McDonald keys 500th U.S. win
During Jessica McDonald’s second appearance with the U.S. women’s national team, she scored in the 43rd minute and helped the Americans earn their 500th victory with a 1-0 win over Portugal near Lisbon.
The U.S. national team is now 500-65-74 overall since its inception in 1985.
With the victory, the Americans remain undefeated this year at 17 wins and two ties. The team has an unbeaten streak of 27 games (24 wins, three ties) dating to a 1-0 loss to Australia in the Tournament of Nations.
The streak comes as the U.S. team prepares for the World Cup next year in France. The defending World Cup champions qualified for the tournament last month at the CONCACAF women's championship.
The United States is currently the top-ranked team in the world, while Portugal is ranked No. 33 and did not qualify for France.
McDonald, 30, who plays for the North Carolina Courage of the National Women's Soccer League, started for the United States. Her rebound goal was her first for the national team.
McDonald had a pair of goals for the Courage in a 3-0 victory over the Portland Thorns for the NWSL championship this season and she was named that game's Most Valuable Player.
Midfielder Danielle Colaprico, who plays for the NWSL's Chicago Red Stars, made her first appearance for the national team as a sub in the second half. University of North Carolina sophomore defender Emily Fox started in her first appearance with the team.
The U.S. team was without Christen Press and Tobin Heath due to personal commitments.
The United States plays Scotland on Tuesday to wrap up a two-match European trip before taking the rest of the year off.
Galaxy shifts: Zlatan Ibrahimovic wants to return to the Galaxy next season, but he made it clear Tuesday that won’t happen unless the team meets his demands.
And a new contract is only one of the things on that list.
“I want to be able to challenge for the trophy,” he said. “I’m not here for vacation. I’m here for the challenge. I want to feel I have a chance to be the best in MLS. My team, not me.
“The club knows all my wishes, all my demands. It’s up to them what want.”
Consider that message received, because just hours before Ibrahimovic spoke to the media the Galaxy announced it had fired Pete Vagenas, the vice president of soccer operations. Tresident Chris Klein said it was the first step in frontoffice reorganization.
Klein said the team will replace Vagenas with someone who will have complete control over soccer operations, including the hiring of a new coach, the appointment of a fulltime academy director and the makeup of the firstteam roster.
“Certainly we don’t rest this at the feet of one person,” Klein said of a Galaxy team this has lost 30 games and missed the playoffs the last two seasons, the worst two-year stretch in franchise history. “The biggest thing that it needs, it needs structure and organization.”
The team also needs Ibrahimovic, who scored a Western Conference-leading 22 goals and added a team-high 10 assists in his first MLS campaign. But it was a roller coaster year, one that included a ninegame unbeaten streak, a seven-game winless streak and a 13-12-9 record, the worst Ibrahimovic has endured since he was a teen. they