A Minnesota Vikings helmet sits on the sideline during game action against the Kansas City Chiefs, with the scene unfolding on Nov. 3, 2019 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, as the shot captures equipment detail and atmosphere during a matchup between two long-standing NFL franchises. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports.
NFL free agency is largely in the Minnesota Vikings’ rearview, with the draft just 3.5 weeks away. The offseason is humming along, and if you hadn’t noticed, the club has some advantageous secrets.
A few subtle offseason developments have quietly strengthened Minnesota.
We used that term loosely because hardcore fans will be privvy, but let’s review the secrets so everyone is in the know.
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The Quiet Advantages Fueling Minnesota’s Spring
The unsung stuff from Minnesota’s offseason.
Former Minnesota Vikings tight end Stu Voigt steps to the podium to announce the team’s third-round selection, Apr. 25, 2025, at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin, delivering the 102nd overall pick as fans react and the franchise continues building its draft class during the multi-day NFL Draft event. Mandatory Credit: Tork Mason-Imagn Images.
Finally — a 2nd-Round Pick
A 2nd-Round draft pick shouldn’t be an overly big deal for an NFL team, but it is for the 2026 Vikings.
In 2023, Minnesota shipped its 2nd-Rounder to Detroit in the package that landed tight end T.J. Hockenson. In the last two years, the Vikings used them to get outside linebacker Dallas Turner. It’s been four years — insert the Titanic meme here — since Minnesota selected a rookie from Round 2.
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Barring a trade, Minnesota will pick a 2nd-Rounder for the first time since Andrew Booth and Ed Ingram.
The Sam Darnold Compensatory Pick
Was it a scourage and a gaffe that the Vikings got rid of Sam Darnold? Absolutely. He won a Super Bowl in Seattle. Advantage: Seattle.
Yet, as a small consolation, Minnesota will get the 97th pick in April’s draft, a compensatory selection for Darnold’s 2024 free-agent absence. The Vikings had the same arrangement in 2025 because of Kirk Cousins’ free-agent departure and spent the pick on wide receiver Tai Felton, who barely played as a rookie.
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Perhaps interim general manager Rob Brzezinski will strike gold this time. It’s the last shoe to drop on the Darnold debacle.
Ensuring 2027 Financial Flexibility
The Vikings could’ve signed about 3-6 more notable players in free agency and wiggled money around. The problem with that strategy? Well, do you know how Minnesota began this offseason underwater by about $40 million under the salary cap? That would’ve happened all over again if Brzezinski went on a spending spree in 2026.
Instead, the purple team has about $67 million in available cap space on tap for 2027. When January, February, and March roll around next year, the Vikings won’t be labeled as one of those “cap hell” organizations. They were fiscally responsible in the last few weeks.
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Vikings executive Rob Brzezinski sits down for an interview with Vikings.com’s Gabe Henderson, Feb. 17, 2022, discussing front-office philosophy, roster strategy, and organizational direction while outlining Minnesota’s long-term football operations structure during a detailed digital feature segment released by the team. Mandatory Credit: YouTube.
A to Z Sports‘ Tyler Forness recently noted on Brzezinski’s cap magic, explaining how new teams will foot the bill of Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave’s contracts next offseason.
He wrote, “The contract details for Allen are in on Over The Cap on his two-year deal worth $25 million, and the key was going to be him getting at least $8 million in cash to offset the guarantees the Vikings owed him. Luckily, that is going to be the case, as he will be getting $13.5 million in cash this year from the Bengals.”
“That will give the Vikings a much-needed salary cap credit in 2027, while also voiding out the cash the Vikings have to pay. They are also getting $4 million in salary cap credits from Hargrave signing with the Green Bay Packers. Getting those credits will offset the $11.2 million in dead salary cap that Allen will carry in 2027. Brzezinski is playing chess, not checkers, and it’s going to pay off in 2027.”
