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anabnos.com
Soccer editor at The Guardian US. Formerly ran The Athletic Soccer and wrote/produced for Sports Illustrated. Drums for Secret Cities & Moon Revenge & myself. 🇺🇸 | 🦁🗡️☀️ | 🚴
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MLS talking points from the weekend for @theguardian.com! 🗣️ - @anabnos.com on Messi's no-show! - @jonarnoldfc.bsky.social on Lozano's injury! - @joeclowery.bsky.social on THAT overhead kick! - Me on Zaha's Charlotte FC debut!

Nice to contribute to @theguardian.com's weekend MLS talking points, looking at Hirving Lozano coming off early & what a long-term injury could mean for expansion San Diego FC. Nice stuff from the team as well on Messi, *that* goal in Chicago & King Zaha. www.theguardian.com/football/202...

Stereogum admin before hitting send on this

The Houston Dynamo gave away free tickets to a future game to make up for Lionel Messi not being there. You can view that cynically or charitably, and in either case you'll be a little bit right. That + some other #MLS talking points from the weekend: www.theguardian.com/football/202...

Your Audi....has headlights that can be arranged in a number of different configurations

Here's a sad stat for you this morning. Announced attendance for #SportingKC last night was 16,277, that's the 1st home opener non-sellout since 2007, the last year at Arrowhead (yes the opener sold out all 3 years at CAB).

It's happened again! (...derogatory?) www.theguardian.com/football/202...

Read @kimischilling.bsky.social’s analysis of the #USWNT’s teenage midfield partnership of Yohannes and Hutton - IMO the biggest positive takeaway from the SheBelieves Cup: www.theguardian.com/football/202...

I am really, really looking forward to seeing the second thing Jessica Lee Gagné directs.

‘I spent 12 hours a day for 16 months with Gene Hackman – but never met him’: The Conversation’s Walter Murch pays tribute

Gene Hackman dying seems a good time to tell you that Sam Raimi made a western called The Quick and the Dead, absolutely every cool actor is in it, Hackman destroys in every scene as the Big Bad, and for weird reasons 1995 America decided it was bad and erased it from memory

Watching beach soccer, where almost every goal would be considered a certified banger in regular soccer, which counterintuitively makes it less awesome to watch.

I always liked that it was heavily implied that Gene Hackman's character in Enemy of the State (1998) is the same guy as his character in The Conversation (1974). Not only is it great "all movies are in the same universe" fodder, but very representative of his incredible, varied career.

Some quick thoughts on USWNT 1, Japan 2: www.theguardian.com/football/202...

There'll be a lot of overheated takes, as there always are after a #USWNT loss, but this is the best performance from one of their opponents in years. Outstanding structure, just a remarkably intelligent performance from every player Nielsen put on the field.

Japan is just incredibly good, y'all. Even a full-strength USWNT would have had its hands full.

Japan's reading of the game, player-to-player, is just off the charts. Even on eye-popping plays like that Campbell save, they're always thinking about the next thing. Awesome to watch.

This sent me on a journey. • '93 v. Japan was USWNT's 78th game ever. Today's is No. 758. • 19-cap player in '93 = appeared in 24% of the team's all-time games. • 51-cap player today = appeared in 6.7% of the team's all-time games. • US has 16(!) players to have appeared in over 25% of its games

A classic

Jesse Marsch had some things to say. www.theguardian.com/football/202...

CONCACAF says it has started an investigation into Chido Awaziem’s allegations of derogatory remarks by LAFC’s Sergi Palencia in last night’s CCC game. www.theguardian.com/football/202...

But he was there. He was there in 1994 for Fabio Capello’s first and only Champions League title. He was the first guy playing Busquets before Busquets. He was there in La Masia with Lionel Messi. He was there.

"Maybe the brand, such as it is, has been built, and the players sense innately that no amount of interviews or late-night talkshow appearances will move the needle for their sport any longer." Great piece by @leanderalphabet.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/football/202...

I wrote about Christian Pulisic, his "Pulisic" docuseries, and what it says about a United States men's national team generation that lacks the promotional zeal of its predecessors. @us.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com/football/202...

Yeah, uh, that's not gonna work if you want to prevent Messi from doing stuff.

Really nice piece from @jonarnoldfc.bsky.social on why Sergio Ramos + James chose Liga MX: www.theguardian.com/football/202...

Before the bulk of games start, a re-up for this good piece:

Legend is right. Scary but glad to hear he’s ok.

In year 30, is MLS an American sporting league whose sport happens to be soccer, or a soccer league that happens to take place in America? www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/f...

“Lily is a baller” - Sophia Wilson, 2024

Lily Yohanes is good at those kind of seemingly simple but actually difficult medium-range passes that Americans (women and men) are just straight up not good at

please read my post about the united states women's national soccer team. they play soon. thanks. www.theguardian.com/football/202...

Missed opportunity to put this thing in a sick hat

Happy 20th birthday to one of my favorite albums ever camille.bandcamp.com/album/le-fil

Could Messi do it on an inhumanely cold night in Kansas City? Of course he could

It is #USWNT gameday. • @megswanick.bsky.social on Emily Sonnett, the rare unsung hero with 100+ caps: www.theguardian.com/football/202... • @kimischilling.bsky.social on Macario's return and the new arrivals looking to earn a more permanent spot: www.theguardian.com/football/202...

Making sports predictions is dumb. They're way more likely to embarrass you than anything else. Yeah, I did some MLS predictions. @jonarnoldfc.bsky.social, @grahamruthven.bsky.social and @joeclowery.bsky.social did too. They are ironclad. www.theguardian.com/football/202...

At this point, playing through the cold is as endemic to American soccer as the MLS salary budget and constant long-distance travel. Could Messi handle it? Take a guess. (Or just read my piece) www.theguardian.com/football/202...

As with so many Messi goals, you can try and find fault with the defending here, and there probably is some (why is Thommy matched up with Messi in that situation, etc). But it's mostly just a great play by the best to ever do it.

Every time the camera shows Javier Mascherano he is wearing an additional layer.