Breakfast Links – July 15, 2022

Happy Friday! I hope your week has been good thus far, but we would all be lying if we weren’t looking forward to the weekend. Here are today’s Breakfast Links.

Houston

The Houston Dynamo didn’t have a good midweek result against intrastate rival Austin FC - it was a pretty awful result actually. Losing 3-1 against the now number one team in the league isn’t great especially against a rival. Now they will get a chance to reset and bounce back taking on the San Jose Earthquakes this weekend. The match is set to kickoff on Sunday at 8:30 PM CT in PayPal Park in the Bay Area. Vamos Dynamo!

The Houston Dash are currently in the midst of a two match losing streak. The ladies will look to turn it around this Saturday as they will be hosting the Chicago Red Stars. Unfortunately they will still be without some of their key players due to international duty. However, this will be their first match with new interim head coach Juan Carlos Amorós. Let’s show up and support our team. DTFO!

The Houston Dynamo Dos will be playing tonight in their own version of the Texas Derby as they will face off against North Texas SC. Currently, both teams have the same record and points but with North Texas ahead by a two goal difference in the Western Conference. Remember only the top 4 teams of each conference make it to the playoffs. The game is set to kick off at 8:00 PM and you can live stream the match on the MLS Next Pro site. 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

On Wednesday night, looking for a first triumph in 2022 outside of the Bay Area with an away record of 0W-6L-3D going into the match, the Quakes found themselves off to a flying start during Heineken Rivalry Week behind a 3-0 first-half lead against the LA Galaxy in Carson. And while the latest chapter in the long-running Cali Clasico derby wasn’t without its usual twists and turns, San Jose walked off the Dignity Health Sports Park pitch a winner, holding on for a 3-2 victory to end their lengthy road skid. The Quakes also made history with the win, beating the Galaxy on the road in back-to-back regular-season matches for the first time in the longstanding rivalry that traces its roots back to MLS’s first season in 1996.

While the 2022 MLS season thus far hasn’t gone the way Chicago Fire FC envisioned, they found a moment of true inspiration in Wednesday night’s 2-0 victory over Toronto FC at Soldier Field. Enter 18-year-old striker Jhon Duran, whose fifth start for the Windy City side included a first-half brace to leapfrog Toronto in the Eastern Conference standings, taking 12th place and putting head coach Ezra Hendrickson’s team just six points below the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs line.

Last weekend, emotions boiled over for Atlanta United after a 3-0 loss to Austin FC, particularly with star striker Josef Martinez saying ”life is gone” from the injury-plagued 2018 MLS Cup champions. That call-out, as well as the team meeting manager Gonzalo Pineda led after their home setback in MLS Week 19, turned inspirational on Wednesday night in a 2-1 win over Real Salt Lake. In the same Mercedes-Benz Stadium where the Five Stripes tasted bitter defeat just four days earlier. A brace from on-loan striker Ronaldo Cisneros in the first 33 minutes set the tone and was enough to secure three points. “I told them in the locker room: I didn’t need heroes; I need warriors,” Pineda declared in a post-match broadcast interview with Jillian Sakovits. “I needed everyone together.”

Around the world

The United States women’s national team beat Costa Rica 3-0 on Thursday to advance to the finals of the CONCACAF W Championship in Monterrey, Mexico. Having already clinched a spot in the 2023 Women’s World Cup by reaching the tournament’s semifinals, the Americans are now in line to secure a spot in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris if they can win the W Championship on Monday night.

Cristiano Ronaldo is set to turn down a highly lucrative offer to leave Manchester United for Saudi Arabia, sources have told ESPN. An unnamed Saudi Arabian club have made a €30 million bid to sign Ronaldo from United while giving the Portugal captain the chance to become the world’s highest-paid player by offering him €275m in wages for the next two seasons.

United States defender Sergino Dest has said he has no intention of leaving Barcelona this summer amid reported interest from Chelsea. Dest, whose contact runs until 2025, made just 31 appearances across all competitions last season amid a series of injuries, and the defender had been linked with a move away from Camp Nou. However, the right-back has pledged to stay at the club.