James Pierre
Minnesota did, though, onboard a few new players, and Pierre was the cornerback addition.
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He tabulated a luscious 86.8 Pro Football Focus grade last season while playing just under 400 defensive snaps. Pierre has been trusted on Mike Tomlin’s roster for the last six years. He’s now on the menu to serve as Minnesota’s CB3 in 2026.
PFF’s Mason Cameron recently called Pierre the second-best cornerback in football last year and explained, “Despite logging fewer than 1,000 snaps across his first five NFL seasons, Pierre was called upon to play an increased role in 2025, to which he answered with a career year.”
“Exceptional coverage instincts landed Pierre atop the NFL in numerous key categories, including yards allowed per coverage target (4.7, tied) and forced incompletion rate (28.6%). As a result, he produced the top PFF coverage grade at outside cornerback (88.7).”
Pierre played so damn well in 2026 that if Byron Murphy Jr. or Isaiah Rogers get hurt this autumn, you don’t need to panic one bit.
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Frank Smith in the House to Help Fix the Rushing Offense
Down in Miami, Mike McDaniel ran the show for four years, with Frank Smith as his close lieutenant and offensive coordinator. Together, they coordinated an efficient Dolphins rushing offense, sparked by newcomer De’Von Achane in 2023.
Miami Dolphins offensive coordinator Frank Smith stands alongside head coach Mike McDaniel during practice, Nov. 2, 2023, at PSD Bank Arena in Frankfurt, Germany, as the staff prepares players for an international matchup and reviews drills during an on-field session ahead of the team’s overseas game. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports.
Now, in Minnesota, the Vikings need the same juice — Smith’s help to identify the best running back from the upcoming rookie class to accompany Jordan Mason and Aaron Jones this autumn.
Smith’s rushing offense ranked 11th in 2025 per DVOA. That’s what the Vikings need — on top of a firm commitment to run the ball.
Mar 29, 2026; Cumberland, Georgia, USA; Kansas City Royals pitcher Seth Lugo (67) pitches against the Atlanta Braves during the first inning at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images
Seth Lugo pitched 6 1/3 scoreless innings and Bobby Witt Jr. hit safely for the third straight game to help the visiting Kansas City Royals defeat the Atlanta Braves 4-1 on Sunday and salvage a win in the three-game series.
The victory helped the Royals avoid their first sweep since June 24-26 against Tampa Bay.
Lugo (1-0) allowed five hits, did not walk a batter and struck out three. Lucas Erceg pitched the ninth inning to earn his first save of the season.
Witt was 1-for-3 at the plate with a walk, a run and an RBI, his first of the season. He hit .364 for the series, going 4-for-11. He turned a double play in the ninth inning to end the game.
The losing pitcher was Grant Holmes (0-1), who pitched five innings and allowed three runs on five hits, two walks and four strikeouts. Rookie Didier Fuentes worked the final four innings and allowed one run on two hits with one walk and four strikeouts.
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In the third inning, Kansas City’s Nick Loftin appeared to have grounded into a double play, but the play was challenged and reversed, allowing Loftin to remain on first base. He took third on a throwing error by Jorge Mateo and scored on a single by Witt. The Royals had been 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position in the series.
Kansas City added a solo homer from Carter Jensen in the fourth. It was Jensen’s first homer and settled in the first row of the seats in right field.
The Royals upped the lead to 3-0 with a run in the fifth. Vinnie Pasquantino singled home Nick Loftin, who opened the inning with a double.
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Kansas City added an insurance run in the eighth inning. Witt led off with a walk and came around to score on Jensen’s sacrifice fly.
The Braves spoiled the shutout in the eighth inning as Drake Baldwin, who homered on opening night, drilled a solo shot off reliever John Schreiber.
