LOS ANGELES — When Juan Soto takes the field before first pitches in the Bronx, he sprints to his position in right field and gets the crowd going. As spectacular an entertainer as he is a disciplined hitter, he raises his arms and implores the home fans sitting directly behind him to bring animated energy. Sometimes he interacts with the crowd by signing baseballs. And after his first ever roll call from the bleacher creatures, he responded by taking a full bow for them. Most days, though, he puts his arms over his head and makes the shape of a heart when he hears his name being chanted.

It’s all love for Soto and the Yankees as they get ready to take on the Dodgers in the World Series. 

“I feel like it’s them. They make it really easy for me,” Soto said Thursday, when asked why he’s fit in so well with the Yankees. “They really welcomed me, really nice, and how they treat me and how they make me feel when I stepped in that clubhouse in spring training. They really make it easy for me. I think they are the big part of this, that’s why I feel really comfortable with where I’m at and how happy I am right now.”

Friday’s Game 1 also happens to be Soto’s 26th birthday, and there’s no other way he’d rather celebrate than by getting a win and a leg up over Los Angeles. Winning is what Soto cherishes to his core, and it will be at the top of his list of priorities when he’s exploring free agency this offseason, too.

In Soto’s best-case scenario, he helps the Yankees win the Fall Classic with more clutch at-bats like the one he had in Game 5 of the American League Championship Series in Cleveland, and he hits the market with his stock peaking. We know he turned down a reported $440 million in 2022 from the Nationals, the team that signed him out of the Dominican Republic and later won a World Series with him, not long before he was traded to the Padres. Entering this season, it was widely believed Soto could command a contract worth at least $500 million. Then he posted career highs in bWAR (8.8) and OPS+ (178) for a full season. 

Don’t be surprised if Soto’s overall contract value surpasses $600 million this winter. 

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“I would say Scott [Boras] has been doing a really good job to not make it hard for me,” Soto said. “He’s been taking all the bullets and everything. I’m just focusing on playing baseball right now. That’s what I’ve been doing since day one, just focusing on baseball, and anything that comes up with [free agency], I just let him [handle] it.”

All of which begs the question, what’s the Yankees’ best-case scenario? Of course, they want to win the World Series with Soto in the only season he’s certain to be in pinstripes. But that would hardly make their negotiations with him this winter any simpler. In fact, if he’s wearing a second World Series ring as he tours ballparks and meets with team owners in the offseason, that will only add more zeroes to his asking price. 

One of those team owners is expected to be Mets billionaire Steve Cohen, who has significant money coming off the books this winter and has shown he will go after a coveted free agent if he really wants to. Since winning is what matters most to Soto, the Mets just showed the world that they could block out the noise, put their heads down, and compete all the way to the playoffs — their enchanted season finally finishing in the NLCS against the Dodgers, just two wins shy of reaching the Fall Classic despite no one expecting them to even sniff October baseball. The trifecta of Cohen, top baseball executive David Stearns and promising first-year manager Carlos Mendoza should make Queens an attractive borough for impending free agents, including Soto. 

The left-handed slugger is expected to field several offers this offseason, with big spenders such as the Mets, Phillies, Cubs, Dodgers and Giants, and maybe even the Blue Jays, Red Sox and Cardinals all potentially in play as landing spots. But in the end, it could very well come down to a two-team bidding war in New York, and that should unnerve Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner. If Cohen really wants to go after Soto, it’s hard to envision the Yankees beating his offer. Really, the Yankees cannot let it get down to that if they’re resolute on keeping Soto in the Bronx.

The Yankees will have to make an extremely competitive offer to keep Soto long term. This isn’t the time to play games, cross their fingers and hope Soto will stay, just because they traded for him last winter and have experienced a majestic season together. Soto has won before, and he’s been elite everywhere he’s played. Moreover, he reminded all 30 teams this postseason how quickly he can change the game with one at-bat, one swing, and send his team to the World Series. Several owners figure to be willing to bet the house on such a generational superstar and join the Soto sweepstakes this offseason. 

When considering that he’s arguably the second-best young free agent in the history of the sport — behind only Álex Rodríguez — it’s fair to wonder, other than the obvious, what separates Soto from the rest of his peers. It starts with a dedication to his craft that even stands out to fellow generational talent Aaron Judge.

