Soccer Down Here just picked up its second Football Content Awards finalist nod in three years, and honestly, we're still catching our breath about it. Today's stacked on its own too: the Champions League kicks off its new season tonight, Atlanta United 2 plays its final home match of the year with a playoff spot on the line, and we're launching The Vine, SDH's new home for women's soccer. The game never stops and neither do we. Welcome to the SDH Network, Around the Corner from Everywhere.

Morning Espresso is brought to you by Kaiser Permanente, Georgia's partner in building healthier, more connected communities. Together We Thrive.

We were honored to make this list in 2024. We kept building. Now we’re back.

Soccer Down Here has been named a finalist for Best Media Organisation: Broadcaster / Rightsholder at the 2026 Football Content Awards, our second finalist appearance in three years.

Take a look around the category and you’ll find names like BBC Sport, CBS Sports Golazo, ESPN FC, FIFA+, talkSPORT, TNT Sports and Amazon Prime Video.

And there’s Soccer Down Here.

For an independent soccer network based in Atlanta, that’s something we’re incredibly proud of.

What means even more to me is what SDH represents.

It’s the morning shows and the match broadcasts. It’s Atlanta United 2, college soccer and high school soccer. It’s the writers, photographers, broadcasters and contributors who bring their work to SDH. It’s the clubs and organizations that trust us to tell their stories. It’s the partners who have believed in what we’re trying to build.

And it’s all of you who watch, listen, read, share, subscribe and keep coming back.

When we say SDH Network, we don’t just mean a collection of shows and content. We mean the network of people around it who love the game, love the stories behind the matches and love the people who make the sport what it is.

Now we’re asking that network for a little help.

Public voting accounts for 50 percent of the final result, and voting is open through October 3.

If SDH has been part of the way you follow the game, we’d appreciate your vote for Best Media Organisation: Broadcaster / Rightsholder.

We were there in 2024. We kept building. We’re back in 2026.

Thanks for being part of it. We’re proud of what we’ve built, and we’re not finished building yet.

The revamped format is three seasons old now, so the group-stage nostalgia has mostly worn off, but the feeling of the competition starting back up hasn't. Six games make up tonight's opening slate: AEK Athens hosts newcomer LASK and Club Brugge hosts Aston Villa at 12:45 p.m. ET, then Dortmund vs. Villarreal, Porto vs. Manchester City, Lille vs. Real Betis and Real Madrid vs. Inter Milan all kick off together at 3 p.m. ET. Thirty-six teams get eight games apiece before the table settles on Jan. 27: top eight go straight to the round of 16, ninth through 24th fight it out in a knockout playoff round, and the rest go home.

Let’s start with the history that isn't really a guess. City have opened their Champions League campaign with a win in six of the last seven seasons, and Porto have beaten English opposition just twice in their last 16 tries in major European competition. Dortmund thumped Villarreal 4-0 back in November and arrive off three straight Bundesliga wins of their own, while Villarreal haven't won any of their first four league matches this season.

The Real Madrid-Inter game carries more weight than a typical Matchday 1 fixture because of who's standing on the Madrid touchline. José Mourinho left Inter for Madrid in the summer of 2010, immediately after he won Inter's first European Cup in 45 years. Sixteen years later, in his second spell in charge at the Bernabeu, his first Champions League match back is against the club that made him a two-time European champion in the first place, now coached by Cristian Chivu, one of his own players from that 2010 team. Los Blancos arrive off their first loss of the Mourinho reboot, a 1-0 defeat at Real Betis on Friday in which Kylian Mbappé had a stoppage-time penalty saved. Inter arrives on a three-game Serie A winning streak that included an actual escape act, a 3-2 comeback win over Napoli sealed by a stoppage-time Lautaro Martínez goal after trailing by two.

Zoom out and back-to-back champion Paris Saint-Germain still isn't the favorite, at least not by Opta's math. Arsenal leads the projection model at 20.9 percent to win the whole thing, with Bayern Munich just behind at 19.4 percent and Manchester City third at 12.3 percent. Those are the only three sides given even a one-in-ten shot. PSG sits at 7.1 percent as it chases a three-peat that only Real Madrid, under Zinedine Zidane from 2016 to 2018, has managed in the Champions League era. Real Madrid itself, the record 15-time winner, sits at just 4.4 percent, reflecting two straight seasons that never got past the quarterfinals. Manchester United, back after a two-year absence, is given only a 3.8 percent title chance but a healthier 37.6 percent shot at reaching the quarterfinals in Michael Carrick's first European campaign in charge.

Somewhere in Brazil's third division, in front of a fraction of the crowd an international game draws, someone lined up over a dead ball and did something nobody watching expected. That's the whole case for this section: moments like this happen at every level of the game, not just the ones with broadcast deals and sold-out stadiums.

When Atlanta United 2 hosts Connecticut United this afternoon in its MLS Next Pro home finale, it's a homecoming of sorts for the opposing goalkeeper. Gunther Rankenburg, the former Georgia State standout, has 19 starts in net for Connecticut this season, and today he's on the wrong side of the club Atlanta needs to beat.

