The Swan Dive with Meg Swanick

The New York Post’s New York Islanders beat writer Ethan Sears joins me— fresh from the Olympics, and back on the road covering the Islanders—- to discuss the gold-medal-winning US Men’s Hockey Team, and the odds for the USMNT this summer. Follow Ethan’s coverage for the Post here, and on X here. Thanks for reading The Swan Dive with Meg Swanick! This post is public so feel free to share it. Get full access to The Swan Dive with Meg Swanick at swandive.substack.com/subscribe

* The big picture: was Copa America a success? * Quick recap of the US performance— Bolivia, Panama, Uruguay, out* Gregg Berhalter* How the players performed. Weighing in on: ‘are these guys as good as we thought they were?’ discourse* The wisdom of Tim Ream. Issues of depth & comfort* The next coach: who should it be?* Copa America chaos. Kyle talks about being at the Uruguay vs Colombia semifinal in Charlotte, and the Argentina vs Colombia final in Miami* Some relevant reading… * Colombia Football Federation President arrested at Copa America final * Fans file lawsuits over Copa America final * Why Copa America doesn’t spell doom for 2026* Darwin Nunez breaks silence after Copa America brawl * Lessons for ‘26* Kyle’s predictions for the OlympicsThank you for reading The Swan Dive with Meg Swanick. This post is public so feel free to share it. Get full access to The Swan Dive with Meg Swanick at swandive.substack.com/subscribe

Jon is writing daily about Copa América over on Getting CONCACAFed. We recorded this Wednesday morning, before Mexico lost 1-0 to Venezuela and Jamaica lost 3-1 to Ecuador. The Swan Dive with Meg Swanick is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.* The public (and players) vs journalist rankings ✍️* Jesse Marsch’s trial by fire 🇨🇦* “… If we need to use our fists, we will use our fists…” 🇵🇪* Is Argentina really the favorite to win? 🇦🇷* El Tri in a difficult spot 🇲🇽* Jamaica’s talent vs Jamaica’s results 🇯🇲* USMNT: they did what they needed to do 🇺🇲* Panama’s opening performance, matchup with the US 🇵🇦* Uruguay the real contender to win? 🇺🇾* Costa Rica’s massive result against Brazil, could they get out of Group D? 🇨🇷* Diagnosing Brazil 🇧🇷* Grading Concacaf’s performance vs Conmebol in the early games 🌎Keep up with all things Concacaf at Jon’s newsletter here. Thank you for reading The Swan Dive with Meg Swanick. This post is public so feel free to share it. Get full access to The Swan Dive with Meg Swanick at swandive.substack.com/subscribe

Henry Bushnell is a soccer and feature writer for Yahoo Sports, doing amazing work covering soccer in the US at all levels. Henry was exceptionally generous with his time as we discussed MLS, Messi, the US Open Cup, USMNT and USWNT for over an hour. This was recorded on Friday the 19th so some of the references may be slightly dated. I was on the road in the rust belt last week for some non-soccer related things, so do forgive me the slight delay in posting this. Intro* Getting into soccer, getting into sports writing* The fandom pathMLS, Messi 6:15 - 21:03* The Messi effect* Apple TV+* Miami leads the Supporters Shield race. Mentioned in the pod they’d just played Kansas City, they’ve since also beaten Nashville and New England* Is Miami bossing the league? (Related article)* Assessing the Miami Champions Cup loss to Monterrey (2-5 on aggregate) and talking MLS roster rules* MLS becoming a top global league vs a glacial pace of changeUS Open Cup, USSF, Major League Soccer 21:03 - 32:00* Why did MLS try to ditch US Open Cup?* Who was calling the shots at US Soccer?* How USSF and MLS work together* Henry’s article, ‘Who controls American soccer?’USMNT 32:00 - 50:00* Big picture assessment of where the USMNT is post-Nations League trophy * Are we locked in with Gregg through 2026, no matter what happens this summer?* Expectations for the group: US, Uruguay, Panama, Bolivia* If they get out of the group, can they get something from Brazil or Colombia (should these be the two)* Starting XI * Gio Reyna (this was recorded the week following Reyna’s first start for Forest, which took place against Wolves on April 13. Reyna has since started a second game but played just 53 minutes and come off the bench against Man City last weekend for 16)USWNT 50ish min - FIN* Evolutions since Vlatko departed* What went wrong in ‘23* The 18 player roster * The Olympic opponents and USWNT expectations* PressureThank you for reading The Swan Dive with Meg Swanick. This post is public so feel free to share it. Get full access to The Swan Dive with Meg Swanick at swandive.substack.com/subscribe

