International Loons
Four players from Minnesota United FC were called up to their international teams for World Cup Qualifying matches: Rasmus Schüller for Finland, Kevin Molino for Trinidad and Tobago, and Francisco Calvo and Johan Venegas for Costa Rica. Schüller was on the bench for the entirety of Finland’s 2-0 loss to Turkey. Calvo played all 90 minutes, while Venegas was subbed off in the 80th minute in Costa Rica’s 2-0 loss to Mexico. Molino fared the best of the Loons on international duty, scoring the only goal in a 1-0 victory for Trinidad & Tobago against Panama.
GOAL!@kevinmolino10 fires The Soca Warriors into the lead. 1-0. #WCQ https://t.co/4GnlHCMXVZ
— beIN SPORTS USA (@beINSPORTSUSA) March 24, 2017
Finland, Trinidad & Tobago, and Costa Rica will each play another game on Tuesday. Finland will play a friendly against Austria. Meanwhile, the CONCACAF sides will continue with World Cup Qualifying. Trinidad and Tobago will play Mexico, while Costa Rica will play Honduras. Johan Venegas has returned to Minnesota due to personal reasons.
https://twitter.com/JuanG_Arango/status/846377334164873216
Analysts try to make sense of Minnesota United
The Loons’ first few games have been far from promising, with the most recent blemish being a 5-2 loss away at New England Revolution. Herculez Gomez and Sebastian Salazar of ESPN FC offered their thoughts on how to fix Minnesota United. Over at MLSsoccer.com, Matt Doyle believes that Minnesota’s problems start with scouting.
Van Oekel pitches a shutout
Matt Van Oekel made his MLS debut for Real Salt Lake in a 0-0 draw against the New York Red Bulls. Van Oekel made three saves in the game and shut out one of the most consistent strikers in MLS, Bradley Wright-Phillips. With his performance, Van Oekel earned MLS Team of the Week honors.
News bits
- The Des Moines Menace women’s team has released its 2017 schedule. The team will be playing its home games at four different venues.
- Former Loon Tiago Calvano has signed a two-year contract with the Harrisburg Islanders of the USL.
- Minnesota center back Joe Greenspan talks about his photography hobby.
- Minnesota United will hold tryouts for its U-13 and U-14 academy teams at the end of June.
- Sean Ingle of the Guardian breaks down how Premier League contracts work and how they could change.
Hot times in Iceland
9 months to the day after Iceland beat England, an Icelandic hospital resident reports a "record number of epidurals in the maternity unit" https://t.co/iZE2KzTg72
— Brian Sciaretta (@BrianSciaretta) March 27, 2017
Well now.
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