📸 Party time in Mexico, countdown to the World Cup begins
The best football year is about to arrive! The 2026 World Cup is just 365 days away from its opening phase, and Mexico did not let the occasion pass by, as it will become the only country to host three World Cups.
This Wednesday, Clara Brugada, Head of Government of Mexico City, and Alessandro del Piero, former footballer, unveiled the countdown clock for the start of the World Cup.
Advertisement
Likewise, Samuel García, governor of Nuevo León, did the same in Monterrey, and Amaury Vergara, owner of Chivas, led the event in Guadalajara.
Each of the 16 World Cup host cities will have one of these clocks, and they will be distinguished by the color of each host: green for Mexico, blue for the United States, and red for Canada.
We are one year away from the start of a historic event, as this will be the first World Cup with 48 participating countries. For now, 13 teams have already qualified.
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.
📸 STRINGER - AFP or licensors
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
14 minutes ago
- Yahoo
🎥 Grêmio and Corinthians draw with stunning goals, tricolor still winless
🎥 Grêmio and Corinthians draw with stunning goals, tricolor still winless Grêmio and Corinthians drew 1-1 on Thursday night (12). There were two beautiful goals in front of 20,465 people at the Arena do Grêmio. The match was valid for the 12th round of the Brasileirão. And it extended Grêmio's drought against Corinthians in the recent history of the duel: now it's 13 games without wins - since December 2, 2018. Advertisement There have been three Alvinegro wins and ten draws since then. Beautiful goals in a GOOD 1st half 🤩 The level of football presented in the initial stage drew positive attention. There were balls hitting the post on both sides. And a lot of objectivity. The Grêmio start was superior, with Timão taking control afterwards. Volpi initiated the play, Alyson got rid of Cacá, and Braithwaite completed with category (29'). The Alvinegro response didn't take long and came with Breno Bidon finishing from outside the area (36'). Only beautiful goals counted. Attempts The second half wasn't full of real goal opportunities. Advertisement Corinthians - already very depleted - had even more changes after the substitutions made by Dorival. Mano - who lost Kike Oliveira still in the 1st half - also worked. But nothing worked out. Grêmio got closer. Only without success. 📊 Table and schedule 📅 Grêmio and Corinthians reached 16 points in the BR table. See the updated standings here. Both will only play officially again in the second week of July. Grêmio will be a visitor against Cruzeiro. Corinthians will host Red Bull Bragantino. Matches of the 13th round of the Brasileirão and will be played between the 12th and 13th of next month - the CBF has not yet detailed. This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here. 📸 Pedro H. Tesch - 2025 Getty Images
Yahoo
32 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Christian Pulisic: 'I don't regret' skipping Gold Cup, calls some criticism 'way out of line'
Christian Pulisic, speaking for the first time since opting to skip this summer's Gold Cup, said Thursday that he doesn't regret the decision, and called questions about his commitment to the U.S. men's national team "way out of line." Pulisic, in an interview with CBS Sports Golazo's "Call It What You Want," also revealed that he "did want to be a part of" the USMNT's two pre-Gold Cup friendlies, and asked coaches to be included for those games against Türkiye and Switzerland. "And they said no, they only wanted one roster" for both the friendlies and the Gold Cup, Pulisic said. "I fully respect that. I didn't understand it, but it is what it is." Advertisement As for why he didn't want to play in the Gold Cup, a biennial regional tournament, Pulisic said that, "toward the end of the season" with his Italian club AC Milan, "my body just started talking to me, and my mind. And I started to think, 'What is gonna be best for me leading into next year and going into the World Cup?' And was that to play eight more games, and then get no rest at all, go straight into preseason, and grind another season, and go straight into the World Cup? "I had to make the best decision for myself, and also in the long run for my team," Pulisic continued, "even though clearly some people haven't seen it that way." Christian Pulisic gave his first interview since opting to rest this summer, a decision that sparked fierce criticism and controversy, including from former USMNT players. (Photo by Fabrizio Carabelli/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images) (SOPA Images via Getty Images) Pulisic addresses criticism from former USMNT players The decision sparked fierce criticism from both fans and former players. Landon Donovan, perhaps the most famous player in program history until Pulisic came along, rekindled the controversy Sunday while watching Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal celebrate their UEFA Nations League title. Advertisement "This is what it means to represent your country," Donovan said on the Fox broadcast. "[Ronaldo's] 40 years old. He's played a long-ass season. He's tired. He's out there grinding, hurt himself in the process. And I can't help but think about some of our guys on vacation, not wanting to play in the Gold Cup. It's pissing me off." Those comments triggered a response from Pulisic's dad, Mark, who, in an Instagram post, cited Donovan's late-career break from soccer and told the USMNT legend to "look in the mirror + grow a pair." Christian Pulisic liked the post. In Thursday's interview, Pulisic did not name Donovan, but seemed to implicitly address Donovan's comments. "You can talk about my performances, whatever you want," Pulisic said. "But to question my commitment, especially towards the national team, in my opinion, that's way out of line." He later added: "I just don't understand why also so many people are so big on just wanting to give out these takes when they've been through tough moments themselves. I don't understand the idea of wanting to divide this fan base, and bring a negative light over it in any way. But we tend to do that a lot." Advertisement Pulisic also admitted that, in general, the criticism from former players "is tough. You know, I looked up to those guys growing up. Some of these guys were my idols. I respect them so much as players." He said that, privately, some of the former players talk to him "and clearly want to show support, and be your friend and everything. And then they say something slightly different publicly." Pulisic said that he tries to "stay away from" the criticism. Other USMNT players have spoken about tuning out "noise." Tyler