Liberato Cacace – Empoli FC (Italian Serie A)

The headlines from Empoli’s match against AC Milan would have been very different if Liberato Cacace had seen red for his early stop on Kyle Walker’s shins. A loose touch from the on-loan England/Manchester City right-back, in only his third appearance for his temporary club, put the ball up for grabs and Cacace went after it... but got there a smidge too late, bringing his sprigs down upon Walker’s leg. Whoops. Unintentional though it was, the replays were pretty ugly to witness and Walker was left understandable pain. You know what though? The VAR took a good long look and declined to summon the referee over. A free kick had been given in real-time and the video refs figured no further punishment was required. He didn’t even get a yellow card.

Welcome to Serie A, brother Kyle.

As you may expect, the Milan fans got pretty mad about this – as a quick search for Liberato Cacace’s name on social media will attest. For what it’s worth, the referee analysts later checked the incident and agreed with the procedure - the argument being that Walker’s leg was sliding rather than planted and that, while it looks bad in slow motion, there wasn’t actually that much intensity to the challenge. Albeit, they did say it should have been a yellow card (which is something the VAR doesn't rule on, they only do reds). Anyway, it’s not like Empoli got given a clean run here because the VAR would come back to bite them later on.

Cacace escaped a red card. He also escaped a penalty shout when Joao Felix (on loan from Chelsea) tried to skip between him and Giuseppe Pezzella and was promptly booked for diving. Empoli then lost centre-back Mattia Viti to injury soon after, adding to their very long list of casualties which is all they need amidst a terrible run of results. Fair play though, they made it tough for Milan with some good solid absorbent defence. Even had a chance to take the lead on 33’ when Lorenzo Colombo wrapped his boot around a strike that pinged off the crossbar.

All things considered, Empoli had to be chuffed to keep things at 0-0 heading into the break – causing Milan to freak out with a half-time triple substitution that introduced Rafael Leao, Christian Pulisic, and Santiago Gimenez. Ten minutes later, Empoli may have begun to think about a possible victory after Fikayo Tomori bounced into a challenge that earned a second yellow and reduced AC Milan to ten men. Problem was, the advantage only lasted ten minutes before VAR intervened to send off Luca Marianucci for a retaliatory kick. He lashed out after a tangle with Gimenez, who’d given him a shove in the throat and then a push as he tried to get back up. Gimenez was booked for his parts as instigator, Marianucci was sent off for his part as overreactor. Ten men apiece.

Two minutes later, Pulisic evaded the attentions of Libby Cacace to chip a ball to the far post where Leao nodded it home for 1-0. Then Gimenez made it 2-0 on 76’ with a great finish on the counter-attack. Gotta say that half-time triple sub worked out beautifully for Milan. As for Empoli, it was another tough defeat. Defended well but didn’t have much luck. No shots on target up the other end. Their winless streak is up to nine games, their buffer ahead of the relegation zone is down to one measly point.

At least Cacace doesn’t have to serve a suspension. Nor has anything come of those Besiktas rumours. This was another ninety minute effort from him playing mostly as the left-winger (although he dropped deeper after the red card). He’s started eight of the last ten Serie A matches playing wherever they need him to play. Easy to forget he began the season on the bench and didn’t make a starting eleven in Serie A until the tenth attempt.

Up Next: Udinese vs Empoli on Monday at 3am (NZT)

Jay Herdman - Cavalry FC (Canadian Premier League)

Jay Herdman: “We believe in ourselves a lot more. Tommy [Wheeldon, the manager] wants to get after this game; we’re not just coming so we can say we’ve been in another Concacaf Champions Cup game. We want to go and we want to win it all. Going in with that mindset, I think we’re going to do quite well. We’re going to get after this one. Since I’ve been here, all the talk’s been about trying to win the whole thing. We’re not going into this game with a mindset just to have the cool experience of playing in Concacaf. We want to get after this game and we want to win.”

There’s something about Cavalry and their kiwis when it comes to the Concacaf Champions Cup. This is the top club competition in North/Central America, the Champions League of its region, and one year ago Cavalry qualified for the first time. They were smoked 6-1 on aggregate by MLS side Orlando Pride in the first round but you know who it was that scored their milestone first goal in the competition? Myer Bevan. In what turned out to be his last appearance for the club but that’s another story.

