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Projecting USA's 2026 World Cup squad: Tillman, Luna leapfrog Reyna post-Gold Cup
Projecting USA's 2026 World Cup squad: Tillman, Luna leapfrog Reyna post-Gold Cup

Fox Sports

time22-07-2025

  • Sport
  • Fox Sports

Projecting USA's 2026 World Cup squad: Tillman, Luna leapfrog Reyna post-Gold Cup

FIFA Men's World Cup Projecting USA's 2026 World Cup squad: Tillman, Luna leapfrog Reyna post-Gold Cup Published Jul. 22, 2025 5:45 p.m. ET share facebook x reddit link Just because the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup ended in tears for Mauricio Pochettino doesn't mean the U.S. men's national team coach didn't get what he wanted this summer. Sure, winning the tournament was the priority. After a hastily thrown-together group of Americans — a group that was missing star forward Christian Pulisic and about a dozen other regulars — willed their way to the final before losing a hard-fought match to rival Mexico in front of 71,000 mostly El Tri fans, of course it hurt. But Pochettino learned an awful lot about his players in June and July — lessons that will help inform the many difficult decisions he must make next May, when the co-hosts' 26-man roster for the 2026 FIFA World Cup must be submitted to global soccer's governing body. Ten months out, who projects to make the cut? Here are our best guesses as things stand today. Goalkeepers (Photo by Stephen Nadler/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images) Starter: Matt Turner Backups: Matt Freese, Zack Steffen Just missed out: Chris Brady, Diego Kochen, Patrick Schulte, Gaga Slonina Although Pochettino was determined to give another keeper a look during the Gold Cup — Freese became the beneficiary when Steffen and Schulte withdrew from the squad because of injury — Turner projects to reclaim the No. 1 job. He should at least get the chance: The 2022 World Cup starter is expected to leave Premier League Nottingham Forest for French club Lyon before the Ligue 1 season kicks off next month. Turner, 31, would replace Brazilian Lucas Perri, who has drawn interest from England this summer. ADVERTISEMENT Freese probably played his way onto the 2026 roster at the Gold Cup; his three saves in a shootout win over Costa Rica (and legendary Ticos backstop Keylor Navas) sent the Americans to the semifinals. The third spot is still up for grabs. But the smart money is on veteran Steffen. Had he not been sidelined, the 31-year-old former Manchester City backup would've been Pochettino's Gold Cup pick. Defenders (Photo by John Dorton/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images) Starters: Sergino Dest, Chris Richards, Tim Ream, Antonee "Jedi" Robinson Backups: Max Arfsten, Alex Freeman, Mark McKenzie, Walker Zimmerman Just missed out: Cameron Carter-Vickers, Miles Robinson, Joe Scally, John Tolkin, Auston Trusty When the 2022 World Cup ended, few expected then-35-year-old Ream to continue with the USMNT. Almost three years later, nobody else has beaten out the wily left-footed center back for the open spot next to the rock-solid Richards, who was a revelation for the USMNT at the Gold Cup. That could still happen between now and next summer. As it stands, though, the job belongs to Ream, who served as Poch's captain throughout the regional championship. Dest and Jedi both missed the Gold Cup while recovering from injury but are clear locks at fullback if healthy. Freeman and Arfsten emerged this summer as their likely understudies a year from now. Holding midfielders (Photo by) Starters: Tyler Adams, Weston McKennie Backups: Johnny Cardoso, Sebastian Berhalter, Yunus Musah, Tanner Tessmann Just missed out: Gianluca Busio, Luca de la Torre, Aidan Morris For the U.S. to succeed on home soil, they'll need Adams and McKennie on the field. Poch could even reunite those two with Musah, who together formed the impressive "MMA" midfield that shut down pre-tournament favorite England at Qatar 2022. Berhalter is the biggest mover behind them, and the son of former USMNT Gregg Berhalter's accuracy on set-pieces gives him an advantage over the more experienced De la Torre. Lyon's Tessmann should return after being left home for the Gold Cup. Meantime, Cardoso remains an enigma at the international level. An ankle injury limited the 23-year-old box-to-box type to just 10 Gold Cup minutes, but it didn't prevent Spanish titans Atlético Madrid from dropping a $35 million transfer fee on him last week. Attacking midfielders (Photo by) Starter: Malik Tillman Backup: Diego Luna Just missed out: Jack McGlynn, Gio Reyna With three goals in six games, Luna got much of the buzz at the Gold Cup. Not only did Tillman match that production, his quality, maturity and toughness were on display all tournament. There's no reason to think that the 23-year-old won't take that confidence into the European season with new club Bayer Leverkusen, which Tillman joined last week following back-to-back titles (and UEFA Champions League knockout stage appearances) with Dutch giants PSV Eindhoven. Then there's Reyna. The oft-injured playmaker seems as far away from the USMNT as ever after logging only 12 minutes off the bench during Borussia Dortmund's run at the FIFA Club World Cup. He's made just one cameo under Poch. Multiple European reports have the 22-year-old headed to Italy's Parma, which could be an ideal fit. As it stands today, however, it's obvious that Reyna is on the outside looking in. Wingers (Photo by Giuseppe Cottini/AC Milan via Getty Images) Starters: Tim Weah, Christian Pulisic Backups: Brenden Aaronson, Haji Wright Just missed out: Paxten Aaronson, Damion Downs, Quinn Sullivan Even if Pochettino elects not to summon Pulisic for the September friendlies against Japan and South Korea after Pulisic skipped the Gold Cup, the coach and his most irreplaceable player need each other. They'll find a way to get onto the same page in the lead-in to the World Cup, where Pulisic will be front and center for the USMNT. But the classy, fleet-footed Weah is almost as important on the other side, where he can stretch defenses and open up space for teammates. As Poch's Gold Cup selections showed, there is a dearth of true wingers in the American player pool after Pulisic and Weah. Wright would've gotten more of a look but left camp with an Achilles problem after scoring in the group stage opener. Still, he's performed under Poch and can also play as a center forward. And while Aaronson doesn't seem to be the coach's cup of tea, there isn't an obvious alternative. While Downs saw more time off the bench in the knockout stage, most of those minutes came in a central role. Striker (Photo by Bill Barrett/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images) Starter: Ricardo Pepi Backups: Folarin Balogun, Josh Sargent Just missed out: Patrick Agyemang, Brian White Not only is Pepi fully healthy again following surgery to repair a torn meniscus he suffered after scoring the game-winning goal over Liverpool in a Champions League match last January, he enters the new campaign as PSV's first choice striker following the departure of club legend Luuk de Jong. That's huge for the 22-year-old Texan. Balogun should also be fit after an injury-plagued 2024-25; an ankle issue forced the Monaco man out of Gold Cup consideration. It's an open race between those two — one Agyemang has been leading with Sargent overlooked by Poch this summer. But projecting out 10 months, Sargent might have the advantage. Word is he's returning to the German Bundesliga with Wolfsburg, which would be the perfect step up for a player who was the best at his position in England's second tier Championship last season. Either way, Agyemang's own move comes with significant risk. The rangy (6-foot-4) 24-year-old just left MLS's Charlotte for Derby County — a club that finished 19th in the Championship last term and scored just 48 goals in 46 games — and will surely need time to settle on and off the field. Doug McIntyre is a soccer reporter for FOX Sports who has covered United States men's and women's national teams at FIFA World Cups on five continents. Follow him @ ByDougMcIntyre . share

