Tag: FC Cincinnati

Amid transfer interest, USMNT’s Sargent off the mark for Norwich City

Sargent showed why Norwich City is reportedly placing a $25 million valuation with his first goal of the Championship season

Josh Sargent isn’t letting the transfer rumors swirling around him distract from his job at Norwich City.

The U.S. men’s national team forward scored his first goal of the 2024-25 season, offering up a powerful finish in what became a 2-2 Championship draw with Blackburn.

Sargent also provided an assist as the Canaries took a second-half lead through Borja Sainz, but Norwich had to settle for a point after Yuki Ohashi’s late equalizer for the visitors.

With his side trailing 1-0 in the 65th minute, Sargent made his mark. Defender Callum Doyle’s clever pass found the USMNT man in a seam in Blackburn’s defense, but Sargent still had plenty to do.

Facing a somewhat tricky angle, Sargent could have cut the ball back, or tried to round his man to get to the endline for a cross. Instead, the 24-year-old called his own number, smashing a left-footed rocket past goalkeeper Aynsley Pears.

Sargent would do much of the heavy lifting as Norwich took the lead eight minutes later. The Missouri native won the ball at midfield, pushed into the Blackburn half, instigated a one-two to break through the visitors’ back line, and zipped a low cross in for Sainz to finish on the doorstep.

The good second half made up for a first half in which Sargent, by his own coach’s account, should have had a hat trick. However, Norwich boss Johannes Hoff Thorup praised Sargent for brushing off the misses and getting the job done.

“We made some adjustments at halftime and came out way stronger in the second,” said Hoff Thorup. “Imagine [Sargent] going in at half-time knowing he could have scored a hat-trick? But he kept on going and showed the right attitude.”

Sargent will be hoping he can be just as prolific this season as he was last year. Despite missing a long spell due to ankle surgery, Sargent scored 16 times in 26 league appearances for the Canaries, at one point scoring 11 goals over a 14-game span.

That good form sparked some significant transfer interest in Sargent. GiveMeSport reported that FC Cincinnati offered as much as $20 million to bring the USMNT forward to MLS, only for Norwich to insist on a valuation over $25 million. Earlier this week, The Athletic reported that St. Louis City is also interested in Sargent’s signature.

Watch Sargent score his first goal of the season

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Source: FC Cincinnati makes bid for USMNT star McKennie

Could the USMNT star be heading back to his home country?

U.S. men’s national team midfielder Weston McKennie will have several options if leaves Juventus this summer, and they won’t all be from Europe.

A source tells Pro Soccer Wire that FC Cincinnati has made a bid for McKennie, with the MLS side willing to go as high as $15 million in an effort to secure the USMNT mainstay as a Designated Player.

FCC is understood to be one of several MLS sides interested in McKennie, who is set to enter the final season of his contract with Juventus.

Talks between McKennie and Juventus over an extension have reportedly hit a dead end, and the Bianconeri now appear to be open to selling the Texan this summer rather than lose him for free in 2025.

McKennie was recently rumored to be nearing a move to Aston Villa as part of a swap deal, but that transfer now appears to be off due to McKennie’s failure to reach an agreement with the Premier League side.

This past season for Juventus, McKennie played in 38 matches across all competitions and amassed nearly 3,000 minutes of playing time, recording a career-best tally of 10 assists.

FC Cincinnati is currently second in the MLS table but leads the league in points per game. The Ohio side sees McKennie’s possible addition as a major boost for its aim to win both MLS Cup and the Concacaf Champions Cup.

McKennie came up through the FC Dallas academy, but has never actually played in MLS. As an 18-year-old, the midfielder turned down a homegrown contract offer from FCD in favor of a move to German side Schalke.

Pro Soccer Wire has reached out to FCC for comment, and this article will be updated if there is a response.

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Bar altercation results in broken jaw for FC Cincinnati striker Boupendza

The club’s patience is reportedly growing thin with the Designated Player forward

FC Cincinnati announced on Wednesday that Aaron Boupendza would miss 6-8 weeks with a broken jaw suffered in an “off-field” incident.

There was no indication exactly what may have happened to the Designated Player striker — until the following day.

