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Pablo Maurer @mlsist.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Do you guys think there’s an MLS equivalent to Tomlin’s minecraft city? “hey guys it’s bruce arena, a lot of you guys have been asking to see my rollercoaster tycoon 2 theme park”

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Alexander Abnos @anabnos.com · 30/09/2026

“We have 26 guys that are ready to be there at any moment,” Sebastian Berhalter told TNT. “When you do stuff like that, there’s gonna be repercussions.” "To have a player like [Berhalter] is priceless,” Mauricio Pochettino said. www.theguardian.com/football/202...

theguardian.com

USMNT youth shines again in contentious 4-2 win over Chile

Sebastian Berhalter scored the US’s opener and assisted on the winner in a contentious match that ended in scuffles

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Pablo Maurer @mlsist.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

He continues: "Being the son of a former coach, it was difficult for him. I know how difficult it was also for his dad, no? For us when we saw him playing in Vancouver and then when we met I think it was more than we expected. That’s why he’s with us and we hope it continues that way."

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Pablo Maurer @mlsist.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Mauricio Pochettino with some high (and deserved, IMO) praise for USMNT & Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder Sebastian Berhalter:

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Pablo Maurer @mlsist.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

My match report from here in St. Louis, where the USMNT's kids got it done against Chile in a very, very chippy (and enjoyable) affair. On @us.theguardian.com: www.theguardian.com/football/202...

theguardian.com

USMNT youth shines again in contentious 4-2 win over Chile

Sebastian Berhalter scored the US’s opener and assisted on the winner in a contentious match that ended in scuffles

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Pablo Maurer @mlsist.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

I certainly won't get lost in any hype machine nonsense here — what I'll say after watching these USMNT newcomers for 1.5 matches is this: these kids are fun, on energy alone. I've enjoyed myself.

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Pablo Maurer @mlsist.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Just passed Iván Zamorano in the hallway here at Energizer Park in St Louis - probably the closest thing to starstruck I've been in years. I idolized the dude when I lived in Madrid in the mid-90s. Absoulte beast of a player back then.

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Pablo Maurer @mlsist.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

my guy Wee Willie McLean is here at the bar with us!

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Pablo Maurer @mlsist.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Five players! Four starters. Crazy.

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Pablo Maurer @mlsist.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Up in The Hill, killing a little time before dinner. The neighborhood that produced four players from the 1950 USMNT World Cup squad. No city in the US has the soccer heritage St. Louis does - for my money it isn’t even close. Such a deep, rich history.

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Alexander Abnos @anabnos.com · 28/09/2026

“It is a huge sadness. At the end of the day we get into a situation where what got celebrated wasn’t that real, what seemed good maybe wasn’t so good, what didn’t look good maybe was good but couldn’t be good.” www.theguardian.com/football/202...

theguardian.com

Pochettino: Manchester City verdicts show fans ‘lived through an era of deception’

The former Tottenham, Southampton, and Chelsea manager lamented the situation created by the reported guilty verdicts

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Pablo Maurer @mlsist.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

USMNT & former Spurs coach Mauricio Pochettino says fans "lived through an era of deception" due to Man City's financial malfeasance, telling me its "impossible to turn back time." "How do you repair everything that's damaged?" Much more on @us.theguardian.com: www.theguardian.com/football/202...

theguardian.com

Pochettino: Manchester City verdicts show fans ‘lived through an era of deception’

The former Tottenham, Southampton, and Chelsea manager lamented the situation created by the reported guilty verdicts

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Pablo Maurer @mlsist.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Going to state the obvious thing here, which gets said repeatedly about Messi: The frequency with which he makes the absurd look commonplace is like... it's insane, man. It never gets old. He's like a comedian who tells you the same joke 1000x, and you still laugh every time.

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Pablo Maurer @mlsist.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Also goes without saying - the all-time US record (which feels likely to never be broken) - Mia Hamm debuted for the US women against China in 1987 at age 15 years, 139 days! Nutso.

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Pablo Maurer @mlsist.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Going to get real in the weeds here: if you expand the "youngest-ever USMNT player" to the Olympics, Louis Menges represented the US in 1904 at age 16 years, 17 days - 7 months younger than Freddy Adu, the USMNT's youngest-ever player. I hope they find a cure for what I have someday.

