School’s out for summer! Happy Friday. What is an MLS to do when Messi isn’t playing? Talk about Matt Freese, of course. Saturday’s game has received significantly less hype than the last time Inter Fort Lauderdale came to town but it’s still a big game to kick off an important three-game stretch for the Union with a visit to Cincinnati wedged between two home games.

In the email today:

1. 👑 Carranza Is Back But for How Long?

Julian Carranza is fully fit and back ready to face his former team on Saturday but even as head coach Jim Curtin confirmed on Thursday that he’s still fully a Philadelphia Union player the potential for the star striker leaving in the summer is very real.

The Union aren’t the same without Carranza and though they managed to score a pair of goals in one of the two games he was out the prospect of him leaving before his contract expires at the end of the season is a concerning one.

Still, as is the case with Daniel Gazdag away with Hungary players are going to have opportunities to step up and be that next man.

2. 🟩 Lineup Decisions for Inter Miami

Daniel Gazdag and Damion Lowe away for international duty and Andre Blake still injured are undoubtedly big absences for Saturday but with Union head coach Jim Curtin confirming that Jack Elliott will be serving a red card suspension it leads to some back line decisions.

Curtin’s most likely move will be to pair the versatile Nathan Harriel with Jakob Glesnes. A good performance from Harriel at the center back spot could all but guarantee a place in the Olympics since the small roster size requires the kind of versatility Harriel can offer. Olwethu Makhanya is another option but is this really the time for the 20-year-old to make his first team debut? He didn’t travel with Union 2 for their Thursday game in North Carolina but it would seem a big ask to insert him into the starting XI.

As for Gazdag, Jeremy Rafanello, Quinn Sullivan and David Vazquez were brought up as possibilities in Thursday’s presser. Like Makhanya it’s questionable Vazquez would be thrown in to start on his first team debut against Sergio Busquets in central midfield but Rafanello has only logged 1 minute since going the full 90 in Portland in late March.

“We're going to miss Daniel Gazdag, right? Just like Miami's going to miss Lionel Messi, there's, there's no two ways about that. But this is an opportunity for other guys to step up whoever we decide we're going to need to be ready.”

Most likely those “other guys” in the case of Saturday are position changes for Harriel and Sullivan but some minutes off the bench will likely be available for some of those other guys.

3. 📣 Tweet of the Day: The Sky Isn’t Falling

4. 💧 Water Cooler: Most Important Player Results

5. 🔗 Link Roundup

• Union II returned to their winning ways in North Carolina last night.

• Three Philadelphia Union Academy teams are in Tennessee ready to kick off the MLS Next Cup playoffs.

• Tomorrow night is Unity Night at the Soob.

Philadelphia Raccunion T-shirt available now at Teepublic.

Thanks for reading! Have an item or suggestion for the newsletter? Email [email protected].

Want to support this newsletter? Upgrade your account 
for $1 per month or $10 per year.