Australia might face the USA, Paraguay and a Europe qualifier as the underdog, but have honed a style that is almost built for tournament football All things considered, Australia’s draw for the 2026 World Cup can’t be described as simple. But it’s also fair to say that things could have gone a lot worse. And at an expanded, 48-team tournament, it is a group that the Socceroos should not be overawed by. At the end of a sometimes ridiculous, sometimes cringe-inducing, and sometimes shameless draw in Washington DC, Australia’s men had found themselves sorted into Group D by the time the Village People closed the show. They will begin the tournament placed alongside co-hosts the United States, South American foes Paraguay, and a European qualifier to be drawn from one of Turkey, Slovakia, Kosovo, or Romania. Continue reading...

US drew Australia, Paraguay, Euro play-off team Pochettino: friendlies tell little about WC tests Manage wants ‘final’ mindset for every match Mauricio Pochettino said that it is “neither an advantage nor a disadvantage” that the United States’ World Cup group consists of two – and perhaps three – teams that his team will have played in friendlies within a year or so before kickoff of their opening game. The US were drawn with Australia, Paraguay and the winner of a European play-off involving Turkey, Romania, Kosovo and Slovakia. The US played Australia in a friendly in October, winning 2-1 in Commerce City, Colorado. They played Paraguay in another friendly in November – a game that marked Gio Reyna’s return to form with the national team in a 2-1 win. Turkey, should they make it through the play-off, would have a leg up on preparations, having beaten the US 2-1 in a pre-Gold Cup friendly in June 2025. Continue reading...

Watch the last USA World Cup draw that was Las Vegas in 1994 featuring famous faces like Robin Williams, Bill Clinton and more.

Portugal and Belgium to visit Atlanta in March window Germany among two pre-World Cup tune-ups The US men’s national team have lined up a parade of top-tier European opposition to serve as warm-up opponents ahead of their opening game in the 2026 World Cup. The US Soccer Federation announced on Tuesday that the national team will play Belgium and Portugal in the March Fifa window, with both matches taking place at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on 28 and 31 March, respectively. Those matches will be followed by two friendlies in the window immediately preceding the World Cup, with the second one coming against Germany in Chicago on 6 June. The first game of the pre-World Cup series is against an opponent to be determined in Charlotte, North Carolina, on 31 May. Multiple reports have indicated that the opponent will be announced after the World Cup draw. (Fifa rules forbid group opponents from playing each other in a friendly ahead of the tournament.) Continue reading...

Macario scores twice in 3-0 US victory Moultrie nets again as hosts start fast Dickey keeps clean sheet in fifth US cap Cat Macario scored two goals and the United States defeated Italy 3-0 on Saturday night in a friendly match at Inter&Co Stadium. It was the first of two friendlies between the teams, with the second scheduled for 1 December in Fort Lauderdale. Continue reading...

Watch as USA head coach Mauricio Pochettino reacts angrily to a reporter's question following his side's 5-1 friendly win against Uruguay.

Mönchengladbach midfielder scores on early header USA next play Uruguay on Tuesday in Tampa, Florida Just 209 days from kicking off their World Cup opener, the US men’s national team is still searching for options. Investigating possibilities. One might even use that loaded word: experimenting. On a chilly fall night outside Philadelphia, at least one of those experiments yielded a possibility, an option, a long-awaited light at the end of a dark period for one of the most mercurial talents ever to wear a US jersey. Continue reading...

Weston McKennie remains at Juventus due to a manager change, and the US remain vulnerable to outside elements When Weston McKennie signed for Juventus in 2020, it had only been 30 days since Andrea Pirlo was made the Italian club’s manager. A few weeks ago, Luciano Spalletti was appointed as Juve’s fifth manager since McKennie joined – or his seventh, if you count the interim head coaches. It’s not a new situation for the American. But according to US men’s national team head coach Mauricio Pochettino, it’s why McKennie isn’t with the US during their upcoming friendlies with Paraguay on Saturday and Uruguay on Tuesday. Pochettino could have selected McKennie, trusting that Spalletti is the first Juventus manager in years to be instantly convinced of the multifunctional Texan’s value. Rather than the usual routine of a manager trying to push McKennie out of the club, only to realize that there’s a reason only three players in the squad have been at the club longer, Spalletti has given McKennie starts in all three matches he’s overseen. The 27-year-old has played all but five available minutes in that span. Continue reading...

Guardiola: Bournemouth goal was ‘due to the official’ Man City manager hails ‘incredibly coachable’ striker Pep Guardiola praised Erling Haaland after the striker’s two first-half goals inspired Manchester City to a 3-1 victory over Bournemouth and took them second in the table, though the manager also criticised officiating at the Etihad Stadium during his nine years in charge. Haaland’s 12th and 13th league goals of the season came on 17 and 33 minutes, Nico O’Reilly’s third for City coming on the hour. Tyler Adams equalised in the 25th minute for the visitors but it was a controversial goal as David Brooks placed a hand on Gianluigi Donnarumma at Alex Scott’s corner, removing it from the goalkeeper at the last moment. Continue reading...

⚽ Premier League updates from the 4.30pm GMT kick-off ⚽ Live scores | Premier League table | And email Michael In an unexpected turn of events, West Ham are beating Newcastle. You can follow the final 15 minutes of that one right here, with John Brewin. Those are two insanely attacking sides! By my reckoning, both sides have just one player each in their midfields – City have Nico González and Bournemouth have Tyler Adams – that are defensively minded. Continue reading...

USMNT midfielder has struggled with injuries for years Offseason move to Mönchengladbach hasn’t paid off yet Gio Reyna went into the 2022 World Cup as one of United States’ brightest young stars. Controversy over his training effort and a family conflict with the team’s then-coach overshadowed his performances. A World Cup on US soil next year is a guiding light for the 22-year-old Reyna to revive a career dogged by injuries. Continue reading...

⚽ News, previews and discussion before the day’s action ⚽ Ten things to look out for | And email matchday live It’s fair to say Nuno has gone from the Nottingham Forest frying pan to a furnace at West Ham. If the Hammers weren’t in trouble before last night’s clash at Leeds, they most certainly are now after a 2-1 defeat at Elland Road left them 19th with just one win this season – which came against Nuno’s Forest when he was still at the City Ground. Brenden Aaronson and Joe Rodon scored early with Mateus Fernandes’s goal coming too late to spark a comeback. Continue reading...

Twenty of the 48 places at the tournament have now been filled, including co-hosts Canada, Mexico and the USA Four of the nine automatic places have been filled, with the four best runners-up competing in November’s pan-African playoffs for one place in the intercontinental playoffs. Egypt Mohamed Salah scored twice as Hossam Hassan’s side beat Djibouti 3-0 on Wednesday in Casablanca and made up for missing out on Qatar 2022 by reaching the finals with a game in hand. This will be Egypt’s fourth finals, even though they have yet to win a game. Bizarrely, the Pharaohs did qualify for the first World Cup, in 1930, but missed their boat from Marseille to South America after a storm delayed them. Continue reading...

The Monaco striker speaks on a Copa América experience that left him with ‘frustration but also hunger’ to achieve more with the USMNT The road to the AS Monaco training center isn’t an easy, linear drive from the coast. You’re reeled in to higher ground on winding roads with tight turns. They keep your speed in check before you reach the beautiful facility, tucked into a mountain in the French commune of La Turbie, boasting a breathtaking view of the Mediterranean. The club officially unveiled this facility in September 2022. A year later, they bought striker Folarin Balogun from Arsenal for €40m ($44m). That fee, including add-ons, is tied for the third-highest in club history and Monaco’s biggest since the pandemic by far. It carried the expectation that Balogun – who bagged 22 goals in 39 games in the previous season on loan at Reims – would resume his rise in Ligue 1 and elevate his new team in the Champions League. After a modest eight goals and seven assists in 32 games in his first season for Monaco, the pressure mounted. Continue reading...