ZWF: Soccer's busy week
Zander's Weekend Facts #67: Sunday, May 21, 2023
Inside this week’s edition of Zander’s Weekend Facts, a recap of the week’s top soccer stories, and a look at what Zander’s been reading this past week. Plus, a compilation of the top headlines you need to know from the last seven days.
Also, go listen to the latest episode of the Zander’s Facts podcast! Episode 105 features a look at the threats facing public education in the United States. From book bans, threats, and LGBTQ+ harassment, Zander’s Facts tackles it all. Go download the Zander’s Facts podcast wherever you get your podcasts!
Here are Zander’s Weekend Facts for Sunday, May 21, 2023:
UCL Final Set, Balogun to USA, Man City win EPL
This past week was a particularly busy one when it comes to the beautiful game of soccer. Let’s recap the top topics from the past seven days.
Folarin Balogun chooses the U.S. Men’s National Team
The United States Men’s National Team scored a major dual-national victory this past week when Folarin Balogun announced his intentions to play for the U.S. Balogun, who was eligible to represent England, Nigeria, and the U.S., had been heavily courted by the U.S. for some time after representing the country at the Under-18 level in 2018. He was born in the U.S., raised in England, and his parents are from Nigeria. Balogun sent American soccer social media into a frenzy back in March when he posted images of himself in Orlando on Instagram. Despite a reported heavy push from England in recent months, Balogun informed U.S. Soccer of his decision on May 4.
Playing for French club Stade de Reims, Balogun has scored 19 goals at the striker position, the sixth-most in Ligue 1. The U.S. hope Balogun will be able to immediately provide consistency at the position, one where the U.S. started three different players during last year’s World Cup. Balogun is currently on loan from Arsenal, where he will return this summer. Balogun’s name was included on the provisional 60-name roster mandated by CONCACAF for next month’s Nations League finals. The U.S. will play Mexico in the semifinal on Thursday, June 15 at 10:00 pm et and either Canada or Panama in the final or third-place game on Sunday, June 18.
Video source: @balogun on Twitter
UEFA Champions League Final matchup set
After last week’s semifinal second-leg matches, the final match of the 2022-23 UEFA Champions League is set. Manchester City, having beaten Real Madrid in the semifinals, will face Inter Milan, who took down AC Milan in the Derby della Madonnina.
Manchester City have one only been to one Champions League final previously, a 1-0 defeat to Chelsea in 2021. In the club’s history, City only has one European trophy, the 1970 UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup. Manager Pep Guardiola has previously won the Champions League twice at Barcelona. City took down RB Leipzig, Bayern Munich, and Real Madrid in the knockout rounds to reach the final.
Inter Milan are seeking the club’s fourth UEFA Champions League title, last winning the competition in 2010 with a 2-0 win over Bayern Munich. Manager Simone Inzaghi has never won the Champions League as a player or manager. Before taking down the club they share the San Siro with, AC Milan, in the semifinals, Inter beat Porto and Benfica in the earlier rounds of the knockouts.
The 2022-23 UEFA Champions League final is set to take place at Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul, Turkey on Saturday, June 10. The match will kick off at 3:00 pm et and air on CBS, Paramount+, and Univision.
Manchester City win third-straight Premier League title
Without even playing on Saturday, Manchester City captured the 2022-23 English Premier League title. After second-place Arsenal lost to Nottingham Forest 1-0, the Gunners were mathematically eliminated from finishing ahead of City, giving the Cityzens the titles.
Under manager Pep Guardiola, Manchester City have been on a tear in the domestic league. Since Guardiola’s arrival at the beginning of the 2016-17 season, City have won the title five times, while finishing runner-up once. This year’s title is also the third-straight in the league for City, and the fifth in six years.
For just the second time in the club’s history, Manchester City also have a shot at winning a treble this season. The club faces cross-town rivals Manchester United in the FA Cup final, which will take place on Saturday, June 3 at 10:00 am et on ESPN+. The third chance at a trophy will come on Saturday, June 10’s aforementioned UEFA Champions League final against Inter Milan.
Taking a more generalistic view of the Premier League, the final matchday of the season takes place next Sunday. While Man City has locked up the title, the fight for placement in next season’s UEFA Champions League and to avoid relegation continues.