“I think it might have been early May, we were in Minnesota, I think he may have had a couple bad games,” Judge explained. “I saw him in the cage, he showed up early doing work with [Yankees assistant hitting coach] Pat Roessler. And I was talking to him like, ‘Hey, what are you working on? What are you doing?’ And he was like, ‘Ah, I just don’t feel right. This doesn’t feel right. This doesn’t feel right.’ And also, I’m looking up at the scoreboard, and he’s hitting .320, 15 homers. I’m like, ‘I think you’re doing alright.’ 

“So, it’s impressive to see, even a guy like him, he looks like he’s got it all figured out, he continues to put in the work, put in the dedication year in and year out. He’s one of the best players in the game, a superstar, and he continues to want to improve and continue to do better.” 

Soto’s iconic 10th inning at-bat in Game 5 of the ALCS in Cleveland had me wondering if he’s the most confident player at the plate in baseball right now, particularly as someone who can deliver in those high-pressure situations — so, I asked Aaron Boone. 

The Yankees manager paused for 10 full seconds before answering whether Soto is the most confident player he’s ever managed, or currently playing in the game. He appeared to search for the best way to answer “yes” without disparaging his other great, potentially Cooperstown-bound sluggers.

“I mean, I don’t know,” Boone chuckled. “I think we have a number of those players that are pretty confident in what they can do. He’s one of the greats that I’ve ever managed, but I’m managing a few of those guys. One of the things that’s certainly been enjoyable for me is getting to know Juan, the person and who he is. And to see his at-bat quality all year. 

“I go back to the first spring training game where there were a lot of eyes on that, and it’s like you became very aware very early that, I’ve described it as, his at-bats are like wars, battles. It’s not too often that you see the crowd feed off of ball one, strike one [like] with Juan, because he creates this theatrical battle between him and the pitcher as much as anyone I’ve ever seen.”

It’s hard to believe there’s a manager out there who would want anyone other than Soto at the plate right now when the game — the season — is on the line. For one, Soto’s elite plate discipline puts him on another playing field. He hardly ever makes mistakes, and when he does, he adjusts his swing decisions within the same at-bat. Although 26 years young, he enters every high-leverage situation believing in his heart of hearts that he’s the best player on the diamond. Soto’s unrelenting temperament gives him the chance to wait for the pitch he knows he can hit. The bigger the moment, the higher the stakes, the more likely he is to seize his golden opportunity. 

All of this has built Soto’s mythology and made him a monumental figure in the history of baseball, already. Just keep in mind that even though he has clearly relished playing for the Yankees and batting in front of Judge, especially now that they’re four wins away from winning the whole damn thing, that doesn’t make his free agency a foregone conclusion. Other front offices are salivating at the thought of adding Soto to their rosters, and if there’s a wide enough gap between those proposals and what the Yankees are offering, Soto’s time in the Bronx could be over next week. 

Unlike his interactions with the fan base on a nightly basis, the decision of where to sign a long-term contract and spend the next decade or more of his career won’t just be about love. 

Oftentimes, the determination to win can be a business. 

Deesha Thosar is an MLB reporter for FOX Sports. She previously covered the Mets as a beat reporter for the New York Daily News. The daughter of Indian immigrants, Deesha grew up on Long Island and now lives in Queens. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.

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Moore’s contract announcement was met with relief and excitement by supporters.

The England Under-19 international had just two first-team appearances to his name at that point but the buzz around Moore has been bubbling for a number of years, despite his age.

Moore was a standout performer during Spurs’ pre-season tour, scoring twice and featuring in all six matches.

With so much anticipation for the youngster’s development, some supporters feared losing Moore before he had even started a match for the first team.

Moore is now pushing to become a first-team regular.

“He’s ready to start any game, I just feel, especially with younger players, you’ve just got to be really careful about their introduction into senior football,” said Postecoglou.

“He’s still physically growing, you have to take that into account so I think he’s ready to play, start a Premier League game for sure but for me it’s about making sure, for us, that we develop Mikey in the right way.”

Postecoglou added that Tottenham captain Son-Heung-min was unlikely to play in Sunday’s Premier League trip to Crystal Palace.

“Sonny’s still not right, he’s still not feeling 100%,” the Australian said.

“He won’t train today, so he’s unlikely for this weekend and we’ll see after that.”

Manchester United first-team coach Darren Fletcher has been charged with misconduct by the Football Association following his side’s 2-1 win against Brentford.

