WORLD CUP SOCCER

SAME OLD STORY: US MEN’S SOCCER TEAM HAS BEEN STAGNANT FOR QUARTER CENTURY

SEATTLE (AP) — For all the growth in American soccer over the past quarter-century, the U.S. men’s national team remains stagnant.

Christian Pulisic, Tyler Adams and Weston McKennie fared no better at the World Cup in 2022 and 2026 than Tim Howard, Michael Bradley and Jozy Altidore did in 2010 and 2014.

“We want to be able to go and compete with some of the best in the world and we just still have that next step to come,” Pulisic said after Monday night’s error-filled 4-1 loss to Belgium in the round of 16.

For all the billions of dollars invested with the goal of boosting the national team into the world’s elite, the Americans remain soccer plebians.

After reaching the semifinals of the first World Cup in 1930, the U.S. didn’t even qualify between 1950 and 1990. Since then, they Americans were eliminated in the round of 16 in 1994, 2010, 2014, 2022 and this year, failed to advance past their group in 1990, 1998 and 2006, and flopped in qualifying for 2018.

“It’s not like you are in a rocket and you improve and you grow. … It’s not linear,” U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino said.

The U.S. won three games in a World Cup for the first time, beating Paraguay, Australia and Bosnia-Herzegovina while losing to Turkey and Belgium. The Americans benefitted as host, a seeded team that didn’t face a top 10 nation before the Red Devils.

By the next World Cup in Spain, Portugal and Morocco (with three games in South America), Pulisic, McKennie and Adams will be 31.

Which players increased value for the US national team?

Folarin Balogun led the U.S. team with three goals, looking like a top striker, and gained world-wide notoriety when his red card suspension for awkwardly landing on an opponent’s ankle was lifted after a phone call from U.S. President Donald Trump. A former Arsenal youth player, the 25-year-old striker is entering the fourth season of a five-year contract with French club Monaco and could be set for a move to a bigger club.

Malik Tillman became the first player since France’s Bernard Genghini in 1982 to have two free kick goals in a World Cup. The 24-year-old midfielder is entering the second season of a five-year contract with German club Bayer Leverkusen. He had a difficult 2025-26, getting dropped from the starting lineup between late March and the season’s final match.

Does US coach Mauricio Pochettino stay in the job for another 4 years?

Pochettino said he will speak with the U.S. Soccer Federation after a rest period to discuss whether it wants him to stay beyond the expiration of his contract this summer and whether he wants to commit to a four-year cycle.

“We had positive conversations with Mauricio before the World Cup about the future. We agreed we would continue those conversations following a chance to rest and reflect post World Cup,” the U.S. Soccer Federation said in a statement Tuesday. “We have a great deal of respect and gratitude for Mauricio, his staff and everyone part of the program. We have shared excitement about our potential and also shared clarity about the amount of work at all levels still required to achieve our ambition.”

The Argentine took over from Gregg Berhalter in late 2024 after first-round elimination at the Copa America. His first year included failures to win the CONCACAF Gold Cup and Nations League.

“We were in a mess,” he said. “I’ve seen this team show that we can play football. We can play soccer. We can compete. That we need keep improving — a lot of young players with a lot potential and future.”

Trouble spots on the field need work for the national team

Goalkeeper has gone from the United States’ biggest strength from 1990 through 2014 to a huge weakness in the past decade and appears to be at its weakest since the 1980s.

Long gone are the days when Tony Meola, Kasey Keller, Brad Friedel, Tim Howard, Brad Guzan inspired confidence.

Zack Steffen and Matt Turner both failed to establish themselves with big European teams. Matt Freese, who supplanted Turner as the first-choice starter last year, gifted a goal in the loss to Belgium that will be replayed on blooper reels.

Gabriel Slonina, Chris Brady, Patrick Schulte and Roman Celentano, who head the next generation, have the next cycle to establish themselves as possible No. 1s.

Central defense also is a concern. Crystal Palace’s Chris Richards is the only American playing at a top club and his World Cup partner, Tim Ream, at 38 became the oldest U.S. player at any World Cup.

Qualifying should be easier with 48-team World Cup tournaments

With the expansion of the field to 48 nations, including six from North and Central America and the Caribbean, World Cup qualifying is not likely to be challenging for CONCACAF’s powers: Mexico, the U.S and Canada.

All three were eliminated in the round of 16 after Curaçao, Haiti and Panama were eliminated with last-place finishes in their groups.

Unless the U.S. shows vast improvement, it will not be seeded for the 2030 World Cup and likely will face a world power in the first round.

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LIONEL MESSI LEADS ARGENTINA TO 3-2 COMEBACK VICTORY OVER EGYPT AND SPOT IN WORLD CUP QUARTERFINALS

ATLANTA (AP) — It was another World Cup epic from an Argentina team that simply doesn’t know when it’s beaten.