Multiple reports have stated Boupendza was injured in an altercation outside a bar in downtown Cincinnati in the early hours of Monday morning.

Police told The Cincinnati Enquirer that the Gabon international reported he was punched in the face by an unknown suspect on Monday at around 2 a.m.

The Athletic confirmed Boupendza suffered his injury in an altercation outside a bar, adding that the latest incident makes it more likely that FC Cincy will look to move the striker as soon as possible.

On Friday, The Athletic also reported that the suspect is local professional boxer Quashawn Toler.

Boupendza has had a rocky time since joining Cincinnati last summer in a $7 million transfer from Saudi club Al-Shabab.

The striker scored six goals in 14 games for FC Cincy last season, but was also suspended by the team late in the regular season after returning late from international duty.

This season, Boupendza has found himself in and out of the club’s starting lineup, scoring two goals in 10 total MLS appearances.

Boupendza is signed to a contract through 2025, with options for both 2026 and 2027.

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FC Cincinnati suspends journalist for crime of doing journalism

The MLS club seems to have banned a reporter for not toeing the company line

With the specious claim that it was forced into the move, FC Cincinnati decided to make its feud with journalist Laurel Pfahler public on Thursday night.

Pfahler, who runs the independent website Queen City Press, said last week that the club revoked her credential for two weeks, but declined to elaborate on the reason.

Now, we do know why the MLS club decided to suspend a member of the press who, by all accounts, is entirely well respected and ethical in her conduct.

In short, Pfahler was suspended for not toeing the company line.

That is the only conclusion that can be drawn from two competing statements that came out on Thursday — one from the club and one from Pfahler.

The statement from FCC was full of insidious-sounding allegations, but light on any actual detail.

“We had no intention of making this story public,” the club said, before doing exactly that.

“However, since Laurel Pfahler has driven public attention to the matter, we have no choice but to provide answers to the many questions our fans are asking,” it added, before providing no actual answers.

“Laurel has failed to act in accordance with the standards and practices of the Society of Professional Journalists and the MLS Notice of Credentials Use Conditions,” it continued.

As Awful Announcing pointed out, that first thing doesn’t even exist.

“She refuses to accept responsibility for her actions, despite multiple conversations and attempts at working together to forge a productive relationship between her and the club. Out of professional decorum, we will not be sharing the details publicly.”

This is a situation that should have been handled behind closed doors. With the MLS club declining to take that very logical decision, it is very much not “professional decorum” to publicly accuse a reporter of violating their ethical duties without providing any other details.

Thankfully, Pfahler ended her policy of silence around the situation in a statement of her own.

“I will not stand for bullying but for now this is my lone response to FC Cincinnati’s statement of attack on me in response to others standing up for me,” she said on X.

“I strongly disagree with the statement that I violated any journalism ethics or MLS Credential guidelines. Last week, when I asked for examples as to why I had lost credentials, I was told three situations where I spoke to sources outside of the facility or team approved interviews. I do not believe simply talking with sources within the team is how to cover a professional franchise. I believe the fans deserve more.”

Basically, what Pfahler claims she is accused of is doing journalism.

This, crucially, is not the first time FC Cincinnati has allegedly acted this way toward the media. It seems that the club hasn’t yet recognized the value of independent media coverage, which is baffling from a franchise that quite recently finished dead last in MLS for three seasons in a row.

Pfahler was there for those lean years, giving the club consistent coverage during a time when many others wouldn’t. Even now, when FC Cincy is one of the best teams in MLS, there are no more than a handful of reporters who cover the team on a consistent basis.

FC Cincinnati has chosen to alienate one of those and the fans who follow her, making itself look very small in the process.

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FC Cincinnati coach Noonan: Supporters’ Shield more relevant than MLS Cup

Noonan’s side clinched the Shield with a win at Toronto FC on Saturday

FC Cincinnati head coach Pat Noonan has said he believes the Supporters’ Shield is now more relevant than MLS Cup.

Noonan’s side clinched the Supporters’ Shield on Saturday with a 3-2 win over Toronto FC, completing an incredible turnaround that saw the team finish dead last in MLS for three straight seasons (2019-21).

