Congratulations go out to U.S. women’s national team goalkeeper Hope Solo who became the first player in history (man or woman) to reach 100 international shutouts in Saturday’s 1-0 win over South Africa in Chicago. Solo also recorded her 150th career win in the friendly, the first ever meeting between the two countries. It is perfectly understandable if you are not a huge fan of Solo,given all her drama off the field, but you have to at least respect her professional career. The Road to Rio Has One More Stop for USWNT Before Brazil
Speaking of the U.S. women’s team, it has just one friendly left – July 22 vs. Costa Rica in Kansas City -before theopening match at the 2016 Olympics: Aug. 3 vs. New Zealand. Soon, head coach Jill Ellis will name the 18-player roster for Rio, which is why it was a good sign for the U.S. that midfielder Carli Lloyd made her first appearance in 2.5 months since spraining her MCL. Another rehabbing star,midfielder Megan Rapinoe,didn’t play against South Africa but she was on the bench. She figures to be close to returning from ACL surgery. Euro 2016 Ends Unexpectedly with a Title for Portugal Minus Ronaldo
Euro 2016 wrapped up on Sunday with a shocking 1-0 extra time victory for Portugal against the heavily favored host France. Besides the fact that the Portuguese had never won a major tournament, it was also surprising since their star, Ronaldo, left with a knee injury in the 25th minute. Instead of being decided in penalty kicks, the brilliant game-winning goal was scored by substitute Eder (an anonymous striker who plays for Lille OSC in France) in the 109th minute. Fans Pick the MLS Starting 11 for the All-Star Game
Major League Soccer revealed the All-Star Fan XI on Saturday afternoon for the 2016 MLS All-Star Game which will be held on Thursday, July 28 vs. Arsenal (7:30, ESPN) in San Jose, California. Fans voted in 10 players: goalkeeper Andre Blake (Philadelphia Union); defenders Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City), Laurent Ciman (Montreal Impact) and Keegan Rosenberry (Union); midfielders Kaka (Orlando City), Darlington Nagbe (Portland Timbers), Andrea Pirlo (New York City FC) and Giovani Dos Santos (Los Angeles Galaxy); forwards Didier Drogba (Impact) and Sebastian Giovinco (Toronto FC). The 11th player-NYCFC’s forward David Villa-was chosen through EA Sports’ “More Than a Vote” challenge where fans scored over 800,000 goals with him on the video game FIFA 16. Follow Metro soccer writer Richard Slate on Twitter: @RichSlate
Slate on soccer: Hats off to Hope Solo, USWNT prepping for Olympics
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