In the fight for the top four, three clubs are vying for the last two spots as Manchester City and Arsenal have locked up their spots for next season. As of Sunday morning, both Manchester United and Newcastle United sit at 69 points with two matches remaining. Liverpool are on the outside looking in with 66 points and only one match remaining. In order to qualify for UCL, Liverpool need to win next Sunday at Southampton and have Man United lose their final two matches against Chelsea and Fulham. Due to goal differential, it’s unlikely Liverpool would be able to surpass Newcastle even if the latter club loses both matches against Leicester City and Chelsea.
In the fight to avoid relegation, there are three teams still fighting to play in the Premier League next season. 20th place Southampton have already been relegated to the EFL Championship, while places 17-19 Everton, Leeds United, and Leicester City are still not safe. Everton sit outside the relegation zone at the moment with 33 points. Their only remaining match is against Bournemouth. With two games remaining and 31 points, Leeds can control their own destiny with wins in their final matches against West Ham and Tottenham. At 30 points, Leicester’s final two matches are against Newcastle and West Ham.
FIFA unveils World Cup 2026 brand
On Wednesday night, FIFA unveiled the official brand for the World Cup 2026 at an event in Los Angeles. The 2026 edition of the tournament will be hosted in Canada, Mexico, and the United States. The main logo, featured above, is a still black background with the numbers 2 and 6 placed on top of each other in white. The FIFA logo and World Cup trophy are also featured. The logo has also been customized for each of the 16 host cities, which can be seen in the video below.
Video source: FIFA
San Diego is latest addition to MLS
Finally, Major League Soccer last week announced the 30th club that will join the league. On Thursday, San Diego was revealed as the city that will host the league’s newest organization in an event at Snapdragon Stadium, where the team will play. Snapdragon is also home to San Diego State University’s football team, the NWSL’s San Diego Wave FC, and Major League Rugby’s San Diego Legion.
The club will be owned by Egyptian billionaire Mohamed Mansour, the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation, and San Diego Padres star Manny Machado. The estimated $500 million expansion fee is the largest in MLS history for a club. The official name and crest of the club will be revealed at a later date.
San Diego currently hosts USL Championship-side San Diego Loyal, who are managed by former USMNT star Landon Donavan. After the announcement, the Loyal released a statement saying they will not leave the city and will attempt to coexist alongside the MLS club, which is expected to begin play in 2025.
What Zander’s been reading
Long gone are the days when a trip to the nearest fast food joint involved sitting down inside with kids playing for hours in an indoor playground. With drive-thrus and takeout orders more popular than ever, chains like McDonald’s are adapting, meaning the next one you go to might not even have a dine-in option.
Check out this week’s featured article on Vox - You may never eat inside a fast food restaurant again - (Article on Apple News)
Rapid-fire Facts
These are top news headlines from the past week in rapid-fire fashion:
Debt Ceiling Negotiations: As the expected June 1 deadline for the U.S. defaulting on its debt continues to creep closer, negotiations continue between the White House and House Republicans. In anticipation of the onslaught of talks, President Biden cut his ongoing trip across the Pacific short. The White House canceled planned visits to Australia and Papua New Guinea, while still meeting G-7 leaders in Japan. Reports on the debt ceiling talks say that the two sides are still far apart, with Republicans still demanding spending cuts as Democrats fear the Biden administration will cave to Republicans’ demands.
Turkey Election: The Turkish presidential election is heading to a runoff, with no candidate receiving 50% of the vote. Current President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will face opposition leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu in next Sunday’s runoff, as the two were the top vote-getters in last Sunday’s election. Erdoğan received 49.24% of the vote, with Kılıçdaroğlu getting 45.07%. Given Erdoğan’s lead in the first round results, many analysts believe he is favored in the runoff election. If Erdoğan succeeds, he will continue in the role he has held since 2014. Kılıçdaroğlu is hoping to ascend to the role of president after serving as the Leader of the Main Opposition in parliament since 2010.
Artificial Intelligence Bill: As artificial intelligence continues to have a growing impact on daily lives, Congress is taking action to regulate the technology. Last week, a small bipartisan group of Senators met on Capitol Hill to discuss a framework for a potential bill. Some of the major concerns with AI relate to its ability to create life-like content, such as deep fakes, that experts say could pose grave threats to global security. In a divided Congress, it’s unclear whether a bill placing safeguards on the emerging technology would pass.
