Atlanta United went down two goals in Charlotte last night and looked finished by halftime. Then Elías Báez and Miguel Almirón made sure the story wasn't over, and we've got the full breakdown, translated quotes and all, plus a transfer situation heating up behind the scenes. There's also a new German national team coach on deck, a wild MLS slate from coast to coast, and Italy's patient search for its next manager.

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Atlanta United went down early and still walked out of Bank of America Stadium with a road point against a rival. The Five Stripes erased a 2-0 deficit at Charlotte FC on Wednesday night, with goals from Elías Báez and Miguel Almirón turning a bad evening into a 2-2 draw that says this team is still fighting for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

The two goals conceded told their own story. Charlotte's Kerwin Vargas struck in the 15th minute after Ashley Westwood's high boot appeared to catch Elías Báez in the head with no foul called in the penalty area, and the hosts made Atlanta pay in transition. The second came right before the break, a Liel Abada header off a recycled Pep Biel cross that gave Charlotte a 2-0 cushion at the half.

The response is what mattered. Fafa Picault found Tomás Jacob down the right in the 57th minute, Jacob's cross found Báez, and Báez's header past Kristijan Kahlina cut the deficit to one and snapped a 164-minute scoreless stretch. Almirón leveled it five minutes after nearly setting up a Báez brace, scuffing home a right-footed equalizer from eight yards. "Honestly, it's a matter of pride for me," Báez said afterward when asked about what it meant to score his first goal for the club, "but also for helping the team be able to score a goal and be close to the result and then be able to tie it. Happy for myself and for the whole team, because that's what I'm here for, to help." Martino saw the same conviction from the sideline. "It seemed like too big a gap, two goals down," he said, "and in the second half we had the conviction not to get disorganized and to keep playing the same way."

Will Reilly, speaking with me for 92.9 The Game after the final whistle, said the fix starts with structure. “We've got to be more organized,” Reilly said. "That starts with us, back behind me as a holding mid, when we're attacking, picking up players, talking, organizing the guys in front of us, so when it does come, we're ready, we're there, we kill the play." He dropped deeper in build-up in the second half, creating a back three at times with the two center backs and freeing the fullbacks to push higher and contribute to the attack, which is exactly where Atlanta found its rhythm.

Martino's bigger concern is what's behind his top eleven. With Júnior Alonso making his debut and Elías Báez and Tomás Jacob still finding their footing, the manager leaned on Atlanta United 2 players signed to short-term deals just to fill out a matchday squad. "We're still lacking a bit more depth," Martino said. "We had to turn to a lot of academy kids, and at this stage where we're trying to recover, having more depth would be desirable." He said the front office is working on it. "It's not easy, clearly it's not easy, but they're trying, and hopefully we can add another player before the transfer window closes."

There's a bigger story developing behind that comment. Chris Henderson told Mike Conti and me on 92.9 The Game's Five Stripes Countdown ahead of Wednesday's match that Emmanuel Latte Lath was held out of the Charlotte lineup as a precaution, with outgoing transfer negotiations for the club-record signing picking up. This morning, The Athletic reported that Atlanta is in talks with Uruguay forward Darwin Núñez and Switzerland forward Breel Embolo, according to sources briefed on the situation, though those talks are described as not yet advanced. The math lines up: Atlanta doesn't have an open designated player spot right now, and a Latte Lath exit would create one. Núñez, 27, became available after Al Hilal squeezed him off its foreign-player roster to sign Karim Benzema, managing six goals and four assists in 16 matches before losing his place. Embolo, 29, is with Stade Rennes and posted eight goals and three assists in Ligue 1 this season. As we always say in these situations, it's worth watching closely, but these remain reports, not confirmation, until the club says otherwise.

There's no time to sit with it. Atlanta United heads to Foxborough for a Saturday night match against the Revolution, the second leg of a stretch that asks a tired group to turn around fast. "It's tough, but it's our job," Reilly said. "I think we'll be ready to go when Saturday comes around."

Inter Miami has its next aging superstar. The club announced the free-agent signing of Brazilian midfielder Casemiro, fresh off the best of his four Premier League seasons with Manchester United, nine goals and two assists in 2025-26, and a starting role in all five of Brazil's matches at the 2026 World Cup. The 34-year-old brings 91 caps and five Champions League titles with Real Madrid to a Miami midfield that has been searching for an answer since Sergio Busquets retired this winter with an MLS Cup in hand. "Casemiro's arrival reflects the vision and ambition that define Inter Miami," managing owner Jorge Mas said. "We never settle. We're always looking to grow, improve, and raise our standards every season."

