Juicy FA Cup Quarter-Final Weekend 🏆

Hail GFOP!

I type with fingers braced for FA Cup-fueled joy. It’s quarter-final weekend. AKA Everton are blissfully not playing. GFOP @Sensei Thunderfist asked a poignant question: 

Does Rog just pick two hours on Saturday to be sad to make it feel like Everton is playing? 

A weekend without Everton honestly has me walking on Sunshine. There is a spring in my step. I am unafraid to look other humans in the eye. I find myself randomly moonwalking around the house. Tonight, I am headed to Jersey to celebrate NWSL’s kick-off by reveling in the spectacle of Gotham against San Diego Wave. The chance to support local football is one of the joys of this moment as the profile of the game surges here in the United States. Watching Naomi Girma play live is something I always leap at the opportunity to do. If you are going to Red Bull Arena tonight, come and say hello. I look forward to raising a beer with each and every one of you. 

ii. In terms of NWSL’s return. I need to note just how much of a delight it is to witness North Carolina Courage invite my partner-in-pod Sam Mewis back to Cary, N.C. and honor her career. Sam has had some week – The Women’s Game launched its own dedicated podcast feed. She has launched a new weekly show, Good Vibes FC with the remarkable Lynn Williams and Becky Sauerbrunn, unleashed a NWSL season-preview podcast with me, and capped it off with a really thoughtful interview with Megan Rapinoe. In short, she has taken to podcasting with the focus and ferocity she used to win championship after championship. Yet, the abrupt nature of her retirement – we are used to our women’s footballers playing on and amassing hundreds of caps forever – meant that I honestly think that her career was not truly given the soaring legacy-cementing love and respect it truly deserved. So to see Sam swamped with love in North Carolina — feted in a truly thoughtful week-long way, culminating in being inducted into the club’s Ring of Honor – warms my heart more than I can say. Thank you to all in the Courage organization for doing this so right. Let me shout this from the rooftop: Smewis deserves ALL THE LOVE. 🦅🇺🇸🙌

🚨 EPISODE ONE OF WORLD CORRUPT SEASON TWO DROPS TOMORROW. Our award-winning mashup with Crooked Media and my friend Tommy Vietor deep dives into the sports-meets-geo-politics of why Saudi Arabia is pumping billions of dollars into football, who, exactly, is behind it and their bid for the 2034 and 2035 Women’s World Cup. SUBSCRIBE HERE TO NEVER MISS AN EPISODE. 

👉 COMING UP TODAY AT NOON ON OUR YOUTUBE, AN INTERVIEW WITH MARCUS RASHFORD. SUBSCRIBE HERE TO GET NOTIFIED WHEN IT GOES LIVE. 

2. To the Football: A half-human, half-animal FA Cup/Premier League scramble of a weekend

i. Manchester United vs. Liverpool (Sunday, 11.30 a.m. ET, ESPN+)

Liverpool surge into the game fresh off a 6-1 demolition of Sparta Prague. An 11-2 aggregation obliteration which will make Manchester United pause for thought – especially four-goals blasted in the opening 13 minutes and a one-goal, three assists “Mo Salah is back” performance. Yes, United won last weekend – but they looked blunt in attack, and unable to control the game against a truly self-sabotaging Everton. Liverpool will most certainly not be as charitable as their Merseyside duffer-neighbors who handed Ten Hag a two-penalty lifeline. American United fans, your weekend highlight might be tabloid transfer links to Weston McKennie.😉

More: Why Klopp’s reign hints at bleak future for Ten Hag.

ii. Manchester City vs. Newcastle (Saturday, 1.30 p.m. ET, ESPN+)

City’s inevitable Double-Treble season rumbles on with a Wembley semi final within touching distance. They survived Anfield, despite the loss of Ederson who is out for up to four weeks with a thigh injury. Newcastle limp in, grinding their way through their difficult second album of a season, in 10th place and way off the Champions League pace. Sad to say, the prospect of a Toon victory here feels like it would be more of a shock than non-league Maidstone reaching the fifth round.

