didn't seem to matter in the final.  I did see the second half; Canada had a few chances but not many - the result looked right to me.  It is a trophy I guess.

No Treble For Sportif Allentown

Sportif Allentown will listen to offers

Dennis's Over 30 team picked up the indoor title a few weeks ago, building on their win in Canada.  Alas, they came up short in the outdoor league semis so they will have to settle for just two trophies this year.  The EPL transfer window is open and BFS Co-founder Dennis F (pictured right) is said to be available.  

A"Bolt" of Lightning

BFS Track Consultant Jack W sends along this video of Usain Bolt scoring in a charity soccer match.  Clearly the guy could have been a football star too.

Sport Imitates Art

BFS Artistic Director Laura O sends along this picture (left) 

from the website artbutmakeitsports.  Who knew that Pep Guardiola was the inspiration for William Blake's Nebuchadnezzar?

Trail of Beers

The beach at San Simeon, not the
Sacrilege taproom after Happy Hour

As an aside, we've been sampling the offerings of the various breweries along the way.  I was already familiar with Anchor Brewing Company in SF, but discoveries include:

- Almanac Brewing Company in Alameda - TRUE Kolsch

- Sacrilege Brewing in Half Moon Bay - Spring Tour Pale Ale (we passed on the FukWit sour); their motto is What Would Jesus Brew?

- Barebottle Brewing in Bernal Heights - Hefe Moon Bay

- Anderson Valley Brewing Company in Boonville - Boont Amber Ale

- Firestone Walker in Pasa Robles - Cal Poly Lager, Mind Haze IPA, Pivo Pils and 805 Blonde

- Figueroa Mountain Brewing Company in Buellton - Danish Red Lager

- Antigua Brewing Company in San Luis Obispo - Ragged Glory (American Lager) and Hazy Baby

- There Does Not Exist in San Luis Obispo - Sowing the Sun (Kolsch)

Geez, you'd think we didn't do anything but drink beer.  Not true, we've also been drinking wine.
 

What's Next?

Monday we head out for Thousand Oaks and LA.  Probably includes a stop in the Santa Monica Mountains.  Then various activities (museums, gardens, comedy clubs, etc.) in LA proper.

Oh, you meant soccer-wise.  Well, the Union are in action on Wednesday night versus Orlando in Florida. Recall that Philadelphia lost to them at home in March during their celebrated blue period.  Orlando are slight favorites this time, likely due to the home field advantage.  Probably won't get to see that one.

And there are various competitions coming up like the Gold Cup and the Leagues Cup (all MLS and Liga MX sides) but we will defer discussion of those until I have a real keyboard to work with. 

All Done (Well, EPL Anyway)

The highly entertaining 2022-23 season concluded Sunday with a little more drama.  The Union got wins at NYCFC and at home versus Charlotte.

Championship Sunday

Never mind that the league title and Champions League spots were all wrapped up, we still had three teams - Everton, Leicester and Leeds - fighting for the last spot to stay up in the Premier League.  Leeds put themselves in a hole early, surrendering a goal to Harry Kane in just two minutes.  We  kept on eye on that one anyway, since Tottenham have given up Leeds leads this year; however, we were pretty sure Leeds were toast at that point.  So we had Everton - Bournemouth on TV and Leicester - West Ham on the phone. The Foxes had to win and hope that Everton lost or drew.  Leicester made things interesting with a Harvey Barnes goal in the 34th minute.  They got to hold onto the last spot for a while but when Doucoure blasted a shot a shot from the top of the box, Everton took the spot back; we make it this week's YouTubeableMoment.  Needless to say there was much rejoicing at Goodison Park.  No, I mean there really was much rejoicing.  Since an equalizer from Bournemouth would have switched things again, there was drama to the final whistle but Everton did hang on.

The reaction at Goodison Park was a curious mix of relief and anger.  Clearly the fans were happy the club was staying up but there was also anger at how a club of this stature has had to fight against relegation two years in a row.  A volatile situation that one, though we hope Sean Dyche gets to come back as manager.

The other issue still in question was the Europa Conference League spot.  Aston Villa ended most of the drama for that slot early with goals from Luiz and Watkins.  Brighton's goal in the 38th minute only served to make Michael B nervous; his worst fear was that Spurs would qualify for this third tier European competition and spend Thursdays next fall competing in out of the way towns on the continent.  Villa held on for the win, so Dennis is the one complaining.

