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Atlético Nacional vs Legia Warsaw, 2018 Florida Cup: Final Score 2-0 as Nacional Wins the Florida Cup

Published

7 years ago

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Atlético Nacional came into the final Florida Cup match in third place. The Colombian side sat three points behind Barcelona SC, so it needed a win and to make up the goal differential to win the tournament. Nacional made up the two-goal differential it needed thanks to a first-half brace from Aldo Leao Ramírez and never looked back, beating Legia Warsaw, 2-0, at Al Lang Stadium in St. Petersburg.

The game started out back and forth with both teams having opportunities on goal. Just after the 30th minute, Nacional fans were calling for a penalty kick but it was waived off by the referee. Just a few minutes later though, Ramírez put Atlético up 1-0. Macnelly Torres put a perfect through ball that found Ramírez one-on-one with the ‘keeper, and Ramírez easily found the back of the net.

Six minutes later, Ramírez doubled the lead and put the Colombian side into first place. Ramírez took a pass with his left foot and cut towards the outside. He then fired a powerful shot that might have been going wide, but a defender deflected it and Atlético Nacional took a 2-0 lead in the 36th minute.

Nacional took its two-goal lead into the second half and saw out its championship. Legia had a few chances but the Polish side could not do enough to truly challenge Atlético’s defense and could not find the back of the net.

The Colombian side was one of three teams to go 2-0 in the tournament, but beat out both Barcelona SC and Scottish giants Rangers on goal differential. Barcelona fell to second and Rangers ended up third.

Legia finished the tournament in seventh place out of eight teams. The Polish side failed to win either of its games.

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United States vs. Brazil: Continental Classic: Final Score 1-1 as USMNT Comes from Behind in Orlando

Christian Pulisic’s free kick goal earned the U.S. a draw against world power Brazil at Camping World Stadium.

Published

6 months ago

on

June 12, 2024

By

Michael Citro, The Mane Land

The United States Men’s National Team fell behind early but Christian Pulisic’s free kick goal helped the Yanks draw South American giants Brazil 1-1 in front of an announced crowd of 60,016 at Orlando’s Camping World Stadium. Matt Turner set a new career high with the national team with 11 saves, eclipsing his previous best of eight, and although his turnover led to Brazil’s goal, Turner had a strong game stopping shots.

With the draw, the United States snapped an 11-game losing streak to the Seleção, the team’s longest losing streak against any country.

USMNT Head Coach Gregg Berhalter said he was happy with the way the team responded to Saturday’s 5-1 loss to Colombia.

“We talked to the guys before the game and we just asked two things from them. We asked for teamwork and intensity,” Berhalter said. “And the way we framed it is (these are) two things that are totally in their control. It doesn’t matter about the opponent. It doesn’t matter about the field, or the fans, or anything. Those are the two things they can control. And that’s the type of effort that we saw today. We feel like we made a little step. It’s not a huge step, but it’s a little step to be able to play against an amazingly talented Brazil team and bend but not break. I think give them problems as well, push them as well. So for us, looking at it, we think it’s a good end to our preparation camp and we’re ready for Copa America.”

Berhalter’s starting lineup included Turner in goal behind a back line of Antonee Robinson, Tim Ream, Chris Richards, and Joe Scally. The midfield in the team’s 4-3-3 consisted of Weston McKennie, Yunus Musah, and Gio Reyna behind a forward line of Pulisic, Ricardo Pepi, and Tim Weah.

The U.S. started brightly, creating the first two chances of the game. Musah was unlucky not to score just five minutes in as his cannon shot from long range hit the crossbar, bounced down and somehow stayed out.

A minute later, Pulisic made a nice move to cut through traffic into space and fired a shot from outside the area, but Alisson made a diving save.

Brazil grew more into the match after that and created the next couple of chances. The first fell to Rodrygo at the top of the 18. His shot didn’t have much pace on it and was right at Turner for the comfortable save in the seventh minute. A minute later, Vinicius Jr. had a shot from the top of the box on the right but he missed the target.

A nice play by Pepi created an attacking chance for Weah in the 12th minute. The winger cut in from the right side and fired with his left but it went straight at Alisson.

Vinicius Jr. cut inside and fired two minutes later, but the shot was partially deflected, making for an easy scoop for Turner. The goalkeeper then made a save on Vinicius Jr. after Musah turned the ball over moments later. Turner then made a much more difficult save in the 17th minute on the Brazilian speedster, who roasted Richards down the right side of the U.S. defense.

Brazil broke through on the ensuing restart. Turner’s pass into the middle was picked off, igniting the Brazilian counterattack. Rodrygo got in behind on the left thanks to a great diagonal pass, and he placed his shot well, beating Turner to make it 1-0.