Abortion Restrictions: Two states passed new restrictions on abortion rights last week. In Nebraska, lawmakers voted to restrict abortions in the state after 12 weeks of pregnancy, with exceptions for rape, incest, or medical emergencies. Lawmakers also voted to ban transgender surgeries for minors, consistent with other recent laws passed in Republican-led states. In North Carolina, Republicans in the General Assembly voted to overturn Democratic Governor Roy Cooper’s veto of a bill that would also ban abortions in the state after 12 weeks with several exceptions. Republicans recently gained a supermajority in the legislature, allowing them to override the veto, after a former Democrat switched parties last month.
Montana TikTok Ban: Montana Republican Governor Greg Gianforte signed a bill last week that would ban TikTok from being downloaded in the state. While many states and the federal government have barred the app from government devices, Montana’s legislation is the first that would ban the app from all devices. While those who supported the bill cite TikTok’s Chinese-based owner ByteDance and privacy concerns as the reason for the move, the state is already being sued by several content creators on the platform who argue the ban is a violation of free speech rights.
Zander’s Facts Sporting Club
Here are the top headlines from the sports world in the ZF Sporting Club:
NBA Playoffs: The NBA Playoffs are deep into the Conference Finals, with each conference currently featuring a sweep. In the East, the #8 Miami Heat lead the #2 Boston Celtics 2-0 in the series. If the Heat can win the series, they’ll be just the second #8 seed ever to advance to the NBA Finals (1999 New York Knicks.) Game #3 tips off tonight at 8:30 pm et, with all games in the series airing on TNT. In the West, the #1 Denver Nuggets have a 3-0 series lead over the #7 Los Angeles Lakers after winning Game #3 on Saturday night. If the Nuggets advance in the series against the Lakers, they’ll be playing in the franchise’s first NBA Finals. All games in the series air on ESPN, with Game #4 tipping off tomorrow night at 8:30 pm et.
NHL Playoffs: The NHL’s Stanley Cup Playoffs have moved into the Conference Finals round, with one conference featuring an all-Sun Belt conference final for the first time. In the East, the Florida Panthers lead the Carolina Hurricanes 2-0 in the series after winning both games in overtime. All games in the series air on TNT, with Game 3 taking place tomorrow night at 8:00 pm et. In the West, the Vegas Golden Knights took down the Dallas Stars 4-3 in overtime in Friday night’s Game 1 of the series. Game 2 takes place this afternoon at 3:00 pm et on ABC, with the remaining games in the series airing on ESPN and ESPN+.
PGA Championship: Golf’s second major of the year wraps up later today as the final round of the PGA Championship from Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, New York takes place. Coming into Sunday’s final round, Brooks Koepka holds a one-shot solo lead at -6, while Corey Conners and Viktor Hovland each sit at -5. The winner of the year’s first major, Jon Rahm at the Masters, currently sits in 42nd at +6. Final round coverage begins this morning at 10:00 am et on ESPN, continuing at 1:00 pm et on CBS with the round expected to conclude around 7:00 pm et.
NBA Draft Lottery: During Tuesday’s NBA Draft Lottery in Chicago, the San Antonio Spurs won the rights to the first overall pick in next month’s NBA Draft. This year’s edition of the Draft Lottery was highly anticipated, with France’s Victor Wembanyama, one of the league’s most hyped prospects in quite some time, projected to be selected first overall. The Charlotte Hornets won the rights to the second pick in the Draft, while the Portland Trail Blazers, Houston Rockets, and Detroit Pistons round out the top five. The Pistons finished the regular season with the league’s worst record, marking the fifth straight time that the team with the worst record will not pick first.
College Conference Realignment: Several reports threw a curveball into collegiate athletics’ continuous conference realignment chatter last week. As reported by several college football insiders, and confirmed by Virginia Tech Athletic Director Whit Babcock, at least seven ACC schools have recently examined the league’s grant of rights. The grant of rights binds each school to the league until 2036, and it is currently unclear whether a majority vote could be taken to end the agreement and allow schools to leave the conference before its expiration. Reports from last week also stated that the Big 12 conference was interested in UConn, while the Pac-12 conference attempts to negotiate a new tv deal to prevent the Big 12 from poaching some of the conference’s members.
Wrapping up the Facts
Before this edition of Zander’s Weekend Facts wraps up, here’s another reminder to check out the latest episodes of the Zander’s Facts podcast. Download and listen to the latest episode of the podcast, along with every episode of Zander’s Facts, wherever you get your podcasts.
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That’s a wrap on this week’s edition of Zander’s Weekend Facts. The facts in print return next Sunday, May 28, 2023.