Mumbai: At last, the Mumbai Indians have ended their jinx of losing the first match of the IPL, an unwanted habit which they had been carrying for 13 long seasons — from 2013 to 2025.In fact, on Sunday night at the Wankhede Stadium, that unwanted record looked like continuing when the Kolkata Knight Riders raced away to an imposing total of 220 for four after being asked to bat first.
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Greenstone Lobo predicts IPL 2026 winner
However, their openers, South African ‘keeper-bat Ryan Rickelton (81, 43b, 4×4, 8×6) and former captain Rohit Sharma (78, 38b, 6×4, 6×6), who turned the clock back with some furious hitting, blew away KKR with their rollicking 148-run opening stand, which took just 72 balls. The issue was never in doubt, even though the hosts lost a few late wickets.MI’s emphatic six-wicket win in the high-scoring game, which came with five balls to spare, gave much to cheer for their vociferous supporters.The first two days of IPL 2026 have now seen 200-plus totals chased down easily, almost in a farcical manner, which tells you how tough life is getting for the bowlers in the IPL. At the moment, the contest between bat and ball is heavily lopsided in favour of the bat in the league.In a curious development, India’s T20 captain Suryakumar Yadav featured as an Impact Player and chipped in with an eight-ball 16 (3×4).Turning the clock back, Rohit unleashed some big sixes, with his trademark pull shot for a six in the sixth over off Kartik Tyagi standing out, while skipper Hardik Pandya (18 not out off 11 balls, 3×4) finished the job.To make things worse for the visitors, their captain Ajinkya Rahane, who smashed a fine 67 (40b, 3×4, 5×6) earlier, had to leave the field due to cramps, leaving his deputy Rinku Singh to lead the side. What must really worry KKR going forward is also the poor form of their lead spinner Varun Chakravarthy, who conceded 0-48 in four overs and is clearly struggling for rhythm.Earlier, KKR batters across the spectrum, senior batter Rahane and young gun Angkrish Raghuvanshi (51, 29b, 4×4, 2×6), smashed blazing fifties, while New Zealand opener Finn Allen (37 off 18 balls, 6×4, 2×6) and Rinku Singh (33 not out, 21b, 4×4) chipped in with vital cameos to take KKR to a formidable total.On a night which saw Mumbai players hog the limelight in front of their home crowd, Mumbai all-rounder Shardul Thakur was not to be left behind, making a vital contribution to MI’s win. Marking a superb outing for MI, the ‘Palghar Express’ took three for 39 in four overs and was the pick of the bowlers on either side in a game that saw the world’s top pace bowler Jasprit Bumrah go wicketless (0-38 in four overs) for once.Thakur dismissed Allen (caught at wide long-on) in the sixth over to provide MI with a much-needed breakthrough at a point when the KKR openers were going berserk. Using slower balls and his variations cleverly, the 34-year-old then took the scalps of Rs 25.20 cr buy Cameron Green (18, 10b, 1×4, 1×6, caught smartly by a diving Sherfane Rutherford at deep cover), who was making his KKR debut, and Rahane (caught at extra cover off a cross-seam, full delivery bowled outside off stump), to check KKR from running away with the game.KKR were provided an electric start by Rahane, who scored his 34th IPL fifty, and Allen, who had blasted a match-winning unbeaten century against South Africa in the 2026 T20 World Cup semifinal earlier this month, as the opening pair added 69 off just 32 balls to lay the platform for a big total.Playing in his first competitive match in three months — he last turned out for Mumbai on December 16, when he smashed 72 not out off 41 balls to help Mumbai chase down 217 against Rajasthan in Pune in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy — Rahane, who opted out of the Vijay Hazare Trophy and then the second half of the Ranji Trophy during the last domestic season, hardly looked rusty.Batting beautifully, the veteran batsman picked up the length early and unfurled some glorious strokes, with a cover-driven four off Thakur being the pick of the lot.There have been a few who’ve questioned KKR’s decision to make Rahane the captain again this season, but the 37-year-old, who finished as the highest run-getter for KKR last season (390 runs in 13 matches at 35.45, with three fifties), looked in a determined mood to prove his worth.Launching an all-out attack, Allen feasted on long-hops by MI’s debutant Afghanistan spinner Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar (0-57 in four overs), taking two sixes and a four off him in the third over, which went for 17. Rahane then hammered back-to-back sixes off Hardik Pandya off the first two balls of the fourth over, before Allen took three consecutive fours off the MI captain, who conceded 26 in that over.