More: Chance for City goalkeeper Stefan Ortega to show he is more than just Ederson without the neck tatts. 

b. In the Premier League half-slate

i. Fulham vs. Tottenham (Saturday, 1.30 p.m. ET, USA)

Was last weekend a turning point for Spurs’ season? The joyous destruction of Aston Villa put their Champions League destiny in their own hands. With a game in hand on Villa, and playing a day earlier than their fourth placed prey, they have a chance to overtake them until Sunday and extend the gap between them and the vague pursuit of Manchester United. Comfortably in midtable, Fulham might have won the “first to put their feet up on the season” trophy. Come for the guaranteed goals – Tottenham have scored in all 27 league games under Postecoglou – the longest scoring run to start manager’s top-flight tenure with a club since 1950-51 – stick around for the Darts celes.

More: The big news in the race for 4th place: England now has a massive upper hand over Germany in the race for an extra – and 5th place – Champions League berth. Yay Coefficients.

ii. West Ham United vs. Aston Villa (Sunday, 10 a.m. ET, USA)

The battle to prove who is the one-true-claret and blue. David Moyes is rarely happier than when pissing in other people's punch at a party. After three straight Premier League wins, the chance to poke Unai Emery in the eye with Paqueta’s guile will give him such joy. Villa lack John McGinn after his insane-in-the-membrane red card last week and 26-goal-involvement Ollie Watkins left Thursday’s Ajax-beatdown with a bad cut and is doubtful. Prediction: Bubbles.

iii. Luton Town vs. Nottingham Forest (Saturday, 11 a.m. ET, USA)

Only one of you can go down, lads. Luton’s midweek 4-3 loss to Bournemouth after being 3-0 up at half time was like watching a pulp slasher flick. Forest have lost three in a row and are braced for a Premier League points deduction. With 10 games to go, this one feels like more than a six-pointer. Morituri te salutamus.

More: Full Premier League broadcast slate here.

And: Champions League draw just took place this morning and crap got serious: Arsenal-Bayern Munich sees Harry Kane return to North London, Manchester City-Real Madrid, their fourth blockbuster meeting in five years, PSG-Barcelona, Dortmund-Atletico..

3. NWSL is back in our loving arms 🏆

The NWSL is back, baby! Tonight’s Challenge Cup (8 p.m. ET, Prime Video) between last year’s Shield winner’s San Diego Wave and 23/24 League winner’s Gotham F.C. marks the start of the NWSL’s 12th season. Six games follow on Saturday, with the KC Current v. Portland Thorns kicking off Matchday One’s action (1 p.m. ET, ABC) at the shiny new CPKC Stadium, the first Women’s professional sports stadium IN THE WORLD. 

Forteen teams, 26 games each, with an Olympics slap-bang mid-season. Will Gotham’s “Super Team” go back to back? How will newcomers Bay FC and Utah Royals fare? Will Racing Louisville usher in a glorious era of Purple Argyle kits? One can hope. Get hyped with this pump up video.

More: Have you listened to Sam and Rog’s preview pod? We break down the teams, the new faces and predict who will win it all.

4. Go! Go! USA! USMNT poised to Avengers Assemble 🇺🇸🏆

The U.S. men’s national team begin their Mythic Quest in pursuit of a World’s Record third CONCACAF Nations League title next week. 😉 A semi-final against that stealth clenched-fist Jamaica awaits. The 23 in the squad has been hailed as “the USMNT's most talented ever.” 16 of the 20 outfield players are doing their thing in the top flights of England, Spain, Germany, Italy or France – and only one, Miles Robinson, is in the MLS.

a. He Back: Tyler Adams is back with the US for the first time since that agonizing Round of 16 loss to the Netherlands in 2022. He returned to the field for Bournemouth on Wednesday and the Golden War Cherries summoned a miracle back-from-three-goals-down 4-3 win against Luton. Can’t be a coincidence. It was magical to see the 25-year-old trot back onto the field in the 71st minute, marking his first league appearance in 366 days after multiple hamstring procedures. Hard to overstate the impact of Tyler’s return. Less on the field, where he will still not be match fit. But off it – where this young US squad is shorn of leaders, his presence, alongside Tim Ream and Matt Turner who are the most vocal internally, is a massive intangible win. 

b. On the Striker Tip: GGG went with 3 strikers: the still-bedding-in Flo Balogun, “He’s on Fire” Josh Sargent, and the doggedly clinical Ricardo Pepi. Haji Wright and Brandon Vazquez who have both been so potent remain on the outside. As does Brendan Aaronson. Yes. This squad is Aaronson-less which is both sad and grim. The US squad has long been a place of solace for our young talents during times of struggle – see Jozy, Pulisic, Weston in seasons past. Berhalter is signaling that is no longer the case.

