The tell is right at the start, when TAA checks the position of the ball, making sure it’s not over the line.

I’m convinced that was a planned, trick play. Origi picked a spot where there was a clear passing lane from the corner, and the big guys who usually come up for set plays were taking their time. 

But the ref didn’t stop the play. As long as the ball’s not on the field at the time of the restart, the ref doesn’t have to get involved. You notice that TAA takes the kick almost right after the ball rolls over the line.

Thank you for your service. 

SCORCHING HOT TAKE: Lionel Messi is the worst captain in all sports.

EXCUSE ME YOU NEED TO ADD THE SQUIGGLY THING ON THE C OTHERWISE YOU’D BE SAYING “BARKA” AND ALSO ACTUALLY IT’S PRONOUNCED “BARRRRRRTHA”

I’m preemptively burning my replica jerseys because randos on Kinja might judge me harshly.

Unpopular opinion: people should support whatever team they want to support, because sports fandom is supposed to be fun. And it’s okay to support a team because a famous player plays for that team.

Fair. Spurs haven’t had a living, breathing midfielder for a while now and the Thursday-Sunday cycle for Europa League participants is extremely tough.

The Premier League form table since late April is hilarious. Fulham and Bournemouth results put them in Champions League places while Spurs, United and Arsenal are just above the drop.

I imagine Jokic is what Arvydas Sabonis must’ve been like before he joined the NBA, but after his injuries started slowing him down.

I’m still not sure if Chelsea is a good team that’s underperformed or an Everton/Arsenal level team that’s ridden Hazard’s coattail.

I’ll never not do a double take when I see “HNiC” mentioned in the context of ice hockey because I immediately think about this:

Looking at her bio, I think Dunn came up through the youth system as a FW/MF, converted to DF for the youth national team, became a FW/MF in college, converted to FW when she turned pro, became more of a winger, and now she’s back to playing fullback.

As a general point, it’s crazy that the US women have been playing internationally for like 30 years and the national team program still hasn’t found a way to develop natural, world class defenders or holding mids (and Sauerbrunn is the exception that proves the rule). Fullbacks are converted forwards and CBs are…

Having watched way too many Instagram stories from the USWNT account, yeah, that’s probably it. And there’s probably some value to having a squad player whom other players seem to like.

I feel like Long is just as big surprise, because Zerboni was pretty much nailed on as a rotation player.

I get your point—for all their dominance against weaker teams, the US struggles to control possession against better teams, and I remember what she brought when she played as a 6 in the knockout stages.

Is Morgan really an upgrade over anyone? Though I guess we can’t really know because we haven’t seen her get extended run with USWNT in what feels like years. And they’re already carrying an injury-prone mid (and one who’s arguably better than Brian) in Lavelle.