Home lone goal was great, but come on, it’s not exactly like David Villa should have been doing that in a friendly.
Villa is far from the only struggling star playing in these games, though. Some have been non-existent at all, including club legend Wayne Rooney. And some have been noticeable by the fact that they don’t play, like Juventus forward Paulo Dybala and Manchester City attacker Gabriel Jesus.
Elsewhere, there have been some issues with the quality of play and a disjointed performance from some teams.
That’s to be expected, though, as it’s preseason, and coaches have been working out the kinks. That doesn’t mean these are some of the worst teams in MLS history, either.
Here’s a quick look at the teams that have played and some other players who have impressed, according to some fans, on social media.
Rio Grande Valley FC
This is definitely a struggling squad, as they were playing in the third tier of the U.S. Soccer pyramid at the start of the year, and have now dropped down to the lower USL, having struggled.
However, when they get their act together, this team can put on a show. They pulled off an upset of FC Dallas to open the tournament and now have three draws and a win in their last four games.
Nelson Valdez has two goals and an assist and has been a great signing so far, scoring in each of his first three appearances.
Boston Breakers
Well, the Breakers are finally competitive.
They’ve had one shutout so far and are only giving up four goals so far. They have a pair of wins and two draws and they’ve outscored their opponents 4-0.
But these numbers are very deceiving because of the scoreline. In a 1-0 win over a non-MLS team, they also allowed four.
Unfortunately, the schedule for the rest of the tournament is awful.
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FC Dallas
Dell Loyola’s team should be the team to beat. They’ve been dominant all season in the USL and are the No. 1 team in the league.
They’ve just been held off the scoresheet by solid play from theiropponents.
Kerlan Bain had a shutout of Philadelphia Union-affiliated club Bethlehem Steel in the semis, but the matches are not going to get any easier. In the final, Dallas will play Swope Park.