Sunday Cup-o-American Soccer: Comebacks, security guards, and future talent

Yet another week of 2020 is in the books. It has to end sometime right? There is good news for US Soccer though as this week has a look at a few talents for the future, what’s next for some familiar names, and Paul Blart.

The Burgundy Wave profiles a new potential future USWNT star

After a year with high expectations somewhat derailed due to injury, NWSL rookie and USWNT camp attendee Sofia Smith is excited to move forward in her career. The youngster, who featured with the USWNT youth setup, is hoping to make the best of her opportunity with the senior squad. The Burgundy Wave profiled the Colorado native and gives some idea of the mentality she has in camp and her goals for the future.

Kristie Mewis makes a comeback

While Sam Mewis’ exploits are well known and earned her a trip to Europe after winning the 2019 World Cup, her sister Kristie watched on from the US. That was partly due to injury, but the midfielder also seemed to have lost a bit of the spark that pushed her to several national team callups. 2020 has been somewhat of a comeback for the Houston Dash midfielder. Goal spoke to Mewis about her injury, mindset, and what she did differently in her approach to this season.

Jill Ellis to DC United takes another step forward

It may still be a long shot, but the Jill Ellis to DC United move took another step forward. The two sides met this week in an early talk about Ellis taking over the manager role for DCU. Interestingly, other familiar names to US Soccer fans have also been in the mix as John Harkes, Jason Kreis, and Steve Cherundolo have also been included in the coaching search.

You can take the team out of RFK Stadium, but you can’t take the RFK Stadium out of the team

Just head over to the Athletic or read the headline if you don’t have a subscription.

It’s really hard to imagine MLS being somehow more MLS, but this is about the most MLS thing an MLS team has ever done. No word yet if the entire stadium was stolen while Steven Birnbaum was on duty.

Your weekly reminder that the USMNT has a player with Barcelona

And his name is Sergino Dest and he plays with Lionel Messi. The defender talked to Luis Miguel Echegaray on the Que Golazo podcast with CBS about what it’s like in Spain and how it felt meeting Lionel Messi. In addition, Barca Blaugranes had Dest’s comments to Barca fans about what to expect from him with the team. He mentions what Ronald Koeman expects from his as a defender and what his growing confidence with his teammates means going forward.