England Lioness and Aston Villa midfielder Missy Bo Kearns has revealed that she and her partner, Luton midfielder Liam Walsh, have lost their child during pregnancy.
The couple announced they were expecting in a video posted to social media earlier this month.
It showed the pair painting “mum + dad” onto a wall along with the September due date, and proudly holding ultrasound scans.
Kearns, 24, took to Instagram Sunday night to share the sad news in a post to her Stories.
She wrote: “With very heavy hearts, we want to share that we’ve lost our baby during pregnancy.
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Aston Villa Women offered their condolences, writing: ‘We are sending all our love and support to Missy Bo and Liam at this difficult time’ (Getty Images)
“The past weeks have been filled with a kind of sadness that’s hard to explain, and we’re still trying to come to terms with it all.
“Right now, we’re focusing on recovering and supporting each other through this. We truly appreciate the love and support around us more than we can say.”
Walsh, 28, shared the same post to his Stories.
Aston Villa Women offered their condolences on X, in a post reading: “We are sending all our love and support to Missy Bo and Liam at this difficult time.”
Entering this race, Kyle Kirkwood held a 26-point lead in the championship standings, bit Alex Palou’s victory at Barber helped him to move much closer to the top of the leaderboard. He is now just two points behind.
There is a new driver now third in points, with Lundgaard jumping up from seventh with his runner-up finish. He is 35pts out of first and now leads the Arrow McLaren squad.
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Graham Rahal’s first podium in almost three years helped him to jump four positions in the standings, moving from 16th to 12th.
Mar 29, 2026; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Athletics center fielder Denzel Clarke (1) loses his batting helmet on a swing against the Toronto Blue Jays during the third inning at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images
Jesus Sanchez hit a two-run home run Sunday afternoon as the Toronto Blue Jays went deep three times to defeat the visiting Athletics 5-2.
George Springer and Kazuma Okamoto hit solo shots for the Blue Jays, who swept the three-game season-opening series.
Max Muncy hit a two-run home run for the Athletics, who struck out 50 times in the series.
After Toronto left-hander Eric Lauer (1-0) struck out the side in the first, Springer led off the home first with a home run to left on a first-pitch fastball from Luis Morales (0-1). It was his 64th career leadoff homer.
Tyler Heineman singled with one out in the third and Sanchez lined a homer to center with two out.
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Okamoto led off the fourth with a home run to right center on a 1-0 fastball. It was his first major league homer after being signed as a free agent from Japan.
The Athletics struck back in the fifth. Jacob Wilson led off with a double to left center, the Athletics first hit of the game and his first hit of the season. Muncy followed by homering to right on a first-pitch fastball.
Morales had two walks and a strikeout in the home fifth before J.T. Ginn replaced him. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. grounded a single to left to load the bases. Ginn walked Addison Barger to force in a run. Okamoto bounced into a double play to end the rally.
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Morales allowed five runs, five hits and two walks with five strikeouts in 4 1/3 innings.
Braydon Fisher replaced Lauer after Nick Kurtz’s one-out single in the sixth.
Lauer allowed two runs, three hits and a walk while striking out nine in 5 1/3 innings.
Fisher retired five straight before Tommy Nance took over in the eighth. Mason Fluharty replaced Nance after Shea Langeliers singled with two out and ended the inning with a strikeout.
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Jeff Hoffman pitched around a single in the ninth to earn his first save in two opportunities.
Ginn gave the Athletics’ beleaguered bullpen a break, allowing a single and a walk in 3 2/3 innings.
