IRVINE, Calif. — The U.S. team’s countdown to the World Cup began two weeks ago on a Manhattan pier and moved to a new national training center carved into Georgia pines. It passed through Charlotte and Chicago for the last tuneup matches before pulling into a former military air base that’s been transformed into a sprawling municipal sports complex.

With their Monday arrival at Great Park — and a spirited greeting from some 5,500 sun-drenched fans who won a lottery to attend a workout — the Americans reached their final destination before beginning Group D play Friday against Paraguay 45 miles northwest at SoFi Stadium.

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Coach Mauricio Pochettino led the crowd in “USA” chants before the players conducted an hour-long session that was a bit more involved than a public session figured to be. (Nonetheless, no competitive secrets were revealed.)

The Argentine-born manager told the supporters he hopes the team “rewards your energy” when the 48-nation competition kicks off across the U.S., Mexico and Canada.

The U.S. Soccer Federation visited 27 venues between Seattle and San Diego before choosing Irvine, team manager Sam Zapatka said. Initially, the team was planning to train on the UC Irvine campus — a location it has used in the past — but opted for Great Park, which also houses the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks’ training facility.

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The Americans will use three of the 24 soccer fields, including a tidy stadium where USL Championship’s Orange County SC plays its second-division matches.

The delegation is staying at a seaside resort, the Ritz-Carlton in Laguna Niguel, which, with police escort, involves a 30-minute bus ride to the training site.

The county of more than 3 million will serve as the team’s home for the next several weeks, with almost daily workouts before the opener and between matches. The U.S. will fly to Seattle less than 48 hours before the second game, vs. Australia on June 19, then resume sessions at Great Park ahead of the June 25 finale against Türkiye at SoFi Stadium.

“Pulling up here with 5,500 fans ready to watch a training session is incredible,” captain Tim Ream said. “It’s been a long two weeks, a hard two weeks, but guys are in a great position, mentally, physically, emotionally and ready to get going.”

Great Park opened in 2007 on the site of Marine Corps Air Station El Toro, which was decommissioned in 1999 after 56 years of training pilots and other military operations. From above, portions of the runways are still visible. President Richard Nixon flew in and out of here when visiting the western White House in nearby San Clemente.

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Now known for recreation and not an infamous resignation, the 194-acre park includes baseball and soccer fields, as well as basketball, tennis and volleyball courts. There is a 10,000-capacity amphitheater, a carousel and a balloon that, for $10, takes riders 400 feet up. (For the U.S. stay, it’s been decorated with the U.S. crest and, to avoid spying, is closed.)

Set up in base camps all over the U.S., Mexico and Canada, every World Cup team is required to conduct one public event at some point during their stay. The remainder of the U.S. sessions will be closed to the public and, except for 15-minute glimpses during stretching sessions and light exercises, will also be off-limits to reporters.

The USSF erected tents with exercise equipment and one on the stadium concourse for players’ treatment and post-training recovery. It also set up a tent for up to 270 media members.

“You want to feel like you have a good home base, a place you [don’t] have to worry about all the little details off the field,” Ream said. “Everything’s been taken care of for us. We’re very, very much spoiled in that way as players, and that allows us to focus on everything that we need to.”

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The final run-up to the World Cup began May 26, when Pochettino named his 26-man squad at a public event in New York. Before and after a 3-2 victory over Senegal in Charlotte, he conducted workouts at the national training center that opened last month 12 miles south of Hartfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

The send-off match was Saturday at sold-out Soldier Field in Chicago, a 2-1 loss to Germany.

Chris Richards returns to full training after ankle injury

The health and welfare of center back Chris Richards is paramount to U.S. preparations. Hobbled by an ankle injury, he missed the friendlies against Senegal and Germany and hasn’t played since May 17 with the Premier League’s Crystal Palace.

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After rehabbing and training on his own for two weeks, Richards joined a full World Cup session for the first time Monday. He did not show any signs of the injury, though the team wasn’t engaged in the most rigorous session either. Nevertheless, it was a promising sign that he’ll be available, and perhaps start, against Paraguay.

Midfielder Tyler Adams did not train for load management reasons, a team spokesman said.

As for the players performing in front of an audience that included many young fans, the opportunity to make an impact in this World Cup was not lost on them.

“It means so much to be able to be in a position to inspire the next generation, and there’s a compounding effect to it,” goalkeeper Matt Freese said. “Obviously, we were inspired by the previous generation. Hopefully, we inspire the next generation. The more we inspire them, the better the following generation will be.”

Manchester United academy graduate Marcus Rashford faces an uncertain future with Barcelona beyond this summer with doubts over whether the Catalan side will make his loan move permanent

Marcus Rashford is reportedly only focused on completing a move to Barcelona amid recent links with Bayern Munich. The Manchester United forward spent the 2025/26 campaign on loan in Catalonia.