The teams exchanged shots in the 20th minute, with Weah cutting in and firing right at Alisson for an easy save. Lucas Paqueta then fired over the bar at the other end.

Turner got away with a big mistake in the 22nd minute. Caught between two minds, he stopped his charge off the line, allowing Brazil to get to the ball first at the top of the area. The ball went left and Turner recovered to force a corner kick. Ream cleared the set piece cross to take the heat off.

Pulisic got to the top of the area in the 24th minute and was fouled hard. Although it appeared to happen right on the line at the top of the 18-yard box, Honduran referee Said Martinez indicated a free kick just outside the box. No matter, because Pulisic smashed a low shot into the bottom left corner, beating Alisson and making it 1-1 in the 26the minute.

“It was so close, it was going to be tough to get it over the wall,” Pulisic said. “And I just saw a bit of an opening.”

The pace of the game slowed a bit after the equalizer, including a hydration break a few minutes later. Brazil sent a couple of long-range attempts well over Turner’s goal in the five-minute span between the 35th and 40th minutes and the U.S. overcooked a couple of crosses in that same time period. A ball forward in the 42nd minute for Rodrygo was well shepherded by Richards, allowing Turner to collect. Pulisic sent a weak header to Alisson a minute later.

The game ground almost to a halt over the final few minutes of the half and the three minutes of injury time, and the teams went to the break all tied up.

The stats were pretty even at halftime, although Brazil held much more of the possession (60.8%-39.2%). The visitors also had more shots (8-6) and corners (2-0), while the U.S. put more shots on target (5-4).

Brazil controlled even more of the ball to start the second half, pushing the U.S. defensive block lower and keeping all 10 outfield players in the Americans’ half for long stretches. This got Brazil’s fullbacks more involved in the attack and Wendell bombed forward and smashed a shot from a tight angle on the left into the outside netting in the 50th minute.

Brazil initially won a dangerous free kick a minute later on the game’s most bizarre play. Richards appeared to commit a foul just outside the semicircle at the top of the penalty area and was booked. Before Brazil took the set piece, the referee went to the monitor, presumably to check to see if Richards was the last defender and should therefore be sent off. Martinez instead deemed that the play was clean, giving the U.S. the ball back and rescinding the yellow card he had shown the U.S. defender.

Moments later, the Brazilians sent an attack up the left that ended in an overhead kick by Rodrygo that sailed just wide. Wendell then sent a shot over the bar in the 59th minute.

The goalkeeper traded fantastic saves in the 67th and 68th minutes. Second-half sub Endrick blazed past Ream down Brazil’s right channel and smashed a shot that Turner saved. He was able to jump on the rebound before an opponent could arrive. Seconds later on the other end, McKennie picked out Pulisic’s trailing run. The captain was wide open but Alisson made an outstanding save to keep the game level.

Rodrygo created a good shot from a bad angle on the left in the 74th minute with a quickly released and cheeky shot with his right. Turner got a hand up at the last second to make a huge save.

The U.S. could have taken the lead in the 83rd minute off a throw-in. Pulisic did well to get the ball at the end line and centered for substitute Brenden Aaronson. However, the winger’s point-blank shot was too close to Alisson, who made a big reaction save. Three minutes later, Pulisic tried a shot from the left but sent his attempt inches wide of the right post.

In the final minutes, Brazil sent a couple of hopeful attempts at Turner and couldn’t do much with a series of corner kicks. Pulisic had one opportunity for the U.S. with a steal in the attacking half, but he was pulled back by a defender. The ref let the U.S. play on but Pulisic only made it about another step and a half before having the ball knocked away and Martinez did not pull the play back for a free kick on the foul. Instead, he gave Brazil a free kick at the other end on the ensuing attack. Turner punched the delivery away.

Ultimately, the U.S. survived the late pressure and earned a hard-fought draw with a tough Brazilian side.

Brazil ended up dominating the stat sheet, finishing with the advantage in possession (60.9%-39.1%), shots (25-12), shots on target (12-7), and corners (9-0). The crowd was a record for a USMNT match in the state of Florida.

“I think it was just a willingness to defend, get numbers behind the ball in transition, getting numbers back, just just a lot smarter, not losing balls in the wrong areas and just giving them easy opportunities. And yeah, just a team spirit,” Pulisic said about his team’s performance vs. Saturday’s game. “A willingness to also suffer at times and then find our chances. So, definitely a big step in the right direction.”

“If we could play with those two teams, we could play with pretty much any team in the (Copa America) tournament,” Richards said. “Of course, every team is going to bring new challenges, but I think tonight especially gives us a lot of confidence.”

The next time the USMNT takes the pitch will be June 23 in Arlington, TX, against Bolivia in the 2024 Copa America.