Fletcher is alleged to have acted in an “improper and/or confrontational manner” and using “abusive and/or insulting words” towards the match officials during the Premier League victory at Old Trafford on 19 October.

United were furious following Brentford’s opener, which came when defender Matthijs de Ligt was forced to leave the field for a third time to deal with a cut on his head.

Manager Erik ten Hag and assistant Ruud van Nistelrooy both received yellow cards for their protests, while Fletcher confronted the officials at half-time as they made their way to the tunnel.

Fletcher, who made 342 appearances for United, has until 29 October to respond to the charge.

Augusto Cesar Lendoiro took charge in 1988 and was the president who oversaw Depor’s glory years, but it was also under his stewardship the club racked up debts that by 2013 totalled more than 160m euros. Administrators insisted Lendoiro resign, or the club face insolvency. He did, but the economic burden remained.

In 2020, Spanish bank Abanca became the club’s majority shareholder. This summer, with head of Abanca Juan Carlos Escotet also becoming club president, Deportivo announced they were finally debt free, 24 years ahead of schedule.

The club also declared a strategic plan based on the pillars of financial consolidation, strengthening the academy, innovation and infrastructure and a “love for this city and its values”.

Benassi says the goal is to be “competitive in the present, but also ensure long-term success and viability”. There is work to do, Deportivo sit 19th in the 22-team second tier after 11 games, but they will not rush the process.

The club are working with Populous, architects of the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, to build a new, state-of-the-art training centre while also refurbishing the current complex for the women’s team.

The focus is very much on finding and nurturing the best young talent in the area, collaborating with local schools and academies.

“It is fundamental for us,” says Benassi. “At the moment, almost 25% of players in the first team come from our academy.”

Benassi hopes the facilities and support Depor can provide will help the club retain their best young players. The Riazor, their home by the beach, is on a list of potential stadiums for the 2030 World Cup in Spain.

But there is also the appeal of “Deportivismo”.

“From a young age, the boys learn that Depor is something more than a club,” he explains. “It is a philosophy, it is a family.

“They are born her. That’s why we don’t want to lose the connection with the city, the values of the city, because if we can maintain that, we are sure all the players from here and the academy will always be Depor fans.”

Laken Litman

College Football & Soccer Analyst

AUSTIN, Texas — The U.S. women’s national team may have looked a little rusty, but the squad won its first match since its remarkable gold medal run at the Paris Olympics, beating Iceland 3-1 on Thursday night at Q2 Stadium.

Alyssa Thompson, who was not part of the Olympics team this summer, opened the scoring with a banger in the 39th minute. This was the 19-year-old’s 10th cap, but her first-ever international goal, and it was a thing of beauty. Then Jaedyn Shaw, also 19, scored the winning goal when she nutmegged Iceland’s goalkeeper to give the U.S. a 2-1 edge late in the second half. Sophia Smith, part of the now famous Triple Espresso front line, added a third goal for good measure.

Before the scoring frenzy in the final minutes of the match, however, the U.S. struggled to be clinical in front of goal. There were many wasted opportunities in the box, and the group probably wasn’t as cohesive as manager Emma Hayes would have liked. But there are two more opportunities in this window, as the USWNT plays Iceland again on Sunday and then faces Argentina on Wednesday.

“We haven’t played together since the Olympics,” Hayes said. “I thought we looked like a team with players at the back end of a season. I liked our short passing game, I thought we did that well. But that final pass into the final third in the first half wasn’t big enough. And I think when the spaces were there on the outside, we didn’t switch the ball quick enough, but we addressed that at halftime. It’s up to us to inject that urgency into the game. And I thought the players that came from the bench did that.”

Hayes added that the “quality in front of goal” was different in the second half after she made substitutions, which included Shaw and Smith coming off the bench and quickly changing the game.

Additionally, as promised, there were multiple debuts. Hayes was able to sub on Gotham FC forward Yazmeen Ryan in the 66th minute, as well as midfielder Hal Hershfelt, who came on in the 72nd. Hershfelt had been in previous training camps and was an alternate at the Olympics, while this was Ryan’s first call up and first cap.

Here are takeaways from the match:

Play of the game:

The U.S. wasn’t efficient enough in the box for most of the first half. That was, until the 39th minute when Thompson unleashed a rocket shot into the upper netting to put her team up 1-0 before halftime. The teenager received the ball just outside the box, took her defender straight on, cut inside, and hit an unsavable shot. It was her first international goal.

