LOS ANGELES — On a recent spring morning, Championship Soccer Stadium, which sits in a corner of the Orange County Great Park in Irvine, Calif., was quiet and empty save for the dozen sprinklers quenching a newly laid grass carpet.

Normally the well-used stadium is a buzz of activity. But its main tenant, the Orange County Soccer Club, which ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Mauricio Pochettino knows the joy of making a World Cup roster. But he also knows the misery of being left off one.

In the first case, you want to celebrate; in the second, you want to be left alone.

The U.S. coach said he kept both emotions in mind when informing players they had — or had not — made the roster for next ...Read more

NEW YORK — Though it was no surprise to see many players from the Philadelphia area on the U.S. men’s World Cup team, Tuesday’s announcement of the squad still marked a moment of local history.

Four players from the region made the cut, the highest number since 1934. They are attacking midfielder Brenden Aaronson of Medford, Burlington ...Read more

MIAMI — Lionel Messi’s status for the start of the 2026 World Cup is in doubt after Inter Miami confirmed the Argentine star is dealing with a hamstring issue.

The club announced late Monday afternoon that the reason he exited the field before the end of Sunday’s 6-4 win over the Philadelphia Union is that he felt “physical discomfort.�...Read more

Inter Miami captain and Argentine star Lionel Messi appeared to grab the back of his left leg and was subbed off before Sunday’s wild 6-4 win over the Philadelphia Union had ended, something he never does, sparking speculation that he felt a twinge of pain and didn’t want to take any chances with the World Cup kicking off in two weeks.

All ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — Though the U.S. men’s soccer team’s World Cup roster won’t be officially announced until Tuesday, there’s a time-honored tradition in the sport of news getting out early.

That duly happened on Saturday, a day after U.S. manager Mauricio Pochettino told the 26 players on the squad that they were in. The Guardian and The ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — On Monday evening, Andrew Pickering was in Chicago for a work trip when he looked down at his phone and saw a concerning text.

It was in a WhatsApp chat of expats from Northern Ireland who now live in Philadelphia. One of his friends asked another, James Stephens, if he was OK.

Pickering didn’t know what was going on.

“...Read more

NEW YORK — New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced that 1,000 FIFA World Cup tickets will be made available to New Yorkers for just $50 each — the lowest price on offer for the tournament.

The tickets, to be doled out through a lottery system, will be spread over seven matches in the tournament, and will also come with free bus rides ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — A lot has changed since Jacori Perry attended Morningside High School.

Perry is now a renowned artist who goes by the names Mr. Ace and AiseBorn.

The school is now known as Inglewood High School United.

And the lecture hall on that campus now features a large, ornate mural of a soccer ball being grasped by the hands of two ...Read more

SEATTLE — Iran announced its preliminary World Cup roster Saturday following meetings with FIFA that appeared to make progress toward the country participating in the tournament.

Iran’s roster announcement of 30 players indicated the team planned to travel Monday to Antalya, Turkey, to begin the initial training camp before eventually ...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — In the most essential of ways, Kansas City being named a 2026 FIFA World Cup host spans the globe and eras back to 1966.

That’s when the visionary Lamar Hunt, founder of the AFL and owner of the Chiefs, turned on ABC’s Wide World of Sports to watch England and West Germany play in the men’s final of the global soccer ...Read more

SEATTLE — When the U.S. women’s national team made its first stop in Seattle in nearly a decade last month, the return was lauded by everyone involved. There was excitement about playing inside Lumen Field. There were raves for the quality of the installed grass surface. And there was appreciation for the support of the more than 36,000 fans...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — You can find all kinds of stories in soccer, especially when a World Cup is on the horizon. But even by the global game’s standards, Yan Diomande’s story is a special one.

The 19-year-old from Côte d’Ivoire isn’t just one of the hottest young prospects in the sport. When Les Éléphants set up their base camp in the ...Read more

SEATTLE — When Gianni Infantino walked to the podium in Vancouver, B.C., late last month and declared that Iran would participate in the FIFA Men’s World Cup, it seemed the uncertainty was over. The president of FIFA said so.

The Iranians may not completely agree.

Less than a month out from the start of the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup, ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — South Korean boy band BTS, U.S. pop culture icon Madonna and Latin music superstar Shakira will be performing at halftime during the World Cup final July 19 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, FIFA announced Thursday morning.

The performance will support the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund, which is looking to ...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Generations into a belief that morphed into a movement, nearly a decade since the start of the bid process and four years of methodically conforming to FIFA standards later, the epicenter of Kansas City’s monumental opportunity to play 2026 World Cup host was unveiled on Monday.

Meet … “Kansas City Stadium,” as GEHA...Read more

SAN DIEGO — The World Cup is the planet’s most popular sporting event, a quadrennial celebration of soccer, futbol, futebol, fotboll, voetbal, calcio, sakka, chuggu, sepak bola or your language of choice to describe the beautiful game.

Crazy to think, then, that it’s coming to the United States, Mexico and Canada … in exactly one month?...Read more

MIAMI — The men’s FIFA World Cup begins in one month across North America. “Uh-oh,” seems a pretty common reaction.

Some make the countdown clock sound like a ticking bomb, with the buildup drenched in consternation over exorbitant ticket prices, travel costs and concern about U.S. immigration policies. Your Friend the Media is playing ...Read more