Drilling down on: at Sporting Kansas City 2, Chicago 0

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Man of the match: That early goal was so much harder than it looked. Graham Zusi, moving at full speed and shooting across his body with the right foot, was still able to strike that ball so sweetly. He found good spots in the offense over the first 60 minutes, before Chicago found more of the ball. And then the home team’s creator and dead ball provider had just enough left to pounce on a second ball near the end and seal the win with another well-placed ball past Fire goalkeeper Sean Johnson.

Packaged for take-away:

  • Such a highly charged atmosphere for this one. It definitely had that something extra, that playoff-level intensity.
  • Referee Chris Penso doesn’t look prepared to handle these high-velocity, high-frenzy matches. I’ll have more on his night later, in a separate post.
  • Sporting Kansas City clinched a playoff spot with the win. Just as importantly (because we pretty much knew SKC would get into the post-season), the home team keeps pressure on San Jose for the Supporters Shield.
  • Across the wing from Zusi, Kei Kamara had a great match as well. It was his dribbling and brawny ability to hold off a challenge that set up Zusi for that highly important first goal. Afterward, Kamara did tons of tracking. He won second balls. He occupied defenders. And in the game’s final 30 minutes, as the home team dropped off some, Kamara’s hold-up work along the front lines allowed Kansas City to maintain some offensive push, even as Chicago enjoyed more of the late possession.
  • Lawrence Olum made a surprise start ahead of All-Star SKC center back Aurelien Collin, who was available and on the bench.
  • The Home team’s offense benefitted from C.J. Sapong’s good hold-up work, which the Fire wasn’t getting enough of from Sherjill MacDonald.
  • Kansas City’s early, relentless pressing was working to perfection. The visitors just could not deal with the pressure in midfield, so the connections between Alex and Logan Pause and their attackers never materialized.
  • As always, Roger Espinoza in the primary energy provider, the chief havoc and mayhem maker in midfield.
  • And interesting situation developed in the 44th minute when Kamara carelessly gave away a ball in midfield. Chicago pounced and MacDonald was off and running, bearing down on Jimmy Nielsen’s left side. It looked like he made a big mistake when he played a lateral ball rather than shooting, failing to find any teammate near and squandering the chance. But going back and looking at the sequence, here’s why: SKC midfielder Paulo Nagamura completely eliminated Chris Rolfe’s run, crushing the Fire attacker from behind.
  • Penso just has to be more aware there, or the backside referee’s assistant has to alert the man in the middle.
  • Because the home team plays at a higher tempo, essentially doing everything quicker, they were always faster to the second balls.
  • Chicago never really found the pace and tempo needed to deal with Kansas City’s pressing. But they did slip into the game; SKC simply cannot apply the highest level of pressure over 90 minutes. In fact, that ability to apply the super-relentless stuff had dropped by early in the second half, which allowed Chicago to get a foothold on the game.
  • After an hour, Fire manager Frank Klopas replaced Alex with Dominic Oduro, shifting away from the 4-2-3-1 and into a 4-4-2, with Rolfe dropping out of the hole behind MacDonald and into a central, partnering role with Logan Pause.
  • Guillermo Franco replaced Nyarko in the 70th minute. It was not only his first MLS minutes, these were the former Mexican international’s first minutes on a soccer field (competitively, that is) since May.
  • Klopas signed Franco for just this, the ability to come in for 20-or-so minutes to be a game-changer. He very nearly did so in the 80th minute, doing a little dribbling weave through the Kansas City penalty area but not being able to get any more than a corner kick.

USMNT upcoming schedule – Nations League, friendlies, Gold Cup

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After reaching the last 16 of the 2022 World Cup, the USMNT have a big 2023 coming up as they aim to build off a successful showing on the world’s biggest stage.

[ MORE: How to watch Premier League in USA

For the next few months CONCACAF Nations League takes center stage, while the program is very much in transition as Anthony Hudson takes temporary charge and both the GM (Brian McBride) and Sporting Director (Earnie Stewart) left in recent months.

[ MORE: USMNT roster for Nations League features Gio Reyna, no Tyler Adams ]

As for now, here is the USMNT’s upcoming schedule for 2023, with plenty more games to be added based on their potential qualification for the 2023 Gold Cup on home soil.