The La Liga champions have a £26million purchase option included in their loan arrangement with United to secure his services. Barca have until June 15 to activate their buy option for Rashford, but reports from Spain suggest the Catalan side are hesitant to pay the agreed sum and may attempt to renegotiate it.

Reports in The Sun, meanwhile, have suggested that Bundesliga giants Bayern are willing to match United‘s valuation of the England forward. However, it is said there is not the same enthusiasm to pay Rashford’s sky-high wages.

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And Spanish publication Marca claim that the 28-year-old is not keen on joining Vincent Kompany’s team, regardless. It is claimed that Rashford is not answering any calls from other teams – including Bayern.

The report adds that the German champions have made no concrete approach at this stage. It remains unclear whether Rashford will play for Barca again, but it is understood that United have no intention of bringing him back into their first-team fold.

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Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick has spoken warmly about his experience working with Rashford, but declined to be drawn on talks regarding his long-term future at the Camp Nou.

Speaking after the attacker scored against Real Madrid in El Clasico on May 10, he said: “I’m very happy with Marcus. He has shown his quality and he scored an important goal.

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“I can’t say anything about his future, we have to focus on the matches until the end of the season.”

Rashford netted 14 times and contributed a further 14 assists across all competitions for Barca – playing a pivotal role in their La Liga and Spanish Supercopa victories.

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Speaking to the press after they clinched the Spanish top-flight crown with victory over Real, he said: “It’s really good. I come here to win.

“So this is, I want to win as many things as I can. So, this is one more to add to this.

“Yeah, this team is a wonderful team. They’re going to win so much in the future as well. So, to be a part of that would be special. So we will see.”

There are 32 teams in the National Football League. Eighteen of them have new playcallers this year. 

Eighteen! 

It’s a staggering number. The race is on to find the next Kyle Shanahan or Sean McVay or Ben Johnson, any genius who can innovate an offense and push a team toward a Super Bowl. You know, as Klint Kubiak did, he went from the champion Seahawks to the worst-in-league Raiders this offseason. 

The funny thing is that almost every single one of the 18 playcaller jobs that were filled are connected to Shanahan, McVay or Johnson. And it’s even funnier that as former assistants fill those jobs, those three continue to tweak their offenses, adding wrinkles and changes to keep things fresh. Even those who revolutionized offenses are evolving. 

The players themselves matter more to Fantasy Football since they’re the ones you’re drafting and starting. Talent is obviously important but opportunities matter more, and it’s these playcallers who will determine the opportunities their players get. 

That’s why studying each new playcaller and making some educated guesses on what they’ll do and how they’ll operate this season is important draft prep work. 

I’ve gone ahead and ranked all 18 playcallers — some are head coaches who will call plays, others are offensive coordinators. Last year, new play callers Liam Coen (Jacksonville) and Ben Johnson (Chicago) had two of the biggest impacts on the Fantasy Football season. So keep an eye on who ranks atop this list. We’ll put together a landing page for all 18 pieces at the end and cross-link on each piece once we’re caught up.

We’ll start by working backwards with my 18th-ranked new play caller until we get all the way through to No. 1. Without further ado, the team with the 18th-ranked new play caller:

18. Panthers OC Brad Idzik

Who’s new?

Son of former NFL salary cap manager John Idzik and Dave Canales consigliere Brad Idzik will take over calling plays for the Panthers. He was Carolina’s offensive coordinator last season but didn’t call plays, so the expectation is that he’ll stick with the same West Coast principles the Panthers have rolled with since 2024. 

What’s expected this year?

More of the same slower-paced offense we saw from the Panthers, with only a modest uptick in pass plays (55.1% pass rate last year). Wide receivers remained a priority position for Bryce Young to target with running backs and tight ends nearly equal at about a 20% target share each. There is a question about how effective the Panthers run game will be after the team didn’t re-sign Rico Dowdle and didn’t add anyone to work alongside presumed starter Chuba Hubbard. Third-year RB Jonathon Brooks is definitely a candidate to potentially leapfrog Hubbard as he slowly makes his way back from a second ACL tear. Maybe the biggest problem facing the Panthers is left tackle Ikem Ekwonu not being ready for the season, and potentially missing the season after rupturing his patellar tendon in January. Rookie Monroe Freeling (18 starts in college) might have to play in his place all year, ready or not.