Manager of the Year

For what it's worth, here's my ballot:

1. Unai Emery

2. Eddie Howe

3. Roberto De Zerbi

Emery gets the nod given how much better Aston Villa were after he took over (see below) and that he did it with minimal resources.  De Zerbi did a nice job of getting Brighton to Europa League but Howe took Newcastle from lower half of the table last year to fourth place and a Champions League berth.  Certainly he had money to work with but he made wise choices to strengthen the team.  I don't think anybody's forecast had Newcastle finishing in the top four.

How'd That Sacking Work Out For You?

As you can see from the table below, it depends.

Ten sides made a total of 14 sacks.  In eight of the changes, results did get better, although it some cases the improvement was small.  Five of the sides can be said to have met their goal at the time of the sacking.  Clearly, Emery's performance stands out here; they were 1.11 points per game better after he took over.  Bournemouth, Wolves, Everton were on course for 29 points so the increased point production by Gary O'Neil, Julen Lopetegui, Sean Dyche respectively made the difference between staying up and relegation.  Palace were probably always going to be safe so the big jump under Hodgson just made it less dramatic. 

On the flip side, Graham Potter probably wonders why oh why didn't I take the blue pill; he could have woken up in his bed with Brighton qualified for Europa League.   Two managerial changes at Southampton and Leeds didn't save either of those clubs.  

This is the second year I tracked this.  Last year there were nine sides with 10 sacks; results improved in eight of 10 situations and five of nine clubs met their goal.  In the two years, we have seen seven sackings after March 1 and in only one case was the team's goal realized.

2-0-0 On the Radio

Still holding fast on the "No MLS Pass" policy here so I took in Saturday's match with NYCFC on WPEN radio.  Spared me from having to watch soccer on a baseball field.  The U fell behind on a give away from Martinez.  They were lucky not to be down 0-2 minutes later.  Then, Julien Carranza scored a brace.  In two minutes.  In first half stoppage time.  Curtin had to re-write his halftime speech twice.  Philly added an insurance goal on a second half PK to make the win seem easy.  It really wasn't.  The game I ssw heard sounded much more even.  The stats say so too.  Possession was 40/60, shots 13/16, shots on target 6/7 and xG 1.55/1.80, all favoring NYCFC.  

Wednesday versus Charlotte was free on Apple so I streamed that one live.  The final there was 1-0 Union on an own goal in the 70th minute. You can see the goal here.  Good cross, good header, good luck that it came off the post, then off the keeper, then into the goal.  Okay, Philly didn't exactly dominate but Charlotte never really threatened to score; xG was 1.15 to .25 favor the Union.  

They are 6-0-2 in their last eight and have crept up to third in the standings, just one behind Nashville.  Alas, hot Cincinnati are still nine points ahead.  

Young Americans (apologies to David Bowie)

BFS Scandinavian Correspondent Philip S reminded me that the U20 World Cup is in full swing.  The Young Americans are doing just fine, thank you.  They went through the group stage unbeaten and unscored upon.  They did keep the matches close, getting the game winners or insurance goals very late.  Tuesday though they got down to work against New Zealand, scoring in the 14th minute before adding multiple insurance goals in a 4-0 rout.  They'll face Uruguay on Sunday at 5 pm.  Note that three Union players - Jack McGlynn, Quinn Sullivan and Brandon Craig - feature regularly for the team.

Still Some Mid-week Action Left on That Bone

Last week's lament about no mid-week football was somewhat misguided.  Tuesday we had US U20.    The U also had a mid-week match.  And, Wednesday we had what was purported to be the Europa Conference League final between Sevilla and Roma, a 1-1 draw won by the Spanish side on PKs.  There were moments that looked like football but there was shithousery of the highest level too.   Forty fouls (okay there was extra time but still), 13 yellow cards (including one player who entered the match as a substitute already carrying a yellow), 30 minutes of stoppage time over the 120 minutes.  Anthony Taylor probably needed to show more yellows than he did.  They are still tolerating far too much dissent, especially of the physical kind when they crowd the referee to protest.  Multiple yellows may be the only way.  And the coup de disgrace was Mourinho's behavior afterwards.  Forget fining or suspending this guy - the sanctions need to go against the team to have any effect.  Points deductions, transfer window restrictions, bans on European competition.  Something.

