THE SOCCER REPORT
U.S. Women begin World Cup title defense, Ronaldo's Portugal wins Nations League
Jun 12, 2019, 6:34 am
THE SOCCER REPORT
Photo courtesy of Nike, Inc.
The Summer of Soccer is underway with the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup, UEFA Nations League and international friendlies all part of the schedule this past weekend. The action is about to kick into another gear with the start of the Concacaf Gold Cup and South America's Copa America this week. Here is the week in soccer:
The premier women's international soccer competition kicked off in France with a 4-0 win by the hosts last Friday to open the competition. France is one of the favorites, and pressured to win, due to their role as the home team. The French women are also looking to match their male counterparts that became World Cup champions last summer at Russia 2018.
Germany, another of the favorites, opened their campaign with a 1-0 win over China while 2011 Champions and 2015 Runners-up Japan were held to a scoreless draw against what could be a Cinderella team in Argentina. England and Scotland faced off for the first time at the World Cup, men or women's, with the Lionesses winning 2-1 while potential dark horse Canada picked up a 1-0 win over Cameroon.
The defending champion United States joins the fray on Tuesday (2:00 p.m. CT, FOX) in what will likely be a multiple goal clinic against Thailand. For all the basics on the Women's World Cup, check out this article.
The first ever Nations League, an attempt to get rid of "meaningless" international friendlies, looks to have been a rousing success and it could not have finished in a better way in terms of garnering media attention. European football's golden boy Cristiano Ronaldo led Portugal, the current European champions, to a second European title in three years with a 1-0 win over the Netherlands.
The biannual tournament to determine the champion of North America, Central America and the Caribbean - the region governed by Concacaf - kicks off on Saturday. The United States enter as the defending champions but it is Mexico, the nation with the most titles in the competition, who enter as the favorites to win it all.
Mexico fared well with a 3-1 friendly win over Venezuela in Atlanta on Wednesday followed by a 3-2 win over Ecuador on Sunday up in Arlington, TX. The United States enter with doubts after a 0-1 loss to Jamaica in Washington D.C. and a 0-3 loss to Venezuela in Cincinnati.
South America also has a tournament kicking off this weekend in the revered Copa America. Hosts Brazil are always in the spotlight because of their star-studded squad and will be expected to win despite losing Neymar to injury this past week. Of course, as it has been for several editions now, the main storyline will be if Lionel Messi can finally lift a trophy with Argentina. With what many consider as the best in the world (and best all-time by others) in his prime, the time seems now or never for Messi to conquer the quadrennial tournament as well of the hearts of his country - and what a story it would be to do it on rival turf.
The Houston Astros sent a message loud and clear with one of their most emphatic wins of the season, an 18-1 demolition of the Los Angeles Dodgers, and they did it without Yordan Alvarez or Jeremy Peña in the lineup.
Jose Altuve silenced the Dodger Stadium boos with a pair of home runs and even stayed after the game to sign autographs for young fans. Lance McCullers Jr. delivered six strong innings in a bounce-back outing, and the offense erupted behind big nights from Zach Short, Cam Smith, Yainer Díaz, and Christian Walker.
With key contributions across the board, this was a total team win, one that highlights the depth, momentum, and legitimacy of this Astros squad as the second half approaches. Manager Joe Espada is pressing all the right buttons, and with All-Star nods for Josh Hader, Hunter Brown, and Peña, Houston looks like a team no one wants to face right now.
Don't miss the video below as ESPN Houston's John Granato and Lance Zierlein react to the big series in LA, and much more!
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