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Pablo Maurer @mlsist.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

To be clear I’m not saying Pochettino rarely praises MLS - he makes a point of doing so. I’m saying MLS rarely gets this sort of praise, despite the fact that it has begun to produce elite, young talent more regularly.

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Pablo Maurer @mlsist.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Speaking to us here in Orlando, USMNT head coach Mauricio Pochettino has some rare praise for MLS — specifically the MLS coaches who have worked with all of the newcomers in today's match.

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Pablo Maurer @mlsist.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Here's another fun fact: that 1973 match (Al Trost with the winner, cc: @alytrostmartin.bsky.social) was the first US victory over a European opponent since... their shock win over England at the 1950 World Cup. The kids were alright, I guess.

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Pablo Maurer @mlsist.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Lotta newcomers today for the USMNT. If you're wondering: the record for most-ever first-time caps in a US game? USMNT v Poland in 1973, 12 newcomers featured there - happened again in 1988 v Guatemala. US came close to breaking that record in '24, with 11 debuts in a 1-0 loss to Slovenia.

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Pablo Maurer @mlsist.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

I promise you — even 2/3 full, Orlando's home stadium is the loudest one in American soccer. I have always, always felt that way. By a wide margin, btw... Have to think it has to do w/angle of stands, roofs, etc.

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Pablo Maurer @mlsist.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Quick notes on Cavan Sullivan's debut, now that we know he's in the XI - Mike Slivinski, who I spoke to for this piece, remains the youngest-ever player to start a match for the USMNT (Freddy Adu entered as a sub in his debut, then didn't feature again for around a year.)

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Reposted by Pablo Maurer

Doug @dougstern.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

This is a great article from @mlsist.bsky.social about the not-so-distant history of the USMNT.

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Reposted by Pablo Maurer

Emory Like Memory @emorymemory.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

“Those Italy players from that U-17 World Cup left and went back to training with Fiorentina,” Slivinski says, laughing. “I left that tournament and went right back to training with Francis Howell North [high school].”

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Reposted by Pablo Maurer

Kyle Foley @kylefoleywrites.com · 26/09/2026

Pablo when there is deep USMNT lore to be uncovered:

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Garfield🎃Thelonius👻Remington🧟III🦇 @roscoegbarrel.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

God it is so FUCKING AWESOME that somebody is paying Pablo to do these exhaustive, deep lore dives again

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OneDishwasher @onedishwasher.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Incredible article. I don't know why I'm surprised Pablo reports on another incredibly interesting part of US soccer history, he continues to amaze.

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Soccertown Media @soccertownmedia.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Good piece from Pablo—and a reminder that in US soccer history, the early 90s are faded memories.

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Pablo Maurer @mlsist.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

In 1991, a trio of unheralded high schoolers - two of them younger than Cavan Sullivan is today - appeared for the USMNT. Two of them would never do so again. Their story has been lost to time. I spoke to all three of them, on @us.theguardian.com: www.theguardian.com/football/202...

theguardian.com

‘I’m pretty sure I didn’t imagine it’: the little-known trio of high schoolers who made USMNT history

The idea of 16-year-olds like Cavan Sullivan playing for the US senior team was once unfathomable – until three teenagers appeared in a 1991 friendly

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Pablo Maurer @mlsist.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

USMNT head coach Mauricio Pochettino says he regrets not having been "more involved" in the fiasco surrounding Falorin Balogun this summer. He says the ensuing shift in "energy" made the match against Belgium much more difficult to win. On @us.theguardian.com: www.theguardian.com/football/202...

theguardian.com

Mauricio Pochettino regrets not being ‘more involved’ with Balogun decision

The comments are the most direct Pochettino has made regarding the Balogun situation since the World Cup

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Pablo Maurer @mlsist.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

USMNT head coach Mauricio Pochettino spoke eloquently today about Lionel Messi's impending national team retirement. Pochettino, of course, coached Messi at PSG.

