Lionel Messi wasn’t going to let some of soccer’s biggest stars — Kylian Mbappé of France and Erling Haaland of Norway — steal the spotlight on the night Argentina began its World Cup title defense. Making his record sixth appearance in the tournament Tuesday night, Messi found a crease through the Algerian defense and collected…
Lionel Scaloni tends to be pensive about a lot of things, but especially when the subject turns to another Lionel — a much more famous one, arguably the most famous athlete in the world, and one the Argentina coach gets to see on a daily basis. You see, Scaloni has watched Lionel Messi for much of…
It seems no World Cup is complete without Hervé Renard and suddenly, somehow, surprisingly he will also be at this one. The suntanned Frenchman in the trademark open-necked white shirt was hired to coach Tunisia on Tuesday for its final two group games following turmoil. Tunisia fired coach Sabri Lamouchi early Tuesday after the team…
Bob Bradley woke up Monday morning and sent a text to Egypt national team superstar Mohamed Salah. He had two wishes for the player he once coached: Good luck in Egypt’s 2026 World Cup opener — and Happy Birthday. Salah — Egypt’s captain and arguably its best player ever — turned 34 years old the…
Scotland fans have a lot to celebrate early in this summer’s World Cup, and they’re doing it in a quintessentially American way. Saturday for the teams’ World Cup opener, Scotland beat Haiti, 1-0, at Boston Stadium. Any tournament victory is worthy of celebration, but it’s especially notable for Scotland, which not only returned to the…
Kevin De Bruyne has accomplished plenty in his decorated career. Yet, the star Belgian midfielder does not plan to take his fourth World Cup appearance for granted. Two days ahead of Belgium’s World Cup opener against Egypt, the 35-year-old De Bruyne stressed much has changed since his days as a Premier League sensation for Manchester…
Qatar and Switzerland meet in their 2026 FIFA World Cup Group B match on Saturday, June 13, 2026 at 3:00 p.m. ET from San Francisco Bay Area Stadium, San Francisco Bay Area, CA. Qatar, ranked 56th by FIFA, are returning to the World Cup for the first time since 2022, when they became the first…
LOS ANGELES STADIUM — Matt Freese will start in goal for the U.S. men’s national team in its World Cup opener vs. Paraguay on Friday. Freese, who plays for MLS club New York City FC, made his debut for the Americans almost exactly a year ago on June 7, 2025. He has never played in…
The 2026 World Cup is finally underway as all 48 teams begin to fight it out for the universally coveted trophy. While the collective prize is the main objective for all competitors, some will be hoping to make their claim as the best player of the entire tournament. But who are the top contenders, and…
Raul Jimenez finally has his star moment in a World Cup for Mexico. The 35-year-old striker burst into tears after scoring El Tri’s second goal against South Africa as Mexico opened the 2026 World Cup with a 2-0 win. It was the first World Cup goal for Jiménez, who suffered a skull fracture while playing…