Trailing 2-0 against Egypt with 11 minutes of regulation time to play on Tuesday, the defending champions rallied for an improbable 3-2 victory and a spot in the quarterfinals.

“We have a phenomenal group, a group that never gives up no matter the difficulties and adversity. We’re always together,” said Enzo Fernandez, who scored the winning goal in stoppage time.

Argentina will play Switzerland in the next round on Saturday in Kansas City, Missouri.

For much of Tuesday’s game, it looked like it would be a painful exit for the 39-year-old Lionel Messi in what might be the last of his six World Cups.

Egypt led after goals in each half from Yasser Ibrahim and Mostafa Zico and could have been ahead 3-0 if not for a video review that ruled out another score.

Argentina looked down and out, its bid to be the first team to win back-to-back World Cup titles since Brazil in 1958 and 1962 all but dead.

Cue a monumental comeback.

“The heart of Argentinians is always something that pushes, that we keep going no matter what, that we give everything until the end. And honestly, with the score 2-0, we looked a bit beaten,” Argentina striker Julian Alvarez said. “There was little time left, but we always manage to get something more by fighting until the end.”

Cristian Romero started the rally by scoring with a header in the 79th minute. Messi, who was in tears after the final whistle, scored his eighth goal of the tournament and record-extending 21st goal at the World Cup in the 83rd to level the score at 2-2 and Fernandez completed the comeback in injury time.

“Four years have passed since Qatar, and we’ve come to enjoy another World Cup — and we want to win it again. That’s what we’re aiming for,” Fernandez said.

Argentina is no stranger to heroic matches at the World Cup.

There was the 3-2 win over West Germany in the 1986 final. Then the 3-3 draw and eventual shootout victory against France to reclaim the title four years ago.

Cape Verde pushed Argentina to the brink in the last round before the defending champions eventually won 3-2 in extra time.

Tuesday’s match was even more dramatic, with Messi having a first-half penalty saved and another effort hit the post.

“I’m so emotional,” Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said. “What a group of players, brother.”

Egypt took a surprising lead in the 15th minute when Ibrahim got ahead of Lisandro Martinez to meet Marwan Attia’s cross and head the ball into the bottom corner.

Argentina was quickly given the chance to level the match when Haissem Hassan tripped Nicolas Tagliafico in the box moments later. Referee François Letexier pointed to the penalty spot and Messi stepped up with an expectant crowd waiting for him to score.

Egypt goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir had other ideas, diving to his left to block the shot for Messi’s second penalty miss of the tournament after also failing from the spot against Austria in the group stage.

Despite being the all-time leading scorer at World Cups, Messi has now missed four of eight penalty kicks at the tournament.

After Messi hit the post later in the half, Shobeir pulled off another great save to stop Julian Alvarez from close range.

Egypt thought it had doubled its lead in the second half when Mostafa Zico finished off a sweeping attack. But the wild celebrations were cut short when a foul earlier in the move was confirmed on video review and the goal was disallowed.

That second goal for Egypt did come in the 67th from a similar break, and this time Zico’s effort counted. It just wasn’t enough.

“We looked better compared to the reigning champions. We were better in everything, but the result,” Egypt coach Hossam Hassan said.

Hassan said he would not watch any further games at this year’s World Cup, believing his team should have had a penalty before Argentina broke away for the winning goal.

“I’m not convinced with this outcome. I’m not convinced with the way things unfolded during this match,” he said. “I do not want to try to put it nicely here with beautiful wording, selected wording, and saying hard luck and so on and so forth.

“We have been treated unfairly today,” Hassan said. “We have suffered injustice.”

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RUBEN VARGAS SENDS SWITZERLAND TO THE WORLD CUP QUARTERFINALS WITH SHOOTOUT WIN OVER COLOMBIA

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — In a match with few fireworks, the Swiss were patient against the Colombians and their enthusiastic fans.

After a scoreless draw, Ruben Vargas converted the decisive penalty and Switzerland advanced to the World Cup quarterfinals, beating Colombia 4-3 in a shootout on Tuesday.

Switzerland will face defending champion Argentina on Saturday at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. Argentina defeated Egypt 3-2 earlier in the day.

Switzerland had not reached the quarterfinals of a World Cup since hosting the tournament in 1954. And the Swiss were short-handed Tuesday without young midfielder Johan Manzambi, who was injured in training on Monday.

Vargas, who has scored two goals in the World Cup, also left Monday’s training early but came on in stoppage time at the end of regulation.

In the shootout, Colombia defender Davinson Sánchez’s penalty attempt hit the crossbar and Switzerland goalkeeper Gregor Kobel saved an attempt by Cucho Hernández.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino was among those at BC Place, where the sellout crowd of 52,497 was overwhelmingly clad in yellow in support of Colombia.

“They had the crowd on their side, so it was a tough game for us,” Kobel said. “We know we had some stretches of the game where we had to defend and stay strong mentally. Obviously we had a few players missing so, yeah, it was a big challenge for us.”