That's the kind of detail that would carry a preview by itself most weeks. It's not the story today. The story is that seventh place in the Eastern Conference, where Atlanta currently sits, is only three points clear of the cutoff with three games left to play. Connecticut sits one point ahead of them in fifth. Thirteen teams are still fighting for nine playoff spots in the East. There isn't much room for anyone to slip.

Atlanta has been genuinely good at home this season, 8-2-3, and enters unbeaten in three. Connecticut brings the best road record in the conference, seven wins away from home, and arrives having won eight of its last ten. With both teams playing well coming into today, the scene is set for perhaps the most consequential match in Atlanta United 2’s history in MLS Next Pro.

The individual numbers carry their own weight too. Arif Kovac leads the league's Golden Boot race with 18 goals, though Chattanooga's Alex Krehl has crept to within one and Connecticut's own Barnabas Tanyi, who has 13 goals and seven assists this season, sits tied for third. Cameron Dunbar leads MLS Next Pro in both assists and key passes, and with eight goals and 11 assists, he's two goals from a double-double, an ambitious note to end the home slate on if he can find it today. Connecticut's Alex Monis, a former Chicago Fire product, has been nearly as productive with eight goals and six assists, and the shape of both rosters, Atlanta's 51 percent possession and 82.6 percent passing accuracy against Connecticut's willingness to win the physical version of the game, suggests two teams planning to beat each other in very different ways.

Pregame coverage starts at 1:30 from the Children's Healthcare of Atlanta Training Ground in Marietta with Jon Nelson. Madison Crews and I will have the call starting just after 2 p.m. on the SDH Network. Listen at soccerdownhere.net/listen.

Starting today, SDH has a new vertical for the women's game. The Vine gathers women’s soccer coverage locally, across the country, and from around the world, all in one place. You’ll find it regularly here in Morning Espresso and you’ll find our features on the SDH website. Leading it is Madison Crews, our Chief Content Officer at SDH. Here's Madison on why she built it.

Women’s soccer is no longer on the sidelines of the soccer conversation, it is helping lead it.

From record-breaking NWSL audiences to historic NCAA attendance, from grassroots clubs and high school programs to the college game, professional leagues, and the global stage, the women’s game is growing at every level. The Vine exists to tell that story.

The Vine is the SDH Network’s home for women’s soccer, connecting fans to the players, teams, stories, and moments shaping the game from the grassroots to the highest levels. Our coverage spans Atlanta and beyond, shining a light on the women building the future of soccer in our communities, across the country, and around the world.

For too long, women’s soccer was treated as secondary. We believe it deserves to be covered with the same passion, credibility, consistency, and depth as every other part of the game.

Leading the creation of The Vine is deeply personal to me. Women’s soccer was where I found some of my first opportunities in broadcasting, and it played a defining role in helping me find my voice in this industry. SDH gave me the platform to grow, develop, and become the professional I am today, and it showed me the impact that comes from giving women the space and opportunity to be heard.

The Vine is my opportunity to help create that same space for the women’s game. To amplify the voices of the players, coaches, broadcasters, and people who make women’s soccer what it is. To tell the stories that deserve to be told, celebrate the moments that move the game forward, and shine a light on everything in between.

Like the SDH Network as a whole, The Vine is built on trust, context, and connection. We want fans to come to us for the latest news, stay for the stories behind it, and return for the conversations that make the game matter.

The Vine is where women’s soccer takes center stage.

Andonovski Out as Kansas City Current Sporting Director: Vlatko Andonovski has left his role as the Kansas City Current's sporting director by mutual consent, the club announced Monday. He shifted from head coach into the sporting director role in November, months after leading Kansas City to the 2025 NWSL Shield, and the club said the transition "was not the right fit." Andonovski was the only coach to win an NWSL trophy in Kansas City, with championships in 2014 and 2015 and the Shield last year.

Utah Royals Add USWNT Forward Jameese Joseph: The Utah Royals acquired forward Jameese Joseph from the last-place Chicago Stars for $750,000 in intra-league transfer funds through 2029, plus add-ons. Joseph made her USWNT debut in 2025 and scored her first international goal against Chile, and she joins a Utah side currently tied for third place in the NWSL.

USL Championship Players Ratify New CBA: The USL Players Association ratified a new collective bargaining agreement covering USL Championship and the incoming USL Premier, the league's new top tier set to launch in 2028. Minimum base compensation rises to $42,000 in 2026, up from $31,000, with USL Premier's minimum set at $67,500, and standard contracts now cover 12 months instead of 10.

Space Coast Pro Soccer Buys Land for 8,000-Seat USL Stadium: Stadelon District Holdings has purchased 54 acres near Melbourne Orlando International Airport for just over $9 million, a key step toward an 8,000-seat USL stadium and mixed-use development. The project is led by Orlando City SC co-founder John Bonner and two-time USL championship-winning coach Adrian Heath, with a Space Coast club targeting a March 2028 USL debut.