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Fulham vs. Aston Villa, International Friendly: Final Score 2-0 as Aston Villa Wins Friendly at Exploria Stadium

Aston Villa scored a goal in each half to defeat a wasteful Fulham side in friendly action at Exploria Stadium.

Published

1 year ago

on

July 26, 2023

By

Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Aston Villa scored a goal in each half to dispatch Fulham 2-0 in a friendly match, as the Summer Series came to Orlando’s Exploria Stadium. Jaden Philogene put Aston Villa ahead in the first half and Moussa Diaby doubled the lead in the second half to lead the Villans past a Fulham side that wasted several good opportunities to get on the scoreboard.

“A strange match tonight,” Aston Villa Manager Unai Emery said. “We started late, and we didn’t get the rhythm like we wanted. We didn’t build up like we were doing on Sunday against Newcastle. We didn’t connect or progress with good passes trying to get in the boxes, but we competed, we won, and we played the game with different players, trying to get our fitness. I am happy but overall it was strange, tonight’s match.”

Marco Silva’s starting lineup for Fulham looked like this:

Emery countered with this lineup for Aston Villa:

A delay for inclement weather pushed kickoff back an hour and 20 minutes. Once the match began, the two English sides played a physical and sometimes downright feisty game for a friendly.

The opening 25 minutes was mostly bereft of clear-cut chances. The best opportunity for either side up to that point was a header just wide off a corner kick by Aston Villa’s Kansa in the eighth minute.

As the first half wore on, Aston Villa started creating more opportunities. Cameron Archer was sent into the box with a good through ball and he was taken down. It was an obvious penalty. Archer took the spot kick himself, but Fulham goalkeeper Bernd Leno got a hand to it, diving to his right and deflecting it off the woodwork.

Villa worked the ball back into the box to Archer again but this time he sent his shot wide to the left.

Kansa was booked for Aston Villa in the 36th minute for a rough foul as the physical play continued. Shortly after that, however, his side took the lead.

A ball in from the left side from Lucas Digne found Philogene in front and he swept it home to make it 1-0 in the 40th minute.

Just before the break, Fulham put the ball in the net through Carlos Vinicius, but the flag had gone up for offside in the buildup. Villa carried its 1-0 lead into halftime.

Fulham opened the second half looking to get level and creating chances. Substitute Willian won an early free kick but Fulham could do nothing with it. Vinicius was left unmarked moments later but headed over the bar. Sasa Lukic tried an ambitious shot from distance in the 54th minute, but it was always going wide to the right. A minute later, Vinicius had another header attempt but hit this one just outside the upper left corner of the goal frame.

Aston Villa then calmed things down with a good spell of possession, although the Lions couldn’t create any chances from it. Both managers substituted liberally at the hour mark to bring on fresh legs.

Fulham’s best look came in the 71st minute. Willian sent a good diagonal ball that went through traffic and found Harry Wilson in the box. However, the Welsh winger scuffed his shot badly wide to the left.

Two minutes later, Villa scored an insurance goal. A well-weighted ball over the top found a streaking Diaby, who got in behind the Fulham defense and beat goalkeeper Mark Rodak to make it 2-0.

Luke Harris got some late chances for Fulham but he sent his first one straight at substitute goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez and the second one Martinez saved, knocking it just wide for a corner in the 80th and 81st minutes.

Jay Stansfield went for goal from outside the area but sent his shot wide on one of Fulham’s last decent looks in the 87th minute.

Villa nearly made it 3-0 in the 89th minute when Ollie Watkins was sent in behind but his touch was just a tad heavy and that allowed Fulham goalkeeper Marek Rodak to come off his line and intercede.

That was the last good chance and Aston Villa closed out a victory in what was a fairly even match in which Fulham simply couldn’t find the net.

“It was really good,” Silva said of the Exploria Stadium atmosphere. “One of the very good things on this tour and this Summer Series is that we are playing preseason matches, but at the same time, we are playing these types of matches with a good environment, with a good atmosphere in the stadiums. It’s much easier for the players to be motivated when they play with this type of environment in the stadium. One of the good things this Summer Series gives us as a coach, is we don’t need to push them because the environment will give them the boost in terms of the motivation that they need.”

Starting Lineups:

Fulham — Bernd Leno, Kenny Tete, Harrison Reed, Harry Wilson, Tom Cairney (C), Bobby De Cordova-Reid, Kevin Mbabu, Sasa Lukic, Carlos Vinicius, Issa Diop, Luc De Fougerolles.

Aston Villa — Robin Olsen, Konsa, John McGinn (C), Youri Tielemans, Emiliano Buendia, Lucas Digne, Torres, Jaden Philogene, Cameron Archer, Boubacar Kamara.

