THE SOCCER REPORT

U.S. Women win fourth World Cup title; Brazil and Mexico kings of their region

U.S. Women win fourth World Cup title; Brazil and Mexico kings of their region

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Mexico are champions of Concacaf, Brazil are kings of CONMEBOL and the United States successfully defended their FIFA Women's World Cup title to cap off the week in soccer. With the African Cup of Nations entering the quarterfinal stage, international competition is winding down as preseason intensifies with European clubs.

Locally, the Houston Dynamo and Houston Dash continue to battle the rigors of their respective seasons and are currently mid-table in the standings.

FIFA Women's World Cup

USA v Netherlands - FIFA Women's World Cup France 2019™ - THE FINALwww.youtube.com

The United States Women's National Team successfully completed their title defense with a 2-0 win over the Netherlands in the final on Sunday. Team USA defeated England 2-1 in the semifinal round earlier in the week. Sweden finished third with a 2-1 win over England.

USA is the most successful nation with four titles and only the second to repeat as champion since Germany at the 2003 and 2007 World Cups. The team will be honored with a ticker-tape parade in New York City on Wednesday.

Golden Ball - Megan Rapinoe (USA)

Golden Boot (Top Scorer) - Megan Rapinoe (USA)

Golden Glove (Top Goalkeeper) - Sari van Veenendaal (Netherlands)

FIFA Young Player Award - Giulia Gwinn (Germany)

FIFA Fair Play Award - France

Concacaf Gold Cup

90 in 90: United States vs. Mexico | 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup Highlightswww.youtube.com

Mexico are the champions of Concacaf after defeating the United States Men's National Team 1-0 at Soldier Field in Chicago. LA Galaxy midfielder Jonathan dos Santos had the game-winning goal that awarded Mexico their 8th Gold Cup trophy.

Golden Ball - Raúl Jiménez (Mexico)

Golden Boot - Jonathan David (Canada)

Golden Glove - Guillermo Ochoa (Mexico)

Best Young Player - Christian Pulisic (USA)

Fair Play Award - United States

CONMEBOL Copa America

Brasil vs. Perú: 3-1 Goals & Highlights | Copa América | Telemundo Deporteswww.youtube.com

Hosts Brazil completed the task expected of them and hoisted the Copa America (South American Championship) for the ninth ocassion with a 3-1 win over Peru. Argentina finished third with a 2-1 win over Chile in a rematch of the two previous Copa America finals.

Golden Ball - Dani Alves (Brazil)

Golden Boot - Everton (Brazil)

Golden Glove - Alisson (Brazil)

Fair Play Award - Brazil

AFC Africa Cup of Nations

Egypt v South Africa Highlights - Total AFCON 2019 - R3www.youtube.com

Liverpool star Mohammed Salah and hosts Egypt were eliminated from the tournament with a 1-0 loss to South Africa in the Round of 16. Defending champions Cameroon also exited the tournament, meaning a new champion will be crowned in over a week. The quarterfinals begin on Wednesday.

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Major League Soccer

Houston Dynamo vs. New York Red Bulls | HIGHLIGHTS - July 3, 2019www.youtube.com

The Houston Dynamo snapped a three match road losing streak with a 4-0 home win over the New York Red Bulls on Tuesday. The road woes returned, however, with a 3-2 loss at expansion team FC Cincinnati.

East top seven: 1. Philadelphia (36), 2. D.C. United (31), 3. Atlanta (30), 4. Montreal (30), 5. NYCFC (29), 6. NY Red Bulls (28), 7. Toronto (23)

West top seven: 1. LAFC (43), 2. LA Galaxy (34), 3. Seattle (32), 4. Minnesota (30), 5. Dallas (29), 6. San Jose (28), 7. Houston (27)

Scoring leader: 19 - Carlos Vela (LAFC)

Assists leader: 12 - Carlos Vela (LAFC)

National Women's Soccer League

Standings: 1. Reign FC (20), 2. North Carolina Courage (19), 3. Portland Thorns (19), 4. Washington Spirit (18), 5. Utah Royals (17), 6. Chicago Red Stars (14), 7. Houston Dash (13), 8. Orlando Pride (8), 9. Sky Blue FC (5)

