Tag: Philadelphia Union

The Cavan Sullivan hype train will be tough to slow down

The “best 14-year-old in the world” is set for a move to Manchester City

Before saying anything else about Cavan Sullivan, it’s probably worth emphasizing that, yes, he is 14 years old.

The world of soccer is filled with previously hyped-up 14-year-olds who never amounted to anything. Freddy Adu is the archetype here but let’s not forget he earned 17 senior national team caps, played well over 100 MLS games, and represented European powers like Benfica and Monaco.

He didn’t live up to the hype, obviously, but Adu went much farther than many other 14-year-old future Pelés.

But Sullivan, who is per multiple reports set to sign with Manchester City, does appear to be more can’t-miss than the average player his age.

Taylor Twellman has claimed that Man City scouts consider the U.S. under-15 attacker the best 14-year-old in the world, which is some heady stuff to hear for an American prospect. It also ensures the attention on Sullivan is only set to increase.

Fair or unfair (and it’s probably the latter), Sullivan captures the imagination right now because he seems to represent the next hope for American fans to finally see one of their own among the world’s best men’s players.

With apologies to the current crop of USMNT stars, there are no future Ballon d’Or candidates among them. As long as the country continues to lack that player everyone hoped Adu would become 20 years ago, the next 14-year-old prodigy will always have a little extra riding on their development.

Sullivan, of course, isn’t doing much on the field to tamp down the excitement. In his first pro game last weekend, he delivered the game-winning assist for Philadelphia Union II in MLS Next Pro.

“Those that maybe haven’t learned yet, a young Cavan Sullivan has the talent and ability to become, I’ll just say a household name and is doing really big things,” Union head coach Jim Curtin said last year.

Curtin appears as though he’ll have one of the first cracks to help shape Sullivan at the pro level. The teenager won’t be eligible for Man City until he’s 18, and The Athletic reports that he is set to sign the richest Homegrown Player contract in MLS history with the Union in the meantime.

Though the agreement comes with the stipulation that Sullivan could be sent to a City Football Group side in Europe “if his development surpasses MLS before his 18th birthday,” the possibility of Sullivan actually playing for his hometown team is strong.

That didn’t appear to be the case when early reports emerged of City’s interest. This appears to be a win-win for all parties, as Sullivan has the chance to play at home for a few more years, presumably joining his older brother Quinn on the first team eventually. The Union will get to see one of their brightest prospects play for them, and reap the financial benefits from a sale and future a sell-on percentage.

And if Sullivan is as good as they say he is — a big if, obviously — then Man City could have a future first-team contributor. That would put Sullivan in a rarified space that few American players have ever reached.

It’s a long way away, but it’s possible. And for a clamoring American fan base, that possibility is intoxicating.

[lawrence-related id=55711,53427,49775]

Messi, Inter Miami through to Leagues Cup final after crushing Philadelphia Union

Can anyone stop Messi and Miami?

It may have been sunny in Philadelphia, but only for Lionel Messi and Inter Miami.

For the fourth time in six games since Messi’s arrival, Miami scored four goals in a match, this time thrashing the Philadelphia Union 4-1 and securing a spot in the Leagues Cup final.

The semifinal continued a trend Miami enjoyed in the quarterfinals. Namely, Messi drew so much attention that his teammates had acres of space to essentially do whatever they wanted. In soccer, it is generally seen as bad when your opponent has this luxury.

With Union head coach Jim Curtin telling Apple TV pre-game that he would use potent scorer Dániel Gazdag to mark Sergio Busquets and require another player to pick Messi up at all times, Miami’s other nine players had the run of Subaru Park.

It took all of three minutes for that to result in a goal, after Sergii Kryvtsov sized up a long ball that caught the Union’s Damion Lowe out. From there, Josef Martínez raced away before placing a finish beyond Andre Blake.

The game had barely started, and Miami had yet another early lead.

Drake Callender denied Gazdag on a golden chance for Philadelphia to get level. It was a big moment, because Messi did what Messi does shortly thereafter.

Miami tried to break forward after catching the Union pushing up, with Lowe crashing into Martínez. However, the Jamaica defender didn’t arrive before Martínez’s pass found Messi, and from long range the Barcelona legend produced a surgical shot into the bottom corner.

The Union finally stabilized through some physical play and staying connected in an unusual 5-4-1 diamond set-up, but the damage seemed to be done. The job appeared to be to survive until halftime and then dramatically change the gameplan in pursuit of a huge comeback.

So, about that.

