Breakfast Links - June 17, 2022

Fridays just hit different in the summer time. The evening weather is my favorite, but before I have you daydreaming about the weekend, here are your Breakfast Links!

Houston

The City of Soccer was announced as a host city for the 2026 World Cup! I know, 4 years seems so far away but it will be here before we know it. I know that if you are here and part of our Dynamo Theory community, as a soccer fanatic, you should be extremely excited like I am! Plus Canada, Mexico and USA are automatically in the competition, therefore no panic buttons to be hit for back to back World Cups.

The Houston Dynamo are finally back in league action after a very long international break. The Dynamo will fly to magical Orlando to face off against Orlando City SC. Kickoff at Exploria Stadium is set for 6:30 PM CT. Hopefully the guys can continue to pick up points before the arrival of Hector Herrera. Vamos Dynamo!

The Houston Dash announced their new interim head coach as they welcomed Juan Carlos Amoros. He will be taking over in a few weeks, as Sarah Lowdon will step back into an assistant role for the team. The Dash will look to bounce back after getting pricked by the Portland Thorns last weekend. The ladies will be visiting North Carolina Courage, Sunday night as the fixture is set for 4:00 PM CT. The Dash will look to leave Sahlen’s Stadium with some much needed away points. DTFO!

Houston Dynamo 2 will be back on the road this Sunday as they will face off against Portland Timbers 2. The boys have taken back to back 1-0 losses in matches in which they have been the better team. Gaining some points in Portland will make the long flight home much sweeter. Let’s go Dyna Dos!

Make sure you check out the latest episodes of the Dynamo Theory Podcast, available everywhere you get you podcasts.

Major League Soccer

I wish I could tell you that all the World Cup matches were played in Houston, ha! There are a lot of cities as excited as we are, and probably some pretty disappointed. I’m looking at you DC. All the cities selected have an MLS team at least nearby. Atlanta, Boston, Dallas/Arlington, Kansas City, HOUSTON, Los Angeles, New York/New Jersey, Philadelphia, Miami, Bay Area, and Seattle make the American host city list. Toronto and Vancouver complete the Major League Soccer cities chosen to host World Cup matches. They will be joined by the Mexican host cities of Guadalajara, Mexico City and Monterrey. Can’t wait!

The MLS Disciplinary Committee has suspended New York Red Bulls forward Patryk Klimala one match for serious foul play during RBNY’s match against Charlotte FC on June 11. Klimala has also been fined an undisclosed amount. Teammate Ashley Fletcher was also fine for simulation and New England Revolution’s Gustavo Bou also was fined by the committee for simulation.

Around the World

Arsenal have stepped up their pursuit of Manchester City forward Gabriel Jesus and are confident a deal can be done, sources have told ESPN. City are looking for a fee in the region of £50 million for the Brazilian international (56 caps, 19 goals) and Arsenal are the clear front-runners in the chase for the 25-year-old.

The fixture schedule for the 2022-23 Premier League season was released on Thursday, with champions Manchester City starting at West Ham and the Erik ten Hag era at Manchester Unitedbeginning with a home match against Brighton, kicking off a tough-looking run to start his new job.

Barcelona’s members have voted in favor of the sale of future merchandising and television rights in a decision that could unlock the club’s transfer plans this summer. The vote authorised the Blaugrana to sell a stake of up to 49.9% in the subsidiary company Barca Licensing and Merchandising (BLM) and vend 25% of their future income from LaLiga television rights. President Joan Laporta said Barca hope to bring in as much €700 million from the two deals they now have the approval to carry out, as reported by ESPN last month.

Mauricio Pochettino has been sacked as Paris Saint-Germain manager just months after guiding the team to the league title, sources have told ESPN. The club is yet to announce the departure of the Argentine, but sources have told ESPN it was agreed on Wednesday morning. Pochettino had one year left on his contract.