Colombia failed to qualify for the last World Cup in 2022. Los Cafeteros made the quarterfinals at the 2014 tournament in Brazil, defeating Uruguay in the round of 16 before losing to the host country 2-1.

“The dream was enormous,” Colombia midfielder John Arias said. “The country showed us that it believed in us, that it lived every moment with us, and I think that only makes the pain even greater.”

The Swiss reached the round of 16 at the past three World Cups but failed to advance with a smaller field of 32 teams.

“We worked very hard, and now we have this opportunity,” Switzerland coach Murat Yakin said. “This is going to be a very interesting matchup from our point of view. We will try to compete against the reigning champions and it’s going to be amazing. Switzerland against Argentina in a quarterfinal. I am so excited. I think that I need maybe a couple of hours more or another day to process what just happened, and then tomorrow we will start focusing on Argentina.”

The match was tightly contested by two teams with contrasting styles, the Swiss with a more organized and methodical approach and Colombia more attack-oriented and physical. Switzerland had a slight edge in possession.

Manzambi, a 20-year-old midfielder who plays for German club Freiburg, has three goals in the World Cup, becoming one of the tournament’s breakout stars. The Swiss were also without Luca Jaquez and midfielder Michel Aebischer.

Gustavo Puerta had the first good chance for Colombia with a shot from distance in the 21st minute that was pushed away by Kobel.

The Swiss got one of their best opportunities in the 30th with Fabian Reider’s blast at goalkeeper Camilo Vargas, who punched the ball down. Minutes later, Vargas smothered another attempt from Dan Ndoye.

The Swiss had a free kick in the 52nd minute, but Reider’s attempt curled around the wall and went into the side netting.

In the first extra time period, Jhon Lucumi’s header hit the crossbar and caromed away as Colombia put pressure on Kobel.

“I don’t think you can overstate what a huge success this is — for us, for this team, for Switzerland, for such a small country. To be among the top eight teams in the world is incredible,” Kobel said. “It’s an unbelievable feeling. I’m incredibly proud.”

Colombia and Switzerland also met in the group stage at the 1994 World Cup in the United States, with Los Cafeteros winning 2-0.

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REPORTS: FIFA SUSPENDED TWO USMNT STAFFERS FOR BELGIUM GAME

Two U.S. men’s national team staff members were suspended by FIFA for the team’s World Cup round of 16 match against Belgium on Monday.

Team manager Sam Zapatka and U.S.  Soccer Federation vice president of security Frank Pannell weren’t allowed at the match, multiple media outlets reported on Tuesday. FIFA reportedly handed out the suspensions pregame on Monday without specifying an exact reason.

The U.S. Soccer Federation also didn’t address the cause behind the punishment, though it did say it was unrelated to the federation’s work that resulted in Folarin Balogun’s red-card suspension getting pushed back.

According to ESPN, the two were sanctioned regarding a violation of FIFA match protocols as well as people having access to areas where they shouldn’t have been. Per the report, no physical dispute occurred.

Balogun started on Monday, a match the U.S. lost 4-1 to Belgium.

Front Office Sports reported that the cause of the two suspensions might have been Balogun coming back onto the field on July 1 to celebrate the United States’ 2-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina in Santa Clara, Calif.International Sports Competitions

Balogun was sent off for a bad tackle in the second half of the Bosnia game, and players who receive a red card are not allowed to return to the pitch during or after that contest.

Per multiple media outlets, Zapatka joined U.S. Soccer in 2015 and has been in his current job since 2020.

In an April article, Seton Hall University newspaper The Setonian wrote that Pannell previously worked for the Secret Service, the CIA and in the private sector.

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US LOSS TO BELGIUM SETS ANOTHER DOMESTIC TV RATINGS RECORD

The United States men’s national team’s loss to Belgium in the World Cup round of 16 on Monday was a disappointment for fans, but it rewrote domestic viewership records once again.

The game drew 30 million viewers on Fox, according to Nielsen preliminary data released Tuesday. That far outpaced the Americans’ round of 32 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina last Wednesday, which at 24.429 million was the most-watched English-language soccer broadcast in the U.S. for all of five days.

The peak audience for Belgium’s 4-1 win over the U.S. was 36.895 million viewers in the 9:15-9:30 p.m. ET window.

The 30 million number beat out some high-profile sporting events in the U.S. in the past 12 months, including the New York Knicks’ title-clinching Game 5 win over the San Antonio Spurs (24.5 million) and Game 7 of the 2025 World Series in which the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Toronto Blue Jays (26 million). The CFP national title game between Indiana and Miami only barely beat out U.S.-Belgium at 30.1 million.

And taken together with an audience of 12 million on Spanish-language Telemundo, the game averaged a whopping 42 million viewers.Soccer

It was the last U.S. match fans will get to see in the tournament they are co-hosting. Malik Tillman scored on a free kick, but Charles De Ketelaere had a first-half brace for Belgium and they added on two more after halftime.

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