Hello! While the men's club season takes a break, the NWSL heats up with two exciting Challenge Cup semifinals on the docket today. Men's soccer takes center stage tomorrow with a fascinating batch of high-stakes matchups with World Cup and Euro qualifying on the minds for players in South America and Europe, respectively. I'm Pardeep Cattry, and here's what you need to know with midweek soccer upon us.
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📺 Footy fix
All times U.S./Eastern
Wednesday, Sept. 6
🇺🇸 Challenge Cup: KC Current vs. NC Courage, 8 p.m. ➡️ CBS Sports Network
🇺🇸 Challenge Cup: OL Reign vs. Racing Louisville, 10 p.m. ➡️ CBS Sports Network
Thursday, Sept. 7
🇪🇺 Euro qualifiers: France vs. Ireland, 2:45 p.m. ➡️ FS2
🌎 World Cup qualifiers: Colombia vs. Venezuela, 7 p.m. ➡️ Fanatiz
🌎 Nations League: Guatemala vs. El Salvador, 10 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+
📺 What's on CBS Sports Golazo Network
☀️ Morning Footy (Weekdays 7-9 a.m.): Hosts Susannah Collins, Charlie Davies, Nico Cantor and Alexis Guerreros help fans get their day started on the network's flagship morning show with highlights, interviews and the biggest soccer storylines. Morning Footy is also available in podcast form, so you'll never have to miss an episode.
📦 Box 2 Box (Weekdays 1-2 p.m.): The news-driven show quickly recaps all the latest headlines from around the world with panelists previewing the top matchups of the day. Catch Box 2 Box on CBS Sports Golazo Network on the CBS Sports app, PlutoTV and Paramount+.
3️⃣ Attacking Third (Monday, Wednesday and Fridays, 4-5 p.m.): The leading women's soccer podcast and social brand is now a live studio show. Watch every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 4 p.m. ET as our analysts break down the best highlights and analysis and share insider information for all things women's soccer.
👟 Kickin' It (Coming soon!): CBS Sports Golazo Network's new unfiltered show debuts on Sept. 20, hosted by Kate Abdo, Clint Dempsey, Mo Edu and Charlie Davies as they chat candidly with the biggest names from the Beautiful Game and share their stories from on and off the pitch.
📺 How to watch: CBS Sports Golazo Network is a free 24/7 channel exclusively dedicated to offering unparalleled coverage of all the top soccer competitions worldwide. You can stream for free on the CBS Sports app, Pluto TV and Paramount+. For a limited time, you can get 50% off an annual subscription from Paramount+ (that's $2.50/month for the Essential Plan, or $5/month for the Paramount+ with Showtime plan). Don't miss a minute of the action -- sale ends on Sept. 20.
⚽ The Forward Line
🌟 Challenge Cup's unsung heroes
A quartet of NWSL teams will play in tonight's Challenge Cup semifinals (catch action on CBS Sports Network) after a group stage in which coaches had to rely on the depth of their squads. A large chunk of the Challenge Cup group stage took place during the Women's World Cup, which offered the chance for rotational players to make their marks. These players have the opportunity to add to their strong competition form with big performances tonight, and could receive the help of returning World Cup players.
The Current's Kristen Hamilton truly took her chances in the Challenge Cup and leads the goalscoring charts with five goals, while the Courage's Brittney Ratcliffe is tied for second with three. While Ratcliffe's success allowed the Courage to compete in the Challenge Cup and for the NWSL Shield, Hamilton's form is emblematic of her team's season -- the Current is bottom of the regular season standings, and a win against the Courage tonight could serve as a reprieve from an otherwise forgettable season.
- Cattry: "Hamilton's hot streak means she has outperformed her expected goals tally of 2.05 significantly during the Challenge Cup and has been quite the presence up top. She's taken 12 shots in four games, seven of which were on target. Her Challenge Cup performance mirrors that of her team's. Hamilton has just one goal through 11 games to show for her efforts in the regular season, underperforming her expected goals estimate of 2.08. She also put just 38.5% of her 13 shots on target in regular season play, down from the figure of 58.3% she's posting in the Challenge Cup."
Elyse Bennett serves as the OL Reign's breakout star during their Challenge Cup run. She leads the team with 12 total shots and is second for expected goals at 1.26, and also provides help to her teammates with three chances created so far. They will face Racing Louisville, who Sandra Herrera says will benefit from one of their World Cup attendees -- U.S. women's national team midfielder Savannah DeMelo:
- Herrera: "She's the team's leading goalscorer with three goals and earned the honors through three matches played. … She provides Louisville with a strong presence on set pieces and has shown she can be a lethal threat on goal during free kicks and set up teammates on corners. As one of seven players on the team to provide an assist in the Challenge Cup, she's a focal point for connectivity. DeMelo's among the top six on the team for pass completion percentage into the final third (85.7%) and has the ability to quickly change match tempo."
