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Copa America and the European Championship final show how far the US national team still is

Copa America and the European Championship final show how far the US national team still is

This is For The Win’s daily newsletter, The Morning Win. Did a friend recommend or forward this to you? If so, please subscribe here. Do you have any feedback? Please leave your questions, comments and concerns via this short reader survey! And here’s Mike Sykes.

Goooooood morning, Winners! Welcome back to the Morning Win. I hope you had a fantastic weekend.

Football took the sporting world by storm on Sunday with two epic finals in the European Championship and the Copa América.

Let’s start at Hard Rock Stadium, where absolute chaos broke out as fans rushed the stadium like a ton of bricks, climbing through vents, destroying escalators and more inside the building. Chaotic is probably the kindest way to describe it.

The game, however, transcended the chaos. Lautaro Martinez’s late goal in extra time secured victory for Argentina.

Suddenly, a Colombian team that hadn’t lost a game in two years fell. Argentina won a record 16 Copa, which was also their second in a row. By the way, the World Cup victory is between those two. And did I mention that Argentina lost Lionel Messi mid-game to an ankle injury? Crazy, man.

Add to that what happened across the pond in the European Championship final. Spain beat England 2-1, with Mikel Ozyarzabal’s 93rd-minute stoppage-time tap-in ending the game.

It was just hardly onside, though. Literal inches save Spain in this one. Here’s Andrew Joseph with more.

“Just 13 minutes after Chelsea star Cole Palmer levelled the match with a 73rd-minute substitute goal, Spain got the winning goal via a tap-in from Mikel Oyarzabal after a brilliantly timed run. In real time, it looked as though Oyarzabal could have been offside at the moment of Marc Cucurella’s pass, but VAR confirmed the goal was good.”

That’s how Spain did it. In the end, it came down to the last minute. But that little bit of skill, timing and luck helped them win.

It was so much fun watching these games yesterday, as international football usually is. But it also brought me to a pretty grim realization: I don’t think I’ll ever have a team to cheer for. Not the men, anyway.

The football we watched across the continents on Sunday was so good, it was simply better than anything the USMNT has given us in years.

That’s why the Golden Generation doesn’t look so golden. That’s why Jürgen Klopp turned down the job. There’s a standard for everyone, and it’s a standard that the U.S. men’s team, unfortunately, just doesn’t have.


It’s just Big Me

(Photo by HENRY NICHOLLS / AFP)

The last twenty years have been dominated by the Big Three in men’s tennis: Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

These are the guys who won pretty much everything in that period. For the first time in almost ten years, the French Open didn’t have one in the final. They were so dominant.

But the thing about the old days is that they are the old days. They are over. It is Carlos Alcaraz’s time now.

With his straight-sets win over Djokovic at Wimbledon on Sunday, he is now 4-0 in his first four Grand Slam final appearances. The only man with a longer streak is Roger Federer, according to ESPN.

He is also now one of six men to have won back-to-back French Open and Wimbledon titles on the two different surfaces. The other five are Rod Laver, Bjorn Borg, Rafael Nadal, Federer and Djokovic. That is elite company.

There is currently no Big 3 in men’s tennis. It’s just Big Carlos. And his reign looks set to continue for a while.

READ MORE: Alcaraz did the bookmakers no favors with his convincing victory over Djokovic


It’s Paul Skenes season, baby

Mandatory credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

It’s MLB All-Star week and the Home Run Derby is tonight, but I wanted to take a moment to show Paul Skenes some love. His path to becoming an All-Star starter has been incredible.

Charles Curtis found one stat that contextualizes how good he’s been in such a short time. Here’s more:

“The Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher has made just 11 starts in his career, all this year after being the organization’s No. 1 overall pick in the MLB Draft. And on Friday, he was named an All-Star starter. AFTER JUST 11 STARTS! HE’S JUST THAT GOOD!!!”

That is the fewest starts for an All-Star starter and no one questions it. That’s how good this guy is.

Happy All-Star week, folks. Or should I say, happy Paul Skenes gets to knock your favorite players out of the week.


Quick Hits: The Home Run Derby Squad…The WNBA ROY Race By The Numbers…and More

— Charles Curtis has your full roster for the Home Run Derby today. Give me Gunnar Henderson.

— Bryan Kalbrosky wrote a really good piece on the WNBA Rookie of the Year race. Check it out.

— Lionel Messi’s injury devastation was so heartbreaking. Mary Clarke has more.

— Caitlin Clark giving a young fan her shoes was so sweet. Here’s Cory Woodroof with more.

— Andrew Joseph tells more about the anguished England fans, whose hopes were dashed after this VAR review.

— Steve Kerr is calling for gun reform after what happened to former President Donald Trump this past weekend.

That’s it folks. Thank you so much for reading. See you tomorrow. Peace.

-Sykes ✌️