Soccer Monday: Arsenal takes Community Shield, Kane transfer deadline and USWNT's early WWC exit
All the news from this past weekend about the world's biggest sport
It was a weekend highlighted by more Women’s World Cup action and disappointment over the U.S.’s defeat to Sweden on penalties.
The Community Shield — the match that marks the official start of the domestic season in England — also went to a shootout, while drama continues to dominate the summer transfer season as clubs look to bolster their rosters ahead of the fall.
Here’s a look at the three biggest storylines to emerge this past weekend:
3. Arsenal wins the Community Shield
Nothing can help develop a winning mentality like beating top opponents. Sunday’s Community Shield occupies a curious place in the pecking order of importance, somewhere between a friendly and a competitive match a week before the start of the Premier League season.
Arsenal started the English season how the team had hoped it would have ended — by defeating Manchester City to a trophy. Arsenal defeated Man City 4-1 in a penalty-kick shootout, after equalizing in the 101st minute to draw 1-1, to win the Community Shield at Wembley Stadium.
Cole Palmer curled in a 78th-minute goal after coming off the bench to give City the lead, only for Leandro Trossard to score in the 11th minute of second-half stoppage time, pushing the game to penalties.
By taking the traditional season curtain-raiser, Arsenal have won the first in what will be a series of high-profile matches against league champions Man City this season. For the Gunners, the win can serve as a psychological edge after finishing a disappointing second last season.
“For us, it’s a statement,” Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale said. “It’s a marker to know we can go and beat Man City in a big game when it matters.”
2. Kane transfer deadline comes and goes
While most have been enthralled by the tug-of-war between Kylian Mbappe and Paris Saint-Germain, the other big summer transfer news drama involves striker Harry Kane and Tottenham.
Bayern Munich made a final offer for Kane last week worth $110 million. However, despite warning they would move onto other targets if they did not receive a quick response from Spurs, the German champions continue to wait from the Premier League side to do or say something.
As of Sunday night, Tottenham Hotspur Chairman Daniel Levy had failed to respond to Bayern Munich’s latest offer, leaving Kane’s future in limbo.
Kane wants to have his future resolved before Tottenham's opening Premier League game at Brentford this coming Sunday.
Like Mbappe, Kane is out of contract next summer. As a result, Tottenham risk losing the 30-year-old England captain on a free transfer at the end of this season.
1. USWNT’s early World Cup exit
The United States played its best game at the Women’s World Cup on Sunday, but it wasn’t good enough.
The Americans bombed out of the tournament after falling to Sweden 5-4 on penalty kicks in Melbourne as the two-time defending world champions exited in the round of 16. It was the earliest the Americans had ever been eliminated from a Women’s World Cup.
Sweden’s game-winning kick crossed the line by the smallest of margins before being swatted away by U.S. goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher. VAR confirmed the goal.
“We just lost the World Cup by a millimeter. That’s tough,” said Naeher. “I am proud of the fight of the team. We knew we hadn’t done our best in the group stage and we wanted a complete team performance and the team came out and played great.”
The scoreless draw and penalty-kick defeat was not a complete shock. The Americans had played poorly during the group stage, only to put together their best game of the tournament against Sweden and to see it decided on penalties.
In other news: Xabi Alonso extended his contract as coach of German club Bayer Leverkusen through to 2026 on Friday after a strong first season led to speculation linking him with some of Europe’s top teams. Alonso took over at Leverkusen in October when it was second-to-last in the Bundesliga. … NFL legend Tom Brady has become a minority owner of English second-tier side Birmingham City. The seven-time Super Bowl champion quarterback has entered into a partnership with Birmingham's owners, Knighthead Capital Management LLC, and he will become chairman of the advisory board at the club. … From one famous owner to another. Actress Natalie Portman said she never dreamed of owning a pro soccer team like the NWSL’s Angel City, but that changed when she noticed the way one of her sons viewed female football players with the same “admiration” as male players. “I was like this is culture change. This is it. If our boys look up to women like that, that’s how everything changes,” Portman said at Friday's Angel City Equity Summit at the Sydney Opera House. “That’s what got me really excited.”