Happy Monday! The first weekend of the month did not disappoint, and even more exciting soccer awaits this week. I’m Pardeep Cattry with the latest.
📺 Footy fix
All times U.S./Eastern
Monday, Dec. 4
🇮🇹 Serie A: Torino vs. Atalanta, 2:45 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+
Tuesday, Dec. 5
🏴 EPL: Luton Town vs. Arsenal 3:15 p.m. ➡️ Peacock
🌍 Women’s friendly: USWNT vs. China, 8 p.m. ➡️ Max
🌍 Women’s friendly: Canada vs. Australia, 10 p.m. ➡️ FS2
⚽ The Forward Line
😱 The Scream, Haaland edition
The Premier League weekend ended with a six-goal thriller between Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur that saw the reigning champions relinquish their lead twice, but Dejan Kulusevski’s 90th minute equalizer was not the only notable moment late in the game. In the 96th minute, Spurs’ Emerson Royal fouled Erling Haaland but the City star sprung right back up and reclaimed the ball, sending it over to Jack Grealish for what looked to be City’s best chance to take the lead yet again. Referee Simon Hooper, though, called the foul instead of playing advantage.
Haaland and several of his teammates were furious and crowded around the referee to express their feelings, but even after the final whistle, the mood seemed tense. Haaland stormed off the pitch and took to social media roughly 30 minutes later to criticize Hooper, posting “Wtf” on X. The topic was still top of mind for the forward on Monday, but he took a lighter approach by reposting an image of him screaming at Hooper in the likeness of Edvard Munch’s famous painting The Scream and wrote: “Wtf that made me smile for the first time today.”
Don’t miss CBS Sports Golazo Network’s Morning Footy, now in podcast form! Our crew brings you all the news, views, highlights and laughs you need to follow the Beautiful Game in every corner of the globe, every Monday-Friday all year long.
The Norwegian’s discontent with the referee does not erase a worrying trend that’s developing at City. The reigning champions have conceded 10 of their 16 league goals this season in the last 30 minutes of games, which is not much of a problem when they take care of the game early. They had the chance to do so against Spurs with several clear-cut chances in the first half, but were wasteful and ultimately paid for it. They slip to third in the table, but are just three points behind leaders Arsenal.
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🔗 Midfield Link Play
🌍 Something old, something new in Women’s soccer
A groundbreaking year for women’s soccer will come to an exciting close tomorrow with a handful of major matchups in Europe and across North America.
USWNT’s new look
USATSI
In the U.S. women’s national team’s first match since the hiring of Emma Hayes, a youthful side picked up a 3-0 win over China on Saturday. Sophia Smith, Trinity Rodman, and Lindsey Horan scored the goals while NWSL rookie of the year Jenna Nighswonger and 18-year-old Olivia Moultrie earned their first caps as the process of transitioning the squad from this year’s Women’s World Cup to next summer’s Olympic Games is fully underway.
The team will face China again tomorrow, where the task for interim head coach Twila Kilgore will once again be to identify emerging talent and likely address one of Saturday’s imperfections. The USWNT were dominant but had just a 1-0 lead at halftime, demonstrating an need to be more clinical in attack that mirrored their World Cup performance in which they went more than 200 minutes without scoring a goal.
Sinclair’s swan song
USATSI
Tomorrow’s meeting between Canada and Australia will mark the end of an era with Christine Sinclair’s final outing for her national team. After 190 goals, one Olympic gold medal, and 23 years, international soccer’s all-time leading scorer will wrap up her Canada career in her native British Columbia at Vancouver’s BC Place, which will be renamed in her honor for the night.
She’s one of a handful of legends that have lived the rapid growth of women’s soccer firsthand, and therefore Sinclair provides a unique perspective on that evolution and the room for improvement that remains. In a recent interview, she reflected on her experiences at the World Cup and her future backing an incoming professional women’s league in Canada and her new foundation.
