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• Charlotte FC v Atlanta United: Smith lays down unbeaten challenge to Crown squad

  Dean Smith has set his Charlotte FC players the challenge of remaining unbeaten from now until the end of the season, starting with their MLS fixture against Atlanta United.

  The Crown returned to league action after their Leagues Cup exit with a 1-1 draw against the New York Red Bulls, as Karol Swiderski saw his penalty cancelled out by Elias Manoel.

  Smith’s side extended their unbeaten run in the MLS to four matches, sitting sixth in the Eastern Conference standings but four points off fourth place.

  And with the playoffs growing ever closer, Smith is keen to build a winning mentality among his players and is confident that his side will improve as the campaign progresses.

  “I want them to be sharper,” Smith started. “They have worked really hard in the last three weeks, and they have had some rest when they have needed it. They will be good.

  “I don’t worry about the players fitness wise; they are a strong group and I think as the season goes on now we will get better.

  “The challenge for them now is keeping this unbeaten run going until the end of the season and I believe we can go and do that.”

  Atlanta, meanwhile, marked their return to MLS action with a 2-0 defeat to LA Galaxy, halting their two-game winning run in the competition.

  The Five Stripes currently occupy the final playoff place in the Eastern Conference, but a win will see them close the gap to the sides above them with the luxury of a game in hand over Toronto.

  But after their showing against the Galaxy, interim head coach Rob Valentino is hoping for a quick start at the Bank of America Stadium this time around.

  "I feel like we gave them the first one, or they didn’t have to earn it as much which is really disappointing because they defended so hard and aggressive for a good chunk of time," Valentino said.

  "I was hoping that as we got the subs on they could make an impact. Unfortunately, we were chasing the game 1-0 and that changed quite a bit for us."

  PLAYERS TO WATCH

  Charlotte FC – Karol Swiderski 

  Karol Swiderski scored Charlotte's only goal in their 1-1 draw with the Red Bulls, his second strike in two regular season games since returning from a loan spell with Hellas Verona.

  Swiderski is the only player in club history to score in three straight league games (October 2023).

  Atlanta United – Saba Lobjanidze

  Saba Lobjanidze attempted five shots in the Five Stripes’ defeat at the Galaxy last time out.

  It was the 141st time an Atlanta player took at least five shots in a regular season match, more than any other MLS team since they joined the league in 2017.

  MATCH PREDICTION: CHARLOTTE WIN

  Charlotte have won each of their last two matches against Atlanta, with both wins coming away from home. In fact, three of the last four meetings between the two sides have been won by the visitors.

  The Crown, however, have drawn five of their last seven home matches (W1 L1) in all competitions. They have lost only two of their last 24 at home dating back to June 2023 (W10 D12).

  Atlanta United have lost four straight regular season away matches for the first time since a six-match run in 2019. The Five Stripes have won just two of their last 17 matches away from home dating back to last September (D7 L8).

  OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

  Charlotte FC – 50.3%

  Draw – 25.1%

  Atlanta United – 24.5%

• Las Palmas 1-1 Real Madrid: Vinicius spot-kick salvages a point for Los Blancos

  Vinicius Junior's penalty ensured Real Madrid left the Estadio de Gran Canaria with a point as they drew 1-1 to Las Palmas on Thursday. 

  Alberto Moleiro had given the hosts a shock lead in the fifth minute, but Vinicius would net from 12 yards to swing the encounter back in their favour, however, Carlo Ancelotti's star-studded line-up were unable to find a way through.

  A frantic start to proceedings saw Moleiro produce a moment of magic to skip beyond Aurelien Tchouameni and Eder Militao before firing low into the far corner. 

  Madrid would register nine shots in the opening 45 minutes, three of which were on target, but they were unable to test Jasper Cillessen in the Las Palms net. 

  However, parity would be restored when defender Alex Suarez was adjudged to have handled the ball inside the area, with Vinicius stepping up to score from the spot.

  Kylian Mbappe endured another difficult outing in front of goal, with only two of his nine shots on target as he still awaits his first LaLiga goal for his new side. 

  Ancelotti's side sit fourth in the early-season standings with five points from their first three games, four behind rivals and table toppers Barcelona. 

  Data Debrief: Vinicius on target as Mbappe's struggles continue

  Vinicius has now scored all his four penalties for Real Madrid in all competitions, all of which have come in 2024. 

  The Brazilian looked Los Blancos' biggest threat in the forward areas, contributing an expected goals (xG) of 1.23 to Madrid's 2.81 total. 

  However, it was another night to forget for Mbappe. The Frenchman is the player in the top five European Leagues this season who has had the most shots this term (17) and who has the worst difference between xG (1.8) and goals scored (none).

• Ricketts, Chung emphasize continued development for Andrew Peart-coached title-winning Under-14 team

  As they continue to bask in the impressive run by the young Reggae Boyz at the just-concluded Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Under-14 Challenge Series, Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) President Michael Ricketts and General Secretary Dennis Chung are setting their sights on the future.

  In fact, both underscored the importance of sustained development to ensure the team’s continued success as they progress toward higher levels of competition, including a possible FIFA Under-17 World Cup qualification.

  The Andrew Peart-coached young Reggae Boyz clinched the CFU title with a 7-1 hammering of French Guiana in the final in what was an exceptional display of talent and cohesiveness throughout the tournament hosted in Trinidad and Tobago.

  However, both Ricketts and Chung recognize that winning this title—the first for the country in a while—is just the beginning. The challenge now is to maintain the momentum, ensuring these players are nurtured and developed as they transition to the Under-17 level and beyond.

  “Congratulations, coach Peart. You have shown the highest level of commitment to this program, and we want to assure you that the JFF will give you as much support as we can to ensure that there is some longevity, there is major productivity, and that the process will continue leading up to our Under-17 qualification for the World Cup,” Ricketts declared during a virtual press conference on Wednesday.

  Ricketts spoke passionately about plotting a strategic approach for player development and, by extension, the need to keep players active and together as they transition to the next level.

  “When you participate in a competition with 23 teams and you come out scoring 25 goals and conceding two, it is indeed impressive. This is something that will put us in a situation where we will now have to put in place a contingency plan to ensure that all of our teams, from 14 up to 17, are, of course, in training so that we can all make that transition from 14 to 15, 15 to 16, and 16 to 17.

  “That certainly will present a huge challenge, but just like how we were able to be successful in our journey just completed, I think we can achieve success at other levels,” Ricketts reasoned.

  “What we really need is for private sector, the government, and, of course, our parent organizations to come on board because we want to certainly qualify for the Under-17 World Cup next year and we want to run up a sequence of qualifications. But we must have an organized plan in place to ensure that the U-14s make the transition, likewise, U-15 and U-16, so that every year we can participate in this global tournament,” he added as he alluded to the support provided by FIFA for the U-14 campaign through its Talent Development Scheme (TDS) program.

  Chung also highlighted the importance of continuity, as he pointed out to the fact that Jamaica’s winning team was made up solely of local-based players.

  “Nobody came from overseas, which shows that we have the talent here. If we put the infrastructure in place to hold everyone together, then we could be producing the world class footballers, just like athletics now locally is producing the world-class athletic stars. That's our intent to the program,” Chung stated.

  He stressed that the focus should be targeted on ensuring these players continue to build together as a unit and strengthen their chances for future successes.

  “Everything that you see here is based on strategic decisions that have been taken, the work that we've been doing to grow things incrementally and have cumulative benefits. We want to ensure that this Under-14 team is the one that goes on, after qualifying for the 2026 World Cup, that will qualify also for the 2030 World Cup and continue that going forward. This success doesn't come just overnight; this is something that is coming from a seed that was planted just over a year ago,” Chung explained.

  Meanwhile, Peart believes that with dedicated leadership and a clear roadmap, the future looks bright for the young Reggae Boyz, as their performances are not to be taken lightly.

  “The quality of opposition we played against was really at a good level for Under-15s. When you look at Trinidad and Tobago or Puerto Rico, with an influx of diaspora players from the United States, and Aruba, who had players coming down from the Netherlands, the quality was really good,” Peart declared.