Soccer Monday: WWC semis set, Messi’s Leagues Cup run and Newcastle makes a statement
Everything you need to know about what happened this past weekend
This was the first weekend of what will be a nine-month marathon of league matches across Europe that will occupy our time.
Games that mattered returned to the Premier League, La Liga and Ligue 1. At the same time, the Leagues Cup rolls on as does the Women’s World Cup, two tournaments currently in the knockout stage.
Here are all the big stories from this past weekend:
3. Women’s World Cup will get a first-time winner
There will be a first-time winner of the Women’s World Cup this year and it could very well be co-host Australia.
The Matildas became the first home team since the United States in 1999 to win a quarterfinal (7-6 on penalty kicks after the game ended 0-0) in nine Women’s World Cups. Australia has reached its first semifinal in team history and faces England on Wednesday at Stadium Australia in Sydney for a chance to play for the title.
“I genuinely really believe that this team can do great history in so many ways,” Australia coach Tony Gustavsson said. “Not just winning football games, but the way that they can inspire the next generation, how they can unite the nation, how they can leave a legacy that is much bigger that football.”
England, the defending European champions, advanced with a 2-1 victory against Cinderella side Colombia. England also reached the semifinals in 2015 and 2019, only to finish third and fourth and never reach the Women’s World Cup final.
In the tournament’s other semifinal matchup, Sweden, who eliminated the United States in the round of 16, takes on Spain Tuesday at Eden Park in Auckland, New Zealand. Spain defeated the Netherlands 2-1 to advance to the semifinals, while Sweden eliminated Japan by the same score.
2. Inter Miami’s Leagues Cup run continues
Inter Miami are on the verge of winning a trophy this season — not something you could have said just a few weeks ago.
Lionel Messi scored in the 86th minute to put the icing on Inter Miami’s 4-0 win over Charlotte FC in the Leagues Cup quarterfinal on Friday at DRV PNK Stadium. For Messi, it is eight goals in five games to put the Florida club in the Leagues Cup semifinals.
The run is a rarity for a team that sits in last place in the MLS playoff race, but that was before Messi joined the team earlier this summer.
The Daily Mail reported that Messi — along with Inter Miami co-owner David Beckham — partied after the win. Their wives joined in the celebrations along with the team’s two other stars Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba.
The Philadelphia Union will host Inter Miami on Tuesday, while Mexican side Monterrey will travel to Geodis Park that night to take on Nashville SC.
1. Europe’s top leagues are back!
Three of the five main European domestic leagues — England’s Premier League, Spain’s La Liga and France’s Ligue 1 — kicked off this past weekend. You can check out the feature on the the coming season’s major storylines to follow here.
Defending Premier League champions Manchester City defeated Burnley 3-0 on Friday at Turf Moor. Erling Haaland scored twice in the first half.
After Arsenal left fans standing in line for an extra 30 minutes to get into the stadium due to a ticketing snags, Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka proved they were worth the wait. Arsenal’s star wingers lit up the opening Saturday of the Premier League season with an audacious assist and a curling long-range strike that helped the team start the campaign with a 2-1 victory over Nottingham Forest.
But Newcastle sent the biggest statement of the weekend. Alexander Isak scored twice in a 5-1 dismantling of Aston Villa at home in the late Saturday game that showed manager Eddie Howe’s team could be a top-four contender again this season.
"We scored five. We could have scored more,” Howe told BBC’s Match of the Day. “Everything clicked for us. It was a tight game decided by our ruthlessness in front of goal. Villa were also in the game, so we’re very pleased. We had to be at our best.”
In Spain, Jude Bellingham enjoyed a dream debut for Real Madrid after the England midfielder scored his team’s second goal in a 2-0 road win at Athletic Bilbao in their Spanish league opener on Saturday. Wearing the No. 5 of ex-Real Madrid great Zinedine Zidane, Bellingham’s goal marked as wonderful debut for the English midfielder.
Barcelona embarked on its title defense Sunday on the road, playing Getafe to a 0-0 draw. Atletico Madrid play their opener Monday when they host Granada.
In France, meanwhile, Kylian Mbappe, Neymar and Marco Verratti were all left out of the squad for Paris Saint-Germain’s opener at home Saturday against Lorient. The result was a scoreless draw for manager Luis Enrique’s PSG debut. All three players could still leave the club during the summer transfer season.
In other news: Roberto Mancini abruptly resigned as Italy coach on Sunday. The timing could not be worse. Italy are set to play crucial European Championship qualifying matches against North Macedonia on Sept. 9 and three days later versus Ukraine. Mancini was at the helm when Italy won the European Championship in 2021. The Italian FA said they would name a replacement in the coming days. … Cristiano Ronaldo guided 10-man Al-Nassr to its first ever Arab Club Champions Cup on Saturday after scoring twice in a 2-1 extra-time win over fellow Saudi side Al-Hilal. Ronaldo had failed to land a trophy last season after his move to Al-Nassr, who finished runners-up in the Saudi Pro League, but the 38-year-old scored six times in the tournament to finish as top scorer en route to the title. … England captain Harry Kane officially left Tottenham on Saturday after agreeing to join Bayern Munich. Kane’s $110 million transfer fee breaks the Bundesliga record and represents a very large sum for a player who would have been out of contract next year. After years at Tottenham with no trophies, Kane is practically assured of winning something at the German club this season.