Sports
USMNT’s final World Cup experiment offers clues on how they will approach opener
CHICAGO – Between the last World Cup and the one that starts in a matter of days, the U.S. men’s national team have truly tested the power of positive thinking, and 11 days into a pre-tournament training camp defined by good vibes, they seemed ready to undergo another batch of trials and tribulations. Two minutes after a sold-out Soldier Field crowd gave them as much encouragement as they possibly could, Germany‘s Kai Havertz had a free header and the visitors were up a goal before everyone could even settle into their positions.
“I was upset, of course,” head coach Mauricio Pochettino said as he remembered the less-than-ideal start to Saturday’s 2-1 loss to Germany. “But after that, I said it’s lucky because I think it’s good for us to see the reaction of the team. The reaction was amazing, was really positive and that is why it’s good that some things [that are] not so good happened to see the reaction to create the atmosphere that we can deal with these types of situations that we can find in the future and during the competition, the World Cup.”
The scoreline was a fair reflection of a game in which Germany were the better side – their 12 shots totalled 1.47 expected goals, while the USMNT came up with 16 shots that amounted to 0.99 expected goals. It means they enter the World Cup with a losing record to European sides, which maybe does not bode well for their group stage finale against Turkiye on June 26. It is hard not to see their outing against Germany as a sign of progress, with their World Cup opener against Paraguay just six days away at SoFi Stadium in the Los Angeles suburbs.
Between Saturday’s outing, the 3-2 win over Senegal a week earlier, and Pochettino’s historic tendencies as a coach, the USMNT seem to have decided that their greatest defense is a strong offense. It did not quite pan out against Germany – the early goal was an example of making things a little too easy for the opposition – but there is credence to the idea, especially with defender Chris Richards still battling back from an ankle injury. The U.S. did not hesitate to create chances and got back into the game before the hydration break in the 23rd minute and did not waver in their resolve even after the visitors scored a second in the 57th minute through Leroy Sane.
“Sometimes when you get punched in the mouth, you got to stand back up and punch back,” captain Tim Ream said. “Just all the conversations, the work, the messaging from the staff. We all always talk about things are going to happen. Mistakes are going to happen. Sometimes things don’t go the way you want them to. It’s about the next play. What do you do next? How do you respond next? That’s a big message that Mauricio and his staff have hammered home over the past almost two years. It was just a matter of we don’t have a choice. If we don’t respond. If we don’t punch back, the game’s going to get out of hand.”
It helped that an example of a game that went out of hand was not a distant memory – March’s 5-2 defeat to Belgium started well, the USMNT actually taking the lead and entering the halftime break level, before things unraveled quickly in the second half. A full embrace of the attack was hard to miss, just as it was against Senegal. Antonee Robinson, the USMNT’s goalscorer on Saturday, fully embraced the attack-minded skillset outside backs frequently boast, down to his exuberant celebration. Pochettino joked afterwards that the cramps he suffered midway through the second half might have been the result of his overexertion.
“I think all the energy was in his shot and that goal because after, cramps,” Pochettino said in jest. “Maybe we spend too much energy. We were so excited in the presentation of the players before the game. They were sometimes overexcited and we know very well that you drain the energy in these moments but I think it’s a great opportunity and to live that experience for sure helps in the first game of the World Cup.”
Robinson downplayed the issue despite the fact that he limped off the field, though the team is not certain about the specifics just yet.
“Not 100% sure but it feels fine now,” Robinson said. “More just really didn’t feel like I could continue so I just needed to get off the pitch and try to get it right.”
The real embrace of the all-out attack, though, came in Pochettino’s selection of Malik Tillman in the midfield. Tyler Adams remains the go-to pick at the base of midfield, the only true defensive midfielder in the squad, while the multitalented Weston McKennie was more advanced. Tillman, another player with plenty of range, was their go-between and much like Robinson, though, his standout quality is his attack-focused tendencies. Pochettino cited October’s UEFA Champions League game between Tillman’s Bayer Leverkusen and his former club PSV as an example of why he selected the player for a best-of-both-worlds role.
“It was him in front [of] the back four,” he recalled. “He’s a player that can because his physical condition, his technical condition, his capacity to go in different spaces, go higher, I think he’s a player that can play in every space on the pitch. Today, I am happy with him. He finished a little bit tired because it’s normal. He suffered a little bit in the last few months, didn’t play too much, didn’t compete but now I think he’s doing well and I am happy with his performance and in the evolution after not to play too much in the last few months in his club, in Leverkusen.”