Robert Taylor held possession for a long spell with no one from the Union quite sure who should step to him, allowing Jordi Alba to make a run from deep.

With Lowe holding the Spain legend onside, Taylor’s pass just needed a finish, and Alba got himself a first goal since joining Miami this summer. It was that easy.

A much-improved Union made subs to push for the early goal needed to have any shot at a miraculous recovery, but quarterfinal hero Chris Donovan fired over an empty net in the 56th minute. Jakob Glesnes did the same a few minutes later after Mikael Uhre’s flick-on found him. It simply was not Philadelphia’s night.

Miami’s star-studded team has never particularly looked comfortable having to defend — Messi is rather famously not a defender — and all that pressure finally paid off. Alejandro Bedoya, just moments after stepping into the fray, punched home a loose ball following a set piece, finally injecting some drama into the match.

It was fun while it lasted. With Philadelphia leaving numbers forward, Miami pounced: Messi fed DeAndre Yedlin on the break, and the U.S. men’s national team veteran fed youngster David Ruíz to shut the game down as a contest.

Miami’s emphatic win, beyond giving the club a shot at a first-ever trophy later this week, has locked in a place in the 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup, as both finalists and the third-place winner in the Leagues Cup will be in the region’s premier club championship next year.

With the way things are going, this run seems set to carry on for some time.

[lawrence-related id=25699,25595,25458]

Messi facing injury questions ahead of Leagues Cup clash at Philadelphia

Inter Miami may be sweating on the fitness of its superstar

Inter Miami may be sweating on the fitness of Lionel Messi ahead of Tuesday night’s Leagues Cup semifinal against the Philadelphia Union.

The Argentina superstar appeared to pick up a minor injury during training on Monday, though head coach Tata Martino was quick to play down any concerns over his side’s superstar.

“I was only at a part of the session because I had a meeting afterwards and was finishing preparing, so I didn’t see exactly what happened. But if it was something serious, I’m sure everyone would have been shocked,” Martino said at a press conference. “Since everyone was fine, I imagine nothing happened.”

ESPN Argentina captured the moment that Messi appeared to tweak his ankle.

Messi did at least manage to make the journey to Pennsylvania, where Inter Miami will aim to continue its perfect start to life with the Argentine star at Subaru Park in Chester on Tuesday.

Inter has won all five of its matches since Messi’s arrival, including a shootout win at FC Dallas in the Leagues Cup round of 16.

Messi has hit the ground running since his move to south Florida, scoring eight goals in just five matches. His latest strike came at the end of an easy 4-0 win over Charlotte FC in the quarterfinal.

The Union promise to be one of Inter Miami’s toughest tests in the Leagues Cup, with last season’s MLS Cup runners-up currently sitting third in the MLS Eastern Conference standings.

[lawrence-related id=25672,25595,25431]

How to watch Inter Miami vs. Philadelphia: Messi’s Leagues Cup semifinal TV and streaming info

Messi and Miami face Philadelphia with a berth in the Leagues Cup final on the line

The Inter Miami train continues to roll through the 2023 Leagues Cup with conductor Lionel Messi leading the way.

Now for potentially the toughest test to date: Philadelphia.

[afflinkbutton text=”Watch Messi and Inter Miami vs Philadelphia” link=”https://apple.co/3qyB0pZ”]

Miami has reached the semifinal round of the cup competition following a 4-0 rout of Charlotte FC. Messi, along with teammates once again Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets, have settled in well in south Florida. But now they travel to face the Eastern Conference’s third-place side in the Union.

Philly has survived and advanced throughout the knockout stages. Two of their past three games took penalties to decide things as the 2022 Eastern Conference winners have proved they will fight tooth and nail to get results.

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

Inter Miami vs. Philadelphia Union (Leagues Cup)

  • When: Tuesday, August 15
  • Where: Subaru Park (Chester, PA)
  • Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
  • Channel/streaming: Apple TV (Watch now)

Leagues Cup Starting Lineups

Philadelphia Union possible lineup:
Blake, Glesnes, Elliott, Lowe, Martinez, Mbaizo, Wagner, Bueno, McGlynn, Carranza, Uhre

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

Leagues Cup Odds and betting lines

MLS odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook. Odds were last updated Monday 3:16 p.m.

