• Not for the first time, U.S. women’s national team coach Jill Ellis is under fire for questionable tactics. Ellis has rolled out a 3-5-2 formation for the national team since last summer, and it led to two losses in three games at the SheBelieves Cup, where the Americans scored one goal. A 3-0 beating from France, in which the French scored twice in the first 10 minutes, should lead Ellis to reconsider what appears to be an ill-considered change.
• ESPN published its annual Major League Soccer player survey this week. Among other things, the players overwhelmingly think the league’s decision to play games during FIFA-mandated international breaks is a joke. They want the league to raise salaries and make travel easier, and they think promotion and relegation would be a good idea.
• Facebook Live is quickly becoming a North American soccer destination. Coming on the heels of Univision’s announcement that the network would put English-language broadcasts of Liga MX games on the social networking platform, MLS announced a similar deal, with Univision broadcasting 22 games, in English, on Facebook.
