Inter Miami CF have announced Argentina youngsters Matias Pellegrini and Julian Carranza as their first signings.

The 19-year-olds become the first players for the David Beckham-backed MLS expansion team that will begin play in 2020.

Matías Pellegrini, Julián Carranza Revealed as First Players in Club Historyhttps://t.co/W5xXm0hVU7 pic.twitter.com/WoOip3qtKa

— Inter Miami CF (@InterMiamiCF) July 26, 2019

"It's important for us that we found young, exciting attacking players that are on the upside of their career and have the potential to be really good players in this league," said Inter Miami CF Sporting Director Paul McDonough. "We will continue to build and add quality players that are the right fit for our Club. We started with youth, but we know it's also important to have veteran players who come from both overseas and within the league to balance out the roster over time."

Pellegrini is a midfielder at Argentine club Estudiantes, where he scored three goals in the SuperLiga last season. He has represented at the Argentina at U17 and U20 levels.

Carranza, another U17 player for La Albiceleste, is a forward at Club Atletico Banfield, where he has scored 10 goals across 30 matches for the club.

Both players will remain with their respective clubs on loan for the rest of the 2019 campaign.

Real Madrid's Eden Hazard said that he believes the man replacing him in the Chelsea midfield, American wunderkind Christian Pulisic, can be the next great player at Stamford Bridge.

"[Pulisic] can be one of the best in the future for sure," Hazard told The Associated Press at his unveiling as one of the covermen for EA Sports' FIFA 20 video game in New York.

Hazard made his long-awaited move to Real Madrid this summer after months of indication that his days at Chelsea were numbered. The Spanish giants are coming off one of their worst seasons in club history, finishing the campaign without a major trophy.

Hazard became Madrid's first major signing since Cristiano Ronaldo left for Juventus last summer, a move that cost Real about $113 million in bring in the Belgium international.

Hazard thinks Pulisic can follow in his footsteps at Chelsea.

"He can be [a star]," he said of Pulisic. "Now he's at one of the best clubs in the world...He's a proper player."

Chelsea signed Pulisic from Borussia Dortmund for $73.1 million -- a record deal for an American -- and loaned him back to the Bundesliga club ahead of him moving to the Premier League in the summer.

Pulisic made his debut for new boss Frank Lampard in Chelsea's friendly win over Barcelona earlier this week in Japan, saying "it's been tough getting into the things but I'm feeling really good."

Hazard and Real Madrid will face city rivals Atletico Madrid in a International Champions Cup match on Friday at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Guatemala federation president Gerardo Paiz confirmed on Friday that the country won't skip the 2019 CONCACAF Boys' Under-15 Championship in Bradenton, Fla., despite the fact that 11 players were denied visas to travel to the United States.

CONCACAF is hosting the event Aug. 4-11 at the IMG Academy campus with the participation of 42 North, Central America and Caribbean nations as well as Israel.

"They have rejected 11 visas and the boys will not be able to participate, but Guatemala will be going to the CONCACAF [championship] and we will play, we'll change the players," said Paiz via telephone. "We'll go to the tournament with other players. We asked CONCACAF to give us permission to change the list of players."

La Federación Nacional de Fútbol de Guatemala, a la Opinión Pública, Medios de Comunicación y Afición INFORMA: pic.twitter.com/EFVFsTD3Rk

— FEDEFUT GUATE (@fedefut_oficial) July 26, 2019

An official said the U.S. State Department could not comment because visa records are confidential under U.S. law. Paiz confirmed that the Guatemala federation does not know why the 11 youth players' documentation was denied.

"[The U.S. embassy] interviewed them, but they don't tell you anything. They only interview you and they tell you that your visa has been rejected and that's it, they don't explain much else," Paiz said . "It's happened with other national teams that [they say] yes to some and don't give the visa to others. In this particular case they denied all of them the visa, it wasn't some yes and others no."

The Guatemala federation said in a statement that nine of the players showed up for already scheduled appointments at the embassy and submitted all the requested documentation.

