The Best Soccer Show

It's The Best Soccer Show's USMNT World Cup Roster Reveal Reaction Special featuring Jason Davis and Special Guest Alex Shephard.

Alex is a senior editor at The New Republic, a massive soccer fan, and one of the editors of a new World Cup magazine set to drop very soon called Golden Goal.

Jason and Alex dive into the USMNT roster as revealed (sort of) by Fox on Tuesday afternoon, examine the cultural disconnects that colored the roster naming process, and debate what is success for the USMNT in this home World Cup.

Support the show on Patreon at patreon.com/thebestsoccershow

There are perks and a Slack full of Besties.

See you soon!
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With the countdown to the biggest World Cup on American soil since 1994 officially underway, we are looking back at where the American soccer media landscape started, where it is now, and where it’s going next.

This week, Jason sits down for a special interview with long-time friend and foundational voice in American soccer media, Shawn Francis. Known to many generations of fans as the creator behind The Offside Rules and the original MLS Insider, Shawn has tracked the growth of the game from its early blogging days to the modern landscape. Today, Shawn is working with Copa90 as they make a massive push back into the American market.

Jason and Shawn dive deep into the "soccer wars," how the internet and social media fractured modern sports media, and why the upcoming North American World Cup will force fan experiences to become beautifully local. Plus, Shawn shares some incredible, vintage World Cup viewing memories from the streets of New York. Whether you're an old-school fan from the pre-Twitter blog days or new to the American soccer pyramid, you won't want to miss this insidery conversation.


00:00 - Welcome to a special episode of The Best Soccer Show


01:10 - Introducing Shawn Francis: From The Offside Rules to Copa90


02:12 - Support the show on Patreon & getting access to the Bestie Slack


03:24 - Welcoming Shawn: Remembering the American soccer world before Twitter


04:35 - Have we "won"? Looking at the commercial boom of the game today


05:45 - The fracturing of modern sports media and how social media changed MLS


07:35 - Rocket fuel or watershed moment? Expectations for the upcoming World Cup


09:34 - Personal nostalgia: What the 1994 World Cup meant to a generation of fans


10:10 - The local knock-on effect of ticket pricing and massive tournament travel


10:43 - From French restaurants to Harlem auto garages: Unforgettable World Cup watch stories


Watch Copa90: Check out their incredible football culture content on the Copa90 YouTube Channel.


Join the Community: Support the podcast, unlock exclusive bonus content, and get immediate access to our private Slack channel by becoming a Bestie at The Best Soccer Show Patreon.


Read the Newsletter: Subscribe to Jason’s deep dives and tactical analysis over at the Jason Davis Soccer Eagle on Ghost.


Bluesky: @davisjason.bsky.social


Instagram: @soccer.eagle.jd

If you enjoyed this trip down memory lane and our look toward the future of the game, please take a moment to subscribe, rate, and leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Your reviews directly help us grow the community, reach new listeners, and keep bringing you these exclusive conversations!

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The USMNT fanbase freaked out on Thursday over the news that Chris Richards has "torn ligaments". But will he miss the World Cup? Jason runs down the saga and checks the DEFCON of the fan base to start the show.

Jonathan Tannenwald (OMGFGPG13 IT'S JTT) joins to unpack the Richards news and dive into the World Cup roster ahead of Tuesday's big release.

We get a look at JTT's USMNT roster spreadsheet.

Love the show? Want more Jason Davis in your life?

Join the Best Soccer Show Patreon at patreon.com/thebestsoccershow and become a Bestie. Perks include:


🎧 Wednesday Office Hours with Jason — live, interactive, drop in and pick his brain


🎤 Studio link access — Patreon subscribers can jump into the office hours stream directly


🗣️ The Bestie Slack/Discord — the community for American soccer obsessives


🎁 Bonus content drops — including random appearances from Jay Rodius and more

It doesn't cost much. It means a lot. See you in there.

Subscribe to the podcast, leave a rating and review, and we'll see you next week.

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Special Edition: The Long Game with Leander Schaerlaeckens

Jason is taking some time off, so this week he's sharing his full conversation with Leander Schaerlaeckens — journalist, USMNT beat reporter, and author of the new book The Long Game: US Men's Soccer and Its Savage Four-Decade Journey to the Top (or Thereabouts). It's the definitive history of the program, written just in time for the World Cup. Jason calls it a must-read, and this conversation shows why.

[0:00:28] — Jason introduces the episode and Leander's new book, The Long Game. He'll be back live soon — catch him at patreon.com/thebestsoccershow for Wednesday office hours, the Bestie Slack, and bonus content.