The Shield is awarded to the team with the best regular-season record, which is, of course, how the majority of leagues worldwide crown their overall champion.

In MLS though, winning the Shield is merely a guarantee of homefield advantage throughout the playoffs and MLS Cup.

In a league where 18 of 29 teams currently reach the postseason, Noonan said on Monday that he felt winning the Shield represented something even bigger than taking home MLS Cup — though he stressed his side’s desire to do both.

“It’s a big achievement, and maybe that conversation is different years back but for me, it’s the consistency of a team over the course of a season,” Noonan told reporters in quotes published on the Cincinnati Enquirer.

“For me, now, and even my own opinion of it has changed: I think it has now surpassed MLS Cup in terms of relevance. That’s not to take away from the desire of our team to hold an MLS Cup but for that team to be the top team over the course of the season, I think, is very meaningful. The hope is that we can find a way to achieve both.”

Noonan’s side will now look to match Los Angeles FC, which won a Shield-MLS Cup double last year, becoming the eighth team to achieve the feat.

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Messi, Inter Miami return from the dead to down FC Cincinnati in US Open Cup semifinal

Messi might actually be unstoppable

The best team in MLS, who enter the game unbeaten at home, take a 2-0 lead. For anyone else, that’s a lost cause. Wrap it up, go home, save your legs for another day.

For Lionel Messi and Inter Miami? It’s all just stage dressing for a stunning drama.

Messi produced two surgically precise assists, one of which came eight minutes into second-half stoppage time, to spark a wild comeback that saw the Herons advance to the U.S. Open Cup final on penalties following a 3-3 draw with FC Cincinnati.

Miami will host the Houston Dynamo, 3-1 winners over Real Salt Lake in the night’s other semifinal, in September 27’s final.

If anyone ever manages to actually beat this post-Messi Miami side, luck will have to be on their side. It was certainly in Cincinnati’s favor as they took an 18th minute lead on an absolutely bizarre sequence.

A misplaced Luciano Acosta pass pinballed off of multiple Miami players, looping up for Aaron Boupendza to flick it on. Cincinnati’s Argentine No. 10, with some help from an yet another extremely generous bounce off of Kamal Miller, saw his shot kiss the post and trickle just over the line.

Boupendza thought he’d doubled the lead just two minutes later after chasing down Ian Murphy’s long ball and lobbing Drake Callender, but the goal was chalked off as the Gabon striker was two strides offside.

For Miami, it was the team’s first deficit with Messi as a starter, and Gerardo “Tata” Martino’s halftime changes were undone by a second goal seven minutes into the second half. This time, it was clinical counter-attacking work, with Brandon Vazquez finishing off a raid forward with a powerful low strike.

Messi was getting very little in terms of options or time, but as he has shown the entire world for nearly two decades, all it takes is one touch.

Miami won a set piece out on the left, and despite Cincinnati having a marked size advantage inside the box, the Argentina legend’s driven delivery couldn’t have been more perfect for Leo Campana.

Cincinnati seemed to have an ideal response, but as substitute Yuya Kubo wheeled away celebrating a point-blank finish following a set piece, the bad news arrived: Kubo had handled the ball before finishing, and Miami stayed afloat.

Martino was at this point throwing the kitchen sink at Cincinnati. Josef Martínez and U-22 Initiative playmaker Facundo Farías came in alongside Messi, and Messi’s new bestie Robert Taylor was deployed as an unorthodox right back.

On this night, though, it just wasn’t happening. In fact, Cincinnati goalkeeper Alec Kann didn’t even have much work outside of headers from Messi set piece deliveries.

And yet, even if you scrolled immediately to this line of the article, you already know what’s coming.

With just seconds left in the eight minutes of stoppage time given by referee Joe Dickerson, Messi found himself left of center. For any other player, it’s a prayer of a ball to the back post. For Messi, it was as easy as handing the ball to Campana from a foot away, and the No. 9 once again just had to guide the ball past Kann.

TQL Stadium was stunned, and Cincinnati was in trouble. Head coach Pat Noonan had pulled Acosta, Vazquez, and Boupendza while protecting what seemed like a secure lead.