MLS did not let the celebration sit for long. Shortly after the announcement, the league said it was reviewing a tampering allegation against Inter Miami, tracing back to the league's discovery rights system, the rule that gives a club priority to negotiate with a player before any other MLS team can make contact. The LA Galaxy held Casemiro's discovery rights and believed they were closing in on a deal until the player made clear he wanted Miami instead. MLS is now investigating whether Miami went around the Galaxy to get there.

Here's where I land on this one: discovery rights are a relic that has outlived its purpose. The rule exists to stop MLS clubs from bidding against each other and driving up prices, and on paper that's not a bad idea for a single-entity league. But in practice, it has turned into a mechanism for teams to collect allocation money on players they were never going to sign and players who were never interested in signing with them in the first place. The Galaxy already have a settlement in place with Miami over Casemiro's discovery priority, terms still unreleased, which is the same shape this always takes. In 2024, the Galaxy paid Charlotte FC a record $400,000 in GAM just to sign Marco Reus away from Charlotte's discovery list, a player who wanted Los Angeles, not Charlotte, from the start. Miami has to follow the rules as written. That's fair. But a rule that mostly functions as a toll booth for allocation money needs to change.

What actually determines whether this is a real scandal or a formality comes down to one question: did Casemiro have an agreement in principle with the Galaxy before Miami got involved? If so, then we have a different scenario in play and MLS's structure demands it be treated that way. If Casemiro simply had no interest in the Galaxy, and he's been linked to Miami for a long time now, then this investigation is mostly noise before everyone moves on with a GAM check changing hands.

None of it slowed Miami down on the field. Without Messi or De Paul, Luis Suárez scored twice and Preston Plambeck added a late winner as Inter Miami beat the Chicago Fire 3-2, spoiling Robert Lewandowski's MLS debut.

Three minutes into his Tottenham debut, £85 million signing Mateus Fernandes met a half-cleared corner with a volley that flew into the top corner, the kind of first impression a fanbase remembers for years. Fernandes called it the favorite goal of his career, and former Spurs defender Sebastian Bassong put it in the company of Gareth Bale's strike against Stoke and Zinedine Zidane's volley for Real Madrid against Bayer Leverkusen, which tells you everything about the class of the finish.

Four days removed from lifting the World Cup and collecting the Golden Ball as its best player, Rodri is headed for back surgery, and nobody at Manchester City is putting a number on the recovery. The Spain captain started all eight matches as his country won its first World Cup since 2010, capping a redemption arc after two injury-wrecked seasons at club level. There's no prognosis yet on when he plays again.

That uncertainty lands on top of an already complicated summer. Rodri has one year left on his City contract and has shown no willingness to extend, with The Athletic reporting that talks were expected to happen after the World Cup. He's been repeatedly linked with a return to Real Madrid, a move he has openly said appeals to him at some point in his career, though The Athletic also reported Madrid have no current intention of signing him. A back surgery with an open-ended recovery timeline does not make that contract standoff any simpler for either side.

City knows this player when healthy is close to the best in the world. He scored the winner in the 2023 Champions League final against Inter and made 56 appearances during Pep Guardiola's treble-winning season. But he ruptured his ACL in September 2024, missed nearly all of 2024-25, and never fully got right last season either, limited to 33 appearances across all competitions and only 17 Premier League starts by hamstring and groin issues. The Golden Ball performance in the World Cup was proof the player is still in there. It just hasn't translated to consistent minutes in a City shirt in almost two years now.

New manager Enzo Maresca, who took over from Guardiola after last season, does have some cover. Elliot Anderson arrived from Nottingham Forest in a £116 million deal, and Maresca will lean on him to soften the blow. But the midfield is thinning elsewhere too, with Mateo Kovačić and Nico González both considered likely departures per The Athletic, and Bernardo Silva already gone after his contract expired. City opens the 2026-27 season at home against Bournemouth on August 23, with a lot still unresolved in the middle of the park for a manager just settling into the job.