It’s been awhile since Thompson has been with the national team. She made it onto the 2023 World Cup roster, but hasn’t been with the squad for the past 10 months due to form. She’s earned her way back, though, and entered this training camp having scored five goals in her last eight NWSL matches for Angel City. 

“I’ve been watching her since before the Olympics,” Hayes said of Thompson. “I know she’s committed to looking for the next level in her play. I think you see just how threatening she is. I mean, it’s not an easy goal to chop in from the left-hand side and move it into the top corner, but she’s someone who, her international career started at a very early stage, but that’s why I believe it does take time. Maybe she wasn’t ready before.

“But I could see from tonight’s performance, she offers a lot for us going forward and super pleased for her goal and performance.”

Immediately after scoring, Thompson found Smith, who she considers to be a big sister, and jumped into her arms on the sideline while the rest of the team swarmed in celebration. 

“I just froze because that has been a dream of mine for so long, and I couldn’t think of a better way to score,” Thompson said. “I’ve been working on that shot for a while, too. And in club I get to those positions a lot, so being able to have those reps and stuff has been nice.”

Turning point:

Iceland equalized in the 56th minute when Selma Magnúsdóttir’s shot from distance sailed past Alyssa Naeher. But that score line would not last.

In the 84th minute, Shaw received a pinpoint pass from Casey Krueger, took on her defender with some fancy footwork, and poked the game-winning goal through Iceland’s goalkeeper’s legs to put the USWNT up 2-1. Shaw didn’t have the Olympics she envisioned, sitting on the bench the entire Games with a lower body injury. Thursday, she got some redemption in her first match back with the national team, scoring her sixth USWNT goal this calendar year.

“Every single [person] in our locker room is over the moon for Jaedyn Shaw knowing what she experienced in the summer,” Hayes said. “Her ability to create and score goals is second to none in this country.”

Hayes added that the end of the NWSL season is coming at the wrong time for Shaw, who is getting back into form after the injury that derailed her summer plans.

“But she’s a unique talent,” Hayes said. “And her feet are special in those areas. I don’t know too many players who can do what she does. I think she just needs to keep working on her game and stay healthy and keep building on what has been largely a good year for Jaedyn. And at the international level, she’s showing how prolific she is. Wonderful for us to see the depth in our roster in the highest areas, which is fantastic.”

In the 89th minute, Smith put a third goal in from the top of the box to add some cushion.

“Soph is a top player,” Hayes said. “Instantly you see when she came into the game, the way she held the ball, the way she turned the defender, the way she can peel off out wide. 

“Soph is becoming the prolific striker I want her to become. And with the very few chances she got, she delivered into the bottom corner.”

Smith, who didn’t come on until the 72nd minute, has been dealing with an ankle injury since the Olympics and is building back minutes. Hayes said she will likely use Smith “sparingly” the next two games, maybe just off the bench. Usually that kind of thing would be tough for the uber-competitive forward, but she understands and admittedly even agrees with the decision.

“It’s just as important role to come off the bench and change the game,” Smith said. “And I took advantage of that.” 

Key stat:

One of the key messages that Hayes has discussed this week is wanting to broaden the player pool as the USWNT looks forward to the 2027 World Cup. She called up 26 players, six of whom were uncapped, 14 of whom have fewer than 20 caps, and 21 of whom are under the age of 30.

Thompson and Shaw are both 19 and are perfect examples of what the future of this team will look like.

What’s next for the USWNT?

It’s a tight turnaround for the USWNT. The team will play Iceland again on Sunday in Nashville and then travel to Louisville where it will face Argentina on Wednesday. Hayes is expected to roll out a different lineup for each of those games, with no player playing in more than two full matches, she said earlier this week. The purpose of this is so that Hayes and her staff can get quality looks at a larger group of players with the hope of expanding the talent pool as the team turns its focus toward the 2027 World Cup.

The U.S. will also continue celebrating its Olympics success over the next several days with fans, while also toasting Kelley O’Hara’s retirement, and honoring both Mallory Swanson and Rose Lavelle for reaching 100 caps.

Laken Litman covers college football, college basketball and soccer for FOX Sports. She previously wrote for Sports Illustrated, USA Today and The Indianapolis Star. She is the author of “Strong Like a Woman,” published in spring 2022 to mark the 50th anniversary of Title IX. Follow her at @LakenLitman.

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