Meanwhile Miami still had Messi, but didn’t even need him to complete a stunning takeover of the game. Homegrown midfielder Benjamin Cremaschi delivered the goods instead, playing a pass Messi would be proud of to set Martínez up for an ice-cold finish.

Santiago Arias cracked a shot off the bar for Cincinnati, but the luck the home side had early on had by now vanished.

The script said it was all over for Cincinnati without their star attackers, but Yuya Kubo — a former Designated Player attacker who has become over the last two seasons a Swiss Army Knife off the bench — somehow squeezed an equalizer home in the 114th minute.

Both sides exchanged four flawless rounds of penalty kicks, including a casual take from Messi. However, in round five Cincinnati blinked, with Nick Hagglund’s poor spot kick saved by Callender.

Cremaschi did the honors once again, driving his effort home to put Miami in a second final since the club went out and signed the best player to ever kick a ball.

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How to watch Inter Miami vs. FC Cincinnati: Messi starts hunt for second title

Just a month after his arrival, Messi is already close to a second trophy in North America

Just days after winning his first trophy with Inter Miami, Lionel Messi is already just two wins away from a second.

Messi, who helped Inter Miami win the Leagues Cup via a penalty shootout victory over Nashville SC in Saturday’s final, now moves onto another cup competition. FC Cincinnati awaits Inter Miami on Wednesday in the U.S. Open Cup semifinal.

Messi, along with ex-Barcelona teammates Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets, will jump into Open Cup play after Inter Miami reached the last four prior to the trio’s arrival.

In FC Cincinnati, Inter Miami will face a strong, but wounded opponent.

[afflinkbutton text=”Watch FC Cincinnati vs. Inter Miami on Paramount+” link=”https://paramountplus.qflm.net/nLoJER”]

FC Cincinnati has the best record in MLS, but their return to league play over the weekend did not go to plan.

The Columbus Crew are no slouch, but thrashing their “Hell Is Real” derby rivals 3-0 was not expected on Sunday. Not to mention, the Orange and Blue were knocked out by Nashville SC in the Leagues Cup round of 32 prior to that.

A betting man would guess FC Cincinnati regroups and brings a better game against Inter Miami. But enough to hand Messi & Co. their first defeat? That may be a hard wager to place.

Here is everything you need to know to catch all the action:

Inter Miami vs. FC Cincinnati (U.S. Open Cup)

  • When: Wednesday, August 23
  • Where: TQL Stadium (Cincinnati)
  • Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
  • Channel/streaming: Paramount+

Leagues Cup Starting Lineups

Inter Miami possible lineup:
Callender, Yedlin, Miller, Kryvtsov, Alba, Arroyo, Busquets, Cremaschi, Messi, Martinez, Taylor

FC Cincinnati possible lineup:
Celentano, Gaddis, Miazga, Hagglund, Arias, Moreno, Nwobodo, Powell, Acosta, Vazquez, Boupendza

[afflinkbutton text=”Watch Messi and Inter Miami on Paramount+” link=”https://paramountplus.qflm.net/nLoJER”]

Martino: Messi will rest eventually, but not in Open Cup semifinal

The Inter Miami star has played the full 90 in five consecutive matches

Lionel Messi has been playing a lot of soccer recently.

By virtue of his incredible Leagues Cup success, Messi has now played seven games within his first month with Inter Miami. He has started all but one of those games, and has gone the full 90 in his past five.

The most recent of those outings came in Saturday’s Leagues Cup final against Nashville SC. Like every other game he’s played for the Herons so far, Messi scored and his team won.

After lifting the Leagues Cup, Inter Miami will now have the chance to clinch a double with just two more victories in the U.S. Open Cup. On Wednesday, Messi and Co. will travel to Ohio to face FC Cincinnati in the semifinal.

Speaking to the media on Monday, Inter Miami head coach Tata Martino said that he would have to rest the 36-year-old Messi at some point, but with another trophy on the line, Wednesday won’t be the time to do so.

“We said that at some point he would have to rest because of the load of minutes played,” Martino said. “Clearly, Wednesday is not going to be that day. If he does not tell me he wants to rest, he will continue to play.”

