International Football
With 2-0 win against Super Falcons, US stretch unbeaten streak to 42 games
Stoppage-time goals at the end of each half fueled the U.S. Women’s National Team to a 2-0 victory against Nigeria in the final match of its 2021 WNT Summer Series.
The US Women’s team opened Austin’s new Q2 Stadium with a win as Christen Press continued her torrid attacking hot streak, scoring in first-half stoppage time and teeing up Lynn Williams for an exclamation point in the game’s waning moments.
The Summer Series finale was a more open affair than the US’s first two matches, as Nigeria showed more of an inclination to attack as compared to the bunkers that were dug in by Portugal and Jamaica.
In a physical game from the get-go, the USA had the better offensive opportunities, but the Super Falcons weren’t shy about getting up the field in a hurry and laying down hard tackles on the defensive end.
While Christen Press continued to menace the Nigerian defenses – and had the honor of scoring the first goal at the brand new $260 million stadium — Carli Lloyd also sparked chances with her aggressive pressing from the No. 9 spot.
Megan Rapinoe nearly teed up the U.S. opener halfway through the first half, when Lloyd and Kristie Mewis collided with Nigeria goalkeeper Tochukwu Oluehi as they tried to finish off a pass inside the six-yard box.
Further prime opportunities came after the hydration break on a hot and humid night in Austin, as Rapinoe had a goal waved offside and Lloyd juggled dangerously into the box before being whistled for a handball just after the half-hour mark.
The U.S. continued to knock on the door as the half wore on and finally broke through in stoppage time, when Lloyd’s hustle won a ball and it fell to an unmarked Press who hit a curling first-time shot to the far post for the opening goal.
Press is in the midst of an impressive offensive streak. Tonight, she rose to sole possession of ninth place on the all-time USWNT scoring list with 61 career goals, breaking a tie with Shannon MacMillan and now has been directly involved with 34 goals in her last 35 games for the USA, scoring 14 goals and contributing 21 assists.
While the USA had a number of chances in the second half, its best came late in the game. Press nearly netted her second of the night in the 85th minute as Rapinoe sent in a rolling cross near the penalty spot, but Press’ hard-hit first-time shot was stopped by a nice save from Oluehi.
The USA’s five second-half substitutes also made an impact down the stretch, as the fresh legs of Williams doubled the American advantage.
Press found Williams on the run down the right flank and the NC Courage forward did the rest, getting behind the defense before pushing the ball past the ‘keeper and slotting it home just inside the right post for her 11th international goal.
Next up, head coach Vlatko Andonovski will name his final 18-player roster for the Tokyo Olympics and the USWNT will face Mexico on July 1 and 5 in Hartford, Conn., during its Send-Off Series, presented by Visa, just before the USA departs for Japan.
Representatives from four national players’ unions on Thursday launched a new global organisation in Madrid, which they say will strengthen footballers’ rights and improve dialogue with governing bodies.
Opening a new front in the battle over who speaks for players, the International Footballers’ Association (AIF) was unveiled, with David Aganzo, president of Spain’s Association of Footballers (AFE) and a former head of the global union FIFPRO, appointed to lead the organisation.
Players’ unions from Brazil, Mexico and Switzerland were also represented.
The initiative drew a swift rebuke from FIFPRO, which said in a statement that Aganzo was acting out of self-interest and aligning himself with organisations linked to football governing bodies, as well as groups expelled from FIFPRO over alleged mismanagement.
Aganzo rejected the criticism, saying he “will not seek confrontation with FIFPRO”.
The launch comes amid strained relations between players’ unions and football authorities, particularly over the expanding international match calendar.
Relations between FIFA and FIFPRO deteriorated in 2024 after the union lodged a complaint with the European Commission, arguing that the global governing body was abusing its dominant position by adding competitions without sufficient consultation.
Aganzo denied suggestions that the new initiative was backed by FIFA president Gianni Infantino, but said “direct dialogue with FIFA” was essential.
AFE’s Extraordinary General Assembly approved the initiative in February with 99.8% of votes cast in favour of spearheading the creation of the AIF.
The same assembly also backed AFE’s withdrawal from FIFPRO, citing what it described as a “complete lack of transparency, as well as its total lack of dialogue with international bodies.”
“We represent over 30,000 footballers, and we come here with a new model aimed at safeguarding players’ rights and facilitating direct communication with all international bodies,” Aganzo told reporters.
“We are in contact with 15 to 20 unions already who were very aware of this moment and waiting for this announcement to make their move and join our initiative.”
He declined to identify any unions beyond those present.
Asked about a report that a senior envoy to U.S. President Donald Trump had urged FIFA to replace Iran with Italy at the upcoming World Cup, Aganzo urged caution.
“These are more political issues; on April 30th, I’ll be speaking to Gianni (Infantino) at the FIFA Congress, and we will discuss those things,” Aganzo said.
“People who want to go to the World Cup have to earn their place on sporting merit.”
-Reuters
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A new trial over the death of Argentine soccer legend Diego Maradona will begin on Tuesday, with seven members of his medical team charged with negligent homicide nearly a year after a previous case collapsed in a mistrial.
An enduring presence in Argentina – from towering murals to tattoos, opens new tab – Maradona died on November 25, 2020, at 60, after a heart attack while he was recuperating from brain surgery to remove a blood clot.
A court in San Isidro, near Buenos Aires, will hear testimony from just under 100 witnesses as it tries Maradona’s medical team over alleged negligence in the death of the 1986 World Cup champion.
His medical team has denied wrongdoing. The defendants are psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov, neurosurgeon Leopoldo Luque, psychologist Carlos Angel Diaz, physician Nancy Edith Forlini, nurse Ricardo Almiron, head nurse Mariano Ariel Perroni, and physician Pedro Pablo Di Spagna. An eighth defendant, nurse Dahiana Madrid, will be tried in a separate jury trial, with no date yet set.
Two months into the first trial, which started last March, a mistrial was declared when one of three judges, Julieta Makintach, resigned after video surfaced showing her being interviewed by a camera crew in the corridors of the courthouse and in her office as part of a documentary, in breach of judicial rules.
The retrial will require both prosecutors and defense lawyers to reassess their strategies after the first trial aired photographs, videos, audio recordings and forensic evidence. Many witnesses, including Maradona’s children and his former wife, Claudia Villafane, have already testified.
Prosecutors argued in the initial trial that medical professionals broke treatment protocols and that the home where Maradona was recovering from surgery amounted to a “theatre of horror,” where necessary care was not provided.
The defense countered that his death was inevitable given his longstanding health problems. Maradona struggled for decades with cocaine and alcohol addiction.
The negligence charges emerged in 2021 after prosecutors appointed a medical board to investigate Maradona’s death. The panel concluded his medical team acted in an “inappropriate, deficient and reckless” manner.
-Reuters
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Aliou Cisse has been named coach of the Angola national team, the country’s football federation (FAF) announced on Thursday, 24 hours after the Senegalese left his post in Libya.
The 50-year-old coach, who led Senegal to their maiden Africa Cup of Nations title in 2022, ended his short stint with the Libyan national team on Wednesday, after taking charge in March 2025.
“Welcome, Aliou Cisse, head coach of the Angola national team,” the FAF said on Facebook. Angola, which failed to reach this year’s World Cup, will start their 2027 AFCON qualifying campaign in September.
-Reuters
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