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.