How to watch USMNT

TV channels in English: HBO Max, TNT
TV channels en Español:
Universo, Telemundo Deportes
Streaming en Español: Peacock


USMNT upcoming schedule

* Friendly | ** CONCACAF Nations League | *** 2022 World Cup

2023

vs. Serbia* — Jan. 25, 10 pm ET — Loss 2-1 | Recap & highlights
vs. Colombia* — Jan. 28, 7:30 pm ET — Draw 0-0 | Recap & highlights
at Grenada** — March 24, 8 pm ET — St. George’s, Grenada
vs El Salvador** — March 27, 7:30pm ET — Orlando, Florida
vs Mexico* — April 19, 10:22pm ET — Glendale, Arizona – More details 

2023 Gold Cup from June 16 to July 19 (USMNT yet to qualify)


USMNT games in 2022

vs. Morocco* — June 1 — Win 3-0
vs. Uruguay* — June 5 — Draw 0-0
vs. Grenada** — June 10 — Win 5-0
at El Salvador** — June 14 — Draw 1-1
vs Japan* — Sept. 23 (in Dusseldorf, Germany) — Loss 2-0
vs Saudi Arabia* — Sept. 27 (in Murcia, Spain) — Draw 0-0


USMNT at 2022 World Cup

Group B
vs. Wales*** — Nov. 21, 2 pm ET — Draw 1-1
vs. England*** — Nov. 25, 2 pm ET — Draw 0-0
vs. Iran*** — Nov. 29, 2 pm ET — Win 1-0

Last 16
vs. Netherlands*** — Dec. 3, 10 am ET — Loss 3-1


USMNT 2022 World Cup qualifying scores, recaps, analysis

at El Salvador — Sept. 2Draw 0-0
vs. Canada — Sept. 5 — Draw 1-1
at Honduras — Sept. 8 — Win 4-1

vs. Jamaica — Oct. 7 — Win 1-0
at Panama — Oct. 10 — Loss 0-1
vs. Costa Rica — Oct. 13 — Win 2-1

vs. Mexico — Nov. 12 — Win 2-0
at Jamaica — Nov. 16 — Draw 1-1

vs. El Salvador — Jan. 27 — Win 1-0
at Canada — Jan. 30 — Loss 0-2
vs. Honduras — Feb. 2 — Win 3-0

at Mexico — March 24 — Draw 0-0 
vs. Panama — March 27 — Win 5-1
at Costa Rica — March 30 — Loss 0-2 


Final CONCACAF World Cup qualifying standings

Canada — 28 points – (QUALIFIED) GD +16 – automatic qualification
Mexico — 28 points (QUALIFIED) GD +9 – automatic qualification
USMNT — 25 points – (QUALIFIED) GD +11 – automatic qualification


Costa Rica — 25 points (PLAYOFF) GD +5


Panama — 21 points (ELIMINATED)
Jamaica — 14 points (ELIMINATED)
El Salvador — 10 points (ELIMINATED)
Honduras — 4 points (ELIMINATED)

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Harry Kane breaks Rooney record, England outlasts Italy comeback bid

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Harry Kane broke Wayne Rooney’s record for goals in an England shirt, and the Three Lions outlasted a Luke Shaw red card and Mateo Retegui goal on his Italy debut to start EURO 2024 qualifying brightly with a 2-1 win in Napoli.

The win is England’s first in Italy since 1961.

England began its EURO 2024 quest the same way it finished its heartbreaking EURO 2020 campaign: facing Italy, now two-time champions of Europe, on Thursday.

[ LIVE: EURO 2024 qualifying scores – Italy vs England ]

Declan Rice buried a Harry Kane rebound off a corner kick, then Kane converted a penalty for his 54th England goal to break a tie with Rooney atop the Three Lions’ goals chart.

But Italy surged back to get a goal from Tigre’s Retegui on debut, and Shaw was awarded two yellow cards in three minutes to set England up to defend at least 10 minutes down a man.

Italy and England are joined in Group C by Ukraine, North Macedonia, and Malta. The sides that finish 1st and 2nd in the group will qualify for next summer’s tournament in Germany.

[ MORE: USMNT upcoming schedule – Nations League, friendlies, Gold Cup ]


Italy vs England player ratings: Stars of the Show

Harry Kane

Francesco Acerbi

Declan Rice

Bukayo Saka

Italy vs England player ratings
fotmob.com

What’s next?

England hosts Ukraine at Noon ET Sunday, the same day Italy visits Malta at Ta’Qali National Stadium.