TODAY: I am filming with Jamaica manager and old friend Heimir Hallgrímsson, the Icelandic dentist who led his home nation on a Cinderella run at Euro 2016 and is now turning the Reggae Boyz into a fearsome foe. 🇯🇲

More: A rundown of the squad and the Jamaica clash to come. 

5. THIS WEEK AT MEN IN BLAZERS WORLD HEADQUARTERS ❤️

“Beware the Ides of Solly March” 

💪 Just a massive week for The Women’s Game Editor-in-Chief Sam Mewis and her entire team as they launched Good Vibes FC along with that Tour de Force Lynn Williams and the cerebral Becky Sauerbrunn on Tuesday. LISTEN HERE | WATCH HERE. And then followed that quite incredible interview with a Podcast in which Rog joined Sam for everything you need to know about the NWSL season ahead. LISTEN HERE | WATCH HERE. Megan Rapinoe. LISTEN HERE | WATCH HERE. And a reminder all of this is going down on its own PODCAST and YOUTUBE Feeds. If you are not subscribed to either of those, get in there. Rate. Comment. Review. This is your place for intelligent, accessible, global coverage of Women’s Football. We are here for it. You can be, too. 

🍦 So many Premier League fan bases buzzing at the next round’s tasty European ties. Arsenal-Bayern. Man City-Real Madrid. (Full Quarter final draws: Champions League | Europa League) And you can catch up on all things Champions, Europa, and Europa Conference League on this week’s European Nights with Ice Cream Expert and Noted Word Surgeon Rory Smith of the New York Times. This week, a deep dive on Napoli’s mercurial owner Aurelio De Laurentiis. LISTEN HERE. Rory also joined for a special edition of Do it Live! which went down during that epic Atletico Madrid-Inter Milan penalty shootout for the ages. WATCH HERE.

🌎 Did we mention Season Two of World Corrupt - our geopolitical football mashup with Crooked Media and Tommy Vietor - kicks off its first episode TOMORROW. This season: a deep dive on Saudi Arabia’s investment in football. The trailer is now live. SUBSCRIBE HERE TO NEVER MISS AN EPISODE.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Also, this week, our Wrexham Correspondent Tomi “Cheese” Lewis travels to “the Vegas of England” for an away day at Morecambe and a League Two promotion battle for the ages. WATCH HERE.

More or Less, Presented by PrizePicks 

Charlie Kipp Writes: PrizePicks is the perfect side dish to the sporting entree that is Premier League football. The baked potato to the steak, the stuffing to the turkey, the Robbie to the other Robbie. While football will always be great on its own, adding the excitement of a PrizePicks entry is the single best complement to a local derby, along with a crisp can of Michelob Ultra…Okay. 0-2 in the last two weeks, it’s time to look forward not backward. We need positivity, joy, life. Who better to turn to than Mr. Sunshine himself, Son Heung-Min to record MORE than 2.5 shots. 

If the Tottenham Hotspur teams of the late 2010’s were The Beatles, Son Heung-Min was Paul. The team was magical, if not enigmatic; consistent Top Four finishes including an improbable Champions League final run, but eventually stymied by the lack of aggressive, swashbuckling football that Spurs fans crave. Then, it all changed - Harry Kane went full John and turned Bayern Munich into the Yoko Ono of this analogy (how many times have those two nouns have ever been compared? I’m going to say LESS than 0.5). Eric Dier has always been proper Ringo. So where does that lead us? Right back to Sonny - with his new-look teammates. The Wings-era of Tottenham Hotspur, jetting along and in a fine patch of form, heading into a not-so-hostile Craven Cottage to face Fulham, this Saturday at 1:30 p.m. ET on USA Network. Since returning from injury, the 31-year-old Spurs headliner has found his groove - last week alone, he recorded a goal and two assists in Spurs’ statement 4-0 win over Aston Villa. We need Son to be at his best to hit on this one - I sure hope he does. If not? Oh well, Live and Let Die. Son Heung-Min MORE than 2.5 shots. 

If you haven’t joined PrizePicks, CLICK HERE and use code MiB for a first deposit match up to $100.