Adams told Yahoo Sports on Wednesday that "nothing seeps into my world." On a soon-to-be-released podcast, though, former USMNT goalkeeper Tim Howard revealed that Pulisic had reached out to him via Instagram, in response to some of Howard's public comments, to say: "I thought you were out of order, I didn't like what you said." (Howard said he gave Pulisic his phone number, and told Pulisic he could call to discuss further.) Advertisement Criticism of the USMNT as a whole ratcheted up in March after losses to Panama and Canada. It crescendoed again this week after a pitiful 4-0 loss to Switzerland, the team's fourth straight defeat. One of the common takes, especially coming out of March, was that this so-called golden generation of players lacked necessary passion and desire to fight for their national team. Pulisic, speaking Thursday, took exception with that line of criticism. "The only thing that does frustrate me is this narrative that people want to create that it's that we don't care, that it's a commitment [issue], and stuff like that," he said. "In my opinion, it can be a lazy take. "We don't step out there and not give 100%," he continued. "It's not something that we do. We all want it so bad." He concluded: "Just to say, always, 'these guys don't care, bring guys that have pride' — like, that's not really the answer, in my opinion. There's a lot more to a soccer game that you need to do to win than to care. And I think a lot of us care." Advertisement Pulisic also stood up for some of his teammates, several of whom are also missing the Gold Cup. "I promise you," he said, after disappointing results at the 2024 Copa América and 2025 CONCACAF Nations League, "we don't just lose these things and move on. We're all pissed about it. Weston [McKennie], Tim [Weah], Yunus [Musah], all these guys ... they're competitors. I talk with these guys regularly. We're sick about it. We want to get back out and win in the biggest games, in the biggest tournaments, on the biggest stages." Pulisic's communication with Pochettino Pulisic also revealed that he's spoken to USMNT head coach Mauricio Pochettino only once about the summer and his decision. "We had one phone call where we discussed everything," Pulisic said. "He understood where I was coming from. That's as much conversation as I've had with him. We haven't continued to talk." Advertisement When asked by former USMNT forward Charlie Davies, one of the show's three co-hosts, about whether he'd expect more communication, Pulisic said he didn't "have an issue with it," but did acknowledge that Pochettino's approach to communication has been "slightly different with some of my other national coaches." Pulisic: 'You guys will see ... I'm hungrier than ever' Pulisic stood by the Gold Cup decision, in part because, already, after a couple weeks of rest, he's feeling "really good." "I knew how I was feeling towards the end of last season. I was dealing with a couple small things that just kept lingering," he said. Some family time, and some Florida sun, were "just what the doctor ordered," he wrote on Instagram this week. Advertisement "And I'm excited that I'm already gonna start getting back into training again this week and work on some things that I've really wanted to work on myself," he explained Thursday. "And I know it's going to put me in an amazing position leading into next season." "You guys will see, man," he assured the show's co-hosts and viewers. "I'm hungrier than ever, truly. I'm really looking forward for big things to come."
Yahoo
33 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Bath seek end to Premiership drought against old rivals Leicester
Bath are chasing a trophy treble as they prepare to face Leicester in the Premiership final (Anne-Christine POUJOULAT) Bath take on Leicester in the Premiership final on Saturday, bidding to be crowned champions of England for the first time since 1996 in the latest chapter of a storied rugby rivalry. The West Country side were the dominant force from the 1980s until the mid-1990s before Leicester took charge, becoming champions in four straight seasons around the turn of the century. Advertisement The clubs have been English champions 17 times between them, Leicester most recently in 2022, but Bath have not been top dogs for 29 years. Bath suffered an agonising 25-21 loss to Northampton at Twickenham last year -- their third defeat in play-off finals. Bath and Scotland fly-half Finn Russell said to his coach, Johann van Graan, after the game: "We'll just have to do it next year now." Van Graan's side have already ended their 17-year wait for silverware by winning this season's Premiership Rugby Cup and the Challenge Cup. But the Premiership title is the one they really want. Advertisement South African Van Graan, whose team reached Saturday's final at Twickenham with a 34-20 victory over local rivals Bristol, said last year's disappointment would not change his approach. "We'll stick to the same process this week," he said. "A final is a one-off. "We have worked incredibly hard to get back to this position to go back to Twickenham, a year on from Northampton." This time, there is greater expectation on Bath given their dominance in the regular season -- they finished 11 points clear of second-placed Leicester. - Bath belief - Bath captain Ben Spencer insisteed his side are now better-prepared to win the final. Advertisement "Everyone feels different. This group's been through enough now and played in enough big games to know how the week needs to feel and look," he said. "It's taken a lot of hard work from the group. That's one huge thing that Johann brought in, turning hope into belief and this group believes now and believes we can win big games." Leicester, Bath's great rivals during their glory years, are hunting a record-extending 12th English title in the first Premiership final between the two giants. Michael Cheika's men booked their place with a 21-16 victory over Sale in the play-off semi-finals. Advertisement It is a dramatic improvement from the 2023/24 campaign, when they finished eighth in the table. The former Australia coach, who will be leaving his role at the end of the season after one campaign in charge, admitted Bath are favourites. Bath humbled the Tigers 43-15 last month to complete a league double this season. "I know we will be doubted and probably for good reason from the results and the table," the 58-year-old Australian told BBC Radio Leicester. He added: "We have strong self belief internally and that will be something that will be really important. That is something we have built up over the season. "But this is a good opportunity for us to use that belief in ourselves, because what that gives you is a hand in knowing what you will have to do." jw/jdg/iwd