Real Valladolid will host Cadiz at the Jose Zorrilla on Tuesday in another round of the 2025-26 Spanish La Liga 2 campaign. Both teams will be desperate to get vital points next week in a bid to avoid slipping into the drop zone this late in the season.
Real Valladolid’s 1-0 loss to Burgos on Saturday summed up their season, as they were the better side for most of the game but failed to convert any of their chances before conceding a 93rd-minute penalty, which their opponents duly converted. Pucelanos have been on a steady decline all season, despite already replacing two head coaches this campaign, and now sit just one place above the drop zone entering their final 10 games of the season.
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Cadiz have not fared much better than their midweek opponents, sitting only two points clear in the table following a narrow 2-1 away loss to Ceuta over the weekend. The Limoneros have registered just one win in their last 11 games and will be counting on new manager Sergio Gonzalez to steer the side clear of the relegation zone and prevent a drop to the Spanish third tier for the first time in a decade.
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Real Valladolid vs Cadiz Head-to-Head and Key Numbers
The sides have met on 55 previous occasions going into Tuesday’s game. Real Valladolid have won 18 of those games, and 18 ended in draws while Cadiz have won the remaining 19.
The hosts have failed to get a win in this fixture since the 2016-17 Segunda Division season.
Four of the last seven meetings between these sides have ended level, including their most recent matchup which ended goalless.
The visitors have kept clean sheets in four of their last five meetings with Valladolid.
Cadiz have scored 32 goals in the league this season. Only Cultural Leonesa (29) and Real Zaragoza (27) have scored fewer in the Spanish second tier after 32 games.
Real Valladolid vs Cadiz Prediction
The teams are closely matched going into the weekend clash, although the Pucelanos will hope to gain a slight boost from their home advantage after winning two of their last three games at the Jose Zorrilla.
The Limoneros will likely be satisfied with a draw against a fellow struggling side but are in significantly worse form and could come away empty-handed.
Prediction: Real Valladolid 2-1 Cadiz
Real Valladolid vs Cadiz Betting Tips
Tip 1 – Result: Real Valladolid to win
Tip 2 – Goals – Over/under 2.5 – Over 2.5 goals
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Tip 3 – Both teams to score: Yes (Five of the hosts’ last six games have featured both teams getting on the scoresheet)
Masters chairman Fred Ridley had a clear goal for Augusta National’s newest player perk.
“This improvement will offer the competitors in the Masters facilities from arrival until departure unlike anything in sports,” Ridley said last April.
That “improvement” is the new Player Services Building, which Augusta National unveiled photos of on Friday. It’s a three-story building tucked just behind the practice range’s hitting area.
The exterior of the Player Services Building
The Masters
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The Player Services Building is open to players, families, caddies, trainers and members of their support team. Players enter through an underground player garage and walk through a hallway with Alister MacKenzie’s cross-section architecture of every hole at Augusta National.
History is everywhere at Augusta National
The Masters
Once inside the ritzy Player Services Building, players can relax in the lounge, which has all four of Bobby Jones’ 1930 trophies from his Grand Slam when he won the British Amateur, British Open, U.S. Open, and U.S. Amateur. The trophies are on loan from Atlantic Athletic Club, per the AP’s Doug Ferguson, and will be returned the week after the Masters.
Bobby Jones’ trophies will look over the lounge until after the 2026 Masters
Masters
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The locker room has 100 lockers. Each locker comes with a safe, a shelf for charging phones and a gold-plated Masters emblem on the handle. Lockers have already been assigned, but are not in alphabetical order. Each amateur who will tee it up in the 2026 Masters is situated next to a Masters champion.
There’s a sitting area in the middle of the locker room with two tables. Per Ferguson, one of the tables is made out of a magnolia tree that fell on Magnolia Lane during Hurricane Helene in 2024.
