Hey there! I hope you’ve had a chance to catch your breath after one of the busiest UEFA Champions League days on record because there’s another round of action coming up on Wednesday. Plus, the U.S. women’s national team return to play on Thursday, making this a very busy week. I’m Pardeep Cattry with the latest.
📺 Footy fix
All times U.S./Eastern
Wednesday, Oct. 22
🇪🇺 UCL: Athletic Club vs. Qarabag, 12:45 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+
🇪🇺 UCL: Galatasaray vs. Bodo/Glimt, 12:45 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+, CBS Sports Golazo Network
🇪🇺 UCL: Chelsea vs. Ajax, 3 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+
🇪🇺 UCL: Real Madrid vs. Juventus, 3 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+
🇪🇺 UCL: Sporting Lisbon vs. Marseille, 3 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+, CBS Sports Golazo Network
🇪🇺 UCL: Monaco vs. Tottenham Hotspur, 3 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+
🇪🇺 UCL: Atalanta vs. Slavia Praha, 3 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+
🇪🇺 UCL: Eintracht Frankfurt vs. Liverpool, 3 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+
🇪🇺 UCL: Bayern Munich vs. Club Brugge, 3 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+, CBS Sports Network
🇺🇸 MLS Cup Playoffs: Chicago Fire vs. Orlando Pride, 8:30 p.m. ➡️ Apple TV
🇺🇸 MLS Cup Playoffs: Portland Timbers vs. Real Salt Lake, 10:30 p.m. ➡️ Apple TV
Thursday, Oct. 23
🇪🇺 UEL: Go Ahead Eagles vs. Aston Villa, 12:45 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+, CBS Sports Network
🇪🇺 UEL: Nottingham Forest vs. Porto, 3 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+, CBS Sports Network
🌎 Women’s friendly: USWNT vs. Portugal, 7 p.m. ➡️ TNT
The U.S. women’s national team return to play on Thursday in the first of two friendlies against Portugal, the first match since head coach Emma Hayes wrapped up a period of player pool expansion with next year’s Women’s World Cup qualification tournament in mind. Hayes’ year of tinkering means that the latest roster has just seven members of the gold medal-winning team from the 2024 Olympics, meaning there will be ample opportunity for an already impressive group of young players to strengthen their case as the long road to the 2027 World Cup continues.
Some of the USWNT’s inexperienced players do not exactly suffer from a low profile and so the spotlight will likely rotate amongst them over the course of the October international break. The list includes 18-year-old midfielder Lily Yohannes, who returns to the fold for the first time since her summer move from Ajax to OL Lyonnes, an important step in her evolution. The move, for starters, guaranteed her playing time in the UEFA Women’s Champions League after Ajax failed to qualify for this season’s competition, but the main benefit is arguably exposure to some of the world’s top players. Lyon are now coached by Jonatan Giraldez and have assembled one of Europe’s most stacked club rosters under the ownership of Michele Kang as part of a push to win the UWCL for the first time in four years. The squad includes USWNT captain Lindsey Heaps, who has been able to watch Yohannes’ growth firsthand.
- Heaps: “I’m pumped to have Lil with me in Lyon, first and foremost. I think she’s just such a quality player and such a footballer and to have her in Lyon, to now be there and learn from all the players that are there is such an incredible experience for her, but also I think she just fits in our team so well as she’s started out. Really excited for her and, I mean, she’s scored some goals. I think you guys have probably seen her recent goal in the Champions League, which is absurd when you think about an 18-year-old taking a chance like that. Really, really proud of her.”
The USWNT’s always-competitive race to start in attack, meanwhile, will likely take center stage on Thursday with the absence of Trinity Rodman, who will miss this international window with an MCL sprain. Hayes said that a member of the U-23 USWNT, who are running a concurrent camp with the senior team in the Philadelphia area this week, will earn a promotion to her squad during the international break but not in time for Thursday’s game. The head coach, though, has no shortage of options and plenty of minutes to offer with three games in this window. Michelle Cooper, Yazmeen Ryan, Emma Sears and Ally Sentnor have each deputized in Rodman’s usual role on the right side of the attack over the last year, with Sentnor one of the big winners of Hayes’ experimentation period. The 21-year-old is one of three players to play 10-plus games in the last year and has four goals and two assists to show for it, building a solid case for herself in the early stages of the USWNT’s preparations for the World Cup.
Coming Tomorrow
Paramount+
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