- Sinclair: “The margins in the women’s game are now miniscule. … I’ve waited my whole career for the women’s game to be where it’s at now. … I think back to the first World Cup that I played in. We finished fourth and aside from your crazy fans, no one cared, no one knew and to see the game where it is now, countries that you never would have thought become a world power and now are world powers, the investment that federations are putting into their women’s programs, that leagues are putting into their professional teams, it’s exciting. When I’m done playing, I can’t wait to become a fan and watch the game and be in awe of the talent that’s out there.”
England’s Olympic hopes hang by a thread
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England may have completed an impressive comeback to win 3-2 against the Netherlands on Friday, but they need to do more than just win to ensure they will compete in Paris next summer. They need to beat Scotland tomorrow and root for the Netherlands to lose to Belgium, as well as boast a better goal difference by the final whistle — the Dutch’s goal difference currently sits at +4 and England’s is at +1.
It would be a shocking result for this year’s World Cup finalists, but the fact that they could miss out speaks more to the format of the tournament than anything else. Only 12 teams qualify for the women’s tournament at the Olympics — four fewer than the men’s competition — and three berths go to Europe, one of which is occupied by hosts France. The tight margins mean Sweden, a semifinalist at the World Cup and silver medalists in Tokyo, have already failed to qualify, though world champions Spain remain in the conversation.
🔗 Top Stories
⏪ Weekend rewind: More on the questionable refereeing call at the Etihad, plus a recap on yet another poor outing for Manchester United, Botafogo’s collapse, and the teams punching above their weight across Europe.
👏 Men of the matches: From AC Milan’s Christian Pulisic and Inter’s Yann Sommer to Chelsea’s Nicolas Jackson and Barcelona’s Joao Felix, a handful of players shone during big games over the weekend.
📅 Draw central: The draws for Euro 2024 and the FA Cup third round took place over the weekend, and are already delivering on major matchups.
🇦🇷 Candid Messi: Lionel Messi said that he likely will not take part in the 2026 World Cup, when he will be 39 years old: “Given my age, the most normal thing is that I will not be there.”
💸 Money problems: Cristiano Ronaldo is a defendant in a class action lawsuit alleging that his promotion of Binance, the troubled cryptocurrency exchange, was “deceptive and unlawful.” The plaintiffs claim at least $1 billion in damages.
🎥 Must see goals: It was a big weekend for stunning goals for Italy, where Pulisic and Hellas Verona’s Cyril Ngonge got on the scoresheet in style.
💵 Best bets
- Premier League: Luton Town vs. Arsenal, Tuesday, 3 p.m.
💰 THE PICK: Less than three goals scored (+120) — Arsenal may be in fine form as they maintain command for the Premier League’s top spot, but promotion side Luton are no easy opponent. They have held their opponents to two-goal wins in their last five league games, including a 1-0 loss to Manchester United and a 1-1 draw with Liverpool. - Premier League: League champions
💰 THE PICK: Liverpool to win the Premier League (+450) — Manchester City might still be the oddsmakers’ favorites to win the title yet again, but their three match winless run might provide an opening for another team to end their streak atop England. While Arsenal are making their case, Liverpool’s experience winning the accolade makes them realistic contenders to do so again.
📺 What’s on CBS Sports Golazo Network
☀️ Morning Footy (Weekdays 8-10 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 (Weekday afternoons): 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 Friday evening): The leading women’s soccer podcast and social brand is now a live studio show. Just because the NWSL season is over doesn’t mean that our coverage of the women’s game is going anywhere. Our analysts will be breaking down the USWNT. NWSL offseason and European domestic season all winter long.
👟 Kickin’ It (Tuesday, 7 p.m.): CBS Sports Golazo Network’s new unfiltered interview show returns Tuesday Hosted by Kate Abdo, Clint Dempsey, Mo Edu and Charlie Davies, the group chat candidly with the biggest names from the Beautiful Game and share their stories from on and off the pitch.
🥅 Scoreline (Daily): Scoreline is the newest place for fans to catch up on all the biggest news and results impacting global football, match highlights from the top soccer competitions and all the can’t-miss goals from the day’s action, starting Thursday and airing seven days a week.
📺 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+.
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