Tillman, deeply introverted in off-pitch settings but fully in his element on the field, made a noticeable difference and remains as well-positioned as any to be a secret key as the USMNT target an impressive World Cup run.
“It’s good because we get another attack-minded player on the field.” Adams said. “I think that he helps us break lines, find solutions. Him and Weston had a good balance there as well. There’s probably some things that we need to tune up a little bit defensively to not get as exposed but when you play against Germany, where they overload the midfield, it’s always difficult against teams like that. They have so many guys that can play in those pockets so I think he did really well.”
The game marked one final experiment of the Pochettino era, a batch of 26 games building up to the World Cup that have been defined by tinkering – sometimes simply for the sake of it. Saturday’s team, though, looked as close to a World Cup starting lineup as he might have been able to envision considering Richards’ injury specifically. After 18 months of wondering what exactly Pochettino’s version of the U.S. team might look like, we seem to finally have our answer. The team has trended much like a group project that was assigned well in advance but was only completed right before the deadline, which is perfectly fine for an assignment in which the destination matters much, much more than the journey.
As Pochettino put it shortly before the team began their trip to their World Cup base of Irvine, Calif., “We are going to go [into] a decisive week.”
There was a furious backlash on Wednesday to FIFA’s controversial plans to sell a stake in the business operations of the World Cup and its other competitions through the creation of a private subsidiary. FRANCE 24’s James Vasina reports.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino has written to all 211 member associations, offering each of them up to $40 million if they support his controversial plan to sell minority stakes in FIFA’s major competitions.
According to a letter seen by the BBC, member associations that approve the proposal by 19 September will receive an initial $20 million from 1 January 2027. A further payment would follow later.
FIFA wants to create a new commercial company to manage its biggest competitions, including the FIFA World Cup. Private investors would be allowed to buy minority shares in the business.
In his letter, Infantino defended the proposal, saying it would help football grow around the world.
“It is my duty and responsibility as FIFA president to present such game-changing opportunities to you, our members,” Infantino said.
He added:
“It is equally my duty and responsibility to ensure such proposals are sufficiently complete and feasible, replete with substantiated figures and clear terms to assist you in the decision-making process.”
The plan has already faced strong opposition from several football organisations, who say they were not properly consulted before the announcement.
A spokesperson for England’s Football Association said:
“We were completely unaware of this proposal and have no substantive details, including what the proposition actually is and what conditions are attached.”
The statement added:
“Based on the limited information, we are deeply concerned about the lack of process and governance to get to this point.”
UEFA has also criticised the proposal, saying it had “crossed a line”. European football’s governing body plans to hold an emergency meeting with its 55 member associations later this week to discuss its response.
The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (Concacaf) also expressed concern.
“We are deeply concerned by the lack of due process,” the organisation said.
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) called for greater transparency.
“While the AFC recognises the importance of exploring innovative approaches that can strengthen the future of global football, initiatives of this scale and consequence must be founded upon the principles of good governance, transparency and meaningful consultation.”
La Liga president Javier Tebas accused Infantino of trying to win support ahead of the next FIFA Congress.
“It doesn’t seem like a reform. It seems like an electoral campaign financed with the future of football,” Tebas said.
Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter also criticised the proposal, writing on X:
“The close relationship between the FIFA president and the US President has reached a financial dimension that is deeply damaging football. No-one has the right to sell our game.”
The proposal has sparked one of the biggest debates in world football in recent years, with several football bodies demanding more consultation before any final decision is made.
“While you divide, we unite,” Gianni Infantino wrote on social media on Monday, in a long missive aimed at his detractors. By Tuesday, he had united the football world — albeit in opposition to his latest scheme.
Shortly after reports emerged in UK newspapers The Times and the Financial Times on Tuesday, FIFA confirmed its plans to create a new subsidiary, named FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE). This would enable it to sell a minority stake in the World Cup‘s operations to private investors for billions of dollars.
Chief among FIFA’s proposed investors is the investment vehicle, Thrive Eternal, headed by Joshua Kushner — younger brother of Jared Kushner, US President Donald Trump‘s son-in-law.
Why is FIFA’s new World Cup plan controversial?
Other than the potential conflict of interest connection to Trump, with whom Infantino has grown close, there are significant concerns about transparency, corruption and whether FIFA has the remit to make such a move unilaterally.
