Ageless Ronaldo, USMNT loses again and FIFA Club World Cup coming soon
Kick off your Monday with all the action from this past weekend
There’s no rest for the weary. Despite a long domestic season across Europe, the summer of soccer (OK, it’s not officially summer for another 11 days) is just getting started.
This past weekend was dominated by national teams. In Europe, Spain and Portugal contested the UEFA Nations League final. On this side of the Atlantic, the United States played Turkey in a pre-Gold Cup warm-up.
On the horizon is the FIFA Club World Cup, an expanded tournament featuring 32 clubs from around the world. The competition, which starts this Saturday, will take place in the United States.
World soccer’s governing body is banking on this tournament to generate revenue, but also as a dress rehearsal for next summer’s World Cup co-hosted by the U.S., Mexico and Canada.
Here’s a look at the weekend’s top storylines:
Nations League: Ronaldo leads Portugal to another tite
Cristiano Ronaldo hoisted up the Nations League trophy for a second time in his career after Portugal defeated Spain 5-3 in a penalty shootout in Munich on Sunday.
Portugal goalkeeper Diogo Costa saved Alvaro Morata’s fourth penalty for Spain, then Ruben Neves converted his team’s fifth to seal the win after their match finished 2-2 following extra time.
Morata was the only player to miss after seeing every player score their spot kicks before him. He was inconsolable.
The 40-year-old Ronaldo had kept Portugal, winners of the 2019 UEFA Nations League, in the game when he equalized in the 61st minute with his record-extending 138th international goal after Mikel Oyarzabal had given Spain a halftime lead.
In the third-place match, also played Sunday, France defeated Germany 2-0.
USMNT: Americans fall to Turkey 2-1 in pre-Gold Cup friendly
The United States fell to Turkey 2-1 on Saturday — a third straight defeat for the Americans — in a high-energy friendly at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Conn., the first of two games against European opposition as part of preparations for the Gold Cup.
A crowd of 34,023 was on hand to witness a spirited but frustrating outing for the youthful American side, which featured three players earning their first senior national team caps.
Philadelphia Union midfielder Jack McGlynn gave the home crowd an early thrill, scoring just 59 seconds into the game. Taking a perfectly timed pass from Malik Tillman, McGlynn fired a curling left-footed shot from 18 yards out that beat Turkish goalkeeper Berke Ozer at the far post. It was McGlynn’s second international goal, and Tillman's first assist for the USMNT.
Turkey responded with two goals in quick succession before halftime, capitalizing on defensive miscues by the Americans. In the 24th minute, a botched clearance from Johnny Cardoso ricocheted off Arda Guler and into the net, leveling the score. Three minutes later, a chaotic sequence in the U.S. penalty area ended with Kerem Akturkoglu slotting home the go-ahead goal after a deflection off Miles Robinson.
The U.S. will look to rebound quickly when they face Switzerland on Tuesday in Nashville, Tenn.
Club World Cup: Less than a week to go
The expanded FIFA Club World Cup will be played for the first time during the summer.
The tournament is FIFA’s latest way of creating a new competition, with the best clubs from across the world, as a way to generate money and compete with the UEFA Champions League.
“Everything will go back into football: Prize money to the clubs and solidarity funds for club football all over the world,” FIFA President Gianni Infantino said. “My thanks goes to everyone who has participated in this success … everyone who shared our vision of the need for the world to have a global club competition because we have to make sure that clubs — not just national teams — can shine on a global stage, can invest and can become better and bigger all over the world.”
The tournament — also designed as a curtain-raiser for next year’s World Cup — has had some challenges, including concerns of player fatigue following an exhausting European club season and the prospect of empty seats. In fact, The Athletic reported last week that prices have been slashed to entice more fans to attend games.
Planet Soccer will have a tournament preview posted on Tuesday. Also, our paywall will be suspended for all posts having to do with the Club World Cup, which concludes on July 13 with the final at LetLife Stadium in suburban New York.
In other news: Tottenham fired manager Ange Postecoglou on Friday after deciding a change was necessary for the club "to compete on multiple fronts.” The 59-year-old guided Spurs to their first trophy in 17 years, beating Manchester United in last month’s Europa League final. However, Postecoglou also oversaw a staggering 22 league defeats as Spurs finished 17th in the table. … The fear that four-time champion Italy will fail to qualify for a third straight World Cup has cost coach Luciano Spalletti his job. Spalletti announced Sunday that he is being fired and will leave after Monday’s World Cup qualifier against Moldova. The decision came two days after Italy lost 3-0 at Norway in its opening qualifier. … In MLS, Jeevan Badwal scored his first career goal in the 40th minute and Daniel Ríos added his first goal of the season as the Vancouver Whitecaps beat the Seattle Sounders 2-0 on Sunday night to extend their unbeaten streak to 10 games. Vancouver is the MLS points leader with 35.