Scoring:

Aston Villa — Jaden Philogene (40′)

Aston Villa — Moussa Diaby (73′)

Attendance:

16,134

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The Beautiful Game Provided an Evening of Fun Soccer Until Pitch Invaders and Rain Halted the Proceedings

A fun night celebrating the game we all love was cut short by an overwhelming number of pitch invaders and a torrential downpour in the second half.

Published

2 years ago

on

June 23, 2023

By

Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

“The Beautiful Game” came to Orlando tonight as soccer legends and an assortment of other celebrities participated in an exhibition match at Exploria Stadium. The teams were captained by legendary Brazilians Ronaldinho and Roberto Carlos and included notable current and former players such as former Orlando City captain Nani, Real Madrid star Vini Jr., and AS Roma winger Paulo Dybala.

It was a fun and entertaining soccer exhibition until persistent pitch invaders and a massive downpour dampened the proceedings. The match was abandoned just past the hour mark.

That the result wasn’t important to anyone was obvious from the start, but flair, entertaining the crowd, and showing off technique were. This was rarely more apparent than whenever Nani had the ball, showing off his fantastic footwork and going out of his way not to shoot, with the exception of a free kick from about 25 yards out that he sent just wide of the left post in the first half.

“It was amazing,” the former Orlando City captain said about his return to Exploria Stadium. “It’s always good to go back home. I was feeling great. A little bit emotional to be here at this club, because it’s a club where I had so many beautiful moments. I heard my name in the stands, so that was a really exciting moment for me. I enjoyed a lot. It’s always special to be back home.”

The match opened with some good chances for Team Ronaldinho (Team R10) with Cafu hitting the crossbar before Ronaldinho sent a shot just wide in the third minute. Vini Jr. attempted a bicycle kick in the sixth minute but René Higuita was there to make the save. Jay-Jay Okocha opened the scoring in the 10th minute with some slick moves to beat both the “defense” and Higuita, putting Team R10 up, 1-0.

Five minutes later, Rivaldo tied things up for Team Roberto Carlos (Team RC3) with a shot from distance, beating Team R10 goalkeeper Dida.

Patrick Kluivert made it 2-1 for Team R10 in the 25th minute, scoring after taking a nice pass from Vini Jr. and beating Higuita.

Nani’s free kick went just wide in the 28th minute and seconds later Team R10 extended its lead when Cafu drew Higuita off his line and chipped him to make it 3-1.

Four minutes later, it was Nani sending a beautiful through ball to Willian, who crossed in front for former Tottenham man Lucas Moura to finish into an open net. Team RC3 pulled within 3-2.

The final goal of the half came from Vini Jr. in the 36th minute as he chipped Mateus, who had replaced Higuita in goal.

Each team hit the woodwork and that was about it for the first half, but both sides showed flashes of brilliance in their passing and dribbling. Team R10 took a 4-2 lead into the break over Team RC3.

Vini Jr. scored in the 48th minute but this time he was wearing a different uniform. The Real Madrid star came out as a Team RC3 player and brought his team within a goal at 4-3 just after the restart.

The game went back and forth for the next 10 minutes or so, and then some of the star players began subbing out. Nani came off after 55 minutes without a goal but with a nice secondary assist and several highlight moments of skill.

“The name of the game is The Beautiful Game, so you need to do beautiful things,” he said. “And just the special players who’ve got the skills who can do it, so I had to put some performance on the field. The fans here, some of them know me very well from the time I was here, so I had to perform. I had to show something to make them excited to remember the good times (when) I was here, so that’s what it’s all about.”

The skies opened up with a torrential downpour shortly after Nani departed. Then kids started raining out of the stands and onto the field.

Pitch invaders had been an issue throughout the match, with about half a dozen isolated incidents that started before the match. When the rain started coming down, dozens of selfie- and autograph-seeking children and young adults started running onto the pitch to try to get their photo with a player or get a shirt signed.

The security team on duty was overwhelmed by the number of people coming out of the stands, and the players and referees ran down the tunnel. The game was abandoned “due to the weather” but it was likely a combination of the downpour and the lack of crowd control. About 15 minutes after the game was abandoned, the weather had cleared.

This match should serve as a warning to MLS about what to expect when Lionel Messi arrives and starts playing in the United States. Fans who have rarely had the chance to be so close to their idol — the Argentina talisman, who has a bigger worldwide following than anyone on tonight’s rosters and possibly more than both rosters combined.

This kind of pitch invasion is likely to happen when Messi plays in MLS — possibly every week — if the league and its clubs aren’t ready.

The Beautiful Game was enjoyable while it lasted, but it was marred by unchecked fanaticism, and that is both disappointing and frightening. Hopefully all involved in putting on this match have learned from the experience so that the good part remains and the bad part can be eliminated.

And hopefully MLS takes a good look at the video to prepare for Messi.

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