Philadelphia Union (+170) vs. Inter Miami (+115)

Draw: (+270)

[afflinkbutton text=”Watch Messi and Inter Miami on Apple TV” link=”https://apple.co/3qyB0pZ”]

We recommend interesting sports viewing/streaming and betting opportunities. If you sign up for a service by clicking one of the links, we may earn a referral fee.  Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

Curtin disagrees with clubs blocking players from U-20 World Cup

“We’re not Spain, we’re not Germany, we’re not Argentina. We haven’t won a World Cup ever”

Philadelphia Union head coach Jim Curtin has said he doesn’t agree with clubs preventing their players from going to the U-20 World Cup, which starts later this month.

Clubs across the world are facing tough decisions as the tournament draws near. The U-20 World Cup does not fall within a FIFA window, meaning clubs would potentially be losing players for multiple games should they allow them to play in the tournament.

Already, some potentially key American players have been ruled out by their clubs.

On Wednesday, Chicago Fire head coach Ezra Hendrickson said the club wouldn’t release midfielder Brian Gutiérrez and goalkeeper Chris Brady. The next day, Croatian club Hajduk Split said it wouldn’t be releasing midfielder Rokas Pukštas.

There was some good news too for the U.S. U-20s, as Atlanta United left back Caleb Wiley said he was cleared to play by his team.

Curtin delivered even more good news on Thursday, saying he would release any of his players who are called. That means the Union will likely be without Brandan Craig, Quinn Sullivan and Jack McGlynn for an extended period.

While confirming his players would be available, the Union head coach said he disagreed with clubs who aren’t allowing players to go to the World Cup.

“Sometimes we get in our own way and act like we’re Europe or South America,” Curtin told reporters.

“We’re not there yet. We’re not Spain, we’re not Germany, we’re not Argentina. We haven’t won a World Cup ever. Let’s try to win every competition at the youth level and show we have great players because we do.”

“Think about the kids too,” he continued. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that they may never get back again. To prevent them from playing in a U-20 World Cup? I’m sorry, I don’t agree with it.

“Maybe I’m in the minority there, but that’s what I believe in and that’s what our club believes in. Any of the guys that [U-20 head coach] Mikey Varas calls in, we will excitedly release them.”

[lawrence-related id=17988,17648]

LAFC shove Philadelphia Union aside, grab spot in CONCACAF Champions League final

It was a battle, and LAFC was more ready for the fight

LAFC has once again established their bona fides as MLS’s top dog.

A rematch of last year’s incredible 2022 MLS Cup saw the same winner, with LAFC beating a 10-man Philadelphia Union 3-0 on Tuesday to seal a 4-1 aggregate win in the CONCACAF Champions League semifinals.

LAFC will go on to face either Tigres or Club León in the two-legged final, with dates and kickoff times yet to be announced. Tigres holds a 2-1 lead heading into Wednesday night’s second leg.

A physical battle throughout saw LAFC, normally seen as a possession-oriented team, opt to play on the break for long spells. That approach became much easier when they took an early lead thanks to Timothy Tillman. A 13th-minute LAFC corner saw Andre Blake do a madness to deny Ilie Sánchez, with the Jamaica No. 1 somehow clawing the ball off the line.

Sánchez was left with his head in his hands, but the Union never finished the job, and Tillman was able to smash the ball into the roof of the net from an acute angle.

The Union had their looks from set pieces, but either couldn’t find a finish or were turned back from fine work by John McCarthy, one of their chief tormentors at the 2022 MLS Cup final. At the other end, Blake denied Mateusz Bogusz’s curling effort with another top-drawer save towards the end of the half.

Mostly though, this seemed to be a game characterized by acrimony. Alejandro Bedoya was lucky not to see more than a yellow card for a second-minute tackle, and multiple heavy collisions were followed by jawing and the occasional shove.

With referee Drew Fischer having little option but to dole out yellow cards, someone was bound to get sent off. That fate ended up befalling Olivier Mbaizo, who clattered into Dénis Bouanga just before the hour mark and received his second yellow as a result.

The Union, who had the lion’s share of possession throughout the match, looked more measured playing 10-versus-11, but ultimately LAFC’s counter-punching posture put the contest to bed. The sequence had everything that makes them such a powerhouse: José Cifuentes battled through a tackle to find Carlos Vela, who instantly opened the field up with a glorious diagonal pass out to Kwadwo Opoku.

The young Ghanaian, who LAFC had the luxury of bringing off the bench, finished the chance with power and accuracy, leaving Blake no chance to pull off another miracle save.

Bouanga would go on to supply a 90th-minute strike as the Union were obliged to leave men forward, giving the Gabonese attacker plenty of space to add an exclamation point in front of a delighted crowd at BMO Stadium.