Expect a pair of competitive matches tonight, which could result in penalty kicks -- there's no extra time in the Challenge Cup, which only adds to the high-stakes feeling of the 90 minutes facing each team.
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🔗 Midfield Link Play
🇦🇷 South American qualifiers kick off
It's been less than nine months since Lionel Messi and Argentina lifted the World Cup, but the team and their South American counterparts are already looking ahead to 2026. CONMEBOL kicks off its World Cup qualifying campaign tomorrow with 6.5 spots in the 2026 competition on the line.
Argentina will host Ecuador in their first qualifier in a match they are expected to win if Messi's recent form continues. He has 11 goals in 11 games in all competitions since joining Inter Miami in July, while the likes of Enzo Fernandez and Alexis Mac Allister should help the reigning champions clinch a berth at the subsequent World Cup. Messi is one of three MLS players on Argentina's roster -- Atlanta United's Thiago Almada and FC Dallas' Alan Velasco also made the cut for this batch of games.
Brazil will also face Bolivia tomorrow, while Colombia and Chile begin their quest to qualify after missing the 2022 edition with games against Venezuela and Uruguay, respectively.
Elsewhere, other countries are using the international break to focus on other regional competition. European sides continue their journey to qualify for next year's Euros, with notable matchups tomorrow including France's encounter with Ireland and the Netherlands' game against Greece. France are well ahead of the pack in Group B and will likely add to their strong qualifying campaign with a win over Ireland, while the Netherlands will aim for an elusive win after only picking up one victory in three games.
🔗 News links
🇪🇸 Jorge Vilda was fired as the head coach of the Spain women's national team following a year-long controversy in which players accused him of fostering a toxic workplace. Check out the Morning Footy crew break down Vilda's dismissal.
🇸🇦 The latest on Al-Ittihad's pursuit of Mohamed Salah as the Saudi Pro League side prepares to offer $215 million for the Liverpool player's services, according to our James Benge.
🦩 What's the fate of Inter Miami during the international break without Lionel Messi and a handful of other players who are away with their national teams? Our Chuck Booth examines the uphill road to the playoffs with a date set against Sporting Kansas City on Saturday.
🇮🇹 Francesco Porzio previews the Luciano Spalletti era for Italy before he coaches his first game for the Azzurri this week against North Macedonia -- the team that eliminated them from qualifying for the 2022 World Cup.
🍚 Declan Rice is showing why he was worth the $130 million price tag it took Arsenal to get him from West Ham. Benge breaks down his heroics against Man United and why he's off to such a strong start to life at Arsenal.
🇧🇷 Antony was dropped from the Brazil squad ahead of South American qualifiers after authorities in São Paulo and the U.K. opened investigations into the player for troubling allegations of domestic abuse.
🏆 The draw for the FIFA Club World Cup in Saudi Arabia took place on Tuesday as Man City will face either Mexico's Club Leon or Japan's Urawa Red Diamonds in the semis come December.
🇳🇱 Netherlands captain Virgil van Dijk disagrees with a radical claim from his former national team coach Louis van Gaal that Argentina's World Cup win was "premeditated" in favor of Lionel Messi.
🇺🇸 "Putting in more dominant displays with and without the ball will be important." Tim Ream joins Morning Footy to preview the USMNT's upcoming friendlies against Uzbekistan and Oman.
🎥 Christian Unkel breaks down a missed call in a Premier League match between Chelsea and Tottenham last season on Morning Footy after the VAR admitted to making the wrong decision.
🏆 "The players like the cup a lot." On Box to Box, Kansas City Current coach Caroline Sjoblom previews her team's Challenge Cup semifinal against the North Carolina Courage and explains why the players will relish the opportunity to win a trophy.
💰 The Back Line
💵 Best bets
- Euro qualifiers: France vs. Ireland, Thursday, 2:45 p.m.
💰 THE PICK: France to win 2-0 (+390) -- France are running away at the top of Group B and are expected to stay there with another win over Ireland. As players continue to shake off the preseason rust, it may be a more routine win in terms of the scoreline, but with Kylian Mbappe around, expect goals. - CONMEBOL World Cup qualifiers: Colombia vs. Venezuela, Thursday, 7 p.m.
💰 THE PICK: Over 2.5 match goals (+100) -- World Cup qualifying gets underway this week in South America, and could start with a bang thanks to Colombia and Venezuela. Both teams boast attacking talent like Luis Diaz and Josef Martinez, respectively, so anything less than a few goals might be disappointing.
