THE SOCCER REPORT
Dynamo trio score in international competition; Maradona returns to coaching
Sep 11, 2019, 7:10 am
Credit: Houston Dynamo
The September FIFA break brought a pause to league matches all around the world for international competitions and friendlies. Here are the top stories from the week, followed by a schedule of some of the more compelling upcoming matches.
Dynamo fall in the standings in bye week, three players score in international play
šš¾ @alberthelis17 https://t.co/6xMdnIIO19ā Houston Dynamo (@Houston Dynamo) 1568172102.0
Houston Dynamo fell to 11th (out of 12) in the Western Conference despite not playing this weekend thanks to the Colorado Rapids win over Seattle Sounders. The Dynamo have two matches this week and, depending on results, could still fall to last place in the Western Conference.
Not everything was bad news for the Dynamo as five of their players featured for their national teams during the international break.
Defender Aljaz "Kiki" Struna scored for Slovenia in a 2-0 win against Poland last Friday. Struna started in the 3-2 win over Israel on Monday but was subbed off in the second half due to injury. Slovenia is currently second in their group and is well positioned to qualify for next summer's EURO 2020.
Darwin Ceren scored off a penalty in El Salvador's 3-0 win over Saint Lucia in Concacaf Nations League. He also featured in the 0-1 loss at the Dominican Republic on Tuesday.
Alberth Elis and Maynor Figueroa saw action in Honduras' 2-1 home win in a friendly against Jose Bizama's Chile. Elis scored the tying goal for Honduras while Bizama, a summer signing for the Dynamo, came off the bench in the 75th minute.
The Dynamo are back home on Wednesday against Minnesota Untied (7:30 p.m. CT, KUBE 57)
Houston Dash lose 0-3 at Chicago Red Stars, virtually ending playoff hopes
The Houston Dash fell to 7th place (out of 9 teams) in the National Women's Soccer League standings with a road loss against likely playoff-bound Chicago Red Stars. The loss puts Houston nine points behind fourth place Utah, who the Dash will host on Friday night.
U.S. Men's National Team lose to Mexico, draw with Uruguay
A rematch of this summer's Concacaf Gold Cup final, just over a month after that encounter, ended in a 0-3 loss for the United States in front of a pro-Mexico crowd at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey last Friday.
The USMNT recovered from that heavily scrutinized match with a 1-1 draw against an alternate Uruguay squad at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri on Tuesday.
Cristiano Ronaldo has a four-goal performance in Euro 2020 qualifiers
Cristiano Ronaldo continues to wreck it at the international stage at the age of 34, getting a "poker" against Lithuania in EURO 2020 qualifiers. His four-goal performance extends his mark of international goals to 93 with Portugal.
Diego Maradona is presented as head coach of Argentina Superliga club Gimnasia
There's one word that can never be used when Diego Maradona is in the news - boring. The legendary FIFA World Cup winner, regarded as one of the greatest to ever play the game, has returned to his native land as the Manager of Argentina top division team Gimnasia La Plata.
Maradona was unveiled over the weekend at the club's 33,500-seat stadium to a capacity crowd of supporters and worldwide media.
Gimnasia's first match with Maradona at the helm comes Sunday 9:00 a.m. CT in league action against defending champions Racing Club.
Upcoming Matches (All Times CT):
Wednesday, September 11
7:30 p.m. - [MLS] Houston Dynamo vs. Minnesota United (KUBE 57)
Friday, September 13
1:30 p.m. - [Bundesliga] Dusseldorf vs. Wolfsburg (FS2, FOX Deportes)
2:00 p.m. - [La Liga] Mallorca vs. Athletic Bilbao (beIN Sports)
6:30 p.m. - [Liga MX] Puebla vs. Atletico San Luis (TUDN, ESPN Deportes)
7:30 p.m. - [NWSL] Houston Dash vs. Utah Royals
9:00 p.m. - [Liga MX] Club Tijuana vs. Tigres (FOX Deportes)
Saturday, September 14
6:00 a.m. - [La Liga] Real Madrid vs. Levante (beIN Sports)
6:30 a.m. - [Premier League] Liverpool vs. Newcastle (NBC Sports)
8:00 a.m. - [Serie A] Fiorentina vs. Juventus (ESPN+)
8:30 a.m. - [Bundesliga] Borussia Dortmund vs. Bayer Leverkusen (FS1, FOX Deportes)
8:30 a.m. - [Bundesliga] Cologne vs Borussia Monchengladbach (FS2, TUDN)
9:00 a.m. - [Premier League] Spurs vs. Crystal Palace (NBC Sports)
9:00 a.m. - [La Liga] Leganes vs. Villarreal (beIN Sports en EspaƱol)
11:30 a.m. - [Premier League] Norwich vs. Manchester City (NBC)
11:30 a.m. - [La Liga] Real Sociedad vs. Atletico Madrid (beIN Sports en EspaƱol)
11:30 a.m. - [Bundesliga] RB Leipzig vs. Bayern Munich (FS2, UniMas)
1:30 p.m. - [La Liga] FC Barcelona vs. Valencia (beIN Sports)
9:00 p.m. - [MLS] Vancouver Whitecaps vs. Houston Dynamo (KUBE 57)
Sunday, September 15
8:00 a.m. - [Premier League] Bournemouth vs. Everton (NBC Sports)
10:30 a.m. - [Premier League] Watford vs. Arsenal (NBC Sports)
2:30 p.m. - [MLS] Portland Timbers vs. D.C. United (ESPN)
9:00 p.m. - [MLS] LA Galaxy vs. Sporting KC (FS1)
Monday, September 16
2:00 p.m. - [Premier League] Aston Villa vs. West Ham (NBC Sports)
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Pete Crow-Armstrong hit a tiebreaking two-run homer for his first major league hit, and the Chicago Cubs swept the Houston Astros with a 3-1 victory on Thursday.
Nico Hoerner had three hits and Mike Tauchman went 1 for 1 with three walks as Chicago won for the fourth time in five games. Hayden Wesneski (2-0) pitched 2 1/3 perfect innings for the win in relief of Javier Assad.
Houston has lost a season-high five straight and eight of nine overall. At 7-19, it is off to its worst 26-game start since it was 6-20 in 1969.
First-year manager Joe Espada was ejected by plate umpire Jansen Visconti in the top of ninth.
Crow-Armstrong was recalled from Triple-A Iowa when Cody Bellinger was placed on the 10-day injured list on Wednesday with two fractured ribs. The 22-year-old outfielder, who is considered one of the teamās top prospects, made his big league debut last year and went 0 for 14 while appearing in 13 games.
He picked a perfect time for his first major league hit.
Houston had a 1-0 lead before Dansby Swanson scampered home on a fielderās choice grounder for Miguel Amaya in the sixth.
Espada then replaced Rafael Montero with Bryan Abreu, who threw a wild pitch with Crow-Armstrong trying to sacrifice Amaya to second. Crow-Armstrong then drove his next pitch deep to right, delighting the crowd of 29,876 at Wrigley Field.