Happy Wednesday! It feels like championship season in soccer with today's UEFA Super Cup harboring the beginning of the meat of the European Cup competitions and the Women's World Cup final just days away. I'm Pardeep Cattry, here to recap you on the latest as trophies get polished around the soccer world.
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📺 Footy fix
All times U.S./Eastern
Wednesday, Aug. 16
🏆 Super Cup: Man City vs. Sevilla, 3 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+
🇺🇸 USL Championship: San Antonio vs. Rio Grande Valley, 9 p.m. ➡️ ESPN2
Thursday, Aug. 17
🇪🇺 Conference League: Hearts vs. Rosenborg, 2:45 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+
🇦🇷 Primera Division: Belgrano vs. Estudiantes, 6:30 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+
⚽ The Forward Line
England, Spain advance to Women's World Cup final
And then there were two. England and Spain play in the Women's World Cup final for the first time on Sunday after beating Australia and Sweden, respectively.
England played hosts Australia in an end-to-end match that saw both teams have a fair share of the ball and a handful of chances, but the Lionesses proved more clinical and won 3-1. Ella Toone opened the scoring in the 36th minute, but Sam Kerr scored a rocket in her first start of the tournament to level the score in the 63rd minute. England's Lauren Hemp responded just eight minutes later to recapture the lead, and Alessia Russo finished things off in the 86th minute.
Despite all the firepower on the field, the star of England's run to the final is arguably the team's head coach, Sarina Wiegman. She is succeeding so far in her follow-up act to last year's title-winning campaign at the Euros and is doing so despite losing a handful of stars to long-term injuries before the World Cup and dealing with a two match suspension for Lauren James after a red card. The result also continues one of the most impressive coaching streaks in the sport's history. She will compete in her fourth major final in five years, first leading the Netherlands to the Euro 2017 final and 2019 World Cup final and then taking England to last year's Euro final and this year's World Cup final. Wiegman has won all her previous final appearances minus the 2019 World Cup, which the United States took.
Yesterday, Spain clinched their ticket to the final with a 2-1 win over Sweden in which all three goals were scored in the last 10 minutes. A dull first half slowly gave way for a more entertaining second half as both teams searched for a goal. Spain's teen sensation Salma Paralluelo scored in the 81st minute only for Rebecka Blomqvist to notch the equalizer seven minutes later. Olga Carmona, though, scored a game-winner in the 89th minute to seal the deal.
While England and Spain prepare for the final, Australia will close out their historic run by meeting Sweden in the third-place match in Brisbane on Saturday.
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🔗 Midfield Link Play
How will Manchester City cope without De Bruyne?
Manchester City will have to plan for life without midfielder Kevin De Bruyne, who will miss several months of action after picking up a hamstring injury in the team's 3-0 win over Burnley on Friday. Pep Guardiola has already provided clues on how his side will cope after switching on Mateo Kovacic for De Bruyne against Burnley but will have another chance to showcase his options with today's UEFA Super Cup encounter against Sevilla.
Chuck Booth argues that new signing Kovacic is not City's only option, though. The likes of Julian Alvarez and Phil Foden could help the reigning English and European champions cope without him, and so could Erling Haaland:
- Booth: "When Haaland touches the ball it's always dangerous, but against Burnley he scored two goals and took four shots from only 23 touches which is out of this world. … Being able to hurt teams like that, Haaland will give City a large margin for error especially since there is plenty of service to him even without De Bruyne in the attack."
As for de Bruyne, he is set for another spell on the sidelines just a few short weeks after recovering from a hamstring injury he sustained during the Champions League final. The back-to-back injuries spark feer that the 32-year-old may not be able to get back to top form, but James Benge believes there's no need to call time on his career just yet if he can regain full fitness:
- Benge: "According to some creative metrics, De Bruyne was more devastating last term than he was when many would argue he hit his overall peak, the 2019-20 campaign when he became the first Manchester City player to be named PFA Player of the Year. In that season he averaged 1.06 big chances created per 90 minutes (a brain-defying output that was superior to both Norwich and Crystal Palace in their entirety). In 2022-23 he hit 1.15."
Now for some more midweek headlines.
🔗 Here's my tribute to Sweden, whose golden generation deserves praise despite falling short of World Cup glory.
🔗 Benge reports that AS Monaco will submit a second bid to sign USMNT man Folarin Balogun from Arsenal.
🔗 Booth recaps Inter Miami's win over the Philadelphia Union, which means Lionel Messi and company are now off to the Leagues Cup final.
🔗 Francesco Porzio provides a preview of Inter ahead of the Serie A season.
🔗 Benge writes about Chelsea's transfer strategy and how it raises more questions than answers.
🔗 Benge wonders what's next in a wild transfer window that already saw Neymar and Harry Kane make major moves.
🔗 Morning Footy previews today's UEFA Super Cup.
🔗 The Morning Footy team recaps Miami's Leagues Cup win over the Union.
🔗 Morning Footy talks USWNT prospect Mia Fishel after her recent move to Chelsea.
🔗 The Morning Footy crew also discusses the Americans to keep an eye on in Serie A this season.
🔗 Box to Box recaps Neymar's tenure at Paris Saint-Germain.
🔗 Sandra Herrera joins Attacking Third in previewing NWSL before the regular season returns this weekend.
🔗 The Portland Thorns' Sam Coffey chats with Attacking Third on returning to top form and her favorite moments form the World Cup.
🔗 On the latest episode of In Soccer We Trust, the crew talks about the Leagues Cup and checks in on the U.S. men's national team players who transferred clubs this summer.
💰 The Back Line
💵 Best bets
- UEFA Super Cup: Man City vs. Sevilla, Wednesday, 3 p.m.
💰 THE PICK: Less than 2.5 goals scored (+105) -- Manchester City are the favorites to take the UEFA Super Cup, but both teams are still shaking off the rust following preseason. Plus, City are still figuring out life without De Bruyne and could rotate ahead of a league match against Newcastle this weekend, so it might be a relatively low-scoring affair. - UEFA Super Cup: Man City vs. Sevilla, Wednesday, 3 p.m.
💰 THE PICK: Jack Grealish to score (+350) -- It comes as no surprise that Erling Haaland is expected to score against Sevilla, but he's not be the only City player who can find the back of the net. Grealish could come in clutch as City aim for silverware early this season, and a goal would serve as a nice follow-up act to his strong showing in the Champions League final.