They went on to sign Jay Herdman on loan and win the 2024 CPL, getting them back to the CCC once more. Herdman recently signed a permanent deal to remain with Cavalry for 2025 that was no doubt motivated by the prospect of Champions Cup footy. Last Thursday that prospect became a reality as Cavalry sprung a spectacular upset on Liga MX side Pumas, beating them 2-1. It wasn’t Jay Herdman who scored the winning goal... but he did set it up. Clever header back into the danger zone where German forward Tobias Warschewski converted after a delicious first touch.

This was the home leg of the time – albeit a home leg played more than 700 kilometres away from their actual home with freezing conditions in Calgary requiring them to move the fixture to British Colombia. No doubt the chill played a big role in Pumas being so disappointing but it didn’t stop a remarkably cohesive team effort from Cavalry, that’s for sure. As for Herdman, the assist was the main course but he was bright throughout the whole match. Whipped in some dangerous set pieces. Dropped into those pockets from his left-wing position. Linked up and stayed involved. Really encouraging from him in a game where Cavalry needed to capitalise on limited opportunities... and did.

Chances are they get pumped in Mexico in the return leg. If so, they’ve already made history. If not, then they could make even more as a positive result will send them through to face Alajuelense (Costa Rica) in the round of sixteen.

Up Next: Pumas UNAM vs Cavalry at 2pm on Friday in the second leg of their CCC first-rounder (NZT)

Abby Erceg - Deportivo Toluca (Mexican Liga MX)

Within a couple of days of being announced as a new Toluca player, Abby Erceg was already lining up for a debut. No time to waste – they were already six games into the Clausura section of the season when she signed. She went straight into the fire for a starting debut at home against Atlas... where they lost 2-0. Definitely not what was envisaged after the team added Erceg to a roster that already had gargantuan international experience in the forms of Shanice van der Sanden and Amandine Henry.

Erceg had a great chance for a goal herself when she fired over the top from wide open a metre or so inside the area. That was midway through a first half that was dominated by Toluca for the initial thirty minutes before Atlas got a few things going and quickly scored. From that point onwards it was all Atlas. The second goal arrived in the 81st minute. 2-0 final score. Disappointing outcome for Erceg’s debut... though the team was already disappointing before she arrived so nothing had changed. This was only the latest setback for a team with just one win from seven. The latest and the last as far as coach Ricardo Belli was concerned because they sacked him the following day. One game in and Erceg’s already onto a second gaffer.

That managerial switch seems to have done the trick because Toluca did manage to win their next fixture. It was a 2-1 win against Santos Laguna. Both teams entered on extended losing streaks and Toluca looked great in the first half, scoring on 28’ through an excellent header from Mariel Roman and then going close on multiple other occasions (including a shot cleared off the line right before HT). But the second half wasn’t so comfortable. They gave away a dumb penalty which keeper Kayla Thompson bailed them out of with a spectacular save, however an own goal soon tied things up anyway. Frisky stuff for a team desperately in need of a win. Luckily, Mariel Roman wasn’t done. She smacked one home at the back post on 80’ and Erceg’s defence saw it through from there. Erceg’s instantly looked at home with her new team... although given where she’s come from that’s to be expected.

Up Next: Away to Guadalajara at 4pm on Friday (NZT)

Indiah-Paige Riley - Crystal Palace (English Super League)

Indi Riley hadn’t played since mid-December, back before the WSL’s holiday break, missing four games before she blessedly returned to the starting eleven for this week’s FA Cup tie against Newcastle United. IPR had been a regular for Palace up until that point. Usually as a right winger or right wing-back (the latter was where she played against Newcastle), so it had to have been an injury keeping her out of the side for that long... a theory that’s boosted by the fact she only played the first half of this cup game. Building up her minutes again. But that’s all good, happy to have her back. Especially with a Football Ferns tour on the horizon.

Palace had never made the quarter-finals of the FA Cup before. That’s written in past-tense because now they have, following a 2-0 win against Championship side Newcastle. The goals were both scored in the second half after Riley had finished with her contributions - actually it wasn’t until the last ten minutes that they finally busted through. Newcastle’s keeper was awesome. Mille Gejl hit the crossbar. Finally, Ashleigh Weerden (81’) and Abbie Larkin (90+4’) were able to do what needed doing to put CPFC into the last eight.

