Soccer Monday: USWNT wins, Hall of Fame’s new class and Euro 2024 draw
Kick off your week with all the action from this past weekend
This first weekend of December brought with it lots of action — and much of it took place off the field.
Let me explain. Former goalkeeper Tim Howard was elected to the U.S. National Soccer Hall of Fame and UEFA held the final draw for this summer’s 2024 European Championship.
On the field, the MLS Cup Playoffs and Europe’s top leagues all played games. Here are the highlights from this past weekend:
3. USWNT beats China 3-0
Trinity Rodman scored a goal and added two assists to help the United States beat China 3-0 in a friendly on Saturday at Fort Lauderdale’s DRV PNK Stadium.
Sophia Smith and Lindsey Horan also scored in what was the first of two games against China. The second is scheduled for Tuesday in Frisco, Texas.
The matches close out a difficult year for the U.S. after the four-time champions were eliminated from the Women’s World Cup this past summer in the round of 16, the team’s earliest exit ever.
The roster for the games was chosen by Twila Kilgore, an assistant under former manager Vlatko Andonovski, and U.S. Soccer Sporting Director Matt Crocker ahead of the arrival of new coach Emma Hayes. She will join the team in May after finishing out the season with Chelsea.
2. Meet the Hall of Fame’s Class of 2024
Goalkeeper Tim Howard led a quartet of those elected on Saturday to the U.S. National Soccer Hall of Fame.
Howard was on the ballot for the first time and received 46 of 48 votes from the player selection committee.
“When you play football, you try and for the love and play for the glory, and hopefully along the way you do some things,” Howard said after being told the news while on air as an analyst for NBC’s Premier League coverage.
Josh McKinney, captain of the U.S. seven-a-side Paralympic team, was also elected from the player ballot. Midfielder Tisha Venturini-Hoch was chosen from the veteran ballot and United Soccer Leagues founder Francisco Marcos was picked from the builder category. They will all be inducted on May 4, 2024.
1. Euro ‘24 takes shape
Germany will face Scotland in the opening match of next summer’s European Championship in Munich, while defending champions Italy will face Spain in the tournament’s “Group of Death” which also features Croatia and Albania.
The hosts Germans, three-time winners, will kick off the one-month tournament on June 14. The final will be played on July 14 in Berlin’s Olympic Stadium.
The final draw was held on Saturday at the Elbphilharmonie concert hall in Hamburg, one of the tournament’s 10 host cities.
You can check out the the complete draw and tournament schedule here.
In other news: Christian Ramírez scored in the 115th minute and the Columbus Crew rallied from two goals down to beat top-seeded FC Cincinnati 3-2 on Saturday night to advance to the MLS Cup Final. The Crew will face Los Angeles FC, 2-0 winners against the Houston Dynamo. The final will be played on Saturday at Lower.com Field. … Inter Milan moved back to the top of the Serie A table thanks to a 3-0 win at defending champions Napoli on Sunday. Hakan Calhanoglu put the visitors ahead in the 44th minute with a fantastic first-time strike from 25 yards. Nicolo Barella slotted home the team’s second in the 61st minute and Marcus Thuram netted from Juan Cuadrado’s low drive across the box five minutes from time. … In Germany, Victor Boniface kept Bundesliga league leader Bayer Leverkusen’s unbeaten start to the season intact with a goal to rescue a 1-1 draw with Borussia Dortmund. Leverkusen and coach Xabi Alonso looked on course to lose for the first time since May after Julian Ryerson’s early goal for Dortmund. That changed in the 79th minute when Patrik Schick, seconds after coming off the bench, found space to receive a pass from Odilon Kossounou in the penalty area and cross low for Boniface to score.