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Hiya! Move Cristiano Ronaldo a tissue. And get the USMNT a stretcher…
U.S. crash out of Copa
Ronaldo’s bizarre breakdown
Inside Man Utd shirt deal
Mbappe’s PSG wage dispute
Copa Nook: USMNT ‘should do higher’
(Getty Pictures; graphic: Eamonn Dalton)
Instantly, for the USMNT, the 2026 World Cup is extraordinarily distant. Two years to go. As co-hosts, no qualifying marketing campaign to distract themselves with within the meantime. Infinite hours to assume and replicate.
And boy, have they got heaps to replicate on. Their Copa America bid, such because it was, is over. Christian Pulisic wished the efficiency of their lives final evening, however what transpired was a reasonably lifeless 1-0 defeat to Uruguay, through which the nice escape was on for the best part of six minutes earlier than Mathias Olivera bundled home the winner in the 66th minute (below).
The U.S. are out earlier than the knockouts and all bets are off. A “complete overview” of their group-stage exit by U.S. Soccer is under way. Level one on the agenda can be the destiny of head coach Gregg Berhalter. It wasn’t imagined to go like this on the Copa. And it can not go like this on the World Cup.
Berhalter says he’s the fitting man for the job – coaches don’t have a tendency to ask the sack – however an all-or-nothing conflict with Uruguay boiled right down to complaints in regards to the referee, complaints about TV digicam angles, and the clutching of straws for a favour from Bolivia. To cite U.S. Soccer itself: “Should do higher.”
Consolation zone?
At this level, some residence truths may not go amiss. Let’s use Uruguay as a comparability. They have a more elite coach than Berhalter and it exhibits. Pound for pound, they’ve extra expertise of their squad, too. They don’t hype themselves. They simply get to it.
The USMNT’s gamers are giving the impression of getting Berhalter’s again. Goalkeeper Matt Turner mentioned he had “no concern with the route we’re heading”. Weston McKennie mentioned the squad “all have a consolation with Gregg”. Is {that a} good factor? Or would a Marcelo Bielsa-style, crack-the-whip routine give the U.S. a wholesome jolt?
Berhalter has come through a sticky situation before. For the second main event working, he finds himself in one other. And within the empty house that follows the Copa, the controversy about his future is all that can fill the vacuum.
The place’s Neymar?
Brazil ought to keep away from the identical hand-wringing later, though a difficult Group D sport in opposition to Colombia awaits. Oddly, the story of Brazil’s Copa up to now has involved a person who isn’t match to play — Neymar.
At 32, is he winding down? Not a little bit of it. He’s in the stand kicking every ball, the Selecao’s twelfth man and box-office to the tip. Good shirts, too.
Catch a match
(Instances ET/UK): Group D — Brazil vs Colombia (9pm/2am) — Fox Sports activities 1, Fubo, Premier Sports activities; Costa Rica vs Paraguay (9pm/2am) — Fox Sports activities 2, Fubo, Premier Sports activities 2.
DealSheet
It’s DealSheet day at The Athletic. This is what’s rumbling on the transfer front:
Euros Zone: The Ronaldo Present
Famously, there’s no ‘i’ in ‘workforce’. However there’s positively an ‘i’ in ‘Cristiano Ronaldo’ and no fewer than 4 in ‘dignified decline’.
Ronaldo would have been tailored for The Truman Present: at his happiest when each gentle, digicam and pair of eyes is educated on him. Should you watched him coach Portugal from the touchline throughout the Euro 2016 remaining — I imply, should you’ve watched him in any respect — then you definitely gained’t be beneath the phantasm that low profile is his bag.
However in these Euros, he’s taking the all-about-me routine to a brand new degree: rage, performative strops, the insistence on losing each free kick and probability Portugal get (see visible GIF, beneath). Final evening was actually one thing: Ronaldo in tears midway by way of further time on account of missing a penalty, despite the fact that Jan Oblak stored it out brilliantly. And despite the fact that the sport was nonetheless there to be gained.
Portugal did win, knocking Slovenia out on penalties, so all’s effectively that ends effectively and no level in crying over spilt milk. However there’s extra to Ronaldo’s manner than a kick from 12 yards. What we’re seeing is a participant who was as soon as untouchable diminished to the purpose of virtually being a hindrance. That aura he had? It’s gone. He is aware of it and so do Portugal. However no person is courageous sufficient to say it out loud.
The night ought to have been Diogo Costa’s after three top saves in the shootout. True to kind, Ronaldo stole the narrative anyway. On, then, to a quarter-final in opposition to France: Cristiano versus Kylian Mbappe. France’s 1-0 win over Belgium yesterday was a bit of a stinker, however little doubt in any respect that they want Mbappe. Portugal and Ronaldo? Not a lot. Or not like they as soon as did.
Inside Italy’s implosion
Monday’s TAFC touched on the tip of Italy’s reign as European champions, however I wouldn’t need you to overlook the within monitor on how their camp descended into paranoia central.
They limped by way of a weak defence of their title and by the day of their elimination by the hands of Switzerland, coach Luciano Spalletti was able to combat everyone. He was spiky and slightly unhinged.
Grounds for dismissal? Seemingly not. Spalletti will keep on in his publish, which is manna from heaven for writers and rubber-neckers alike.
Catch a match
(Instances ET/UK): Final 16 — Romania vs The Netherlands (12pm/5pm) — Fox Sports activities 1, Fubo, BBC One, live blog; Austria vs Turkey (3pm/8pm) — Fox, Fubo, ITV 1
Cash-Spinning Sponsor: Man Utd money in with new $225m deal
It’s a stretch to say no publicity is unhealthy publicity. Some publicity is unhealthy. The worst publicity might be terminal.
A greater means of placing it might be to say sure manufacturers are extremely resilient. Take Manchester United. They’ve been drifting and floundering. Competitively, they’ve been left behind. Nevertheless it hasn’t stopped them choosing up a new shirt sponsorship deal value $225m (£178m) over three years.
That’s $75m a season and, for the sort of sponsor, as profitable because it will get. The deal is with U.S. tech agency Qualcomm — the corporate’s subsidiary Snapdragon would be the identify showing on United’s package — and the cash is assured in full no matter issues reminiscent of Champions League qualification. Qualcomm simply desires to be in on the act.
Adam Crafton interviewed Qualcomm’s chief advertising officer Don McGuire and his feedback about attain and profile, not least in China, serve to exhibit that irrespective of how poor United are on the pitch, their industrial enchantment is perpetually rock strong.
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(Prime image: Justin Setterfield/Getty Pictures)