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Pablo Maurer @mlsist.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Speaking to us here in Orlando, USMNT head coach Mauricio Pochettino says he's unhappy with the decision to play four games in this current international window, calling it a "big risk." His comments below:

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Pablo Maurer @mlsist.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Just landed in Orlando, somebody please suggest the grimiest dive bar you know of down here, @tombogert.bsky.social and I may do some recreational drinking later.

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Alexander Abnos @anabnos.com · 17/09/2026

Great stuff from @mlsist.bsky.social on the #USMNT roster -- which subscribers to our free, twice-a-week Soccer Desk newsletter got about an hour ago, along with a guide to this weekend's games: www.theguardian.com/football/202...

theguardian.com

Two years and one World Cup down, Mauricio Pochettino is still assessing

The US manager’s first squad of the 2030 World Cup cycle leans heavily on youth, injecting intrigue into the four-game window.

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Pablo Maurer @mlsist.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Confirming @jeffreycarlisle.bsky.social's earlier report, 16-year-old Union attacker Cavan Sullivan will join the USMNT for its upcoming set of friendlies. When/if he plays, he'll become the second-youngest player in MNT history. More on @us.theguardian.com: www.theguardian.com/football/202...

theguardian.com

USMNT to call up 16-year-old Cavan Sullivan for upcoming friendlies

Sullivan has scored six goals and added eight assists for Philadelphia since MLS restarted after the World Cup

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Pablo Maurer @mlsist.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Everyday here in the Guardian newsroom I resist the urge to drink my 1975 Tampa Bay Rowdies Pepsi-Cola. The day will come, though.

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Pablo Maurer @mlsist.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Also worth noting - that Aetna life insurance ad, which proved invaluable to Matt and I's research in 2021, was preserved by Jose. It takes a generational effort to solve those mysteries, or do something as simple as preserve the history of the game.

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Pablo Maurer @mlsist.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Thinking today of Colin Jose, who did so much invaluable work in preserving the history of the game in the US and passed in 2024. In his archives at UMass today, I came across this note. Long before Matt Pentz & I solved the mystery of Wee Willie McLean, Colin Jose was on the case.

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Pablo Maurer @mlsist.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Yesterday, I cast a vote for David Beckham to be inducted into the US Soccer Hall of Fame. In many ways, few are more deserving. I wrote a quick column on it, on @us.theguardian.com: www.theguardian.com/football/202...

theguardian.com

Why David Beckham will have my vote for the US Soccer Hall of Fame | Pablo Iglesias Maurer

The Englishman has gotten no shortage of recognition, but his contributions to the American game deserve an official title

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Pablo Maurer @mlsist.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Real sicko shit in today’s NYT connections, athletic edition:

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Pablo Maurer @mlsist.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

man why does "Pablo was right" hit so hard

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Jeff Rueter @jeffrueter.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Had to muster a real human performance to not laugh as Pablo began his wind-up, but I can't stress enough that Thierry took it seriously. His answer surprised me! Highlight of my week. Pablo's one of one.

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Alexander Abnos @anabnos.com · 01/09/2026

Messi in his 30s should be motivation for all subsequent athletes or basically anyone in their 30s.

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Pablo Maurer @mlsist.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Them: "Ok, great Pablo, you've got time with Thierry Henry! You can ask him anything you want about UCL, CBS, global football - all of it." Me:

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Pablo Maurer @mlsist.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Today is such a huge day for creators of incredibly stupid AI videos of Lionel Messi conversing with Maradona. Great work, everybody.

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Pablo Maurer @mlsist.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Lionel Messi needs no promotion, but given his international retirement - and the fact that he could hang them up for good at Miami whenever he chooses to - go see him now if you can. Me, on @us.theguardian.com: www.theguardian.com/football/202...

theguardian.com

Lionel Messi’s international retirement serves as a reminder: Watch him while you still can

The Argentine’s career with Argentina was singular, and his exit is a reminder that all good things come to an end

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Pablo Maurer @mlsist.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

I don't even know where to begin with this. I have legit been laughing out loud for five minutes. The 🤫 gesture. The fact that one of them is holding a mini-ball. The fact that they're wearing USMNT kits. The visible undershirts. I am dying.

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