Breakfast Links - April 21, 2023
(image via Houston Dynamo FC/Twitter)
It’s Friday in the Bayou City and it seems like all everyone can talk about is Taylor Swift. Well, let’s talk soccer instead. Here are your links to get you ready for the weekend.
Houston
The Dynamo return home to Shell Energy Stadium for a meeting with Inter Miami tomorrow night. The game kicks off at 7:30 PM. Miami is coming in to this match having lost their last five. The Dynamo have won all of their home games this season, so they will look to keep that momentum going.
Houston and Miami, along with the other teams in MLS, will be wearing the One Planet jerseys for this game. You can bid on the game-worn jerseys with all proceeds going to the Buffalo Bayou Partnership.
After a brief stop at home on Wednesday, the Dash are on the road tomorrow to visit the Washington Spirit. Both teams are unbeaten in league play and both teams lost midweek in the Challenge Cup with heavily rotated lineups. We should see both teams at full strength tomorrow in what promises to be an intriguing clash of styles. Kick off is scheduled for 6:00 PM tomorrow.
Dynamo 2 are home at SaberCats Stadium Sunday. They will welcome in a team that they will be looking to exact some revenge on. Tacoma Defiance ended Houston’s season last year in the playoffs and now the teams square off again. Kick off is 6:30 PM on Sunday.
Be sure to check out the latest episodes of the Bayou City Soccer Podcast. And be on the look out for a new episode later today. Available everywhere you get your podcasts!
Major League Soccer
With just over 20% of the 2023 MLS season played, Jonathan Sigal decided to give his Best XI so far. Dynamo midfielder Hector Herrera made Sigal’s lineup. You can check out his full team at mlssoccer.com.
Atlanta United will likely be cashing in on their World Cup winning star man this summer. Reports came out yesterday that Italian club Napoli are interested in Argentine Thiago Almada and Cesar Luis Merlo is reporting that Atlanta are looking to get $40 million dollars in a transfer. That number would smash the previous outgoing transfer record in MLS.
The United States Men’s National Team made it five games unbeaten against Mexico with a 1-1 draw in a friendly Wednesday night. The US went behind to a goal from former MLS winger Uriel Antuna but FC Dallas striker Jesus Ferreira grabbed a late equalizer for the Stars and Stripes.
Around the World
Manchester United’s dream of a quadruple has come to an end after they were handily beaten by Sevilla yesterday in the UEFA Europa League quarterfinals. After taking a 2-0 lead in the home leg at Old Trafford, United conceded two late goals to go into the second leg in Spain level. Sevilla then dispatched the Red Devils with a 3-0 win in the second leg to move on.
Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti has slammed FIFA and UEFA over the club’s busy schedule saying “something has to change”. Madrid is chasing Barcelona in La Liga, have a Copa del Rey Final, and take on Manchester City in the Champions League semifinal. "Objectively, the calendar doesn't make sense," Ancelotti said in a news conference on Friday ahead of Madrid's LaLiga game with Celta Vigo. "It's too tight, with too many games. We have to look at the health of the players.”
UEFA are bringing together a number of legends of the sport for an inaugural meeting of the UEFA Football Board, to weigh in on the biggest issues in soccer. Zinedine Zidane, Gareth Bale, Jose Mourinho, Rio Ferdinand, and Patrick Vieira are among the attendees for Monday’s meeting at UEFA headquarters in Zyon, Switzerland.