“The World Cup is one of the few truly global sporting events, and that comes with a responsibility beyond maximizing revenue,” Bret Myers, a professor of sports business practices at Villanova University in Pennsylvania, USA, told DW.
The US connection is important, with the model echoing the way that many US sports operate. Formula 1 too went through a similar process when it was bought by Liberty Media in 2017. Greg Maffei, a former Liberty CEO, has been a “key commercial adviser” to FIFA on the FFE plan.
“North American sports have long operated within a more commercial framework, where private ownership, franchise valuations, and investor involvement are widely accepted,” Myers added.
“Football, particularly in Europe, has a much stronger tradition of clubs and competitions being viewed as cultural institutions rather than purely commercial assets.”
More fundamentally, the concern is that this is the first step towards the World Cup, football’s biggest prize, becoming privately owned.
“A minority investment is very different from relinquishing control,” Myers said. However, it does represent a significant shift in how the World Cup is financed and managed commercially.”
World football’s global governors are a nonprofit organization but sit on cash reserves of an estimated $8 billion (€7.02 billion) after a World Cup that saw ticket prices skyrocket.
Given FIFA’s remit lies in developing football, rather than purely profiting from it, there is a sense that this is a move designed to shore up Infantino’s power and, perhaps, encroach on the turf of the continental football federations he failed to include in the planning.
How do Infantino and FIFA aim to sell the plan?
FIFA has promised to invest profits back into the game, mostly by offering all 211 member associations a flat fee of $20 million in 2027, rising to $24 million by 2035. Associations must decide whether to accept those payments by September 19 or risk them being reduced or retracted.
“The president controls this huge pot of money and uses it to reward those that are loyal to him, that support him, and punish those that are not supportive of him,” Miguel Maduro a former chairman of FIFA’s Governance, Audit and Compliance Committee, told DW.
“FIFA could do lots of good things with money. But there is no system of checks and balances and accountability to make us sure that the money is actually going to be well spent by all national football associations. Everything that that’s happened in the past makes me suspicious of how this money will end up being spent.”
What has the reaction been from the footballing world?
Almost universally negative. National federations, world leaders and fan groups have all come out against the idea, with federations particularly peeved about the lack of consultation.
But perhaps the most surprising reaction came from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), who released a statement confirming it was “not consulted on the proposal and is disappointed” by the way in which it was released. Asia and Africa, are where Infantino’s main power base lies, as together they have 101 of the 211 national associations — with each getting a vote on the president.
Similar misgivings were expressed by a number of powerful national football associations, including Germany’s DFB.
“A line is being crossed here. There is a strong consensus among the member associations on this matter, as evidenced by several conversations I have had in recent days with Aleksander Ceferin [president of Europe’s football governors UEFA] and other colleagues,” said Hans-Joachim Watzke, a DFB vice president.
“If European football stands united in opposing these plans, it carries significant weight.”
Who might oppose FIFA’s World Cup plans?
UEFA seems in the best position to lead any revolt and has hit out at the plans, saying football is “not FIFA’s to sell.” It was a strongly worded statement of the type UEFA has released several times in recent months as its battle with FIFA plays out in public. Reports suggest UEFA will meet as soon as Wednesday to discuss their options.
Maduro backs UEFA’s stance but said he’d like the current climate to serve as an opportunity for broader reform.
“I don’t think UEFA has the same severity of problems that we find in FIFA, but I do think it also suffers from serious governance problems and that they need to be addressed,” he said.
“Simply getting rid of Mr. Infantino but leaving the entire structure and model of governance of sports will be removing a couple of bad apples but leaving the tree that produced them in place.”
How could this change football?
That the AFC and the CONCACAF (which governs North, Central America and Caribbean football) have criticized the way the latest plans were released, may have strengthened UEFA’s hand in any thoughts of breakaway or boycott.
It may also lead to the continental federations uniting to find someone to oppose Infantino in next year’s presidential election or in threats of boycotting next year’s Women’s World Cup.
But Maduro thinks such talk is often designed to appease the public before intentions are quietly shelved.
“What we’ve seen so far for the most part is that these statements, where they distance themselves from these kinds of initiatives of FIFA, are made under the pressure of public opinions. But then they actually never follow through.”
Maduro went on to say that UEFA’s increasingly strident opposition to FIFA is, at least in part, a reaction to an increased threat to its own highly lucrative Champions League. Should the proposed changes go through, Maduro expects World Cups to be more frequent and a further expansion of FIFA’s recently expanded Club World Cup.