6. Wrexham will not “Wrexham it Up 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

After missing the opportunity to go joint top of League Two with a goalless draw at Harrogate, Wrexham host Merseyside’s third club Tranmere Rovers, who play their football in Birkenhead, across the River Mersey from Liverpool and more importantly Everton (Saturday, 11 a.m. ET, iFollow). The Red Dragons took all three points in the reverse fixture back in September and should expect to get something out of this game with their excellent home form (13 wins 3 draws 3 losses). However, stand-in captain James McClean is suspended after picking up a 10th booking in Tuesday’s match and will not feature.

It’s Infrastructure Week at Wrexham: Hollywood connection: Wrexham lines up three-hour direct rail service to London.

AND: What Wrexham are doing with their women’s team is incredible. This could be a case study for women's sports that shows a club can invest in women’s sports and make money even when that team is not the best in the world. 

7. In Europa, Europa 🇮🇹🇳🇱

i. AC Milan cruised past Slavia Praha in the Europa League (PULISIC GOAL HERE), the Rossoneri go away to fair Verona on Sunday, where they’ll meet a side looking to make it three wins on the bounce (10 a.m. ET, Paramount +). Last week’s victory saw AC Milan leapfrog Juventus into second place, 16 points behind rivals Inter, who this weekend play a Napoli side who also exited the Champions League midweek. 

ii. PSV: The bad news: Pepi and his boys are out of the Champions League after losing 2-0 to Dortmund Wednesday night (3-1 on aggregate). The good news: last weekend’s Sergino Dest-powered win over Go Ahead Eagles leaves the Dutch side 10 points clear at the top of the Eredivisie meaning the team, in the words of noted food writer Rory Smith, “could stop playing now and probably win it.” Sunday they host third placed Twente (3 p.m. ET, ESPN+), a club who last won the Dutch top flight in 2009/10 with Steve McClaren! Never forget: Shteeve Mclaren. The man is from Yorkshire. 

MORE: For a weekly roundup of ALL our American players abroad — both our men and women — make sure to subscribe to our American States United newsletter.

8. More Football, Did Ya Say?

i. Why is Arsenal’s Gym-Tan-and Laundry Ben White turning down the chance to play for England in the Euros. A remarkable moment in the balance between club and international football.

ii. The USWNT are champions again, but even in CONCACAF, new challengers are threatening their dominance.

iii. Daniel Storey’s quote is true and so unbelievably sad: Every now and then, FIFA do something jaw-dropping. Announcement that the U17 World Cup will now take place every year and the first FIVE editions will all be in Qatar! Despite all the outcry over the Qatar World Cup, FIFA not only learned zero lessons, they decided to quadruple down.

9. Not Football, and All the Better for It

i. I am pro retirement, except for Carol Burnett: Whatever Happened to Fun?

ii. If you also haven't stopped thinking about Kids Run the Show, behold! An equally upsetting piece of writing: What’s the Price of a Childhood Turned Into Content? 

iii. Behind F1's Velvet Curtain. "If you wanted to turn someone into a socialist you could do it in about an hour by taking them for a spin around the paddock of a Formula 1 race." Not a hugely cost effective recruitment strategy. 

iv. Jeremy Strong Isn’t Sure He Knows Who He Is. Fans of "Jeremy Strong Answers" will not leave disappointed.

v. Make better documents. Tl;dr: M O R E  W H I T E  S P A C E.

vi. Loved this: Finding Ourselves in Dragon Ball. Many a goal celebration now makes sense. 

vii. Who's correcting the autocorrectors? ‘I am not a typo’ campaign urges tech giants to correct their autocorrect systems in the name of inclusivity.

viii. The urban legend that won't die on this deadly Bay Area highway. When's the last time you thanked your local urban legend?

ix. No offense, Reno. An Oral History of ‘Reno 911!’

x. Why You Hate Bringing Your Lunch to Work. Think of your lunch break as a "mini retirement". 

xi. Turning Luke Littler into a celebrity or brand is the least interesting thing to do. If only to prevent the Darts Premier League coming up when I type Premier League into Google. 

xii. I love this song: Big Swimmer by King Hannah and Sharon Van Etten 

That is it for this week. I am going to leave you with a wonderful video which was one of those – like a Tracy Chapman cover version – that so many of you send to me: Why we have hair on our head – the scientific purpose of the thing I do not have. Sigh. As Joni once warned me, “don't it always seem to go that you don't know what you got till it's gone?”

Savor every second of football this weekend. Let’s not take a moment of watching together for granted. 

Big Love

Courage,

ROG