[0:02:50] — Interview begins. Leander on the writing process: three-plus years, 150+ interviews, every US World Cup game since 1990 rewatched — and then US Soccer fired Berhalter and he had to rewrite the whole thing.

[0:07:50] — The book's structure: a chronological USMNT history woven with profiles of six current players — Tyler Adams, Weston McKennie, Christian Pulisic, Ricardo Pepi, Matt Turner, and Antonee Robinson — each chosen because their story says something bigger about American soccer.

[0:20:00] — The Dark Ages (1950–1990): the USMNT once went 11 years without winning a game and nobody noticed. A 1974 qualifier where they didn't have enough players and pulled one from the stands. A $5 per diem that players were sometimes asked to forego. It was a circus — and Leander went deep on why.

[0:31:00] — The big structural question: is a US World Cup win inevitable, or does it require investment that doesn't make financial sense? Leander's take — it's not just a matter of time. The FC Dallas academy director's point lands hard: a kid in Dallas is still 12 times less likely to end up in a professional academy than a kid in Madrid, which has the same population but a dozen pro clubs.

[0:43:00] — Closing thoughts: buy the book at your local bookstore or bookshop.org. Jason wraps with a thank-you and outro.

Join the Bestie community at patreon.com/thebestsoccershow — Wednesday office hours with Jason, a bonus podcast feed, the Bestie Slack, and World Cup content on the way. Your support keeps the show going.

Timestamps🎙️ Support the Show
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Special Edition: The Future of MLS Next Pro

Jason is on the road to Pawtucket, Rhode Island for a live Morning Kick Around at Centreville Bank Stadium — so rather than leave you hanging, he's crossing the streams. This episode features the full Morning Kick Around interview with Eben Novy-Williams, deputy editor at Sportico, on KKR's blockbuster investment in MLS Next Pro through the newly formed Hometown Soccer Holdings.

Jason and co-host Rob Kerr dig into what it all means for the soccer wars, lower-division soccer in America, MLS valuations, the Vancouver Whitecaps crisis, and what the World Cup might — or might not — do for the game's long-term trajectory.

TIMESTAMPS:

[0:00:28] — Welcome & road trip intro: Jason heads to Pawtucket for Morning Kick Around live at Centreville Bank Stadium, Rhode Island FC vs. Tampa Bay Rowdies, May 9th

[0:01:02] — Check out Morning Kick Around on YouTube: youtube.com/@MorningKickAround

[0:03:35] — Support the show at patreon.com/thebestsoccershow — World Cup content incoming for Besties, plus Wednesday office hours and the Bestie Slack

[0:05:00] — Interview begins: Eben Novy-Williams, deputy editor at Sportico, joins Jason and Rob Kerr

[0:05:46] — Why KKR? MLS launched Next Pro in 2022 with a minor league baseball vision — teams in non-MLS cities building a full pyramid. Four years in, most clubs treated it as a sunk cost, not a business. KKR changes that calculus.

[0:07:12] — The moat strategy: MLS wants to control the entire pro soccer pyramid in the U.S. — and this deal widens the moat against USL considerably.

[0:09:03] — KKR's timeline is likely five years. They want to build the commercial structure, prove the concept, grow the league, then find a successor. From MLS's side, this is Next Pro 2.0.

[0:11:25] — The real estate angle: soccer stadium investment in mid-sized cities is as much about surrounding land development as the sport itself — just like minor league baseball.

[0:19:33] — A quiet rule change: US Soccer dropped the required controlling ownership stake from 35% to 15%, opening the door to bigger consortiums and more institutional investment across all pro divisions.

[0:22:18] — World Cup reality check: hotel bookings are flat, the ticketing process has been a mess, and once the tournament ends, MLS loses its biggest sales pitch. What does the league look like in the rearview mirror?

[0:25:44] — Valuation tension: every MLS team is roughly in the top 50 most valuable soccer clubs globally. No pro/rel and a salary cap create cost certainty investors love — but fans see a ceiling on quality.

[0:27:00] — The two-tier ownership problem: some owners paid under a million dollars for their clubs. New owners paid $500M. Those groups see the league's future very differently.

[0:28:00] — Grant Gustafson and the Vancouver situation: Eben confirms the Gustafson family (Public Storage heirs, Kentucky thoroughbred farm) are the main Vegas-connected group in talks. Phoenix and Indianapolis also mentioned as relocation candidates.

[0:34:45] — Find Eben's work at sportico.com and on X at @Novi_Williams

Support the Show

Join the Bestie community at patreon.com/thebestsoccershow for Wednesday office hours with Jason, bonus podcast feeds, World Cup content, and the Bestie Slack. Or just share the show with a friend — it all helps.

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