Major Link Soccer: The Return of Messi

Once Rogue, Messi has returned to Argentina

By alexkummert Aug 13, 2016, 7:00am PDT

The World:

Following his shocking decision to leave the team after their Copa America loss in June, Leo Messi has announced his return to the Argentina National Team, with a desire to solve the AFA's litany of problems from within.

There has been a significant uptick in Chinese investment in European soccer, and many speculate this comes from the country's intention of hosting the 2030 World Cup.

United States:

While it would be easy to attribute the USWNT's brutal Olympics loss to the fluky nature of penalty kicks, it is not necessarily a correct assumption. Former U.S. coach Pia Sundhage had a smart game plan on how to contain their athleticism, and Jill Ellis failed to counter it. Despite the dispiriting loss, we can take solace in the fact that Mallory Pugh is quickly budding into the team's next superstar.

Following a very disturbing report around explicit emails being sent about players among the FC Kansas City coaching staff, One of the club's owners came out claiming these claims to be false.

With season's across Europe quickly kicking into gear, worth writing down these names of potential USMNT contributors playing there.

MLS and the USL have received approval to experiment with Live Video Assistant Referee's, with the upcoming Red Bulls II vs. Orlando City B USL Match serving as the guinea pig.

Seattle's own Deandre Yedlin was handed the number 32 shirt for his upcoming Tottenham Hotspur campaign.

MLS:

Often just missing each other during their respective career's development, Charlie Davies and Alejandro Bedoya have finally intersected, on the Philadelphia Union.

Despite their vaunted offensive talent, the LA Galaxy have had a tough time producing shots on a volume scale during this season. That being said, looking at their campaign through the expected goal lens tells a different story.

As Real Salt Lake head to CenturyLink, they will be doing so without one of their most consistent performers, with Centerback Aaron Maund set to miss Sunday's match due to a foot injury.