“They will want to transform that into the big international football competition of clubs instead of the Champions League. That’s what they will try to do because it will be in their commercial interest,” he said.
Edited by: Chuck Penfold
Sports
Kate O’Connor rewrites Commonwealth Games history for Northern Ireland to kickstart golden summer
Kate O’Connor rewrote the history books but is keen to add another chapter to another storied summer before next month is out.
The absence of two-time world champion Katarina Johnson-Thompson from the Commonwealth Games heptathlon made O’Connor the one to beat, a new feeling for the Northern Irish athlete.
Her silver medal at last year’s World Championships in Tokyo underlined her potential, but there’s winning on paper and winning in practice.
She’s the first Northern Ireland team member to win gold here, the first track and field athlete to top the podium in 40 years and the first woman to do so since Dame Mary Peters in 1974.
And while the emotion of her first major senior championship title came in a blur, there won’t be long to reset her focus before the European Championships in Birmingham in just 13 days.
A rested Johnson-Thompson, who prioritised that event over Glasgow, awaits, along with Swiss star Annik Kälin and others in a stacked field. Triple Olympic and European champion Nafissatou Thiam is not competing as she continues a cautious comeback from injury.
O’Connor’s winning score of 6,569 points at Scotstoun was well short of Kälin’s world-leading 6,819, but the 25-year-old didn’t just have to battle the new pressures of expectation here – she also had to contend with the elements. At times it didn’t just rain; it was biblical.
“I came here wanting to score somewhere in the 6,700s, or even higher, because I felt I was in that kind of shape,” she said.
“My coaches reminded me that championships aren’t about big scores – they’re about competing. You have to deal with whatever conditions you’re given, and with the rain and cold I think I produced a very good score. Hopefully at the Europeans in Birmingham it’ll be warmer and I’ll have another chance to chase that bigger total.
“I’m not worried about the turnaround before Birmingham. I’ll just treat these last few days as really good training.
“It’s not a difficult journey home and my body feels good. I feel healthy and I don’t think I emptied the tank out there, so I’m looking forward to what’s next.
“Being one of the favourites was a completely new experience for me. Last year I learned what it was like to carry the expectation of being in medal contention, but this was the first time I’d gone into a championships as someone people expected to win gold. That brings a different kind of pressure.”
O’Connor finished eighth in 2018 and claimed silver behind Johnson-Thompson four years later in Birmingham.
But it was only last year that her life changed: pentathlon silver and bronze at the World and European Indoor Championships, gold at the World University Games and that famous silver in Tokyo.
Records and personal bests were rewritten and then rewritten again, with her Irish national record of 6,714 points meaning she ended the season ranked second in the world.
After admitting her frustration with her opening day, she recorded a solid leap of 1.82m in the high jump, a season’s best 52.85m in the javelin and won the concluding 800m at a canter. Her winning margin over England’s silver medallist Jade O’Dowda was a huge 291 points.
“As an athlete you’re always looking ahead to the next competition, so you don’t always stop to appreciate what you’ve achieved,” she added. “Hearing those things makes you realise just how special it is.”
Thanks to National Lottery players, more than £33m is raised every week for good causes. It’s because of you that sport, arts, heritage and community projects, as well as our athletes competing at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games, are supported across the UK.
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The Detroit Lions were without one of their biggest stars when training camp began Wednesday.
Running back Jahmyr Gibbs was not on the field for the Lions’ opening practice. The 24-year-old is eligible for a contract extension.
“You guys know how we feel about Gibbs and all of our guys,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said Wednesday, via The Athletic.
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Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs warms up before a game against the Dallas Cowboys at Ford Field in Detroit, Mich., on Dec. 4, 2025. (IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)
“This will kind of continue. It’ll come as it comes. I think that’s the best way to say it. This is both sides working through something, and we’ll take it as it comes, but that’s where it is.”
Gibbs did report to camp and is not listed on the Lions’ Physically Unable to Perform or Non-Football Injury list, suggesting he is holding out for a new contract.
The Lions selected Jahmyr Gibbs with the No. 12 overall pick in 2023 NFL Draft and electrified the team’s offense immediately, and quickly emerged as an integral part of the offense. In his rookie year, he ran for 945 yards and 10 touchdowns while catching 52 passes for 316 yards and one touchdown in 15 games.