"The Guatemala federation will make CONCACAF and the event organizing committee aware of what has happened," the statement said. "The U15s will participate in the tournament, but definitely will not be able to use these players, all of whom were chosen by the coaching staff and who were trained specifically for this event.

"This puts us at a disadvantage by the terms of Fair Play. The federation will continue working to find a solution to this problem with our national teams."

ESPN FC U.S. Correspondent Jeff Carlisle also contributed to this report.

At just 19 years old and after barely half a season of regular senior football, Joao Felix became the fourth-most expensive footballer in history when Atletico Madrid paid Benfica €126 million for the striker dubbed "the new Cristiano Ronaldo."

Despite the astronomical fee, rather than viewing the purchase as an enormous punt, the general consensus is that the Spaniards have done well to stave off opposition from Manchester City and other top clubs, with many speculating that the Colchoneros will more than make their cash back as Felix's value soars in the coming years.

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Where has he come from?

After dominating Portuguese football for three decades, Porto have been usurped by Benfica as top dogs in the country in recent years, and the tale of Joao Felix could be seen as a perfect illustration of this shift. Born in Viseu in central Portugal, Felix was on Porto's books from an early age until three years ago. Letting him join their arch-rivals must rank as one of their greatest mistakes.

Felix made quick progress at the Lisbon club's famed Seixal Academy (which has spawned stars such as Bernardo Silva and Andre Gomes), scoring 50 goals in 100 matches for the U17, U19 and B teams.

His impact was immediate when given his senior debut, scoring an equaliser as a late substitute in the Lisbon derby against city rivals Sporting. The Benfica faithful had a new darling. Felix went on to score 20 goals in 43 matches in 2018-19 and became the youngest player to score a Europa League hat trick, triggering his switch from Portugal's capital to that of Spain.

Position

When coming through the ranks, Felix was more of an attacking midfielder than a striker due to his excellent vision and creative passing. In his first senior appearances he usually played on the right side of midfield.

The sacking of Benfica manager Rui Vitoria and promotion of B-team coach Bruno Lage in January was hugely significant. Lage knew Felix well having worked together in the club's youth set-up. "When I got the job the first thing I thought was I'm going to get this kid playing," Lage said in the wake of a tremendously successful season for both of them as Benfica won their 37th league title.

Felix was positioned as the second striker behind big Swiss centre-forward Haris Seferovic. The partnership proved devastating, and the young forward scored 17 of his 20 goals in his debut season in those final five months of the campaign.

Strengths

Felix shoots powerfully and readily with both feet and is surprisingly strong in the air given the teenager's slight frame, but one standout attribute is his instinctive positional sense. Like all the great strikers, he seems to have a sixth sense as regards where the ball will land, together with an uncanny ability to evade his marker. Few of his goals last season were long-range screamers or remarkable individual efforts, but rather clinical and sure-footed finishes from inside the box.

Another noteworthy string to his bow is his absolute confidence of his own ability. While Felix is shy and retiring off the pitch, he is anything but on it. He thrived in the biggest matches, scoring and putting in outstanding displays in crucial away victories at Sporting and Porto, and the way he stood up to intimidating physical treatment from veteran Porto centre-back Pepe spoke that he knew the biggest games were his stage.

Weaknesses

Still to fill out and not blessed with pace to burn, Felix remains heavily reliant on service from his teammates to shine. He is not a striker who will run tirelessly in search for the ball, much less one who can hold the line. As a result, on the rare occasions when Benfica's ultra-attacking game was blunted, he became a peripheral figure. At this early stage of his career, his defensive contributions are negligible.

This was also evident in his one senior appearance for Portugal to date, when a well-organised Switzerland cut off the supply line to Felix in his international debut in the Nations League semifinals.

Where he fits in

Felix is a player around whom the team should be built to get the most out of his skillset. A €126m investment suggests Atletico are prepared to do that.

Paradoxically, however, Diego Simeone's teams are known for their defensive solidity and immense work rate when it comes to blocking the opposition's attacking game from the front. It will therefore be fascinating to see whether these two contrasting aspects are reconciled to get the best out of Felix.

