5 things for Philly footy fans to look forward to in 2025

The fun thing about soccer is that it never stops. There is always a match being played somewhere in the world, whether at the club or national team level. For fans of The Beautiful Game in the City of Brotherly Love, 2025 will be full of footy matches, teams, players, and events to keep an eye on!

5 things to watch in 2025

Since soccer is a global game, there is so much to look forward to when a new year rolls around. As we are dealing with Philly sports, we’ll take a look at the Philadelphia Union and Union II first, then take our gaze internationally to put a bow on 2024 and say hello to 2025!

Union, MLS, Icarus Cup, 2025 — Mandatory Credit: Philadelphia Union

1: Philadelphia Union will show if they can bounce back or not

2024 was the year things fell apart for the Philadelphia Union. After years of a constant upward trajectory, the club was in freefall, finishing 12th in the Eastern Conference and 23rd out of the 29 MLS teams. In 2025, the club will look vastly different.

The team fired long-term head coach Jim Curtin and has let longstanding players leave. Ernst Tanner will have to work his magic to find diamonds in the rough players, as ownership is doubling down on not splashing the cash for top-quality players. The second team was rich in young talent, so expect more homegrown signings to come into the team and be contributors.

The roster needs to be rebuilt, but they also need a coach who can get the most out of another young MLS team ready to play the underdog. The most recent report was that ex-St. Louis City coach Bradley Carnell was in talks to be that coach, but there hasn’t been any traction since the holidays rolled around. Whoever the coach is will be tasked with getting this team to be a competitor again in 2025.

With just about eight weeks until the first match of the 2025 MLS season, the Union has its work cut out for it. It’s a rebuilding year, but ownership has stated that the team is expected to be a competitor anyway. Time will tell if that will be the case or if this will be a team of youngsters with some veteran fan favorites sprinkled in who are one or two top-quality players away from being a true contender in the ever-changing MLS landscape.

Union MLS — Sep 28, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Union defender Nathan Harriel (26) celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal against Atlanta United in the second half at Subaru Park. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images

2: Union II looks to make another Cup run

The Philadelphia Union’s second team, Union II, had a hell of a 2024 season. They were one of the best teams in MLS Next Pro, showcasing talented young players expected to become big stars and made it to a Cup final. They lost that final in heartbreaking fashion, conceding the winning goal in second-half stoppage time, so what’s next for Union II in 2025?

MLS Next Pro is a fluid league, and many teams use it as an opportunity to give their younger players and academy kids professional minutes. For Union II, this has led to success on the pitch and kept the pipeline of homegrown talent rising through them to the first team. This will likely be the case for 2025 as well.

Philly has done a good job of letting their talented youth shine with Union II, but can they compete for a championship? That will be the question for them in the new year. Finding the balance of fringe first-team players and academy starlets could propel them to make it to another final in 2025!

3: USMNT begins to prep for the 2026 home World Cup

Shifting sights to the international game, 2025, will be significant for the USMNT. At the beginning of last year, Gregg Berhalter was still at the helm of this talented team; a failure at this past summer’s Copa America saw US Soccer go in a different direction, appointing Mauricio Pochettino.

The USA has been waiting for a coach like Poch to get the most out of their talented pool of players who are now among Europe’s Elite teams. Players like Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie, Tyler Adams, Gio Reyna, and countless others can thrive under the playing style Pochettino wants his teams to play. The USMNT will now ask him to lead this team to the fast-approaching home World Cup, just about one year away.

In 2025, the USMNT will play in another Concacaf Nation’s League knockout stage, looking to win their fourth straight title. This coming summer, they will also play in yet another Gold Cup. The USA will play these last competitive matches before the World Cup, and they will look to win both to gain confidence heading into 2026!

4: USWNT looks to remain the best team in the world

2024 was an interesting year for what many people call the best team in the world, the USWNT. The USA came into the year following a disastrous 2023. They failed to get past the Round of 16; this was the first time the USWNT didn’t get to the semifinals of a major tournament in eight years. The failure led to the dismissal of Vlatko Andonovski and a time of limbo for US Soccer.

The USWNT was without a coach for half of 2024, but US Soccer made shockwaves when it hired Emma Hayes. Hayes is the most successful club coach of all time, and she was ready to take on the challenge of coaching at the international level. Hayes is undefeated in 15 matches at the helm of the USA, winning 13 games and leading the USWNT to a Gold Medal at the Paris Olympic Games.

Now, Hayes and the USWNT are being hailed as the best team in the world yet again. The team’s bounce-back was fast and looks to solidify that in 2025. However, they will look slightly different as key veterans Alex Morgan and Becky Sauerbrunn retire. Hayes will be tasked with keeping this team the best in the world while ushering in a new era of USA players.

USWNT, Olympic — United States women’s national team head coach Emma Hayes, right, confers with defender Jenna Nighswonger druing the second half of an internationals friendly soccer game against South Korea, Saturday, June 1, 2024, in Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

5: European Leagues turn the page to 2nd half of their seasons

Now that we’ve looked at Philly and the USA teams, it’s time to look forward to the other big clubs and competitions worldwide. Europe’s biggest leagues and competitions are at their midway points as we move on from 2024 to 2025, and that means the best is yet to come from the best teams and players in the world.

England’s Premier League giant Liverpool leads the way with 45 points from 18 games. They have an eight-point cushion with a game in hand over shocking second-place contenders Nottingham Forest. Arsenal and Chelsea round out the Champions League spots, while both Manchester teams struggle. City sits in sixth place, and United is 14th!

Bayern Munich have a four-point lead in Germany’s Bundesliga. Paris Saint-Germain is 10 points clear in France’s Ligue 1. Athletico Madrid, Real Madrid, and Barcelona are all within three points of one another in Spain’s La Liga title race. Atalanta and Napoli hold a one-point lead over last year’s champions, Inter Milan, atop Italy’s Serie A. It’s a fun time to follow European soccer!

Speaking of European soccer, the Champions League and its new format are almost through their group stage. Liverpool has six wins from six games and leads the pack, three points ahead of Barcelona. The group fixtures conclude at the end of January, and the new playoff system and bracket will take over in February 2025!

International competitions are few and far between in 2025. The Club World Cup and the Concacaf Gold Cup will be held in the USA in the summer of 2025, and the always-fun AFCON will take place in Morocco at the end of the year next December! There’s never a shortage of games to watch when you follow this sport, and the new year brings so many more opportunities to watch the sport that makes the world go round!