Kane sparks England rout, NWSL final set and recalling Napoli's UEFA Cup triumph
Kick your Monday off with all the news from this past weekend
This weekend was the last time this year that the club schedule was placed on hold for the international break.
While there were national team games galore, there were also the NWSL playoffs to watch and even some time — given the lighter schedule — for a trip down memory lane.
Here’s what mattered most this past weekend:
Nations League: Kane leads England to rout and promotion
Harry Kane’s 69th international goal sparked a second-half England scoring spree on Sunday that fired The Three Lions back to the top tier of the UEFA Nations League.
In interim manager Lee Carsley’s final game in charge — a 5-0 victory against Ireland secured promotion and ensured England will be back among Europe’s leading nations in the next edition of the tournament.
“I wanted the England team to be exciting to watch and attacking,” Carsley said. “I see them do it day in, day out on the training ground. And now we’ve seen it.”
England won its group on goal differential ahead of second-placed Greece, which beat Finland 2-0.
You can check out all the results from this weekend’s Nations League here.
NWSL: Orlando to take on Washington in final
The Orlando Pride advanced to the NWSL championship final following a 3–2 win over the Kansas City Current in the semifinals on Sunday at Inter&Co Stadium in Orlando.
Pride striker Barbra Banda scored the equalizer in the 53rd minute before 38-year-old captain Marta scored an iconic game-winning goal — making four Kansas City players fall to the ground as she dribbled through them and tapped the ball into the net.
“It's just such a Marta goal,” Orlando defender Emily Sams said. “She’s the GOAT and she proved it tonight.”
Orlando will meet the No. 2-seed Washington Spirit, who overcame NJ/NY Gotham FC on penalties in their semifinal, at CPKC Stadium this coming Saturday.
The Pride are the first No. 1 seed to advance to the NWSL championship since the North Carolina Courage in 2019.
Nostalgia: Looking back at Napoli’s historic 1988 UEFA Cup triumph
There was once a time, not very long ago, that Europe had three major club competitions. The Cup Winners’ Cup was eventually scrapped in 1999 following a 40-year run. The European Champions’ Cup was no longer just limited to national winners and expanded into the modern-day Champions League.
The UEFA Cup, in turn, was rebranded into the Europa League. Napoli — guided by Diego Maradona — won the trophy in May 1989 following a series of 12 matches on the way to the trophy at a time when Italian clubs were the strongest in the world.
In yet another appearance on the excellent SoccerNostaglia Talk Podcast, I got the chance to talk about this amazing run that took place 35 years ago.
The trophy remains the first — and to date only — major European title the southern club have ever won. It is also the first and only continental trophy won by Maradona.
Maradona’s sublime skills, married with the passion of the fans, resulted in another trophy during an era soccer fans will never forget.
In other news: Ghana failed to reach the Africa Cup of Nations for the first time since 2004 after drawing with Angola 1-1 in qualifying on Friday. The Black Stars needed a win in their penultimate group game to keep alive their slim hopes of qualifying for the tournament in Morocco next year. … New Roma managrt Claudio Ranieri said on Friday that the Giallorossi were one of only two clubs that could persuade him to return to management. The 73-year-old, who began his playing career with the capital team, took over from the fired Ivan Juric. It’s the third time Ranieri will coach his hometown club, having previously been in charge from 2009-11 and again in 2019. … The USMNT take on Jamaica on Monday night in St. Louis in the return leg of the CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinals. The Americans won the opening leg 1-0 on a Ricardo Pepi goal.