That was one of four FA Cup fixtures that had NZ involvements. Sunderland had the kindest draw of anyone with the last-placed team from their own second division, Portsmouth, served up as opponents. Pompey have been better lately but they still couldn’t match Katie Kitching and company. It took an outrageously good one-handed save to keep Kitch from opening the scoring with a wonderful solo goal but Portsmouth never cleared the ball and Jenna Dear smashed it home. 35 minutes gone. Ten minutes later Emily Scarr doubled the lead and they had little to worry about from that point onwards. 2-0 final score.

Leicester City will not be joining Crystal Palace and Sunderland in the next round. They got stuck playing away to Manchester City, a game that you can forgive them for not 100% prioritising given their current relegation battle woes in the WSL. So it was that CJ Bott was left on the bench. And since they were 2-0 down after 30 mins and 3-0 down after 60 mins they never bothered putting on. Nelly Las did pull a goal back late, meaning LCFC only lost 3-1. That’s a cup exit for the Foxes.

Same deal for London City Lionesses who have high (and financially-backed) aims to get into the Women’s Super League and they got a taste of what that’d look like with a match against Arsenal. This game delivered a rare start for Grace Neville... against the team where she began her career as a youth player, no less. Beautiful synchronicity. She lasted 54 minutes before being subbed off with the Gunners up 1-0. It finished 2-0 to Arsenal so a pretty decent effort from LCL. Neville whipped in a couple mint crosses, putting in the work as someone who’s had to prioritise these cup games for her minutes. She hasn’t started a league game since October but the cups have been good to her. Granted, they’re out of them both now so good thing there’s a Footy Ferns tour coming up to keep her active.

Up Next: Manchester United vs Crystal Palace on Monday at 1am in the WSL (NZT)

Tyler Bindon - Reading (English League One)

This game was just like all the others for Tyler Bindon and yet completely different. He lined up as the left-sided centre back for Reading Football Club as he does every week. But this time he did so on loan from Premier League club Nottingham Forest following his big transfer a few days earlier. He was in and out at Nottm Forest headquarters. Medical done. Contract signed. Promo photos taken. Then back to Reading... where he carried on like nothing had happened with another classy display in a 0-0 draw against Huddersfield Town.

That’s consecutive cleanies for Reading. Probably need to start winning more consistently if they’re going to rise up into the playoffs but on this occasion they’ll take a point from an away fixture against a team ranked above them. First half they were on the back foot. Second half they found a bit more balance but couldn’t convert anything. The draw was a fair result, leaving Reading two points adrift of the top six.

Beyond that, there was a 1-0 win for Northampton Town over Mansfield Town. Nik Tzanev’s good form continues unabated for the Cobblers... but Ben Waine was an unused sub for Mansfield Town. The deadline has passed and Waine will therefore see out the season with Mansfield but it’s not much fun at the moment, having only played more than ten minutes in a league game twice since the end of October. Meanwhile his parent club, Plymouth Argyle, just stunningly knocked Liverpool out of the FA Cup.

As for Max Crocombe, his long ball forward instigated the move that led to Burton Albion’s goal against Blackpool... but he was beaten by a very good header in the fourth minute of second half stoppage time to have to settle for a 1-1 draw. It does creep them one point closer to exiting the L1 relegation zone but it’ll sting not being able get the win that they were mere seconds away from achieving.

Up Next: Reading vs Shrewsbury on Weds at 9am; Reading vs Rotherham on Sun at 4am (NZT)

Oscar Faulds - Union Titus Pétange (Luxembourg National Division)

It took one game for Oscar Faulds to find the net in Luxembourg. He’d already rustled it a couple of times during friendlies and you should by now be aware of his exploits for Napier City Rovers throughout 2024. This is what he does. In the first game back post-winter break, Union Titus were away against Mondercange with Faulds named on the bench. Valentin Fuss scored just before half-time to give UTP the lead. Faulds was subbed on with an hour played... and with 85 mins on the clock he scored the goal that sealed a 2-0 victory. Exactly what he was signed to do and exactly what his club needed after ending 2024 on an eight-game winless streak in league competition. First win for new coach Akil Momade too.

Mondercange are last in the division so this was a game that UTP will have been hoping to capitalise on, particularly since their stated aim over the second half of the campaign is to ensure they don’t slip any closer towards having to go through relegation playoffs. This’ll help that plenty. They were in a bit of danger up until Faulds’ goal, with Mondercange pushing desperately for an equaliser, but then a mix-up between defender and goalkeeper allowed Faulds to pounce and convert into an open net. Sadly there’s no video, they don’t seem to even broadcast the games in Luxembourg unless the clubs take it upon themselves. You’ll just have to imagine what it looked like. Maybe something like this.

