Steve Davis

When we think of the warrior-like legends who have so fiercely and skillfully defended the U.S. Soccer crest, no man or woman could check any more boxes than Abby Wambach. It’s not just that amazing resume, the one that shows a six-time U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year winner, the all-time leading U.S. scorer (men […]

Jurgen Klinsmann is very clear about his CONCACAF Gold Cup selections, announced just today. These are the 23 players that provide the best chance for ultimate success as the United States defends its title in the biennial regional tournament (and fights for that spot in the Confederations Cup that the manager wants so badly). Yes, […]

An effective but rather humdrum start for the favored United States into the Women’s World Cup is either one of two things: This is manager Jill Ellis not having a solid handle on what her team is all about, especially on attack, still struggling with how to balance an aging workhorse inspiration of a forward […]

After watching the United States nail down deserved wins against two global heavies of world soccer, it’s hard to resist the temptation to declare “corner turned.” For years, the United States has been a solid middle class citizen in the pecking order of world soccer – living comfortably but not exactly among the wealthy. Moving […]

Diehard U.S. Soccer fans, prepare to feel conflicted. A bunch of you will watch this evening as the United States women begin chasing a Women’s World Cup crown that has been frustratingly elusive since 1999. There’s the sunny side of life today, one that quickens the Yankee Doodle pulse. But at some point most of […]

The key phrases to know as we look at Jurgen Klinsmann’s latest U.S. roster are these: “Upside” and “Up against it.” Check that. Let’s go with “Seriously up against it.” The two friendlies ahead will be “tests” in the truest sense of the word. First, here's a reminder of what the US roster looks like […]

Some sort of re-vote on the tainted tallies that awarded FIFA World Cups in 2018 and 2022 to Russia and (most stunningly, most notoriously, most annoyingly) Qatar still seems unlikely. Even with the dizzying wave of corruption charges that swept over world soccer’s power brokers on Wednesday, the World Cup in Russia would seem impossible […]

MLS supporters drool over big names who might one day grace the league. We bicker over managers and, increasingly, about the front office deciders who make the juicy personnel calls. We love to go a few rounds over broadcast talent. These are usually the domestic issues that keep the blogs and their comments sections busy, […]

It seems the red tape rigmarole was apparently worth it; U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati confirmed via Twitter this week that Gedion Zelalem has successfully jumped through all the requisite FIFA hoops and may now, officially, represent the United States in international competition. That was the easy part. Even if it doesn’t seem so. Managing the […]

Clichés are bad enough in sports broadcasting and writing. But the very worst among them: the clichés that aren’t even true. It’s a double whammy of awful. This is one of my real pet peeves in soccer journalism and broadcasting. Also file this under: “Some lessons never get learned, apparently.” So let’s go over this […]

Major League Soccer has seen its share of high quality strike duos over 20 years. There have even been striker partnerships that were merely “good” and even a couple of truly sensational ones, productive, classy and electrifying all at once. But let’s go ahead and start making the case that we are currently watching the […]

We are two months into the MLS season, the final whistle having blown on about one-fifth of the matches. That seems like a reasonable milepost to have rounded as we bring the award discussions ahead to a pre-summer simmer. A lot of soccer remains to assess, so things can and probably will change. But let’s […]

Major League Soccer clubs can find themselves in an annual pickle regarding the International Challenge Cup and other international friendlies staged stateside against high-profile sides. These matches can and probably do siphon off some attention and some consumer coin that might otherwise fall for North American clubs. But they make money, which means they are […]

Everyone loves a boy-done-good story. Who could watch Jordan Morris’ raw emotion as the Stanford man banged in a rock-solid finish last week against his national team’s most rival-y rival and not feel proud for him? Are you kidding me? A college kid sticking it in the faces of Mexican professionals, starting and scoring before […]

SAN ANTONIO, TX — For all of Jurgen Klinsmann’s unpredictable ways, those player selection standards that tend to weave all over the road, his quirky tactical choices, etc., we do know about one thing for certain about the U.S. head coach: He badly wants to win the upcoming Gold Cup. The dangling carrot is the […]