Winners and losers for Fantasy

Keeping things status quo, save for a new voice in Young’s ear, doesn’t really present a lot of winners or losers for the Panthers. Hopefully, the team does more to scheme up Tetairoa McMillan since he’s got the unique size and quickness to make plays over and over. To that end, Canales referred to rookie Chris Brazzell II as “one of my favorite players in the draft.” Both he and Idzik spoke about how Brazzell can force defenses to respect the downfield pass, opening things up for both the run game and the short-area passing game. Carolina hasn’t had a guy like that since Canales has been there. If Brazzell works out as Canales and Idzik envision then it could mean easier coverage on McMillan.

The ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 will be held in England and Wales from June 12 to July 5. This year’s event is the 10th edition of the T20 tournament. New Zealand are the defending champions in the Women’s T20 World Cup. They won the 2024 edition held in the UAE by defeating South Africa in the final in Dubai.

A total of 12 teams are taking part in ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026. The sides have been divided into two groups of six each. Australia, Bangladesh, India, Netherlands, Pakistan and South Africa are in Group A, while England, Ireland, New Zealand, Scotland, Sri Lanka and West Indies have been placed in Group B.

The inaugural edition of the Women’s T20 World Cup also took place in England in 2009. In this feature, we take a look at five star players from Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 who also featured in the inaugural competition in 2009.

#1 Harmanpreet Kaur (India)

Current skipper Harmanpreet Kaur is the only member of the Indian squad who featured in the inaugural Women’s T20 World Cup in 2009. She played four matches in the 2009 edition and in two innings scored eight runs. The right-handed batter was dismissed for eight against England in Taunton and was bowled for a golden duck against New Zealand in the first semifinal in Nottingham.

Overall, the 37-year-old has played 39 matches in the Women’s T20 World Cup. In 33 innings, she has scored 726 runs at an average of 25.03 and a strike rate of 112.21, with one century and four half-centuries.

#2 Ellyse Perry (Australia)

Veteran Australian all-rounder Ellyse Perry also featured in the inaugural Women’s T20 World Cup in 2009. She batted only once in the tournament, scoring four not out off three balls against New Zealand in Taunton. With the ball, she claimed two wickets at an average of 41 and an economy rate of 7.45.

Perry has featured in a total of 47 Women’s T20 World Cup games. She has scored 503 runs, averaging 27.94 and a strike rate of 113.80. With the ball, Perry has picked up 40 wickets at an average of 17.67 and an economy rate of 5.79, with a best of 3-12.

#3 Sophie Devine (New Zealand)

Veteran New Zealand all-rounder Sophie Devine was also part of the inaugural Women’s T20 World Cup held in England in 2009. In three matches (two innings), she scored 24 runs at a strike rate of 171.42. She scored 10 off six balls against England at Lord’s in the final and was not out on 14 off eight against India in Nottingham in the first semifinal.

With the ball, Devine picked up two wickets in the 2009 edition, averaging 27 at an economy rate of 4.90. Overall, Devine has featured in 38 matches in the Women’s T20 World Cup and has scored 785 runs at an average of 26.16 and a strike rate of 111.82. With her medium pace, she has claimed 29 wickets at an average of 17.10 and an economy rate of 6.17.

#4 Chamari Athapaththu (Sri Lanka)

Sri Lankan captain Chamari Athapaththu is also among the other star players from Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 who featured in the inaugural edition in 2009. In one innings against India, she scored 16 runs in 23 balls. Athapaththu did not bowl in any of the matches.

Looking at her overall record in the Women’s T20 World Cup, the 36-year-old has played 32 matches and has scored 711 runs at an average of 22.21 and a strike rate of 102.15, with three half-centuries. With the ball, she has picked up 13 wickets, averaging 25.69 at an economy rate of 6.57, with a best of 3-17.

#5 Marizanne Kapp (South Africa)

Veteran South African all-rounder Marizanne Kapp also featured in the inaugural Women’s T20 World Cup in 2009. She played one match against Australia in Taunton and conceded 21 runs in two overs without claiming a wicket. With the bat, she scored 18* off 22 balls.

Looking at Kapp’s overall record in the Women’s T20 World Cup, she has played 32 matches and has claimed 31 wickets at an average of 17.80 and an economy rate of 5.13, with a best of 3-16. With the bat, she has scored 453 runs at an average of 18.87 and a strike rate of 99.56, with a best of 43.

Other big names from Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 who were part of 2009 edition

Suzie Bates (New Zealand): In five matches in 2009, she scored 136 runs at a strike rate of 107.08. Bates claimed two wickets at an economy rate of seven.

Stafanie Taylor (West Indies): In three innings in the 2009 Women’s T20 World Cup, Taylor scored 121 runs, averaging 60.50 at a strike rate of 102.54.

Deandra Dottin (West Indies): In three innings in the 2009 edition, Dottin scored 60 runs at a strike rate of 193.54, with a best of 53.