Paolo Maldini and Leonardo, reunited to run Italy's technical rebuild together for the first time since their Milan days, confirmed Wednesday they've spoken with both Pep Guardiola and Carlo Ancelotti about the vacant Nazionale job, but they're not putting a deadline on it. "The ideal would be to have the coach by the end of this week, but perhaps even more ideal would be to wait for the person we really want," Maldini said. "There is a certain hurry, but not a hasty one." Leonardo backed that up. "It is understandable that people are in a rush, we are too, but the process is important to clarify what it is that we want. We have some clear ideas in our minds on what to do."

The stakes explain the patience. Italy has missed three straight World Cups, and FIGC president Giovanni Malagò has framed this as a six-year rebuild running through the European Championship the country is co-hosting. Malagò created the technical director role specifically for Maldini, with Leonardo as special advisor, so one office oversees the senior team and the academy system together instead of a coach who changes every two or three years and resets everything beneath him. "Italian football is behind the times," Leonardo said. "It is not focused on taking players on, being proactive, learning those skills and giving players the freedom to play and learn. So we want to set some guidelines to the academies upwards."

Guardiola is the name driving the week, months removed from leaving Manchester City after a decade there, with a weekend of meetings in Barcelona already on the books. Maldini wouldn't confirm anything beyond the contact itself. "We cannot give news on what is happening today," he said, adding that Ancelotti was actually approached first. "We also spoke to Carlo Ancelotti before talking to Pep, and it felt only right to start with those we considered to be the best in the world." Ancelotti had just signed a new contract with Brazil, which made that door a difficult one to open. Reporting out of Italy suggests Guardiola's hesitation isn't about the reported salary, which could reach €20 million a year, but about the scale and depth of the project he'd be inheriting.

For Maldini, this is personal as much as professional. "I feel the pressure, as seen by how much time it took the President to convince me, as it is a very ambitious project," he said. "When Italy calls, it is hard to say no, this was a call to arms." He credited a long friendship with Leonardo, built at Milan, for making the partnership work now. Leonardo framed it as bigger than the two of them. "We also needed this positive energy during a difficult moment, when people are negative and pessimistic around Italian football, but there are many people who want to create a movement, with the Lega, the fans, the academies, the media. It has to be a movement, or we'll achieve nothing if we don't all work together."

Griezmann scores in his Orlando debut: Antoine Griezmann found the net in his first MLS appearance as Orlando City routed San Jose 4-0 Wednesday, with David Brekalo and Iván Angulo also scoring in each player's first goal of the season. Griezmann, Atlético Madrid's all-time leading scorer with 211 goals in 488 matches, joined Orlando in March but only reported after La Liga's season ended.

Son scores again as LAFC handles Real Salt Lake: Son Heung-min found the net for the second straight game and Denis Bouanga added another as LAFC beat Real Salt Lake 3-1. Hugo Lloris made six saves and still leads MLS with nine shutouts this season.

Nashville's win streak reaches five: Sam Surridge converted a penalty in the 68th minute as Nashville SC beat CF Montreal 1-0, extending an unbeaten run to 10 straight games. Nashville leads MLS with 39 points and is 8-0-1 at home this season.

Toronto and New England play to a scoreless draw: Luka Gavran made four saves for his second straight clean sheet as Toronto FC held Matt Turner and the Revolution scoreless. New England opened the day fourth in the Eastern Conference following the World Cup break.

Portland snatches a late point off Dallas: Felipe Mora scored two minutes into stoppage time to erase a go-ahead goal from Petar Musa, giving Portland a 2-2 draw with FC Dallas. Musa's 13th goal of the season ties him with Chicago's Hugo Cuypers atop the Golden Boot race.

St. Louis routs a Galaxy team in freefall: Lukas MacNaughton and Marcel Hartel scored four minutes apart before halftime as St. Louis City beat the LA Galaxy 3-1, extending their unbeaten run to six games and passing LA for a Western Conference playoff spot. The Galaxy have been outscored 6-1 in back-to-back home losses since selling leading scorer Gabriel Pec to Cruzeiro for a club-record fee during the World Cup break.

Denver Summit's permanent stadium pushed back: Denver Summit FC's new stadium near downtown will not be ready for the start of the 2028 NWSL season as originally planned, with land acquisition delays pushing the timeline to later that year. The expansion club will continue playing at the temporary 12,000-seat Centennial Stadium, which opened to a sellout crowd last weekend.

St. Louis adds Danish attacker Carlo Holse: St. Louis City is bringing in 27-year-old Carlo Holse from Turkish club Samsunspor for a reported $6 million transfer fee, per The Athletic. Holse will slot alongside Marcel Hartel in the club's dual No. 10 setup after posting eight goals and four assists in the Süper Lig last season.

