Four Caribbean teams will be hoping to break into the much-anticipated inaugural staging of the Concacaf Women's Gold Cup when they contest the preliminary round of competition at the Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California, on Saturday.
With only three spots up for grabs, only two teams from the Caribbean, and one from Central America, will progress to join United States, Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, Paraguay, Canada, Mexico, Panama and Costa Rica in the main event.
Guyana vs. Dominican Republic
Guyana and the Dominican Republic take the pitch in a first-ever encounter. Both teams are no strangers to the hustle, as they won their respective groups in League B of the qualifiers.
Having tallied 20 goals in their five wins and a draw, Guyana arrived in California ready to impress and they certainly possess enough quality to do so. Otesha Charles, who scored seven goals during the qualifiers, and Jalade Trim, who scored a brace in the last win, are key players to watch.
The Dominican Republic also know plenty about success, as they booked their spot in the preliminary stage as Group B winners in League B. Like Guyana, Dominican Republic registered five wins and a draw in six games, with a tally of 24 goals.
Jazmin Jackson, who had four goals in that total, will be the Spanish-speaking Caribbean team’s biggest threat in front of goal, with goalkeeper Odaliana Gomez and the defensive line, hoping to add to the four clean sheets they had in the qualifiers.
With not much separating the two teams, it is left to be seen, who will execute more efficiently, both in offensively and in the defence to come out on top.
Haiti vs. Puerto Rico
By all indications, Haiti will start firm favourites in their contest against Puerto Rico, not only because they have won four of the last six meetings between the two, but also due to the FIFA Women’s World Cup experience under their belts.
Haiti have scored 12 times against Puerto Rico, while conceding five. That coupled, with the fact that last year’s appearance at the global showpiece in Australia and New Zealand, has added impetus to their charge, all but signals their readiness for their next challenge.
Haitian legend Nerilia Mondesir, who scored six goals and provided eight assists, along with Batcheba Louis, who had five goals in their second-place finish in Group C of League A, will again be critical to their chances of clinching a spot in the group stage.
Puerto Rico’s one win, one draw and a loss, is nowhere close to Haiti’s three wins and a loss, but they are no fluke when it comes to important assignments, and this is an important as any. So, while on paper Haiti are favourites, the game has to be played and Puerto Rico could very well capitalise if the opponents slip up.
Goalkeepers Sydney Martinez and JLo Varada, whichever is given starting duties, will be charged with shutting out Haiti’s attackers.
El Salvador vs. Guatemala
El Salvador and Guatemala have faced each other nine times, with the latter holding a seven-win advantage. Now, they will add a new chapter to their history, with Guatemala are looking to keep the positive record going.
They placed second in Group B of League A, after they secured 2-2 and 1-1 stalemates with the Caribbean’s number one team Jamaica, albeit without their best players.
Knowing what it means to leave everything on the pitch, star players like Ana Lucia Martinez, who was the team’s top scorer (three goals), and Leslie Ramirez (one goal), will be key to their chances.
El Salvador will be looking to continue their winning momentum from the qualifiers where they won all six games to top Group B of League B, with their 24 goals coming from different players.
Brenda Ceren led the way in scoring five goals, closely followed by Danya Gutierrez, Samaria Gomez and Danielle Fuentes with four goals each.
St. Louis City v LA Galaxy: Reus sets sights on silverware after dream start
Marco Reus is desperate to bring silverware to the LA Galaxy after making a flying start to his time in MLS, with St. Louis City the destination for his first road game on Sunday.
Reus registered a goal and an assist on debut last week as the Galaxy beat Atlanta United 2-0, maintaining their grip on top spot in the Western Conference.
The Galaxy are five points clear of local rivals Los Angeles FC at the top of the standings ahead of Sunday's trip to St. Louis, who are 13th and 10 points adrift of the playoff picture.
Reus' arrival in Los Angeles has caused plenty of fanfare, but he is focused solely on the team's collective aims.
"It's not about me, it's about the team," he said. "We want to be champions. So we take it game by game.
"Besides the traffic, it's really amazing. The people are so friendly. The weather, it's really nice. When you wake up in the morning and the sun is shining, you start the day differently.
"So I'm really, really happy every morning I come into the dressing room. I'm just happy and excited."
St. Louis played out a thrilling 4-4 draw with the Portland Timbers last week, twice throwing away a two-goal lead to leave interim coach John Hackworth bewildered.
"Really don't know what to say," Hackworth said. "It's hard to imagine coming to a place like this and scoring four goals, being up, and then just losing one-versus-one defensive battles.