Thank you for reading The Swan Dive with Meg Swanick. This post is public so feel free to share it.This week started with a third consecutive Nations League trophy for the USMNT on Sunday night. A few days later, the US Women dropped their 23-player SheBelieves Cup roster—their last roster preceding the final set of games before Emma Hayes is officially in charge of this team. To talk about both teams and their big summers ahead, I’ve got Laken Litman from Fox Sports with me. Laken reports on college football and soccer for Fox Sports, and is frequently on the ground with both US National Teams, including, most recently, the USA’s Nations League exploits in Dallas. Laken will also be with the US Women for SheBelieves in Atlanta next week. * How players and Berhalter reacted to their semifinal performance* Would Berhalter’s job have been in danger if the US lost that match?* Copa America expectations* Did the lack of crowd in the US vs Jamaica match affect their flat-footed start? (quote from Yunus)* The team’s response against Mexico in the final * Tyler Adams’ goal. Nobody knew he had it in ‘em* ‘Gio Reyna has been killing it for USMNT. Can he now do it at club level?’* USWNT evolutions from World Cup to W Gold Cup to SheBelieves Cup next week* Hopes for Hayes* What went wrong in ‘23?* The Sophia Smith we were promised* (Soph on The Women’s Game with Sam Mewis)* The USWNT’s Olympic group: Germany, Australia, Zambia/Morocco* They’re all groups of death, aren’t they?* What Laken is looking out for in this SheBelieves Cup* The incredible, remarkable competitiveness of Team USA’s forward line* Mallory Swanson and Cat Macario are back, at long last!Follow Laken on X here, and read her work at Fox Sports here. The Swan Dive with Meg Swanick is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to The Swan Dive with Meg Swanick at swandive.substack.com/subscribe

The US Olympic squad beat Guinea 3-0 in Girona, Spain last week (goals from Harriel, Busio and Gomez), then drew Olympic hosts France 2-2 in Montbéliard on Monday (goals from Yow and Cowell). With just four months to go before the summer games, Brain Sciaretta re-joins the pod for a chat about the results, the evolving roster, and expectations in France:* the emergence of Griffin Yow (his goal against France)* striker options, overage striker options* thoughts on roster construction, importance of versatility in an 18 player roster* Some Olympic roster specifics* The Venezia boys* Hanging with the hosts, the team has fight* The team’s identity: ‘raw but tenacious’* Get out of the group? Challenge for a medal? … “this team should win games”* Questions from twitterFollow Brian on twitter here. And for a sample of his work, here’s a profile he did of Griffin Yow this past January. The Swan Dive with Meg Swanick is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to The Swan Dive with Meg Swanick at swandive.substack.com/subscribe

Tomorrow evening, LAFC hosts Philly Union in leg 2 of Concacaf Champions League.Max Bretos— voice of LAFC & announcer for MLS Season Pass on Apple TV— joins for a quick check-in to discuss the big match and a few other prescient topics: * LAFC v Philly in the CCL semi-final* MLS v Liga MX in the final* Cherundolo— USMNT coach?* LAFC’s early club success* Covering MLS for Apple TV* Biggest shifts in league coverage with the Apple deal* What MLS era is this?* What USMNT Abroad era is this?* Rapid fire takes on Leeds, McKennie, Crocker, MarschThe Swan Dive with Meg Swanick is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to The Swan Dive with Meg Swanick at swandive.substack.com/subscribe

This is an interview with Tim Ream, conducted via Zoom in Doha, Qatar, a few days ahead of the World Cup 2022. Lots of stuff packed into this episode, Tim was very generous with his time. Team dynamics, fame, life in England, perceptions of Americans in football, and lots more. Get full access to The Swan Dive with Meg Swanick at swandive.substack.com/subscribe