Welcome to The Tap-Inn. Where you can tap in to the world of soccer with me, your Irish Tap-Inn bartender, Joe. 🍻

On tap today:

Ready? I thought so. Let’s pour.

June in New York brings a few firsts of the year.

The humidity arrives. And after weeks of my regulars suffering in silence — and then not in silence — I finally cave and turn on the air conditioning. The windows were doing fine, in my opinion. The demanding crowd disagreed.

The other thing that happens in late June: one of my favourite customers, Claire, slides onto a barstool and orders a cool, crisp glass of Sauvignon Blanc.

“Joe, I’m free!”

Claire and I actually have a lot in common. We both spend our days patiently dealing with people who don't know better. The difference is she gets it from eight year olds. I get it from middle-aged men who really should.

Claire is a school teacher. And every June, she begins ten weeks of summer peace. She earns every minute of it.

Speaking of breaks, how long do elite athletes — who put their bodies to the limit playing the most popular sport on earth — get off in the summer?

About six weeks. That’s it. Less than a primary school teacher in New York.

The Premier League runs from mid-August to mid-May. Ten months of competitive action. Add European competitions, domestic cups, and international windows, and some of the top players can clock up 50 to 60 games in a single season.

So when it's finally over, six weeks is all they get to re-charge and go again.

So what do they actually do with six weeks off?

What happens in a World Cup year?

World Cup years are different. Playing for your country is an honor, but it also means giving up the only break you have all year. Players who go deep in the tournament get to come back later. Clubs give finalists extra recovery time, meaning a player in the July 19 final might not rejoin pre-season until mid-August. Problem is, the season usually kicks off then, meaning some clubs have to start the season missing some of their best players.

For everyone else, pre-season starts in early July. Six weeks of double sessions, fitness tests, and friendlies that are designed for the club to make as much money as possible and grow their global fanbase.

And then in August, the good stuff starts again.

After all that, both Claire and I go back to doing what we do best — fielding questions we've already answered a hundred times. She just gets paid more.

PSG 1–1 Arsenal (AET) — PSG win 4–3 on penalties.

Kai Havertz scored in the sixth minute. A deflected clearance fell perfectly into his path and he hammered it past Safonov. Arsenal led. The perfect start for the side with the best defence in Europe and ideal setup to park the bus.

For 59 minutes, it looked like it might actually happen. Then in the 65th minute, Kvaratskhelia drifted into the Arsenal box, drew a clumsy foul from Mosquera. Up stepped Ballon d'Or winner, Ousmane Dembélé. He sent Arsenal keeper, David Raya the wrong way. 1-1.

The rest of the game was played out tensely, with no really big chances for either side to win it. Then came extra time. Still no breakthrough. That meant penalties.

Both teams dispatched their first couple of penalties until Arsenal’s Eberechi Eze kicked his wide. However, Raya saved the next PSG penalty, leaving the sides level still. Then Gabriel — immense all night — stepped up last, needing to score to keep the shootout alive. He blazed it over the bar.

PSG win 4-3. Back-to-back Champions League titles.

Arne Slot has been sacked as Liverpool manager. Two seasons. One Premier League title. One catastrophic defence of it.

Year one: Slot inherits Klopp's squad, wins the league at a canter. Year two: Liverpool spend £450 million — including British record signings Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz — and finish fifth. Lost 19 games. Mo Salah publicly called for a return to the heavy metal football of the Klopp era.

Andoni Iraola of Bournemouth is the frontrunner to replace him. A man who's done more with less than almost any manager in the Premier League.

Arne goes with a title to his name. Which is more than most get.

The summer transfer window officially opens on July 1. But most clubs like to get their business started once the season finishes. Some deals have already been agreed.

The biggest one so far? Barcelona have signed Anthony Gordon from Newcastle for $93m. And many more signings will be expected this month.

The best deals always happen before last orders. New to the transfer window? Learn all about it HERE.

In 2012/13, Chelsea midfielder Oscar set the record for most appearances in a single season by any player. Club and country combined. How many games did he play?

Answer at the bottom 👇

The USMNT got World Cup preparations off to a great start with a 3–2 win over strongly ranked Senegal.

Christian Pulisic hadn't scored in five months. Twenty-one games without a goal for the man tasked with leading the US into a home World Cup. Not ideal timing.

He picked the right moment to end the drought.

Dest opened in the 6th, Pulisic doubled it in the 19th. Two up, cruising, 57,000 fans bouncing in Charlotte. Then Senegal, led by former Liverpool and Bayern Munich star, Sadio Mané, pulled one back just before half and then levelled through an own goal early in the second half. 2-2. The nerves crept back in.

Then Balogun came off the bench in the 62nd minute and restored the lead. The US held on. First ever meeting between the two nations, and the perfect confidence boost heading into the tournament.

Next up? Germany in Chicago on June 6. The Germans will be an even tougher test than Senegal, but there’s a quiet confidence building around Poch’s side.

Phrase: Sacked

Origin: British slang from the 1800s — derived from the practice of a tradesman being handed back their "sack" of tools upon dismissal. Nothing to do with an American football tackle. We know.

Definition: When a manager or head coach is fired. You'll hear it constantly in soccer — clubs "sack" managers, managers "get the sack." Same thing, every time.

Usage: "Arne Slot has just been sacked!"

June 1, 1988 — Happy birthday to Javier "Chicharito" Hernández, born in Guadalajara, Mexico. Mexico's all-time leading international scorer with 52 goals. His nickname — Chicharito, meaning "little pea" — came from his father, nicknamed Chícharo for his green eyes.

He spent three years at Manchester United, became a cult hero at Old Trafford, and finished his career in the US at LA Galaxy.

Feliz cumpleaños, Chícharo.

Within minutes of the final whistle going in the Champions League final, Chelsea posted a photo of the UCL trophy on X. No mention of London rivals Arsenal. Didn't need one.

Chelsea are the only London club to have ever won the Champions League. Arsenal have now lost two finals without ever lifting it.

468,000 likes. Arsenal fans won't forget that.

Hours later, Chelsea backtracked: "We probably deserve another red card for that last post!"

Too late. The internet never forgets.

Oscar played 64 games for Chelsea across seven competitions, plus 22 for Brazil. Eighty-six games in one season. That's a game every four days on average. And people wonder why soccer players need a holiday.