The new locker room is much bigger than the old one in the clubhouse
Masters
Augusta National didn’t miss a detail in the new locker room
Masters
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Downstairs, there is a state-of-the-art fitness center and recovery area with weights, cables, cardio equipment, free weights, medicine balls, etc. The recovery room has three cold plunges, a hot tub, a sauna and an area with 16 tables for physical therapists to work. The hallway leading out of the area has 1,400 nameplates, one for every player who has ever competed at the Masters.
The imporatnace of fitness in golf has exploded over the past decade
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The final touch at Augusta National’s shiny new building is the Magnolia Dining Room at the top. It seats 150 people and has a terrace that overlooks the practice area.
There’s no reason to leave the Masters’ new Player Services Building
Masters
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Ridley and the Masters are always striving to elevate the luxury, convenience and ways to spoil the world’s best golfers.
Their newest addition exceeds the lofty standard they hold themselves to at Augusta National.
Max Verstappen snatched the torch from Lewis Hamilton and became one of the most unstoppable Formula 1 drivers in the sport from 2021 to 2024.
The 2025 and 2026 seasons have been a struggle for the Red Bull racer. He finished second to McLaren’s Lando Norris in the drivers’ standings last season, ending his streak of world championships, and has yet to finish in the top five this year.
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands steers his car during the Japanese Formula One Grand Prix at Suzuka in central Japan, Sunday, March 29, 2026.(AP Photo/Hiro Komae)
After finishing eighth in the Japanese Grand Prix, Verstappen suggested he was contemplating retirement at the age of 28.
“Privately I’m very happy,” Verstappen told the BBC. “You also wait for 24 races. This time it’s 22. But normally 24. And then you just think about is it worth it? Or do I enjoy being more at home with my family? Seeing my friends more when you’re not enjoying your sport?”
He made clear he was suggesting that 2026 could be his final season.
“I want to be here to have fun and have a great time and enjoy myself. At the moment that’s not really the case,” he said. “Of course I do enjoy certain aspects. I enjoy working with my team. It’s like a second family. But once I sit in the car it’s not the most enjoyable unfortunately. I’m trying. I keep telling myself every day to try and enjoy it. It’s just very hard.”
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen, right, of the Netherlands and Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli of Italy talk during the drivers parade ahead of the Japanese Formula One Grand Prix at Suzuka in central Japan, Sunday, March 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
Part of the struggles for Verstappen has been trying to get acclimated to the regulation changes.
“I can easily accept to be in P7 or P8 where I am,” he said. “Because I also know that you can’t be dominating or be first or second or whatever, fighting for a podium every time. I’m very realistic in that and I’ve been there before. I’ve not only been winning in F1.
“But at the same time when you are in P7 or P8 and you are not enjoying the whole formula behind it, it doesn’t feel natural to a racing driver,” he continued. “Of course I try to adapt to it, but it’s not nice the way you have to race. It’s really anti-driving. Then at one point, yeah, it’s just not what I want to do.”
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Maybe a break in the schedule will help clear Verstappen’s head.
Formula 1 will have a few weeks off as two races that were set for April in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia were canceled because of military operations in Iran.
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands leaves during the qualifying session of the Japanese Formula One Grand Prix at the Suzuka Circuit in Suzuka, Japan, Saturday, March 28, 2026.(Franck Robichon/Pool Photo via AP)
Mexico’s best performances at the World Cup came during the two occasions it hosted the tournament. Now that the country will be hosting for the third time – with the United States and Canada – fans want history to repeat itself. And maybe more.
To ensure optimal preparation, the Mexican Football Federation (FMF) invested 400 million pesos (around $22 million) in renovating their training center known as Centro de Alto Rendimiento (CAR), or High Performance Center, which was officially reopened on Saturday.
As a player, current Mexico coach Javier Aguirre was part of the national team that reached the quarterfinals in 1986, matching the country’s performance in the 1970 World Cup. Aguirre, with the revamped training center, will try to match at least that as a coach.