SDH AM: On-demand now on YouTube and Twitch, podcast dropping soon: Jon Nelson sat down with Peter Raco, President and CEO of Barrie MLS Next Pro, and Niko Moreno of Pulso Sports in Seattle, a good listen if you want the player development pipeline and the growing Latino soccer media landscape in one conversation.

On soccerdownhere.net: Frank Osborne's latest traces Thiago Almada's time in Atlanta, worth a read for the full arc of one of the more talked-about departures in club history.

Germany set to unveil Klopp: The DFB has called a press conference for Friday morning at its Frankfurt headquarters, widely expected to confirm Jürgen Klopp as the new national team coach. Klopp has been the preferred candidate since Julian Nagelsmann resigned following Germany's penalty-shootout loss to Paraguay in the World Cup round of 32, and he hasn't coached since leaving Liverpool in 2024.

Zidane to be named France coach Tuesday: The French Football Federation confirmed Zinedine Zidane will be presented as the new Les Bleus coach on July 28, replacing Didier Deschamps after his 14-year run. Zidane hasn't coached since leaving Real Madrid in 2021 and is expected to begin his duties September 1, debuting against Turkey in the Nations League.

Japan moves on from Moriyasu after next year's Asian Cup: Hajime Moriyasu will continue through the January Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia before stepping down, with Under-23 boss Go Oiwa set to take over the senior team afterward. Moriyasu guided Japan to the World Cup round of 32, losing 2-1 to Brazil.

Saliba ruled out for an extended stretch: Arsenal confirmed William Saliba will not need surgery on a back injury sustained at the World Cup but faces an extended rehabilitation, and the club is now pursuing central defenders including John Stones and Aston Villa's Ezri Konsa.

Garnacho swaps Chelsea for Villa: Alejandro Garnacho joined Aston Villa on a season-long loan with an obligation to buy tied to appearances, after a disappointing debut season at Chelsea that produced just eight goals in 43 matches. The move comes alongside a separate deal sending Morgan Rogers to Chelsea for a British-record £117 million.

Arsenal add Tzolis from Club Brugge: Arsenal completed the signing of Greece winger Christos Tzolis for a reported €40 million, adding a player who posted 22 goals and 29 assists last season to Mikel Arteta's attack following Leandro Trossard's move to Besiktas.

Flamengo closing in on Almada: Flamengo has moved ahead of River Plate in the race for Thiago Almada, with the Argentine responding positively to their project and the Brazilian club finalizing terms with Atlético Madrid on a fee expected between €20 million and €28 million.

Real Madrid open to loaning out Mastantuono: Franco Mastantuono could leave Real Madrid on loan after a season with little playing time under José Mourinho, with River Plate's Eduardo Coudet among those pushing for his return and Valencia, Sunderland, Al Nassr, and Racing also reportedly interested.

Correa leaves Tigres for River Plate: Ángel Correa is departing Tigres for River Plate in a deal worth around $15 million, roughly double what Tigres paid Atlético Madrid for him in 2025. Free agent Mauro Lainez is expected to arrive at Tigres following Mazatlán FC's dissolution.

Gabriel Pec fractures his leg in Cruzeiro debut: Pec suffered a leg fracture on a hard tackle from Internacional's Victor Gabriel, who was sent off, in his first start for Cruzeiro after the LA Galaxy sold him for a club-record fee during the World Cup break.

Watford's women's team set for sale to Pitch15: The Pozzo family has agreed to sell Watford FC Women to investment platform Pitch15, pending WSL Football approval, after promotion to WSL2 was set to quadruple the club's budget under the league's new minimum salary rules.

McInnes banned four matches over penalty comments: The Scottish FA suspended new Rangers manager Derek McInnes four matches, one suspended, for calling a stoppage-time penalty that helped Celtic win the league title "actually quite disgusting" while he was still Hearts' coach. Rangers said it will appeal.

Atlanta United went down two goals in a rival's building on a night that could have unraveled into something forgettable, and instead of unraveling, they found a version of themselves worth building toward. That's the whole edition in one sentence: the fight matters as much as the final score.

Song of the Day: "Git Up, Git Out" by Outkast. A hometown anthem about refusing to stay down, which is exactly what Elías Báez, Miguel Almirón, and the rest of the Five Stripes did in the second half.

Jason