Exciting first weekend in the Major League Soccer playoffs, as three of the five first-round games so far have gone to PK shootout, including FC Dallas‘ upset at Portland Timbers, set up by Ricardo Pepi’s stoppage-time equalizer. Quarterfinals are Dec. 1-2, with the semis the next weekend and the MLS Cup final on Sunday, Dec. 12.
The U.S. women play their first game in more than eight months this Friday, Nov. 27, facing the Netherlands in a rematch of the 2019 World Cup final and possibly a preview of the 2021 Olympics final, 11:30am on ESPN2. As you may recall, there were seven European teams in that WWC final eight, but out of that packed field, only three will be in the Japan Olympics next summer: the Netherlands, Sweden, and England (but no Germany or France!).
Spurs fans: If you haven’t been paying attention (you can be excused; there’s been a lot going on), Tottenham Hotspur are in first place in the English Premier League with almost a quarter of the season gone – the first time they’ve been there this far into a season in recent memory. Spurs haven’t won any sort of trophy since 2008 and have never won an EPL title. Meanwhile, on Monday, Spurs reported an $85 million loss for the fiscal year that ended in June, and warned of a $200 million loss in revenue for the coming year, with no fans and no Champions League appearance for the first time in five years… The English teams that are in the Champions League are doing just fine, though. As we go to press midway through match day four, all four – Chelsea, Liverpool, and Manchesters City and United – sit in first place in their respective groups; next games are Tue.-Wed., Dec. 1-2.
This article appears in November 27 • 2020.