Simeone has a history of shopping in Portugal for strikers, with mixed results. Radamel Falcao was a massive hit, while Jackson Martinez was very much a bust, although in terms of playing style Felix could be seen as a like-for-like replacement for Antoine Griezmann.

The player himself is convinced he made the right choice to continue his career's upward trajectory. "I had several clubs interested in me but I ended up choosing Atletico Madrid because I believe it's the club that gives me the best chance to develop," he said at his unveiling last week. "I'm grown up enough to handle this situation."

Middlesex 137 for 2 (Eskinazi 51) beat Glamorgan 136 (Roland-Jones 5-21) by eight wickets

A Toby Roland-Jones hat-trick - the second inflicted on Glamorgan in successive games - followed by a Stevie Eskinazi half-century, guided second-placed Middlesex to an eight wicket win over bottom side Glamorgan in the Vitality Blast at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff.

Glamorgan, fresh from being dismissed for 44 by Surrey at The Oval last night, got off to the worst possible start after being put in to bat, when Fakhar Zaman, on his home debut, was caught at short fine leg off Tom Helm from the final delivery of the first over.

David Lloyd, alongside captain Colin Ingram, offered some short-term resistance before the latter skied one into the off-side off Roland-Jones in the fifth over, before Glamorgan ended the Powerplay on 31 for 2.

Billy Root played with urgency from the outset, with an array of attacking strokes against legspinner Nathan Sowter, but he was undone on the drive, as he found Steven Finn at mid-off. Lloyd then drove to long-off in the 12th over, leaving Glamorgan in some trouble at 75 for 4, worsened when Owen Morgan played a soft pull to Mujeeb Ur Rahman, leaving them 89 for 5 in the 15th over.

Dan Douthwaite and Chris Cooke salvaged some respectability, with Cooke bludgeoning Helm for a six over cow corner and two fours, one back past the bowler and the other through the covers. But he played aggressively once too often and was caught at long-on off Finn in the 18th over at 120.

From there, Glamorgan were dismissed for 136 with three balls of the innings remaining. They lost their seventh wicket in the penultimate over, when Graham Wagg skied to Finn off Helm. A Roland-Jones hat-trick rounded off the innings, as debutant Dan Lincoln took two impressive catches and substitute James Harris took the other.

Chasing the relatively modest total of 137, Middlesex were given a let-off in the final over of the Powerplay, when Eskinazi was dropped on the midwicket boundary by Fakhar, as they reached 50 without loss, needing just 87 more runs to win.

Eskinazi reached his half-century from 28 deliveries, including seven fours and two sixes, before he was caught behind off Douthwaite at the end of the ninth over, the score having reached 75.

Three overs later, Middlesex, on 88, lost only their second wicket when Lincoln found Lukas Carey at fine leg off Marchant de Lange for 8, but they only required another 49 to win from 8.4 overs. Max Holden, dropped by Root on 17, and Dawid Malan saw the visitors to a comfortable victory as some sloppy fielding kicked in for a deflated Glamorgan side, who are still chasing their first win of the competition.

Kent 175 for 6 (Kuhn 55*) beat Essex 153 for 7 (ten Doeschate 58*) by 22 runs

Kent Spitfires maintained their leadership of the Vitality Blast South Group after defeating Essex Eagles by 22 runs at a jam-packed Canterbury. An unbeaten 55 from Heino Kuhn coupled with some wily bowling and a decent fielding stint helped ease the hosts to a third straight victory in front of their biggest crowd of the summer.

In pursuit of 176 at an asking rate of 8.8 an over, Essex lost dangerman Cameron Delport in only the third over. Having set off for a risky single to cover, the South African - fresh from his 129 of 49 balls against Surrey - was rightly sent back by Varun Chopra only to lose the race against Adam Milne's spectacular direct hit.

Tom Westley followed in Hardus Viljoen's next over, losing his off stump when working across the line, then Kuhn held on to a stunning catch, diving full-length to his left at cow corner to account for Chopra.