SDH AM, 9:05 a.m. on our YouTube and Twitch channels, and with our friends at the National Sports Broadcast Network: Jon Nelson's Tuesday Thoughts opens with Georgia Southwestern men's head coach Bailey Guffin on his team's start to the season, then WESH-TV Orlando's Mike Gramajo joins in hour two to preview tomorrow's Atlanta-Orlando rivalry match at the Benz.

Atlanta United Training Coverage, This morning: Madison and I will be at first team training, with fresh sound from Lucas Hoyos and Tata Martino posting to SDH's social channels and website through the day.

Atlanta United 2 vs. Connecticut United, Pregame at 1:30, kickoff at 2 p.m., SDH Network: Jon opens the broadcast from Marietta before Madison and I call Atlanta's playoff-stakes home finale.

Atlanta Soccer Tonight, 10 p.m. on 92.9 The Game and the Audacy app: I'll break down everything from a loaded Tuesday, including how Atlanta United 2's playoff push played out this afternoon.

No. 5 MidAmerica Nazarene Topples No. 2 Georgia Gwinnett: MidAmerica Nazarene beat previously top-ranked Georgia Gwinnett 1-0 in a Top 5 NAIA showdown at the Labor Day Grizzly Classic on Sept. 7, with Amaro Piaggio's 43rd-minute goal proving the difference. The loss drops the Grizzlies to 3-1-1, while the Pioneers improve to 2-1-1.

Berry Bounces Back With Road Shutout at Roanoke: Berry topped Roanoke College 1-0 in Salem, Virginia, on Sept. 7, with Sam Carlson converting a 23rd-minute penalty kick for his first goal of the season. Goalkeeper Cooper Cherry made two saves for his first clean sheet of the year as the Vikings improved to 2-1 a day after a 3-1 loss to Randolph-Macon.

Hyundai Signs Five-Year Champions League Deal: Hyundai has signed a five-year global partnership with UEFA, becoming the Champions League's official automotive partner. The deal was brokered through UC3, the joint commercial venture between UEFA and the European Club Association, as the competition continues building out its sponsorship portfolio.

Neom Ends Al-Hilal's 47-Game Unbeaten Run: Al-Hilal's 47-game unbeaten run in the Saudi Pro League ended with a 2-0 home loss to Neom on Monday, the first league defeat of coach Simone Inzaghi's tenure. Kalidou Koulibaly's own goal and a strike from Amadou Kone did the damage, even with new signings Gabriel Martinelli, Ollie Watkins and Crysencio Summerville all starting. Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr can draw level on points with a win at Abha on Thursday.

Luka Modrić Set for 203rd Croatia Cap: Coach Slaven Bilić named 41-year-old Luka Modrić in Croatia's Nations League squad, where he'll earn his 203rd cap when Croatia opens Group A at the Czech Republic on Sept. 26. Only Cristiano Ronaldo, with 233 for Portugal, has more caps among his peers, with Lionel Messi retiring from Argentina duty last week at 207. Bilić said Modrić won't play every group match, comparing his usage to his rhythm at AC Milan, where he signed for one more season in July.

Fiorentina Brings Back Paolo Vanoli: Fiorentina rehired Paolo Vanoli as coach Monday, a day after firing Fabio Grosso following three straight losses to open Serie A that left the club bottom of the table with one goal scored and nine conceded. Vanoli previously rescued Fiorentina from relegation trouble last season, guiding them to a 15th-place finish and a Conference League quarterfinal after replacing Stefano Pioli in November. He gets his first match back Friday at promoted, still-winless Venezia.

Grupo Pachuca Owner Confirms Club León Still for Sale: Grupo Pachuca owner Jesús Martínez Murguía confirmed a majority stake in Mexico's Club León remains for sale as the multi-club group works to comply with FIFA ownership rules. León, valued at about $200 million, was excluded from the 2025 Club World Cup in favor of sister club Pachuca despite qualifying via the 2023 Concacaf Champions Cup. Martínez said proceeds would go toward acquiring clubs outside Mexico, and that Real Oviedo, also in the Grupo Pachuca portfolio, is not for sale.

Alexis Mac Allister Confirms Liverpool Won't Renew His Contract: Alexis Mac Allister said Liverpool has told him the club isn't in a position to offer him a new deal, adding that he'll still "give 100 percent until the last day." The Argentine midfielder said he turned down options to leave this past summer and pointed to winning the Premier League and Carabao Cup during his three seasons at Anfield.

I'm really lucky to have such a great team here at SDH to do everything that we're able to do. It's incredible that that's earned recognition from the Football Content Awards for the second time in three years. We have so much more that we want to do, and so much more that we're starting to do, like The Vine. This is going to be a very busy fall in the SDH universe, and we're really happy that you'll be along for the ride with us. We don't get to do what we do without all of you reading, listening, watching, and being part of it. Vamos.

Song of the Day: "Electrolite" by R.E.M. A warm, forward-looking closer from the boys from Athens, fitting for a day that's more about gratitude and momentum than proving a point.

Jason