Do You Have Anything to Declare?

Smugly Americans: Sportif Allentown with CanAm Cup Trophy
Dennis in back row, 5th from the right

Dennis and his Sportif Allentown Over-30 side were in Kingston Canada last weekend for the 42nd Annual Canadian American Friendship Soccer Tournament.  He reports that the hosts could have been a touch more friendly as they were fouling a lot and picked up four yellows during tournament play.  No matter, Sportif still ending up winning the tournament.  The squad is pictured left.  I thought the Canadians would be more about participation but apparently the win came with some hardware.  That led to this Conversation Which Could Have Taken Place and Did:

Border Agent: Is there anything in the car that wasn't with you when you entered Canada?

Dennis: Yeah, this big ass trophy we won in a soccer tournament.

All that plus an exchange rate that meant prices were about about 25% off.  Sounds like a good trip.

A Word About Forest Green (Virtual Edition)

Probably not FM Manager of the Year

I just wrapped up the 2022-23 season in Football Manager and am happy to report that I guided Forest Green to 6th place and a spot in Europa Cup in our first season in the Premier League.  In earlier posts I had suggested that some slippage was expected based on what I thought were some lucky results and a tougher schedule for the second half of the season.  Fortunately, these were mitigated by a change in the system of play (basically switched from distribute to defenders to distribute to the flanks) and to a marvelous second half of the season from our Barcelona loanee Pedri.  Maybe he blended in better after some time with the team, maybe I used him in more natural positions based on his skills.  Whatever, he was a force in our last 15 games.

Prospects are mixed for next season.  We clearly benefited from loanees Pedri, Gavin Bazunu (keeper) and Kun Temenuzkov (leading scorer); at this time it looks like none of those guys will be playing for us next year as their parent clubs want them back.  The good news is that we made a sh-- ton of money and I now have a transfer budget of $55 million (compared to $10 m last year), so I will be able to do some things in the transfer market.  The coming season will be my 5th with this version of FM, which means that the younger players I'm looking at are "regens" or players created by the game as opposed to real players who were known at the time this version was released.  

The real Forest Green were not so lucky.  In their first season in League One, they finished last with just 27 points, just 17 points behind their next closest rival.  

Here's What You Can Do With Your F***ing Super League (warning Ted Lasso spoiler alert)

One of the plot lines in this season's Ted Lasso was an attempt to create a Super League, similar to the plans we saw in real life last year.  Though on the back burner right now, I do expect we will see continued attempts to create such a monstrosity.  And when those plans get resurrected, we should trot out this speech from AFC Richmond owner Rebecca Welton.  She had me at "Is this a f***ing joke?" Also, the violin playing supplied by Nate the Great in the scene is 1)a perfect soundtrack to the speech and 2) part of another solid story arc in Season 3.

The critics have found plenty to complain about this season's episodes.  I will respond with a longer rant in a future post about how lazy I find their critiques but I will offer one thought.  More than once, I've read someone say "that's totally unrealistic."   Wait, as opposed the central premise of the show - an American college football coach plucked from the mid-west to take over a Premier League club?  It was always a vehicle to look at how people relate to friends, lovers, work colleagues, society despite all of our - and their - flaws.  

Now What?

Well, there's the FA Cup Final between Manchester and Manchester Saturday at 10 am on ESPN+.  The Union are still playing.  They have a match Saturday night at 7:30 against Montreal (WPEN for me again as that one is behind the paywall.)  The US U20 have a quarterfinal World Cup match Sunday at 5 pm versus Uruguay.  The semi finals are Thursday.  Next Wednesday you can watch the Europa Conference League final between West Ham and Fiorentina, if you are desperate.  

Not sure about posting schedule as I'll be traveling next few weeks.   Looking ahead in case I don't get back to you, don't forget the Champions League Final featuring Man City and Inter on Saturday 6/10 at 3 pm (hey that's noon PDT which means I may be able to see it before the wedding.).  The U20 World Cup final is Sunday 6/11.  The Union have matches on 6/10 (away to San Jose) and 6/21 (also away at Orlando).     

Looks clever how I planned this trip at possibly the slowest part of the football calendar.  Dumb luck.