[lawrence-related id=17622,9308,1174]

MLS guaranteed a shot to defend CCL title after Union reach semifinal

Philadelphia set up an all-MLS semifinal against LAFC

It took 14 years for a MLS team to win the CONCACAF Champions League. Now, the league will have the chance to lift the trophy in back-to-back seasons.

The Philadelphia Union drew Liga MX side Atlas 2-2 in Mexico on Wednesday night, advancing to the semifinal with a 3-2 aggregate win.

That set up an all-MLS semifinal against LAFC, which easily won its all-MLS quarterfinal against the Vancouver Whitecaps by a 6-0 aggregate score.

Whichever team emerges from the rematch of last year’s epic MLS Cup will have the chance to make it two CCL wins in two years for MLS, after the Seattle Sounders made the breakthrough by defeating Pumas in last year’s final.

The winner between LAFC and the Union will likely be facing another Liga MX team in the final. Club León has already reached the other semifinal, while Tigres took a big step toward the last four with a 1-0 away win over Motagua in their quarterfinal first leg.

“The Champions League is a really special competition,” Union head coach Jim Curtin said after defeating Atlas.

“It’s the biggest trophy on our continent and we want to push and try and go for it. Let’s be honest, it’s been a competition that has been completely dominated by Liga MX. We finally broke through and Seattle had a win last year, and our hope this year is that an MLS team can lift that trophy. I’d prefer it be us than LAFC.”

[lawrence-related id=17470,17377,17203]

MLS Madness™ as double-VAR goal helps CF Montreal stun Philadelphia Union

Did you know VAR can VAR itself?

It’s safe to say that Jim Curtin didn’t enjoy the late, er, show at Stade Olympique on Saturday.

The Philadelphia Union boss was left baffled after his side threw away a 2-1 road lead to fall 3-2 at CF Montréal. Julián Carranza was sent off in the 69th minute, and the Quebecois club turned a seeming loss into a stunning win thanks to a goal that went through two different VAR checks, and a 98th minute Romell Quioto winner.

It started well enough for Montréal, who took a third-minute lead. Mathieu Choinière’s shot was handled by Jakob Glesnes, sending Quioto to the spot early. The Honduran had no trouble converting the penalty, giving Montréal their first goal of the season.

The Union weren’t happy with their first half, and wasted no time getting level. Mikael Uhre shot home after just 20 seconds following excellent work from Leon Flach and Dániel Gazdag.

Philadelphia then produced a lovely second, passing their way around the characteristic high press of Hernán Losada’s teams. A series of headed passes fell to José Martínez, whose clever lob opened the game up.

Gazdag then essentially produced a carbon copy of Martínez’s pass, taking advantage of an odd hop off the Big O turf to send Uhre in alone for a brace.

However, Carranza picked up a second yellow card nine minutes later, crashing into Joel Waterman well after the ball was gone.

It was a golden chance for Montréal to break out of a season-opening three-game losing streak, but even as Losada threw in a quadruple substitution to try and get his team some kind of equalizer, shots for the home side were hard to come by. The Union were showing their experience, and seemed set to kill the game off for a hard-earned win.

Montréal had seemingly one last push, though, and produced an unconventional equalizer in the 90th minute. Waterman, a center back, ended up in space on the right wing, and served in a hopeful cross. Choinière, a wingback, found himself in the goalmouth, and despite the attentions of three Philadelphia players, floated a header back against the grain.

The Union were bailed out, as the ball clipped off the crossbar and away from goal. With the game up for grabs, Chinoso Offor simply wanted it more than Glesnes, winning a shoulder-to-shoulder challenge to bundle the ball across the line.

VAR held up referee Nima Saghafi, though: Offor and Sunusi Ibrahim were possibly offside as Choinière’s header went towards goal.

Replays seem to point to a goal coming back, but even after Saghafi booked Losada for urging the game to restart and then checked the monitor, no conclusion came. Saghafi left the monitor after less than 30 seconds, calling the goal off. Montréal captain Victor Wanyama pleaded with an official, and before play resumed, VAR called down again.

The overturned call needed to be checked again…by the guy who had overturned it.

Saghafi took another look, and this time the goal stood. Unsurprisingly, the two coaches had differing takes.

“Luckily for the beauty of the sport and for us tonight they could come back and make the right decision because at the end they made the right call,” Losada told reporters after the match.

Union boss Jim Curtin felt somewhat differently in his remarks, saying “the word s—show comes to mind,” adding that “I’ve never seen anything like that in my life.”