Up Next: Union Titus vs Jeunesse Esch at 3am on Monday (NZT)

Oliver Colloty - Peterhead FC (Scottish League Two)

Fresh from extending his contract through until the end of next season, Oli Colloty was given his first start (in his sixth appearance) for Peterhead FC away against Bonnyrigg Rose. A tweak in formation saw them able to fit two strikers into the set-up and that was Colloty’s gain. Turned out to be a pretty shrewd move too because within quarter of an hour of his starting debut he’d scored his first goal for the club. Converting at the back post after a rapid move up the left from his team. Nicely done.

That goal got Peterhead back level after they’d conceded one against the early run of play. Ten minutes later they were winning with Colloty’s strike-partner Kieran Shanks headed in from a corner, making it nine goals in ten games for that guy (hence why it took six games and a formation change for Colloty to get into the starting side). Two minutes later Max Barry slammed one in and Peterhead were up 3-1. Goals on either side of half-time saw that lead capitulate but, fortunately, Cammy Smith was able to win it for Peterhead in the 88th minute.

Colloty played 70 minutes of this thing. Didn’t do heaps outside of the goal but the goals are what matter most for a striker so sweet as. Most importantly, his team won to keep the pressure on leaders East Fife (who also had a victory this week). Peterhead are four points back in second place. Probably destined for the playoffs but if East Fife slip up then that could change.

That’s in Scottish League Two (the fourth tier of footy in the country). A division above that we’ve had Will Gillingham at Cove Rangers and Brynn Sinclair at Arbroath. Gillingham came off the bench in a 3-0 Scottish Cup defeat against Livingston this week – he’d started every game up until Christmas but then got injured and this was his first appearance since. Good to see. Cove Rangers are right up there competing for promotion to the Championship. As for Brynn Sinclair, he began the season with four starts from five but then found himself stuck on the bench without hardly playing and requested a release to return to New Zealand, which was granted.

Then of course in the Championship there’s Ayr United and George Stanger trying to win the thing and boost up to the Premiership. They had a cup game this week, losing 1-0 to Hibernian on account of an 87th minute goal. They gave it a good nudge against a top flight club but didn’t quite have it in them to make the quarters. Ayr did have some chances in that one. Bit more clinical, they might have done it. Meanwhile, Falkirk won their game in hand so Ayr Utd also dipped back to second in the league standings.

Up Next: Peterhead vs Clyde FC at 4am on Sunday (NZT)

Maya Hahn & Suya Haering - Turbine Potsdam (German Bundesliga)

Look, this was never going to be pretty. First-placed Eintracht Frankfurt against last-placed Turbine Potsdam. Basically, Potsdam just needed to get this fixture out of the way with... although even then they can’t have expected it to be quite as awful as it was. At least we got another Maya Hahn and Suya Haering dual start.

The match was split into three sections. To begin with, there was the initial onslaught where Frankfurt scored three times inside the first eleven minutes and then made it 4-0 after 23 minutes. The first goal came after 130 seconds, with Potsdam ripped on the counter attack after a Maya Hahn attacking corner. Suya Haering was the last defender and couldn’t quite keep up. To make matters worse, Potsdam suffered an injury during all that and had to go to the bench in just the fifth minute. Haering might have had a chance to cut out the cross that led to the third goal... but there was nothing her team could do to halt the onslaught.

Thankfully, it halted itself. Frankfurt chilled off after the fourth and we thus entered the second section of the match, with no further goals added between minutes 24-71. A couple good saves gave Potsdam some confidence and they were able to build on that, including a wonderful goal-line clearance from Suya Haering...

Problem was, with twenty minutes remaining, Potsdam defender Flavia Lüscher got sent off for a foul that denied a goal-scoring opportunity and with that we entered Section Three. Suddenly the floodgates opened again. Having to defend with ten women, they conceded directly from the free kick of the Lüscher foul (the ball only just crossing the line as it dropped off the crossbar) and then kept on conceding the rest of the way. It ended up as a 9-0 defeat. Potsdam’s problem has been a near complete lack of goals, defensively they’ve actually been okay for a side that’s taken one point from 14 games. But they lost 6-0 at home to Frankfurt and now 9-0 away to Frankfurt so they can be grateful they don’t have to see those jokers again.