Declan Rice goal video: West Ham man pumps in rebound off corner

Harry Kane goal video: VAR-awarded penalty, converted

Mateo Retegui goal video: Argentine-born striker scores on debut


How to watch Italy vs England live, stream link and start time

Kick off: 3:45pm ET, Thursday (March 23)
Stadium: Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, Napoli
TV: FS1


Italy lineup and squad

Goalkeepers – Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain), Alex Meret (Napoli), Claudio Carnesecchi (Cremonese), Wladimiro Falcone (Lecce)

Defenders – Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus), Matteo Darmian (Inter Milan), Francesco Acerbi (Inter Milan), Emerson Palmieri (West Ham), Giovanni Di Lorenzo (Napoli), Leonardo Spinazzola (Roma), Alessio Romagnoli (Lazio), Rafael Toloi (Atalanta), Giorgio Scalvini (Atalanta), Alessandro Buongiorno (Torino)

Midfielders – Marco Verratti (Paris Saint-Germain), Jorginho (Arsenal), Nicolo Barella (Inter Milan), Bryan Cristante (Roma), Lorenzo Pellegrini (Roma), Matteo Pessina (Monza), Sandro Tonali (AC Milan), Davide Frattesi (Sassuolo)

Forwards – Domenico Berardi (Sassuolo), Gianluca Scamacca (West Ham), Vincenzo Grifo (Freiburg), Wilfried Gnonto (Leeds), Simone Pafundi (Udinese), Mateo Retegui (Tigre)

England lineup and squad

Goalkeepers – Jordan Pickford (Everton), Fraser Forster (Tottenham), Aaron Ramsdale (Arsenal)

Defenders – Kyle Walker (Manchester City), John Stones (Manchester City), Harry Maguire (Manchester United), Eric Dier (Tottenham), Kieran Trippier (Newcastle), Luke Shaw (Manchester United), Ben Chilwell (Chelsea), Reece James (Chelsea), Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace)

Midfielders – Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Declan Rice (West Ham), Kalvin Phillips (Manchester City), Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund), Conor Gallagher (Chelsea)

Forwards – Harry Kane (Tottenham), Jack Grealish (Manchester City), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Phil Foden (Manchester City), James Maddison (Leicester), Ivan Toney (Brentford)

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EURO 2024 qualification schedule: EURO qualifiers results, standings

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EURO 2024 qualifying is here, and you’re in the right spot for groups, fixtures, and results.

Italy outlasted England in penalty kicks to win EURO 2020 and is bidding to become the first repeat winner since Spain in 2008 and 2012.

[ MORE: Breaking down Premier League title race ]

England is still seeking its first European Championship and will be favored to emerge from Group C with aforementioned Italy as well as Ukraine, North Macedonia, and Malta.

Netherlands and France are also in a spicy group that has dark horse Republic of Ireland and former champions Greece, as well as Gibraltar.

A number of nations have guaranteed themselves no worse than a playoff spot due to their performances in the UEFA Nations League: Netherlands, Greece, Italy, Spain, Scotland, Georgia, Croatia, Turkey, Serbia, Kazakhstan.



EURO 2024 qualifying schedule

Thursday, March 23

Kazakhstan 1-2 Slovenia
Slovakia 0-0 Luxembourg
Italy 1-2 England – Video, player ratings as Kane breaks Rooney record
Denmark 3-1 Finland
Portugal 4-0 Liechtenstein
San Marino 0-2 Northern Ireland
North Macedonia 2-1 Malta
Bosnia and Herzegovina 3-0 Iceland

Friday, March 24

Bulgaria vs Montenegro — 1pm ET
Gibraltar vs Greece — 3:45pm ET
Moldova vs Faroe Islands — 3:45pm ET
Serbia vs Lithuania — 3:45pm ET
Austria vs Azerbaijan — 3:45pm ET
Sweden vs Belgium– 3:45pm ET
Czech Republic vs Poland — 3:45pm ET
France vs Netherlands — 3:45pm ET

Saturday, March 25

Scotland vs Cyprus — 10am ET
Israel vs Kosovo  — 1pm ET
Armenia vs Turkey — 1pm ET
Belarus vs Switzerland  — 1pm ET
Spain vs Norway — 3:45pm ET
Croatia vs Wales — 3:45pm ET
Andorra vs Romania — 3:45pm ET

Sunday, March 26

Kazakhstan vs Denmark — 9am ET
England vs Ukraine — Noon ET
Liechtenstein vs Iceland — Noon ET
Slovenia vs San Marino — Noon ET
Slovakia vs Bosnia and Herzegovina — 2:45pm ET
Northern Ireland vs Finland — 2:45pm ET
Luxembourg vs Portugal — 2:45pm ET
Malta vs Italy — 2:45pm ET