The winner the Inter Miami-Cincinnati semifinal will face either Real Salt Lake or Houston in the final on September 27.

Messi, who has now scored 10 goals in seven games with Inter Miami, has yet to play in any competition outside of the Leagues Cup. After he makes his Open Cup debut on Wednesday, he is set to play in his first MLS match on Saturday when Inter Miami faces the New York Red Bulls at Red Bull Arena.

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F.C. Cincinnati vs. Columbus Crew, how to watch, live stream, channel, time, lineups

How to watch the ‘Hell Is Real’ clash between FC Cincinnati and Columbus #AllForCincy #Crew96

The battle for Ohio is coming to Major League Soccer on Saturday.

The upcoming leg of the “Hell Is Real” derby between F.C. Cincinnati and Columbus Crew will feature two of the top teams in the Eastern Conference facing off–But this time the tables are turned.

During MLS play, Columbus has won five of the 10 meetings. Only one derby contest has been won by Cincinnati in addition to their lone U.S. Open Cup clash.

[afflinkbutton text=”Watch Cincinnati vs Columbus” link=”https://apple.co/3ogo72K”]

But in 2023, Cincy is the favorite. Cincinnati is pacing the Eastern Conference, holding down first-place having won seven-straight outings at home. Meanwhile, Columbus enters the weekend in fifth place, nine points behind Cincy.

However, the Crew will carry some momentum down to the Ohio River basin. Columbus snapped a four-game losing skid on Wednesday against L.A. Galaxy in 2-0 fashion. Is the Crew back on track enough to knock off their rival?

Ahead of the pivotal matchup for both teams, here is everything you need to know to stream the action:

F.C. Cincinnati vs. Columbus Crew

  • When: Saturday, May 19
  • Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
  • Location: TQL Stadium (Cincinnati)
  • Watch: Apple TV

Major League Soccer Starting Lineups

F.C. Cincinnati possible starting lineup:

Celentano; Hagglund, Miazga, Murphy; Gaddis, Nwobodo, Kubo, Moreno; Acosta; Badji, Vazquez

Columbus possible starting lineup:
Schulte; Moreira, Quinton, Vallecilla; Farsi, Morris, Nagbe, Amundsen; Ramirez, Cucho, Zelarayan

[afflinkbutton text=”Watch Cincinnati vs Columbus” link=”https://apple.co/3ogo72K”]

Major League Soccer Odds and betting lines

MLS odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook. Odds were last updated Friday at 6:00 p.m. ET.

F.C. Cincinnati (-115) vs. Columbus Crew (+260)

Draw: (+260)

[afflinkbutton text=”Watch every MLS game on Apple TV” link=”https://apple.co/3Bkh8su”]

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Ex-USMNT stars Brek Shea and Geoff Cameron announce retirement

The former USMNT and Stoke City teammates are starting a business together

Former U.S. men’s national team stars Brek Shea and Geoff Cameron have both announced their retirement after 15-year professional careers.

The duo made the announcement in an interview with ESPN, saying that they will be starting a new business together.

Shea, 33, began his career with FC Dallas before making the move to Stoke City, where he and Cameron were teammates for a short while. When his England move didn’t work out, Shea returned to MLS where he spent time with Orlando City, Vancouver, Atlanta and Inter Miami.

The left-sided player earned 34 caps for the USMNT, scoring the winning goal in the 2013 Gold Cup final.

(Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

Cameron, 37, also joined MLS in 2008 after he was drafted by the Houston Dynamo. After impressing with Houston the defender moved to Stoke City, where he became a fixture for the Potters over six Premier League seasons with the club.

The defender would then spend three seasons in the Championship with QPR before finishing his career with FC Cincinnati in 2021 and 2022.

“We’ve kind of had a long journey, and our journey has gone on two different paths,” Cameron said of himself and Shea. “We’ve started near each other, and then ended up at Stoke with each other, and he ended up living with me and we have a really good friendship and relationship. We live close to each other now and we’re building something pretty unique.”

Cameron earned 55 caps for the USMNT, starting three of the team’s four games at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

“It was my dream as a kid, just like Brek’s, and playing soccer in the backyard and dreaming of representing your country and playing in the best league in the world,” Cameron said.

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