Funny thing is, Potsdam could yet avoid relegation. They’ve got eight games to go and three of them are against the teams directly above them (albeit all three of those games are away). They drew with Carl Zeiss Jena once already. If they can beat them in the return fixture then that might be all it takes. The rest of the games almost don’t really matter outside of preparing them for those three season-defining matches.

Up Next: RB Leipzig vs Potsdam at 6.30am on Saturday (NZT)

Vic Esson - Rangers FC (Scottish Premier League)

Back between the sticks for the fifth time in six matches, Vic Esson kept another clean sheet. That makes it eight out of ten in the Scottish Women’s Premier League this season for VE... and like many of those previous clean sheets it came in a game that didn’t require very much from her. Rangers won 10-0 against Aberdeen. They were 3-0 up after 24 minutes, 4-0 up at half-time, 7-0 up after 63 minutes, and then a trio of goals in the last ten minutes polished things off. Aberdeen weren’t credited with a single shot attempt, hence Esson didn’t have to make a single save. This is the fourth time this season that Esson’s been part of a SWPL win of at least nine goals to nil... but despite their +88 goal difference from 20 games they’ve dropped points against the teams around them and as a consequence they’re only sitting third (two points behind Glasgow City and Celtic).

Up Next: Partick Thistle vs Rangers at 5.10am on Monday (NZT)

Katie Bowen - Inter Milan (Italian Serie A)

The secret to Inter Milan’s outstanding campaign has been their defence. Anchored, among others, by Katie Bowen... Internazionale had only conceded multiple goals in 2 of 17 league games heading into their trip to Lazio. Only ten goals conceded in total. This week they inexplicably conceded four in one match in a completely uncharacteristic off-day... but they still didn’t lose.

Where this gets frisky is that they were 2-0 up against Lazio after eight minutes courtesy of a pair of extremely well-worked goals. Martina Tomaselli (2’) and Henrietta Czisar (8’) did the damage. From there, Inter were able to cruise with that lead for quite a while but a three-minute lapse after the hour saw Lazio haul things back to 2-2 in a flash. Martina Piemonte scored both of them, the second being a remarkable lefty volley. Inter didn’t panic, in fact they scored two quick goals of their own through Lina Magull (66’) and Beatrice Merlo (69’) to restore their advantage. They even had a chance to make it a three-goal lead when the ball fell to Haley Bugeja about 25 metres out with the keeper not in position... only she couldn’t get her shot on target into the empty net.

Then Piemonte scored again for her hat-trick. 84 minutes gone and Lazio were back within range. Momentum was against Inter, they just had to sit back and withstand. They got most of the way... until Piemonte scored a fourth in the third minute of stoppage time, firing through the defence on the spin, and from 2-0 and 4-2 up, Internazionale had to console themselves with a 4-4 draw. Fortunately, Roma and Fiorentina drew 0-0 so the two teams directly below them didn’t gain any ground. Juventus were the big beneficiaries because with their own victory combined with all these draws for the teams immediately below them they now push seven points clear as we end the main phase of the season. From here it’s top half and bottom half, home and away for ten more fixtures. The title race might be a stretch for Inter from here but they’ve got every hope of maintaining second place.

As for Kiara Bercelli... she was an unused sub in Sampdoria’s 2-0 loss against Sassuolo. Not only does that allow Sassuolo to move 11 points ahead of them, but Napoli shocked a 4-2 win against Como so Sampdoria have dropped back into last place. Only one team gets relegated and Sampdoria will get to play both those teams, as well as Como and Lazio, twice more each before this journey is over.

Up Next: TBD with the Championship Rounds imminent

Ryan Thomas – PEC Zwolle (Dutch Eredivisie)

Yeah they lost... but PEC Zwolle did give Ryan Thomas a 24-minute cameo off the bench against AZ Alkmaar so that was something. Zwolle were already 2-0 down at the time and had VAR to thank for an AZ being overturned to dodge it becoming three goals. On came Thommo for his second-longest appearance of the season. Seemed to come through it alright, that’s what we like to see.

In other news, all of the European transfer windows have now closed except for Turkey (which closes Wednesday morning NZT) and Matt Garbett remains an NAC Breda player. Dunno what’s going on there but considering he was told to leave this is not a good scenario. Maybe he can work his way back into the picture, never say never, but he hasn’t played a game since mid-December and that’s probably not going to change in the short term. The alternative is that he could find a loan outside of Europe, say to America or Asia or possibly even Australia, to keep him active until he becomes a free agent in July... assuming he does, because NAC Breda might still feel there’s a transfer fee on offer and choose to take up his one-year option after all. It’s all a bit concerning.

