The USMNT kick off their first game since the 2022 World Cup as they face Serbia in California in the first friendly of their January camp.
With recent USMNT head coach Gregg Berhalter currently under investigation by the U.S. Soccer Federation after he admitted kicking his now wife in 1991 when they were in college together, assistant coach Anthony Hudson will lead the USMNT.
[ MORE: Grades for USMNT players at 2022 World Cup ]
Hudson has been leading practice during the January camp and will take charge of the two friendlies against Serbia and Colombia after calling up a squad of 24.
Five players who went to the 2022 World Cup with the USMNT are on this roster (Aaron Long, Walker Zimmerman, Kellyn Acosta, Sean Johnson and Jesus Ferreira) and this camp and games are valuable for MLS-based players to get their fitness up to speed and also prove their worth. All eyes are on FC Cincinnati striker Brandon Vazquez as he could be the No. 9 the U.S. men’s national team badly needs.
With USMNT players based in Europe and elsewhere around the world not able to join this camp unless their team agrees to release them for a non-FIFA window (thus meaning Serbia’s squad will be a lot weaker too), there will also be plenty of chances for youngsters such as Paxten Aaronson, Jonathan Gomez and Paxton Pomykal to impress.
Serbia disappointed once again the World Cup as they’ve crashed out in the Group Stage in 2010, 2018 and now 2022. Their full strength squad has plenty of stars with Dusan Tadic, Aleksandar Mitrovic and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic all phenomenal players but defensively they were all over the place in Qatar. This Serbia roster is made up of mostly domestic players, with three MLS-based players included and the most noticeable name is LA Galaxy forward Dejan Joveljic.
Here’s everything you need for the USMNT vs Serbia.
Kick off: 10pm ET, Wednesday (January 25)
Stadium: BMO Stadium, Los Angeles, Calif.
TV channels in English: HBO Max
TV channels en Español: Universo
Streaming en Español: Peacock
Current FIFA world ranking: 13
World Cup titles: 0
World Cup appearances: 11
Coach: Anthony Hudson (temporary)
Current FIFA world ranking: 29
World Cup titles: 0
World Cup appearances: 3 (as Serbia)
Coach: Dragan Stojkovic
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Frank Lampard has been fired by Everton after a disastrous run of form amid serious fan unrest against the ownership and board of directors.
[ MORE: How to watch Premier League in USA ]
The club confirmed the ouster of Lampard on Monday afternoon following morning reports that Everton had cut ties with the coach. Lampard had been in charge at Everton for less than a year.
Everton currently sits 19th in the Premier League with just 15 points from their first 20 games of the season. They have picked up just one point from their last seven games and the 2-0 defeat at West Ham on Saturday was seemingly the final nail in Lampard’s coffin.
Everton Football Club can confirm that Frank Lampard has left his post as Senior Men’s First Team Manager today.
Joe Edwards, Paul Clement, Ashley Cole and Chris Jones have also left the Club.
Alan Kelly will remain as goalkeeping coach.
Everyone at Everton would like to thank Frank and his coaching staff for their service during what has been a challenging 12 months.
Frank and his team’s commitment and dedication have been exemplary throughout their time at the Club, but recent results and the current league position meant this difficult decision had to be taken. We wish Frank and all his backroom team well for their future in the game.
The Club has started the process to secure a new manager and will provide updates on the appointment in due course.
Paul Tait and Leighton Baines will take training until a new manager is appointed.
Of course, Lampard is to blame for the play on the pitch and the fact Everton are in yet another relegation scrap.
He kept them up in dramatic fashion last season but the Everton board failed to back him in the summer window and the same issues remain both on and off the pitch.
In recent weeks Everton’s fans have stepped up their protests against majority owner Farhad Moshiri, long-time chairman Bill Kenwright and the entire board.
Lampard was well liked by most Evertonians and was seen as just being part of the problem instead of the main problem.
Whoever comes in next has to somehow get Everton back to scoring goals regularly and keep the reasonably solid defensive unit intact, while also uniting the fanbase as they have yet another relegation scrap coming up.
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Kevin De Bruyne’s gaudy assist numbers give rise to any number of considerations, and we have to wonder if the Manchester City star has ever wondered if the Premier League record would be his in a world in which Jose Mourinho found better use for him at Chelsea.
De Bruyne’s 11 assists this Premier League season are four more than his nearest competitors — Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka and Man Utd’s Christian Eriksen — and give him 97 for his career. That’s fifth all-time, two more than Dennis Bergkamp and 65 (?!) behind record holder Ryan Giggs.