Scoring leader: 9 - Sam Kerr (Chicago)

Assists leader: 4 - Jaelene Hinkle (NC Courage) / Lynn Williams (NC Courage) / Yuki Nagasato (Chicago)

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Upcoming Matches (All Times CT):

Tuesday, July 9

7:30 p.m. - [Friendly] Club America vs. Pumas UNAM (Univision Deportes)

Wednesday, July 10

11:00 a.m. - [Africa Cup of Nations quarterfinals] Senegal vs. Benin (beIN SPORTS)

2:00 p.m. - [Africa Cup of Nations quarterfinals] Nigeria vs. South Africa (beIN SPORTS)

Thursday, July 11

10:30 a.m. - [Friendly] - West Ham vs. Rheindorf Altach (ESPN3)

11:00 a.m. - [Africa Cup of Nations quarterfinals] Ivory Coast vs. Algeria (beIN SPORTS)

1:30 p.m. - [Friendly] Tranmere Rovers vs. Liverpool FC (B/R Live)

2:00 p.m. - [Africa Cup of Nations quarterfinals] Madagascar vs. Tunisia (beIN SPORTS)

Friday, July 12

10:30 a.m. - [Friendly] - Dortmund vs. Schweinberg (ESPN3)

2:00 p.m. - [Friendly] - Real Betis vs. Sheffield United (ESPN3)

6:00 p.m. - [MLS] D.C. United vs. New England Revolution (ESPN)

8:00 p.m. - [MLS] Houston Dynamo vs. LAFC (UniMás)

10:00 p.m. - [MLS] LA Galaxy vs. San Jose Earthquakes (UniMás)

Saturday, July 13

11:00 a.m. - [Africa Cup of Nations semifinals] Senegal/Benin vs. Madagascar/Tunisia (beIN SPORTS)

2:00 p.m. - [Africa Cup of Nations semifinals] Ivory Coast/Algeria vs. Nigeria/South Africa (beIN SPORTS)

Sunday, July 14

2:55 p.m. - [MLS] Seattle Sounders FC vs. Atlanta United (ESPN)

5:30 p.m. - [MLS] New York Red Bulls vs. NYCFC (FS1)

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Welcome back, Justin! Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images.

Houston Astros ace Justin Verlander will make his season debut Friday night at the Washington Nationals.

Houston manager Joe Espada made the announcement Wednesday.

“Getting him back is huge because it brings a level of confidence to our team, a boost of confidence that we’re going to get someone who’s been an MVP, a Cy Young (winner) on the mound,” Espada said. “It's (good) for the morale and to get stuff started and moving in the right direction.”

The three-time Cy Young Award winner opened the season on the injured list with inflammation in his right shoulder. He made two rehabilitation starts, the first for Triple-A Sugar Land on April 7 before Saturday’s start for Double-A Corpus Christi.

Espada wouldn't say how many pitches the 41-year-old would be limited to but said they'll keep an eye on his workload.

“We've got to be careful how hard we push him early,” Espada said. “I know he’s going to want to go and stay out there and give us an opportunity to win, but we've got to be cautious of how hard we push him early in the season.”

Verlander wasn’t thrilled with the results in his rehabilitation starts, but he said Monday that those games were valuable in getting him prepared to come off the IL.

He allowed seven hits and six runs — five earned — in four innings against Frisco on Saturday. He struck out three, walked one and threw 51 of 77 pitches for strikes.

Verlander allowed six earned runs and struck out six while pitching into the fourth inning for Sugar Land on April 7.

The Astros have gotten off to a tough start with Verlander and fellow starters Framber Valdez and José Urquidy on the injured list. They enter Wednesday's games last in the AL West with a 6-13 record.

Espada hopes Verlander can be the boost the team needs to get on track.

“It’s good to get him back in the rotation,” Espada said. “With what he means to this club just to get him back on track, getting some innings from him (to) build our rotation with the pieces that we need to move forward is exciting.”

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