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Mexico begins training at the High Performance Center on May 6, with players from the domestic league. Its first match in the World Cup is the tournament opener on June 11 against South Africa.
Building a foundation’
“This investment reflects our responsibility for the 2026 World Cup. We have built a facility that will provide the national team with the best possible conditions for preparation that are on a par with the world’s leading football powers,” said FMF president Mikel Arriola. “Hosting a World Cup demands that we raise all our standards, both on and off the field”.
The site has been the training headquarters for Mexico’s national teams since 2003, during which time it gradually grew, but it had never previously had an update like this one.
“This project is also intended as a legacy. It’s not just about 2026, but about building a foundation that will impact the development of our national teams in the coming years,” Arriola said.
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The senior team accommodation has been expanded from 20 to 45 rooms, in addition to entertainment areas. There is also a 29-room area for youth national teams.
The biggest change was the construction of a new building to house a new gym, which grew from 1,200 to 6,000 square meters. This building is also home to the medical area, locker rooms, coaches’ offices, a sports intelligence area, and physiotherapy and hydrotherapy facilities.
“There used to be a small gym with a medical area, but all of that was demolished to build this new building,” said Daniel Garcia, FMF real estate manager. “Everything here now, apart from two machines in the gym, is new.”
The dining room capacity has also increased from 70 to 210 people.
“The most complicated thing was coordinating all the areas because they all asked for a lot of things wanting to have the best in the world and that doesn’t always go with the budget, but I think we achieved a great result,” Garcia said.
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The training center already had five playing fields, three regulation size and two smaller ones. One of the fields has state-of-the-art hybrid technology like the one recently installed at the Azteca Stadium, which was renovated for the World Cup.
“We’ve had visits from FIFA staff who told us that this is the field in all of Mexico, and that’s why people from Azteca Stadium came to get some advice,” Garcia said. “After all, we’re colleagues and brothers.
The Kiwi filly Belle Cheval engaged in a dead-heat scenario for the second race running, prevailing narrowly this time by dipping her nose in to grab the Group 1 Vinery Stud Stakes at Rosehill.
Previously pipped at the post by Well Written in the NZB Kiwi (1500m) over Ellerslie on March 7, the three-year-old’s trainer Mark Walker admitted misreading both finishes but welcomed Saturday’s success.
“I actually thought we got beaten today, but I thought we’d won the NZB Kiwi, so I’m not a very good judge,” Walker said.
Success in the Vinery Stud Stakes over 2000m marked Walker’s second Group 1 of the day across the ditch, with Seize The Day, partnered with Sam Bergerson in NZ, winning the Manawatu Sires’ Produce Stakes (1400m) prior.
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He trusted her local references for Sydney challenge, her toughness suiting the new distance test.
“The formline at home is really strong,” Walker said.
No change to plans for one Sydney hit despite the win for Belle Cheval’s owners.
Straight to spell now, then Victorian spring prep, Walker stated.
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After last Saturday’s $5 million Golden Slipper (1200m) success on Guest House, jockey Zac Lloyd notched another Group 1 with Belle Cheval, beating a steward’s inquiry from Billy Egan on After Summer.
Brushing ensued as Lloyd swung wide for the drive, but blame went to the second horse converging.
Belle Cheval ($2.60 fav) idled a touch end-on without affecting After Summer’s ($61) charge, objection thrown out.
“Normally, she’s known for her dazzling turn of foot, whereas today she built and showed a bit of fight,” Lloyd said.
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“She’s a good mare, and it was a tenacious win.”
The favourite Belle Cheval ($2.60) nicked it by nose over After Summer ($61), Salty Pearl ($4.20) neck away third.
Fourth fell to New Zealand Oaks champ Ohope Wins ($2.70), three-quarters length short.
Discover betting sites offering racing odds on features such as the Vinery Stud Stakes.
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