USA Soccercast

The USL is finally going to institute promotion-relegation. Eboni Christmas of Walkin 90 joins us to discuss the good and the bad on Episode 152. USL Division One is a new league that will debut in 2027-2028, but the United Soccer Leagues are going even further to try and create more interest in the league. Starting in 2028, they will implement promotion-relegation among their 3 professional divisions. We first discuss the new D1 league that USL is starting and what will be required of them. We then chat with Eboni Christmas of the Walkin 90 Podcast and Shea Butter FC about how she thinks promotion-relegation will work and how her team - North Carolina FC - will prepare themselves for it. After the break, we further analyze what USL needs to do to really be ready to help this system succeed in the United States. It’s a bold move, but it’s not without its questions and concerns. There’s a lot that has to be done for this to work well and to really bring what everyone who favors promotion-relegation says it will. It’s a huge gamble for the league. And, the clock is now ticking to satisfy all the requirements. You won’t want to miss this episode! Don’t forget to follow us on Bluesky and YouTube! Rates, reviews, and subscriptions really help our reach wherever you get your podcasts as well as on YouTube. Head to our Linktree, which will give you access to all our affiliate links and our Stimulus store! And finally, tag us on Twitter or email USA Soccercast at Gmail dot com with any topic suggestions or questions for the show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The USA Soccercast is back with Episode 151 as we prepare for the Concacaf Nations League Finals! The USMNT seek to lift the Concacaf Nations League trophy for the 4th straight time. To do that, they’ll have to get past Panama in the semifinals and then either Canada or Mexico in the final. The roster is out, so we look at the updated version after injuries forced some changes. We also take a look at where some players are listed, including Yunus Musah being listed as a forward. We hear from Mauricio Pochettino on where he envisions Musah playing on the field. Matches against Panama are normally very chippy and full of wild moments and lots of cards. Yunus Musah speaks on how the team keeps its emotions in check and we analyze what the USMNT need to bring to the field to beat Panama and compete once again for the title. Don’t forget to follow us on Bluesky and YouTube! Rates, reviews, and subscriptions really help our reach wherever you get your podcasts as well as on YouTube. Head to our Linktree, which will give you access to all our affiliate links and our Stimulus store! And finally, tag us on Twitter or email USA Soccercast at Gmail dot com with any topic suggestions or questions for the show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The USA Soccercast is back with Episode 150 to take you into the weekend! The USWNT are back in action for SheBelieves Cup, and we have a roster. We analyze the roster and get some of Emma Hayes’ thinking behind the call-ins and how she plans to utilize some of the players against another quality set of opponents. While certain players are out, others get a prime opportunity to show that they can be ready when called upon to produce. We break down several positions and players and hear from Emma herself on some of her thoughts on key players as well as the recent move of a few American players to European leagues. After the break, the USMNT U-17s went down to World Cup qualifying in Costa Rica and hung 22 goals on the U.S. Virgin Islands! We update you on who scored what in a record setting night for the U-17s as they seek to qualify for this fall’s U-17 World Cup. Don’t forget: take the time every day during Black History Month to catch up on one of our stories in our Black History Month hub! Don’t forget to follow us on Bluesky and YouTube! Rates, reviews, and subscriptions really help our reach wherever you get your podcasts as well as on YouTube. Head to our Linktree, which will give you access to all our affiliate links and our Stimulus store! And finally, tag us on Twitter or email USA Soccercast at Gmail dot com with any topic suggestions or questions for the show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re back with Episode 149, where we break down Major League Soccer’s participation in the various club competitions this season. MLS will send teams to the Concacaf Champions Cup, the U.S. Open Cup, Leagues Cup, the Canadian Championship, and the FIFA Club World Cup this season. But, in a new set of qualification criteria, teams (with the exception of the Seattle Sounders and Inter Miami, due to their participation in the Club World Cup) will take part in at least one, but not more than two, cup competitions in 2025 and 2026. We first start by examining that criteria as well as detailing which teams will play in each of those competitions. After the break, we continue our discussion by analyzing how MLS is going about its participation in the various cup competitions. The increased focus on Leagues Cup - despite teams balking at its format and how it disrupts the season - continues to be something that is rightfully scrutinized, and this episode is no exception. But, we don’t just come to the table with the negatives. There’s a format that would reduce the importance of the Leagues Cup but also improve schedule congestion and perhaps fan excitement in the competition...and we look to college basketball for that idea. Don’t forget to follow us on Bluesky and YouTube! Rates, reviews, and subscriptions really help our reach wherever you get your podcasts as well as on YouTube. Head to our Linktree, which will give you access to all our affiliate links and our Stimulus store! And finally, tag us on Twitter or email USA Soccercast at Gmail dot com with any topic suggestions or questions for the show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The United States Men’s National Team had a fun January Camp, and we recap it on Episode 148! The USMNT had two wins last week over Venezuela and Costa Rica to give this January Camp fun vibes. We saw some players take advantage of their opportunity and we saw some good play as the team got the first two wins of 2025 under their belt. We recap what we saw from that camp and how it could affect some of the players moving forward as we dive into the year. After the break, Naomi Girma is officially on the move to Chelsea in a world record transfer. But what does it mean for the NWSL that she leaves behind? We discuss how it’s important for Girma, important for Chelsea, and important for the NWSL, but that it shouldn’t signify a mass exodus of players to teams across the pond. Don’t forget to follow us on Bluesky and YouTube! Rates, reviews, and subscriptions really help our reach wherever you get your podcasts as well as on YouTube. Head to our Linktree, which will give you access to all our affiliate links and our Stimulus store! And finally, tag us on Twitter or email USA Soccercast at Gmail dot com with any topic suggestions or questions for the show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The United States Women’s National Team are having a combined training camp to