"Sometimes, the number of goals you give up, or the number of goals you score, can hide a lot of the transition moments.
"An easy way to prevent some of these defensive miscues from happening is to just be better with the ball."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
St. Louis City – Eduard Lowen
Lowen scored his fourth goal of the MLS season last time out, converting from the penalty spot as St. Louis drew 4-4 with the Timbers.
Only Joao Klauss, with five goals, has outscored him for St. Louis this term.
LA Galaxy – Marco Reus
Reus is one of 20 players in MLS history to record a goal and an assist on his regular-season debut.
He is also the fifth Galaxy player to do so, after Steven Gerrard, Andreas Herzog, Giovani dos Santos and Sasha Victorine. No other team have had more than two players achieve the feat.
MATCH PREDICTION – DRAW
The Galaxy have won 10 of their last 13 regular-season matches, the first time they have done so in a single season since 2011. LA have not recorded 11 wins in a span of 14 matches within a single regular season in the post-shootout era (since 2000).
It would be no surprise to see the points shared in this one, though. All three meetings between St. Louis and the Galaxy have ended level, all with different scorelines (1-1, 2-2, 3-3).
St. Louis have only won one of the last six matches in which they have held the lead in regular-season play dating back to the beginning of June (four draws, one defeat).
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
St. Louis City – 35.8%
LA Galaxy – 38.1%
Draw – 26.1%
Raphinha hails Barcelona after statement win over Valladolid
Barcelona forward Raphinha believes the team have laid down a statement of their intent by starting the season with four straight wins in LaLiga.
Raphinha scored the first hat-trick of his career and also delivered two assists on Saturday, as Barca crushed Real Valladolid 7-0 at Camp Nou.
Hansi Flick's side already possess a four-point cushion at the top of the table after also recording victories over Valencia, Athletic Bilbao and Rayo Vallecano.
Raphinha believes their results have demonstrated the club got things right in the transfer market, telling Movistar: "Today's game has shown that there is no need for anyone else to come. We are very happy because of that.
"We are in very good shape. The team is working hard. Today's result shows what we are working for.
"We saw that the coach was on the sidelines asking for more goals and that's our mentality.
"We are hungry and want to score as many goals as we can. When we are dominant like we have been, the best way to respect our rivals is not taking the foot off the gas."
Raphinha was one of the players who faced criticism during Barca's trophyless 2023-24 campaign and was rumoured to be on his way out ahead of the new season.
The Blaugrana again battled financial restrictions throughout the window, allowing Ilkay Gundogan to leave in order to secure the registration of new arrival Dani Olmo.
With his future now certain, Raphinha is keen to nail down a starting spot and contribute on a regular basis.
"I don't know if today's was my best game, but it's certainly among my best. I will try to play even better and as much as I can," the Brazilian said.
"I'm very happy to be able to help the team. I feel good. I knew that this season would be very important for me. I'm looking for my best version to help my team-mates and be more confident."
Lazio 2-2 Milan: Leao salvages draw but Rossoneri still winless
Rafael Leao came off the bench to earn Milan a 2-2 draw with Lazio at the Stadio Olimpico on Saturday, but Paulo Fonseca's side are still without a Serie A win this season.
Milan were in front at the break through Strahinja Pavlovic's eighth-minute goal, the Serbian rising highest to power home a header from Christian Pulisic's corner.
However, Lazio hit back in the second half with Valentin Castellanos and Boulaye Dia scoring in quick succession.
Nuno Tavares' first-time ball into the centre was met by the unmarked Castellanos to level in the 62nd minute, then Dia tapped another Tavares cutback home to put the Biancocelesti ahead four minutes later.
Fonseca reacted by sending on four substitutes, and those changes had a swift impact as three of them combined for the leveller.
Theo Hernandez – who joined Leao in being dropped from the start – picked out Tammy Abraham, and his lay-off allowed Leao to escape Tavares to fire past Ivan Provedel.
The game was preceded by an emotional tribute to the man who led Lazio to their last league title, Sven-Goran Eriksson, who died at the age of 76 on Monday.
A Lazio shirt bearing the Swede's name was displayed on the home bench, while a banner held up by the home fans read: "You brought us to the top of the world... Have a good trip Mr. Sven."
Data Debrief: Milan's slow start continues
New Milan boss Fonseca is already under pressure after overseeing a return of two points from his first three league games at the helm.
It is the first time the Rossoneri have drawn two of their opening three matches in a Serie A season since 2011-12, when they also drew two and lost one,
They went on to finish second that season, just four points adrift of champions Juventus. If a title challenge is to take place this term, rapid improvements are needed.
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