[ MORE: Premier League Golden Boot race ]
The Belgian star, 31, arrived at Chelsea from Werder Bremen at the age of 22 and managed only 425 in a half-season before being offloaded to Wolfsburg. Back in the Bundesliga, De Bruyne got six assists the rest of the way before setting up 21 goals the next season to set up a move to Man City.
He’s since won the nascent Premier League Playmaker of the Season Award twice, including a 20-assist 2019-20 season, and he’s on pace to make it three of six. Harry Kane, Mohamed Salah, and Eden Hazard have also won the award, which is only five years old.
De Bruyne also led the Premier League in assists in 2016-17, the year before the league but a name on the honor.
His stats hint that there’s more to come, as ‘KDB’ is creating a gaudy 3.61 chances per 90 minutes. After a season in which he scored 15 times with eight assists, De Bruyne is back taunting those who’d dare chase him in terms of setting up goals (Some guy named Erling Haaland is helping…).
Take a look at De Bruyne’s shining stats, and read on to see who’s chasing him in a list of the Premier League assist leaders for the 2022-23 season.
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Giovanni Reyna’s let his boots do the talking upon his Bundesliga return.
The Borussia Dortmund and USMNT star, 20, scored the match-winner in a 4-3 defeat of Augsburg on Sunday that keeps BVB very much in the title discussion.
[ MORE: USMNT releases roster for January friendlies ]
But perhaps more importantly, the American showed his massive talent yet again following a month in which his family traded snipes with his national team coach in an embarrassing fashion following a tough World Cup in Qatar.
Reyna’s been defended by his club and responded with his third goal of the Bundesliga season, all of which have come in his last six matches following a stop-start beginning to the season due to injury.
The American takes down a loose ball and unloads with the outside of his right boot, smashing home the seventh and final goal of a win that boosts Dortmund into sixth place, two points back of second and seven off leaders Bayern Munich.
This moment, like Reyna’s first friendly for Dortmund after the World Cup, righteously brings the football to the fore, and it surely reminds all of the massive talent within the boots of Giovanni Reyna.
And… is that Memphis Depay’s celebration? The Dutch player famously mentioned as not in the USMNT’s repertoire according to Gregg Berhalter?
[ WATCH: USMNT vs Serbia, Colombia live in Spanish on Telemundo, Peacock Premium ]
Reyna will not be in the fold, nor will most European-based players, when the United States men’s national team meets up with Serbia and Colombia in California later this month. But plenty of intriguing names will be there, including Chelsea goalkeeper Gaga Slonina, Middlesbrough striker Matthew Hoppe, New York Red Bulls left back John Tolkin, and FC Cincinnati’s Brandon Vazquez.
GIOVANNI REYNA. QUE GOLAZO. 🚀🇺🇸
📽️ @ESPNFC pic.twitter.com/kJsCajN5tz
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) January 22, 2023
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For those tempted to write off Erling Haaland’s historically-hot start to life as a Premier League striker, it’s safe to say your temptation is now officially unhealthy.
[ MORE: How to watch Premier League in USA ]
There is something somewhat dull about knowing the identity of the 2022 Golden Boot winner, the lone curiosity being the final number of his final tally, we get it, but most of what Haaland is doing this season is simply marvelous and to be admired without much fear.
Haaland’s Premier League-leading 25 goals have him nine goals clear of the next closest challenger: Tottenham’s Harry Kane.
The Norwegian star piled up 20 goals in a single Premier League season faster than any player in history… by seven games (Kevin Phillips of Sunderland did it in 21). Now he’s within five goals of equalling Kevin Phillips’ record for most goals in a debut Premier League season.
And the later this season goes with him projected so far over the current record, the less chucking is accompanied by marking out the pace (especially considering Haaland was not beaten up by the World Cup, as Norway was not in the tournament). And even though Haaland is currently overperforming his expected goals total, it’s clear that projecting him for the Premier League record is rather realistic.
Haaland may not be likely to hit 50 goals given the schedule congestion to come for Man City, but the Premier League record is very well under assault and that figure isn’t entirely absurd. He’s played in 19 of Man City’s 20 games, scoring 25 goals.
Multiply that ratio by 38 games and he’ll bag 47.5. Multiply his personal return by 37 games and he’s in for 48.6.
Mohamed Salah holds the 38-game season record with his 32 goals scored for Liverpool during the 2017-18 season, while Newcastle’s Andy Cole and Blackburn’s Alan Shearer bagged 34 during 42-game seasons in the 20th century’s final decade.
Haaland also could topple the record for goal involvements (goals plus assists) in a single season, including beating the 42-game record. Alan Shearer put up 47 over 42, while Thierry Henry holds the 38-game record with 44.
Other records that Haaland could legitimately tie or topple:
Read on to see the latest Premier League goal totals for the 2022-23 season, as Haaland looks to claim a Golden Boot in his first PL season.
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