Then again, NAC Breda might need him after all because they got smoked 5-0 by a resurgent RKC Waalwijk this weekend, with former Wellington Phoenix striker Oskar Zawada getting a brace. RKC were in the pits not so long ago but they’ve won three on the trot and are now within sight of climbing out of the drop zone. Zawada has nine goals in his past ten matches. According to Polish media, there’s going to be a Poland vs All Whites game later this year... perhaps Zawada can get himself recalled to the national team for that.

Up Next: Monday at 2.30am, PEC Zwolle vs Heerenveen (NZT)

Macey Fraser - Utah Royals (American National Women’s Soccer League)

Some praise from her coach, some perspective from herself. This after Macey Fraser scored in a preseason fixture for Utah Royals against the University of Utah. Fraser played off the bench and it sounds like she had a strong impact outside the goal. Can’t read too much into a practice game where a bunch of trialists were involved, though remember these were Fraser’s first minutes since getting injured at the Olympics around seven months ago.

Doesn’t look like she was involved in their next game a few days later but info is scarce so it’s hard to say for sure. She started this morning in a game against San Diego Wave – their first meeting with a rival NWSL side. The consensus seems to be that this was something close to their strongest eleven so that is extremely encouraging for Macey Fraser’s situation. They’ve got a different coach to the one that signed her (albeit Jimmy Conraets was assistant to Amy Rodriguez so there was no need for introductions) and she missed so much of last season, only making four appearances in total, but all signs point towards her being a valued squad member in 2025.

Fraser’s could be the only NZer to play NWSL this year... unless Ali Riley makes a comeback with Angel City. She’s got another year under contract so that’s still a possibility, all a matter of how her injury responds. But Abby Erceg has left Racing Louisville for the Mexican metropolis and Milly Clegg’s going to spend 2025 on loan in Canada. The two RL kiwis splitting for opposite borders.

The MLS is a bit more forthcoming. Michael Boxall will continue as a key player for Minnesota United, where he needs eight more games to surpass Simon Elliott’s NZ record for MLS appearances (playoff inclusive). Boxy is at 240 as things stand. He signed a contract extension last year keeping him around for 2025 with an option for 2026.

Also, while Finn Surman only made two appearances for Portland Timbers last year, there’s growing buzz that he’s now ready to challenge for starting responsibilities. They were careful with him last year but the vibes have always been positive. He’s currently dealing with an injury that’s slowing down his preseason so hopefully that doesn’t hamper anything. Here’s a yarn from MLS.com about his prospects...

“The folks in Portland love Surman, a full New Zealand international who’ll be on the field in next summer’s World Cup. He arrived in the middle of last year and was slowly integrated into the team. He didn’t make an appearance until Decision Day, when he started and went 90 minutes in the Timbers’ 1-1 draw vs. the Sounders. Then he grabbed some bench in the Wild Card game against Vancouver and had a front-row seat for his side’s 5-0 humiliation. Beware of correlation vs. causation and all of that, but, y’know. 5-0. I’m not sure he’s in line to start from first kick this year, but it’s hard to imagine bringing back the exact same group that shipped 56 regular-season goals last year, and then lost that nickel at home in the playoffs. Changes will eventually be made.”

“Grabbed some bench” is a bonkers turn of phrase but the hype is real. As for Bill Tuiloma, well, he’s still with Charlotte FC with one more year on his deal. Barely played last season but they do seem to like him as a backup option and he’s remained a fantastic professional despite his lack of games. There’s been no talk of any attempts to trade him and Tui is getting some prominence during preseason friendlies so it looks like the same role will be on offer again in 2025 (there’s a club option for 2026 in his contract too). Maybe this time he can unseat one of the starting centre-backs.

Also, USA/NZ double international Tyler Boyd is still contracted with Nashville SC as he recovers from that torn ACL last year. He won’t be ready for week one but should return at some stage.

Then there’s Ronan Wynne who continues to chip away for Atlanta United in their friendly fixtures as he seeks to earn a first-team contract after being drafted out of university. A lot of that will depend on situations outside his control, it always does, but they seem to be trying him out all across the backline so the signs are good so far.

Up Next: Season begins properly in about a month

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