FAYETTEVILLE, Ga. — There are 211 teams in FIFA’s global men’s rankings, spanning every corner of the globe. So the U.S. probably could have picked an easier opponent for its last World Cup tuneup game than the one ranked No. 10 and that happens to have four World Cup and three European championships on its mantle.

But fans and players ...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — We’ve already gotten a taste of the heat that is coming to KC this summer.

Temperatures haven’t been awful, but the humidity has made it feel miserable at times as the calendar is about to turn to summer. Even warmer weather is coming, and it could be toasty when the World Cup matches are being held at Kansas City ...Read more

NEW YORK — NYC will be closing midtown streets to regular traffic and the MTA will be taking steps to ensure more subway service on World Cup 2026 NYC match days, part of a regional effort to keep mass transit functioning amid an expected crush of soccer fans.

The agency’s chairman, Janno Lieber, announced Thursday that the MTA would be ...Read more

MIAMI — The biggest event in the world is a week away. I’ll not limit that to biggest sports event, because I believe the World Cup is larger than games or goals. It is what, once every four years, wields the power to unite the entire globe in a commonality and shared passion like nothing else can.

The United States is hosting the World Cup...Read more

Whether you plan to watch on television or in person, the 2026 World Cup will look a little different to fans.

The International Football Association Board (IFAB) made changes to the official laws of the game, and they will be instituted at the World Cup. And FIFA has announced some tweaks to the game as well.

Here are eight rule changes to ...Read more

FAYETTEVILLE, Ga. — It did not take the goal Sergiño Dest scored against Senegal on Sunday to prove how well he fits the U.S. men’s soccer team’s tactics.

But it had taken a long time before then, because of how many games he missed because of injuries: a torn ACL in April 2024, a long rehab process after that, then minor injuries last ...Read more

MIAMI — The only player on Haiti’s national soccer team who was based in the violence-torn country during the qualifying campaign for this year’s FIFA World Cup has finally joined his teammates in Florida after running into difficulties securing a U.S. visa.

Woodensky Pierre, a midfielder who helped Haiti end its 52-year absence from ...Read more

MIAMI — Guillermo Hoyos will stay on as Inter Miami coach after the World Cup break, according to a well-placed club source with knowledge of the leadership plans.

There had been rumors that team ownership would hire a big-name coach after the World Cup, with Xavi Hernandez and Argentina national team coach Lionel Scaloni among the names ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — In the run-up to the opening World Cup match in Los Angeles next week, authorities on Monday announced a series of security measures — including a no-drone zone at all venues nationwide, with officials saying they will take down any unauthorized flying objects.

Federal officials have been scrambling to get countermeasures in ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — A little less than two months ago, Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Will Bunch wrote a piece entitled A World Cup in Trump’s America is insane. How this fan is coping."

In it, Bunch opined about what he labeled as corrupt capitalism (regarding ticket gouging) and unrestrained xenophobia (Trump travel bans), the likes of which ...Read more

SEATTLE — In a perfect world — one where the United States men’s national team (USMNT) builds some decent momentum, shows improvement as the tournament continues, the bracket breaks their way and they get some luck — Doug McIntyre thinks the U.S. might reach the quarterfinals of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

“To get any further than that,�...Read more

FAYETTEVILLE, Ga. — Veteran centerback Tim Ream was named the U.S. team’s captain for the World Cup. It’s not surprising, since head coach Mauricio Pochettino has given Ream the armband in 16 of 23 games since arriving in 2024. But the manager still took a moment Saturday to make it official.

“I am so grateful that he is with us because...Read more

MIAMI — During the next few weeks, as the 2026 World Cup gets underway, South Florida will become even more colorful than usual as Scotland’s Tartan Army shows up in plaid kilts, Brazilians and Colombians in bright yellow shirts overtake the beaches, joined by Uruguayans in sky blue, Cape Verde fans in navy blue, Saudis in green and ...Read more

FAYETTEVILLE, Ga. — Four years ago, Sebastian Berhalter was a fan in the stands at the last World Cup, watching his father, Gregg, coach the U.S. men’s team.

Though the son had been a pro for two years by then, barely anyone would have thought he’d be on the next American squad to make soccer’s biggest stage.

In fact, the idea wasn’t...Read more

FAYETTEVILLE, Ga. — Mauricio Pochettino has done a lot of things in his 17 years as a manager, with big-time stops at Spain’s Espanyol, France’s Paris Saint-Germain, and England’s Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur, and Chelsea.

But nothing he faced in any of his 649 games at club level equaled one challenge of leading the U.S. men’s ...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — As one of the most monumental events in Kansas City history suddenly is just weeks away, the very nucleus of the event, Arrowhead Stadium, is being scrubbed to conform to FIFA World Cup standards consistent with the other 15 North American venues hosting the tournament beginning next month.

Sure, Arrowhead’s architecture,...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Just weeks out from Kansas City’s first soccer match, officials coordinating World Cup activities in the Kansas City metro published their human rights action plan as required by FIFA.

That 13-page plan, dated May 11, highlights the city’s awareness efforts for preventing human trafficking, training for regional small ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — On a recent spring morning, Championship Soccer Stadium, which sits in a corner of the Orange County Great Park in Irvine, Calif., was quiet and empty save for the dozen sprinklers quenching a newly laid grass carpet.

Normally the well-used stadium is a buzz of activity. But its main tenant, the Orange County Soccer Club, which ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Mauricio Pochettino knows the joy of making a World Cup roster. But he also knows the misery of being left off one.

In the first case, you want to celebrate; in the second, you want to be left alone.

The U.S. coach said he kept both emotions in mind when informing players they had — or had not — made the roster for next ...Read more

NEW YORK — Though it was no surprise to see many players from the Philadelphia area on the U.S. men’s World Cup team, Tuesday’s announcement of the squad still marked a moment of local history.

Four players from the region made the cut, the highest number since 1934. They are attacking midfielder Brenden Aaronson of Medford, Burlington ...Read more