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Dallas Cowboys cornerback Reddy Steward (27) tackles Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs (0) during the first half at Ford Field in Detroit, Mich., on Dec. 4, 2025. (IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)
Gibbs took his game to another level in 2024, rushing for 1,412 yards and 16 touchdowns while catching 52 passes for 517 yards and four touchdowns.
Last season was the first time Gibbs started every single game, and was up to the task. In 17 games, he ran for 1,223 yards and 13 touchdowns while catching 77 passes for 616 yards and five touchdowns.
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Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs (0) celebrates his touchdown against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with teammate guard Tate Ratledge (69) during the second half of an NFL football game, Monday, Oct. 20, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
He has made the Pro Bowl in all three seasons of his career.
Atlanta Falcons star running back Bijan Robinson was also missing from the team’s first day of training camp. His absence is contract-related, according to The Athletic’s report.
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The latest medals table for the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
Remo Stars have announced the appointment of Olumide Ajibolade as the club’s new Head Coach, SportsRation reports.
Ajibolade takes over after several years of success within the Remo Stars Sports Club structure, where he built a strong reputation in youth development and team management.
He joined the Remo Stars Academy in 2019 as the U-17 Head Coach. Following the launch of Beyond Limits Football Academy in 2021, he was appointed head coach and guided the team to sustained success.
During his time at Beyond Limits, Ajibolade led the club to five TCC League titles in six seasons (2020/21, 2021/22, 2022/23, 2023/24 and 2025/26). He also won back-to-back TCC Cup titles in the 2023/24 and 2024/25 seasons, the TCC Super Cup in 2025, and the Ogun State FA Cup in 2024 and 2026.
He also achieved back-to-back promotions with the club, leading Beyond Limits from the Nationwide League One (NLO) to the Nigeria National League (NNL) in the 2022/23 season before securing promotion to the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) in 2023/24. The team capped that campaign by winning the Nigeria National League title in Enugu.
On the international stage, Ajibolade guided Beyond Limits to victory at the Viareggio Cup in Italy in 2024 and followed it up with consecutive Gothia Cup triumphs in Sweden in 2025 and 2026.
Widely recognised for his focus on player development, he has helped nurture several young footballers who have gone on to play professionally in Europe and other parts of the world.
His appointment marks a new chapter for Remo Stars as the club prepares for the upcoming season under his leadership. His immediate focus will be on taking Remo Stars back to the NPFL.
MLS Houston Dynamo striker Exon Arzu The Houston Dynamo transferred forward Exon Arzu to Venezuelan club Carabobo FC on Wednesday.
Arzu, 22, had three goals and an assist in 15 matches for MLS NEXT Pro side Houston Dynamo 2 in 2025.
Houston originally acquired Arzu from Real Club Deportivo Espana in his native Honduras in August 2024.
–Field Level Media
Oscar De La Hoya claims to have unearthed boxing’s next Mexican-American superstar, who he believes has one key advantage over Ryan Garcia.
During his own fighting career, De La Hoya was undoubtedly the most popular boxer of Hispanic descent, consistently generating monstrous pay-per-view and ticket sales.
And now, as a promoter, the Golden Boy boss is confident that his rising star will snatch the mantle from Canelo Alvarez and endear himself to a mammoth Mexican-American audience.
As things stand, the two flagship names of such heritage appear to be Garcia and David Benavidez, while Canelo remains the ultimate face of Mexican boxing.
Crucially, though, Alvarez did not fight on this year’s Cinco de Mayo weekend, which was instead occupied by Benavidez’s sixth-round stoppage of Gilberto Ramirez.
Garcia, meanwhile, will face Conor Benn on September 12, with Canelo’s clash against WBC super-middleweight champion Christian Mbilli having been pushed back from Mexican Independence Day weekend to October 31.
But while Garcia could, in theory, become boxing’s leading Mexican-American star, De La Hoya has suggested that the WBC welterweight champion’s lack of Spanish represents a slight disadvantage.
Instead, the Hall of Famer has told Ariel Helwani that 17-year-old prospect Dylan Capetillo has all the ingredients to be ‘the one’.
“[Garcia can be the next Mexican-American star] if he wants to. It’s all about performances inside the ring; it’s all about winning world titles; it’s all about who you fight.
“And you obviously have to make the effort and speak [Spanish] – you have to care. Can he be ‘the one’? Absolutely. But I truly feel ‘the one’ is [Capetillo].”
Capetillo has won both of his fights to date, one of them coming by knockout, and he will have his third outing when he features on the undercard of William Zepeda vs Lamont Roach this weekend.
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