The Daily Dirt, June 17: Dempsey and Zardes lead the US to the semifinals

As we all recover from last night’s madness in Seattle, it’s time to look ahead to the Copa America Centenario semifinals. Saturday night, Argentina plays Venezuela to determine who comes to Houston to face the USMNT.

Missing Jermaine Jones, Alejandro Bedoya, and Bobby Wood will be extremely difficult. However, the US will have an extra two days of rest than their opponents due to the strange Copa America Centenario scheduling. It’s not ideal in a tournament format, but we’ll take it...

As I mentioned yesterday, we have been craving the type of moments that we saw last night. When the game went to 10v10, it actually played into the hands of the US in many ways. It became a battle and the winner was always going to be the team with more heart, more grit, more fight. The USMNT has went through some ups and downs in recent years, but it’s obvious that we have our scrapping squad back.

Rest your voices, they’re going to be needed on Tuesday...

The Greatest American Hero

Semifinals here we come, USMNT wins 2-1 over Ecuador and awaits their next opponent (Stars and Stripes FC)

Jermaine Jones, Alejandro Bedoya, and Bobby Wood will all miss the semifinal due to suspension (Stars and Stripes FC)

Philadelphia Union and Vincent Nogueira mutually terminate his contract (Philadelphia Union)

Cosmos move their home US Open Cup games because of complaints about fan behavior (Empire of Soccer)

Great read about the life of a coach in the USL, working as a reserve team (Away From the Numbers)

World in Motion

Highlight of England vs. Wales yesterday:

Northern Ireland wins 2-0 over Ukraine (SB Nation)

Neymar’s agent tells Brazilian media that three clubs are ready to pay his $158 million buyout clause at Barcelona. (Goal)

Welcome to Atlanta

Let us know if you find one of the 1,000 Atlanta United flags around metro Atlanta this morning (ATLUTD.com)

South Georgia Tormenta win their first match ever 2-0 over the Charlotte Eagles on the road. (Statesboro Herald)

Georgia Revolution lose 3-1 to Tobacco Road FC in Conyers (Georgia Revolution)

The Falcons’ three day minicamp is over, catch up on what we learned (The Falcoholic)

Braves rumor mill heating up (Talking Chop)