Monday, March 27

Montenegro vs Serbia — 2:45pm ET
Netherlands vs Gibraltar — 2:45pm ET
Poland vs Albania — 2:45pm ET
Austria vs Estonia — 2:45pm ET
Sweden vs Azerbaijan — 2:45pm ET
Moldova vs Czech Republic — 2:45pm ET
Hungary vs Bulgaria — 2:45pm ET
Republic of Ireland vs France — 2:45pm ET

Tuesday, March 28

Georgia vs Norway — Noon ET
Wales vs Latvia — 2:45pm ET
Romania vs Belarus — 2:45pm ET
Switzerland vs Israel — 2:45pm ET
Kosovo vs Andorra — 2:45pm ET
Turkey vs Croatia — 2:45pm ET
Scotland vs Spain — 2:45pm ET


EURO 2024 qualifying standings

Group A

Spain
Scotland
Norway
Georgia
Cyprus

Group B

Netherlands
France
Republic of Ireland
Greece
Gibraltar

Group C

Italy
England
Ukraine
North Macedonia
Malta

Group D

Croatia
Wales
Armenia
Turkey
Latvia

Group E

Poland
Czech Republic
Albania
Faroe Islands
Moldova

Group F

Belgium
Austria
Sweden
Azerbaijan
Estonia

Group G

Hungary
Serbia
Montenegro
Bulgaria
Lithuania

Group H

Denmark
Finland
Slovenia
Kazakhstan
Northern Ireland
San Marino

Group I

Switzerland
Israel
Romania
Kosovo
Belarus
Andorra

Group J

Portugal
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Iceland
Luxembourg
Slovakia
Liechtenstein

Premier League title race: Current form, key fixtures, injuries, odds, predictions

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The Premier League title race is going down to the wire in the 2022-23 season and there are some huge games coming up between now and the final day on May 28.

[ MORE: How to watch Premier League in USA

Can Arsenal win the first Premier League title since 2003-04? Will Manchester City win three in a row to make it five titles in the last six seasons under Pep Guardiola? For a while it looked like Manchester United could come from nowhere to stun everyone and secure their first title in a decade, but they have regressed in recent weeks.

Below is a look at the key fixtures, current form, odds and predictions for the contenders to be crowned Premier League champions.


Remaining fixtures for title contenders

Arsenal (69 points through 28 games): Leeds (H), Liverpool (A), West Ham (A), Southampton (H), Man City (A), Chelsea (H), Newcastle (A), Brighton (H), Nottingham Forest (A), Wolves (H)

Manchester City (61 points through 27 games): Liverpool (H), Southampton (A), Leicester City (H), Brighton (A), Arsenal (H), Fulham (A), Leeds (H), Everton (A), Chelsea (H), West Ham (H), Brentford (A)

Manchester United (50 points through 26 games): Newcastle (A), Everton (H), Nottingham Forest (A), Chelsea (H), Tottenham (A), Aston Villa (H), West Ham (A), Wolves (H), Bournemouth (A), Brighton (A), Fulham (H)


Key fixtures that will decide the Premier League title

Saturday, April 1: Manchester City vs Liverpool – 7:30am ET
Sunday, April 2: Newcastle vs Manchester United – 11:30am ET
Sunday, April 9: Arsenal vs Liverpool – 11:30am ET
Wednesday, April 26: Manchester City vs Arsenal – 3pm ET
Thursday, April 27: Tottenham vs Manchester United – 3:15pm ET
Saturday, April 29: Arsenal vs Chelsea – 12:30pm ET
Saturday, May 6: Newcastle vs Arsenal – 10am ET
Saturday, May 20: Manchester City vs Chelsea – 10am ET


Current form (As of March 20, 2023)

Arsenal’s last 5 results: WWWWW
Manchester City’s last 5 results: WWWDW
Manchester United’s last 5 results: DLWWD


Current Premier League table

Premier League standings

 

Head to NBC Sports’s soccer standings home page


Key injuries

Arsenal: Mohamed Elneny (no return date), Takehiro Tomiyasu (knee), Eddie Nketiah (ankle), William Saliba (back)

Manchester City: None

Manchester United: Donny van de Beek (knee – out for season), Christian Eriksen (ankle – out until late April), Anthony Martial (hip injury)


Premier League title odds (As of March 11, 2023)

(Betting odds provided by our partner, BetMGM ) BetMGM is our Official Sports Betting Partner and we may receive compensation if you place a bet on BetMGM for the first time after clicking our links.

Arsenal: -110
Manchester City: -110
Manchester United: +3300
Liverpool: +50000
Tottenham: +50000
Newcastle United: +50000


Prediction for Premier League title race

1. Manchester City – 87 points (Win the title on goal difference)
2. Arsenal – 87 points
3. Manchester United – 78 points