The asking rate was already above 10 an over as Eagles reached 67 for 3 after 10 overs when Dan Lawrence smeared across one from Viljoen to be caught at wide mid-off. Then, when Ravi Bopara clattered an innocuous wide and short delivery from Fred Klaassen to extra cover, Essex's chase was all but run despite Ryan ten Doeschate's valiant, unbeaten 58 - the top score of the game.

Batting first after winning the toss, Kent openers Daniel Bell-Drummond and Zak Crawley posted 51 in 29 balls before Essex removed Crawley, bowled around his legs after missing a Matt Quinn full-toss.

Crawley was replaced by Ollie Robinson, who duly launched the first six of the night over mid-wicket off the bowling of Bopara as Kent reached 93 for 1 at the innings mid-point. Bopara won revenge in his next over when Robinson, in risking another slog-sweep from outside off, dragged the ball onto his stumps.

Kuhn, back in the Spitfires side having missed Kent's opening two games under the concussion protocol, opened his boundary account with a reverse paddle against Simon Harmer and then clattered Delport back over his head for six.

Bell-Drummond was caught at deep midwicket for a season's best 43 then, two runs later, Mohammad Nabi danced past his first ball, a turning delivery from Adam Zampa, to gift Adam Wheater a stumping.

With 30 deliveries remaining, Alex Blake aimed for the short, leg-side boundary only to hole out and give offspinner Simon Harmer his sole success in a canny spell of 1 for 28. With boundaries hard to come by - Kent went 28 balls without one - Spitfires' rookie Jordan Cox skied to midwicket, only for Kuhn to redress the balance by taking 21 off Shane Snater's last over to finish unbeaten with 55 from 31 balls.

Nottinghamshire 198 for 5 (Duckett 64, Hales 63) beat Derbyshire 171 for 8 (Reece 61, Gurney 5-30) by 27 runs

Alex Hales and Ben Duckett scored half-centuries before Harry Gurney took five wickets to carry the Nottinghamshire Outlaws to a 27 run victory over the Derbyshire Falcons in the North Group at Derby.

Hales made 63 from 42 balls and Duckett 64 from 40 as they added 92 in nine overs to lift the Outlaws to 198 for 5 after the Falcons had put them in. Luis Reece scored 61 from 42 balls but Gurney bowled superbly to claim 5 for 30, his best T20 figures, as the Falcons could only manage 171 for 8.

The Outlaws had made a measured start with Hales and Joe Clarke selecting placement over power until Clarke skied a big drive at Fynn Hudson-Prentice in the sixth over. Duckett drove Matt Critchley for the first six in the ninth over as the Outlaws engaged the turbo with Hales driving Alex Hughes onto the media centre balcony and lifting Mark Watt for another maximum.

The Falcons lost Logan van Beek with a shoulder injury before Duckett survived a swirling catch to cover on 32 off Watt who kicked the air in frustration when Hales drove him straight for his third six.

Duckett pulled Critchley over the midwicket boundary but the leg-spinner broke the stand in the 15th over when Hales was caught at wide long-on and Dan Cristian became his second victim when he sliced a drive to mid-off.

Tom Moores was bowled behind his legs by Ravi Rampaul and Duckett was brilliantly caught on the cover boundary but Samit Patel struck 14 from five balls to set a challenging target.

Hudson-Prentice took two fours from Matt Carter's opening over and Billy Godleman pulled Gurney for six but the seamer responded by having Hudson-Prentice caught at cover off a sliced drive.

Reece drove Carter over long-off and pulled Jake Ball for another six to take the Falcons to 53 for 1 at the end of the Powerplay. Godleman was reprieved on 19 when Duckett just failed to take a diving one-handed catch at cover, injuring himself in the process, and the Outlaws turned the screw to leave the Falcons needing 115 off the last 10 overs.

The climbing run rate forced Godleman to pull Gurney to deep square leg and although Reece drove Patel for his third six to reach fifty off 29 balls, Wayne Madsen became Imad Wasim's first victim for the Outlaws in the 14th over.

Reece and Leus du Plooy took 14 from a Carter over but Reece was caught behind trying to scoop Gurney who settled it by removing Critchley and du Plooy in his final over as the game finished in pouring rain.