start the year, but on Episode 147, we discuss how head coach Emma Hayes is changing the approach. January Camp is normally a camp where the USWNT comes together for the first time in the new year to play a couple of friendlies and begin their preparations for a loaded schedule. However, Emma Hayes has softened the approach to January Camp, bringing in 49 players across two rosters: the USWNT training roster and a Futures Camp of U-23s designed to give them a chance to get involved and make an impression. There are no matches this time, and as we discuss, Hayes has decided that January Camps will remain an opportunity to develop talent and organize the overall strategy for the year. We get into the WNT roster as well as the Futures roster and how it’s a big year for some positions as some veterans are not present for various reasons. Overall, Emma Hayes wants to create more opportunities for the younger players, but first she wants to get them into this camp to get to know them and begin to implement her methodology that sets the program up for future success. Don’t forget to follow us on Bluesky, Twitter and YouTube! Rates, reviews, and subscriptions really help our reach wherever you get your podcasts as well as on YouTube. Head to our Linktree, which will give you access to all our affiliate links and our Stimulus store! And finally, tag us on Twitter or email USA Soccercast at Gmail dot com with any topic suggestions or questions for the show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We get our first look at the United States Men’s National Team in 2025 as they get set to take the field for two friendlies over the next few days. We preview their matches against Venezuela and Costa Rica on Episode 146. The USMNT enter 2025 needing to start figuring out what their depth will look like as they get ready for Concacaf Nations League and the Gold Cup. They of course continue to have their eyes on the 2026 World Cup, and the January Camp friendlies are a chance for MLS-based players to make an impression. We take you through the roster of players and note how one of them has a wild path to the national team. There are some players who have a great opportunity to show they can be counted on as depth pieces as the race to 2026 hits full stride. After the break, we get into a little bit of the calendar for the USMNT and what awaits them in 2025. There are some potentials for big time friendlies, but Concacaf competitions will dominate the first half of the year as the USMNT seek to hold onto the Concacaf Nations League trophy and reclaim the Gold Cup. Don’t forget to follow us on Bluesky, Twitter and YouTube! Rates, reviews, and subscriptions really help our reach wherever you get your podcasts as well as on YouTube. Head to our Linktree, which will give you access to all our affiliate links and our Stimulus store! And finally, tag us on Twitter or email USA Soccercast at Gmail dot com with any topic suggestions or questions for the show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We are back in time for the holidays with Episode 145 as Ryan Rosenblatt joins us to break down Netflix’s acquisition of the U.S. broadcast rights for the 2027 and 2031 Women’s World Cups! The streaming service has tens of millions of subscribers, and they will now be the sole broadcast provider for the next two Women’s World Cup tournaments. Ryan Rosenblatt, who has amazing insight on the intricacies behind these sorts of deals, comes on the show to discuss those details. From the ramp up in production to the addressing of their recent failures with one-off sporting events to how accessible they would need to make each match, it’s a great conversation that has some thoughtful approaches to what Netflix could and should do as well as the sharing of the real concerns facing the streaming service as it prepares to bring the tournament to a national audience. They have 2.5 years to make things happen, which is still a good bit of time. But, it’s short enough that the urgency needs to be there for Netflix to put together the production that they want and make it accessible to American sports fans, particularly those who wish to watch the USWNT. Don’t forget to follow us on Bluesky, Twitter and YouTube! Rates, reviews, and subscriptions really help our reach wherever you get your podcasts as well as on YouTube. Head to our Linktree, which will give you access to all our affiliate links and our Stimulus store! And finally, tag us on Twitter or email USA Soccercast at Gmail dot com with any topic suggestions or questions for the show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The United States Women’s National Team have two huge road friendlies coming up over the next week against England and the Netherlands, and a couple of players make announcements that will shape the future of the player pool. We discuss it all on Episode 144. The USWNT are in Europe to take on England and the Dutch on the road. With a roster that’s a mix of veterans and young players hoping to make an impact, it’s going to be a big test for Emma Hayes’s group as she begins to evaluate where this player pool can go during this World Cup cycle. After the break, we discuss the two huge announcements from players in the program: Lily Yohannes committing her future to the USWNT and Alyssa Naeher announcing her retirement from the national team. Both are huge moves that will affect the player pool for the future, and we discuss both announcements at length. Don’t forget to follow us on Bluesky, Twitter and YouTube! Rates, reviews, and subscriptions really help our reach wherever you get your podcasts as well as on YouTube. Head to our Linktree, which will give you access to all our affiliate links and our Stimulus store! And finally, tag us on Twitter or email USA Soccercast at Gmail dot com with any topic suggestions or questions for the show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The United States Men’s National Team had a difficult October window, and we recap it on Episode 143. The USMNT had two tough matches against Concacaf opponents, the first matches with Mauricio Pochettino in charge. We review the 2-0 win against Panama and then spend some time discussing what happened in the 2-0 loss to Mexico. There’s a lot of things that the USMNT must face if they wish to improve, so we answer some questions and lay some truths on the table. After the break, we discuss the U.S. drawing Jamaica for the Concacaf Nations League quarterfinals. Jamaica won their group in the League A group stage, so they’re ready to take the next step and take out another seeded team like they did with Canada last year. The USMNT need to take Jamaica seriously and approach this match with the same intensity that the Reggae Boyz will if they want to defend their title once again. Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and YouTube! Rates, reviews, and subscriptions really help our reach wherever you get your podcasts as well as on YouTube. Head to our Linktree, which will give you access to all our affiliate links and our Stimulus store! And finally, tag us on Twitter or email USA Soccercast at Gmail dot com with any topic suggestions or questions for the show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices