As Gio Reyna’s curling shot bulged the net and he began sprinting toward the corner flag in the World Cup opening victory against Paraguay, one of the first U.S. players to jubilantly chase after him and leap on his back was Sebastian Berhalter.

It was a redemptive, cathartic moment for U.S. Soccer, ending maybe not the darkest chapter in ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — Karl Wallenda walked across Veterans Stadium on a tightrope, dazzling a nearly sold-out crowd when he stopped halfway to do a headstand and unfurl American flags from the ends of his balancing pole.

It was exactly what the more than 50,000 fans came to see between games of a Phillies doubleheader on Memorial Day 1976. And the ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Playing in goal for the U.S. men's national soccer team is a little like playing right field for the New York Yankees. You're following a long line of great players, making the comparisons — and the high expectations — unavoidable.

Matt Freese is the latest to be thrown into that crucible. But he considers that pressure to ...Read more

SEATTLE — Jaysen Dickinson flew to Seattle from Vermont to cross an item off his lengthy bucket list.

"To see the World Cup and the U.S. play in the World Cup," he said.

Kim Fletcher and her 17-year-old son Kelan caught a 5 a.m. flight from Sacramento last week for the same reason.

"It's a must-do right now," she said.

They weren't alone. ...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — It’s hard to think of a bigger soccer matchup than Argentina vs. Portugal during the knockout rounds of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

On one side, you’ve got the defending World Cup champions and Lionel Messi. On the other side, you’ve got a traditional European power and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Messi has already led Argentina...Read more

Did any group of visiting sports fans ever bring such pleasure to a city as those who follow Scotland brought to Boston? Did drinking copious quantities of beer ever get better press?

We racked our brains for a precedent to the recent lovefest between Beantown and the lassies and laddies who follow Andy Robertson and his team on the World Cup ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Fox has adopted a new split-screen approach to ads during the World Cup's mandatory hydration breaks, after a stir among viewers over how it had been handling the pauses.

At the start of the tournament, the network aired full-screen ads during the three-minute breaks, cutting away from the field during the opening match between ...Read more

IRVINE, Calif. — On any given day in Seattle, there are a lot of things in the air: the breeze off Puget Sound, the seagulls that steal your french fries, and other substances for which the city is well-known.

It wouldn’t be fair for an outsider to ask if the last of those factored into the sudden outbreak of hype around the U.S. men’s ...Read more

ARLINGTON, Texas — Michael Jordan has not played a basketball game since 2003, and he could not go anywhere in the world without being recognized while his equivalent in soccer continues to play, and he could walk up and down most streets in the United States without being stopped.

Argentinian Lionel Messi is the most beautiful player the ...Read more

MIAMI — Tension and stakes rise daily in the men’s FIFA World Cup as we dig deep enough into the group stage that teams have begun to qualify for the Round of 32 or be eliminated from contention. And so has arisen one thoroughly unexpected sub-theme of the quadrennial soccer tournament happening across the U.S., Canada and Mexico:

Can the ...Read more

IRVINE, Calif. — Until now, the U.S. has played only one game in a World Cup that didn’t matter in the standings: in 1998, when it was eliminated from advancing before the group stage finale.

On Thursday, the total will rise to two. But this time, it will be because the Americans have already clinched first place.

That makes for a very ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — Kylian Mbappé scored two goals and reigning Ballon D’or winner Ousmane Dembele fueled a 3-0 win against Iraq inside Philadelphia Stadium, with Dembele’s goal and Mbappé’s second both arriving after a near one hour, 30 minute rain delay at Philadelphia Stadium.

The goals for Mbappe were his fourth and fifth of the ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Sometimes it takes a visitor or six million to remind folks of treasures in their own backyard.

How else to explain the fascination of World Cup fans from 47 countries besides the United States expressing unabashed delight on social media for destinations and products woven deeply into American life but hardly considered cutting...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The Iran soccer team left a note in its SoFi Stadium locker room thanking Los Angeles-area fans for their hospitality.

The Iranians made history with two draws in Inglewood, marking the first time the team has avoided a loss through its first two World Cup games. While the matches drew protests against the Iranian regime, ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — Eating a turkey sandwich on the floor of the press box at Lincoln Financial Field wasn’t exactly the welcome to the World Cup moment I envisioned upon learning I’d get to cover the globe’s biggest sporting event. Alas, that’s indeed where I found myself within an hour of Friday evening’s Brazil-Haiti match in the “...Read more

SEATTLE — The safe move is to take a breath and say “this is what was supposed to happen.”

The guarded thought is to understand that U.S. Soccer’s World Cup wins were akin to a 4 seed beating a 10 and a seven in an NCAA bracket.

Holding serve isn’t heroic. So maybe holding off on dreaming big is the smart play, right? Right???

Nah, ...Read more

SAN DIEGO — Even if it feels a little staged, it makes for a fun and uniquely American angle to this World Cup.

I’m referring to the “Miracle on Ice,” said to inspire the folks who now aim to work a “Miracle on Grass.”

“Why not us?” asked United States soccer coach Mauricio Pochettino, evoking 1980, Lake Placid and Olympic gold...Read more

LOS ANGELES — How it started: A dream. A French machine-gun officer in the trenches during the First World War. A man named Jules Rimet, who believed an international soccer tournament would bring the nations together with the goal of peace.

How it's going: The world's biggest party. A 48-nation celebration of the world's most beloved sport. ...Read more

MIAMI — When the World Cup draw first came out, Sunday’s group stage game in Miami between two-time champion Uruguay and tournament debutant Cape Verde did not seem like a particularly compelling matchup.

By halftime on Sunday, that once humdrum-seeming matchup had captivated the 64,003 fans in attendance and become must-see TV for those ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Iran’s terrible, horrible, no good, very bad World Cup got a lot better Sunday.

By playing Belgium to a scoreless draw before another packed house at SoFi Stadium, Iran is in position to win its group with a victory over Egypt on Friday and advance to the knockout stage for the first time.

That would be a just reward for a ...Read more