Answering a question sent by a pool reporter after the game, Saghafi explained the situation:

On the initial review, the defender holding [Offor] onside was off screen. After the initial review occurred, prior to play restarting, the VAR discovered an angle that clearly showed that [Offor] was in an onside position when the ball was last touched by a teammate.

Back to the game, which wasn’t over. Losada’s D.C. United teams were known for going all-out for wins, whether or not that was the wisest course of action. With a home crowd roaring and a short-handed, fatigued opponent, though?

You probably already know where this one’s going: in the eighth minute of stoppage time Choinière was involved yet again, looping a cross to the back post. What started as a battle between Quioto and Union right back Olivier Mbaizo ended with the former easily shedding the latter, and Quioto turned the resulting free header into a dramatic, last-gasp winner.

[lawrence-related id=15873,15783]

Dog graces Philadelphia Union vs. Alianza CCL match with its presence

Don’t worry about the score, we have a dog to talk about here

The CONCACAF Champions League match between the Philadelphia Union and Alianza FC had one highlight, and one highlight only.

Let’s just get it out of the way: a dog ran out onto the field in the 69th minute, very briefly pausing the game because look, there’s a dog on the field.

At Pro Soccer Wire we’re committed to covering the important issues with clarity and depth, and there are few other topics that merit the kind of close attention that a dog having some fun amid a professional soccer game does.

The dog gave fans a glimpse of what was to come moments before making its grand intervention, briefly appearing along some advertising boards in the corner.

Credit: Fox Soccer

Moments later, with Alianza taking an attacking throw-in, the nameless — but most assuredly good — dog took center stage. It came bounding out from the far side of Estadio Cuscatlán, and once the ball was thrown in, made a beeline for it.

Credit: Fox Soccer

Referee César Ramos had an immediate response, halting the game even before the dog barreled into the ball. As José Martínez and Rodolfo Zelaya stood by, the dog grabbed the ball and actually slid briefly before joyously trying to gnaw on it in a classic example of a dog doing dog stuff.

Credit to Estadio Cuscatlán’s staff, who seemed very prepared. A worker emerged almost immediately, and with no fuss picked up the dog — who seemed about as happy as can be about the whole situation — and walked him off, allowing play to resume.

The final score of the game was 0-0.

Watch this excellent dog halt the CCL

[lawrence-related id=4884,9185,6585]

Inter Miami has figured out how to beat the Philadelphia Union: Just score bangers

It’s easy to win at soccer, just kick the ball very hard

Inter Miami showed MLS teams the way forward against the nightmare that is the Philadelphia Union.

The high-pressing juggernauts are widely favored to push for another MLS Cup appearance this season at the least, and have been generally miserable to play against. How did Miami solve the puzzle?

Easy: just kick the ball hard, and into the dang goal.

Inter Miami beat the Union 2-0 at DRV PNK Stadium Saturday night, and it a victory built on the foundation of bangers. First, after Philadelphia had crowded Rodolfo Pizarro enough to cause the Mexican international to lose possession, Corentin Jean — a high-profile signing late last season who never got on track for the Herons — uncorked a surgical strike from around 28 yards out to give his side a 32nd minute lead.

See? Soccer is simple: Jean collected the ball, looked up to see where the goal was in relation to him, and then kicked that ball very hard at the goal.

Miami’s one-goal edge was always something of a worry against a team as prolific as the Union were in 2023, so in the second half, Phil Neville’s men decided to give the tried-and-true recipe of just scoring golazos another whirl.

Robert Taylor, who had replaced Jean literally seconds before scoring, came in off the left wing to play a give-and-go with Jean Mota. Mota’s scooped return pass required some work from Taylor to bring the ball down, but once again the choice from that point was clear: locate the goal and kick the ball at it with as much power as possible.

The vicious, arcing shot left even a goalkeeper as good as Andre Blake clawing at the air. Given the power Taylor put behind it, maybe that was for the best.

“The two goals that won the game were probably two goals to win any game of football,” said Miami head coach Phil Neville during his post-match press conference. “I thought [Taylor’s goal] was our one bit of quality in the second half. I thought Coco [Jean]’s goal — and Coco’s performance — was really good.”

Unfortunately for the Union, teams unfamiliar with the “kick the ball hard, and at the goal” tactic will have some tape to study. On the plus side for them, at least they won’t see many more goals that are better than the two Miami struck Saturday night.

[lawrence-related id=12862,14258,14563]