by Jason Longshore
1- Big game tonight in Brookhaven as Oglethorpe's men host Emory. These teams first met in 1961, the Stormy Petrels first year as a program and Emory's fourth. It's the oldest soccer rivalry in the state of Georgia and one of the oldest in the Southeast. Kickoff is at 7pm and we'll have pregame and postgame coverage on our YouTube channel. You'll be able to watch the match on the Oglethorpe Sports Network. I'll also be doing Atlanta Soccer Tonight afterwards live from Oglethorpe, I'll be on 92.9 The Game after the Hawks game ends.
2- It's a huge game not just from a historical perspective, but it might be the most combined wins for the two teams coming into the matchup in history. Emory is 8-1-2 and ranked #5 in last week's United Soccer Coaches D3 national rankings. Oglethorpe is now 9-1-1 and could be ranked when the new poll comes out later today. Colton Myers, a transfer from Stetson, leads the Eagles with five goals this season while Ben Alram leads the Stormy Petrels with eight goals and four assists.
3- Two changes to USMNT rosters ahead of games later this week. Alejandro Zendejas replaces the injured Malik Tillman, Zendejas has two goals and three assists in the Apertura for Club America this season. Brandan Craig, on loan to Austin from Philadelphia, was added to the U23 roster ahead of their games in Phoenix against Mexico and Japan.
4- Love to see stories like this, and it's fitting on a day with our big local NCAA D3 match. Hakeem Morgan of Minnesota's St. Olaf College will be part of Costa Rica's U23 roster for upcoming games. Morgan has 29 goals and 20 assists in 49 games for the Oles.
5- Eden Hazard has announced his retirement from the game at the age of 32. His contract ended with Real Madrid in June. Hazard said on his Instagram, "You must listen to yourself and say stop at the right time. After 16 years and more than 700 matches played, I have decided to end my career as a professional footballer."
6- France manager Didier Deschamps has joined the chorus of people questioning the logistics of the 2030 World Cup setup. Deschamps said, "I don't know which countries will be involved, it will mean that the South American countries will be at an advantage and then the other countries will have to move then move again." I'm not worried about multiple countries hosting tournaments anymore, there's very few countries that could handle hosting the tournament now by themselves. This gives more opportunities to host and I'm fine with that. The cross-continent deal here with 3 opening games in South America is foolish. I'm just glad we didn't hold some events of the 1996 Olympics in Athens to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the modern games, then fly the competitors back across the Atlantic to Atlanta.
7- Speaking of hosting events, the UK and Ireland will host Euro 2028 while Italy and Turkey will co-host in 2032. I hope the security concerns that arose from the 2021 final in London, which was one of the most poorly organized major sporting events in history, have been resolved. I know the women's Euro 2022 went off well and will hopefully be the norm.
8- Flamengo has hired former Brazilian national team manager Tite through 2024. The 62-year old left the national team after their quarterfinal exit from the World Cup, he'll replace Jorge Sampaoli at Flamengo. They are fifth in the Brazilian top flight with twelve games to play, they are 11 points behind leaders Botafogo but only two points out of second place.
9- The Estadio Azteca will close in December for a major renovation project ahead of the 2026 World Cup. Club America and Cruz Azul will move into the Ciudad de los Deportes, the old home stadium for La Maquina before their move into the Azteca. Mexico's national team will play their upcoming Concacaf Nations League quarterfinal in the famous stadium, it will be their last game there likely before the 2026 World Cup.
10- The Copa Libertadores Femenina is currently being held in Colombia. The structure is more like a national team tournament than the men's Libertadores, the group stage and knockout rounds are all taking place over the span of the month. Brazilian clubs have been the most impressive so far through two rounds. Palmeiras, Corinthians, and Internacional have all won both of their matches so far.
11- Born on this day in 1979, Mya has earned acclaim as a singer/songwriter, actress, and dancer. She's a true "triple threat". She's sold millions of records worldwide, has earned awards for both music and acting, and has had an incredible career. Your Song of the Day was one of my favorite tracks that came out when I first started DJ'ing in Athens and it still holds up today. Enjoy:
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