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Filling in for Eric Wynalda on WTF this afternoon, alongside Jason Davis on @SiriusXMFC. Talking #UCL, including my Sporting 😬 and much more. Join us at 5PM ET

It is mystifying how Milan find themselves in second playing such uninspiring, dreary football.

Mircea Lucescu 💔

Inter are bludgeoning Roma

Hakan Çalhanoğlu just defied the laws of physics

My 4 year old son is taking shots on an empty goal and shouting, “this is what you get. I scored on you, bro.” I’ve created a monster.

Nico Gonzalez, you absolute ding dong!

Atleti breaks the deadlock. Giuliano with a perfectly timed run and sumptuous touch before dispatching his shot. Langlet’s pass was delightfully weighted. This match has been terrific.

Yamine Lamal with a pin-point 25 yard trivela pass. Outrageous.

Josh Sargent’s 1st MLS goal is a poacher’s header to complete a comeback against the Colorado Rapids. MLS after dark in the afternoon.

Zack Steffen horror show.

This Toronto-Colorado match has been something

Despite the league’s growth and increasing popularity, without independent, often unpaid, members of the media, MLS would get very little coverage. Every club around the league should recognize that.

Bischof with the right foot and left foot finishes from outside the box. What a talent.

Neither Bayern nor Real Madrid looking particularly sharp after the international break and only 3 days before they meet at the Bernabeu in the Champions League.

Oh no. Ovalle down with an apparent hamstring injury.

My #USMNT 26 player squad (only using players Mauricio Pochettino appears to be considering & 3421/343 formations)

My #Portugal 26 player squad (only using players Roberto Martinez is considering)

May the footballing gods keep Bruno Fernandes safe. Without him, #Portugal …

Biggest concern about #USMNT for me was the second half drop-off. Oooffff

Once #Portugal have a comfortable lead in the second half, good luck getting the ball back. #USMNT

Credit to US, but #Portugal continues to struggle in attacking third. Few vertical runs. Few overloads. When those occurred, they created difficulties. This system asks a lot from Vitinha. If Bruno doesn’t create, no one does. Gonçalo Inácio couldn’t cope with Pulisic.

That #USMNT half should have fans smiling. Press yielded turnovers. Defensive block if press bypassed solid and cohesive. Full backs never isolated. Pulisic electric at times. Dragged Portugal’s center-backs opening spaces for vertical runs from McKennie, Tillman & wing-backs.

Effective 424/442 press from #USMNT. Have clogged up passing lanes, forcing Portugal into mistakes, which have led to a number of dangerous US attacks in transition. Pulisic mobility up top, a plus. Promising start, like against Belgium. Cooling break might kill momentum.

Was confident Poch would return to a back 3 after Belgium. Seems odd to me that he wouldn’t use these friendlies as an opportunity to drill down on a system that translated into promising performances and results. #USMNT

Oh Bastoni…that might be karma for you.

A lot’s been said about the development of US players compared to their global counterparts. On that topic, it’s pleasing to see Wisconsin born Esmir Bajraktarević take on such an important attacking role for Bosnia & Herzegovina.

Felix may have turned a few heads with these remarks, uttered to Portuguese media this morning, so I took the opportunity to ask him about them.... bsky.app/profile/eric...

João Félix on match v #USMNT: “I don’t believe they live soccer here. They don’t play under pressure.” 👀

Plenty of risk if De Zerbi joins #Tottenham now, but the reward potential is massive. Lengthy contract shows players that the Italian is there to stay, giving him authority that Tudor didn’t have. He’ll have to be pragmatic. Applying footballing blueprint will come after summer.

World Cup, European Championship, March Madness, and everything else after that.

If you think the USMNT loss to Belgium was deflating, imagine being a Colombian watching your country’s (arguably) strongest XI get smoked by France’s B team. Sheesh.

Roberto Martinez on Paulinho: “he’s adapted to the group very quickly and is great in the locker room. His problem is that he has Portugal’s best ever player and a Champions League winner with PSG ahead of him.” Translation: he’s not making the 26 man squad for the World Cup 😔

Things click when Vitinha conducts. Neto and Chico are vying to start. There’s a tendency to overcomplicate in attacking third and overlook the center-forward, unless it’s Ronaldo. Samu put himself in contention to make the squad. Want to see Mateus Fernandes on Tuesday.

João Félix has the attitude and all the work ethic a prince that’s third in line to the throne.

Either Portugal are still jet lagged or they think they’re in Mexico on vacation.

I find it baffling that the #USMNT didn’t cap-tie Brian Gutierrez. How big a blunder will that prove to be?

You can focus all you want on individuals, but this result comes down to the collective. Disjointedness is punished by teams brimming with talent. I described the 1st half “tourney efficient” in a tweet - the #USMNT was organized & disciplined. The 2nd was the exact opposite.

Think there are positives to this Belgium smackdown. 4231 worked well in 1st half, but only when #USMNT disciplined & compact. Exposed as soon as they opened up, added numbers & width to attack. Poch will return to back 3 v Portugal. More rehearsed on both sides of the ball.

That’s a tourney efficient first 45 mins from #USMNT. Not too much to get fans off seats, but well regimented, structurally sound. Only issues with system: a) despite scoring, McKennie not getting enough touches, & b) don’t benefit from Ream’s passing range as much in CB tandem.

A little bit of Salida LaVolpiana from #USMNT with Johnny Cardoso (mostly) dropping in between the center-backs in the build-up.

Curious whether Tessmann slots into the back line today as a center-back. #USMNT

Boston Legacy had done more than enough to deserve that goal. Aissata Traoré scores the club’s first even NWSl goal.

Losing Piquerez inside the first 12 mins is a real blow. Looks quite serious. Fortunately, Uruguay are quite deep in that position. Maxi and Viña are excellent options.

Happy to see Maguire get the start for England. Rewarded for his form this season. He may not be integral to the squad if he makes the World Cup, but having someone with his experience is nothing to dismiss.

No Wales and no Ireland in the World Cup. It would have been great to see their fans display their colors, this summer. Great fans. Italy should really take care of business against Bosnia, who were mostly outplayed by Wales.

Turkey’s start to this match as eye-catching as Kerem Aktürkoglu’s hair transplant. His return to Turkey has not been in vain.

Let the World Cup qualification playoffs mayhem begin!

The San Diego Wave can’t get Cat Macario on the field soon enough. A dependable scorer likely means the Wave are top of the table with 6 points. Ludmila can score but tends to do so in bunches. A brace here, a brace there…