Breakfast Links - June 24, 2022

Alright, I am gonna keep it one hundred with you like Houston’s temperature so make sure to stay hydrated during this crazy drought. Well that was me trying to be funny but clearly I may be suffering from heat exhaustion, ha! Here are your Breakfast Links.

Houston

The Houston Dynamo will be facing off in a home match after more than a month when the team lost against Seattle Sounders. Currently the team is in a 3 game losing streak if you count their US Open Cup loss to SKC and they will look to end it against the Chicago Fire. The match is set to kickoff at 7:00 PM CT on Saturday at PNC Stadium. The team can’t afford to continue to lose points, especially at home. Vamos Dynamo!

The Houston Dash are enjoying a short break after the massive away win against NC Courage last weekend. Many of the ladies are however in international duty and should quickly find their form once NWSL is back in action. DTFO!

Houston Dynamo Dos will look to break their negative streak this weekend against the Tacoma Defiance. The boys have been working hard but have not been rewarded for their efforts as of late. Coach Bundy and the team will look to change that. The match is set to be played at AVEVA Stadium, Sunday at 7:00 PM CT. Let’s go Dyna Dos!

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

MLS

The five teams remaining in this year’s US Open Cup now know where the semifinal matches of the competition will be played and what the hosting priority order will be for the final following Thursday’s draw. For the semifinals, it was revealed that Sacramento will host Sporting KC, while the Red Bulls will visit the winner of the match between Orlando City and Nashville SC. The matches will be played on July 26 or 27.

D.C. United have signed Chilean winger Martín Rodríguez on a permanent transfer from Turkish Super Lig side Altay SK, the club announced Thursday. Rodriguez, 27, joins via a contract using Targeted Allocation Money (TAM). He’ll be able to participate in club activities once the MLS Secondary Transfer Window begins on July 7. He will be eligible to make his debut on the Black-and-Red’s Week 19 match at the Philadelphia Union on July 8.

The California Clasico featuring the San Jose Earthquakes and LA Galaxy at Stanford Stadium, originally scheduled to be played this Saturday, June 25, has been rescheduled to Saturday, September 24. Stanford University has been experiencing a power outage due to an equipment failure caused by the nearby Edgewood Fire.

Around the world

FIFA has approved larger 26-man squads for the World Cup in Qatar, deciding Thursday to extend football’s relaxation of rules that help coaches and players during the COVID-19 pandemic. The move was expected from the FIFA Bureau – comprised of the presidents of FIFA and football’s six confederations – after 23-player rosters were expanded for recent continental championships.

Real Madrid will travel to newly promoted Almeria on the opening weekend of the 2022-23 LaLiga season, while Barcelona hosts Rayo Vallecano - with the two giants meeting in the campaign’s first Clasico on the weekend of Oct. 16 - after the fixture list was released by the Spanish football federation (RFEF) on Thursday.

An investment group led by former Houston Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow, who lost his job in baseball in the wake of a sign-stealing scandal, was part of an investment group that purchased Spanish soccer club Leganes. “We will do all we can to improve this club,” Luhnow said in Madrid on Thursday after purchasing the second-division team for an undisclosed sum from prior owners Victoria Pavon and Felipe Moreno. Leganes is a modest club based in a neighborhood of southern Madrid. The team finished 12th in the 22-team second division last season.