SpaceX targeting rocket launch Tuesday morning on Starlink satellite mission at Cape Canaveral
SpaceX targeting rocket launch Tuesday morning on Starlink satellite mission at Cape Canaveral

Yahoo

time06-07-2025

  • Science
  • Yahoo

SpaceX targeting rocket launch Tuesday morning on Starlink satellite mission at Cape Canaveral

In another post-midnight launch, SpaceX is targeting Tuesday, June 8, for an early morning Falcon 9 rocket liftoff from Florida's Space Coast, a Federal Aviation Administration operations plan advisory indicates. This Starlink 10-28 mission will lift another payload of broadband satellites on a northeasterly trajectory into low-Earth orbit. The 4½-hour launch window extends from 1:48 a.m. to 6:18 a.m. SpaceX has yet to publicly announce information about this mission. The FAA lists the launch site as pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center — but if a recent pattern with those federal advisories holds, the Falcon 9 will instead lift of from nearby Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Cape Canaveral: Is there a launch today? Upcoming SpaceX, NASA, ULA rocket launch schedule at Cape Canaveral The National Weather Service forecast for Monday night-Tuesday morning calls for a chance of showers and thunderstorms before 11 p.m., followed by a slight chance of showers until 2 a.m. Mostly cloudy skies should otherwise prevail, with a low near 75 and south wind 5 to 10 mph. Overall chance of precipitation: 30%. SpaceX's upcoming Falcon 9 mission will clock in as the 59th orbital rocket launch thus far during 2025 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and KSC. Looking to the future, Space Force officials announced SpaceX was awarded $81.6 million to launch the USSF-178 mission during the first half of the 2027 fiscal year. This includes the Space Force's Space Systems Command's Weather System Follow-on-Microwave Space Vehicle 2 — or WSF-M2 — which will deliver improved global sensing for weather-prediction models. The mission also includes BLAZE-2, a collection of Department of Defense small satellites for operational, research, development and prototype purposes. For the latest news and launch schedule from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and NASA's Kennedy Space Center, visit Another easy way: Click here to sign up for our weekly Space newsletter. Rick Neale is a Space Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Neale at Rneale@ Twitter/X: @RickNeale1 Space is important to us and that's why we're working to bring you top coverage of the industry and Florida launches. Journalism like this takes time and resources. Please support it with a subscription here. This article originally appeared on Florida Today: SpaceX targeting 59th rocket launch of year from Florida's Space Coast

With a 'chip on their shoulder', the U.S. men's team has your attention again
With a 'chip on their shoulder', the U.S. men's team has your attention again

Fox Sports

time01-07-2025

  • Sport
  • Fox Sports

With a 'chip on their shoulder', the U.S. men's team has your attention again

Gold Cup With a 'chip on their shoulder', the U.S. men's team has your attention again Published Jul. 1, 2025 7:31 p.m. ET share facebook x reddit link ST. LOUIS — Three short weeks ago, the U.S. men's national team was at perhaps its lowest point since failing to qualify for the 2018 World Cup. The Americans had suffered a 4-0 drubbing by Switzerland on June 10 that was, once again, marked by a distressing lack of intensity. It was the fourth straight defeat for the U.S., stretching back to deserved losses to regional rivals Canada and Panama in March. That absence of urgency against Switzerland and the preceding loss to Türkiye on June 7 had become a recurring theme dating to at least July 2024, when the USMNT became the first Copa América host in history to be eliminated before the knockout stage. To make matters worse, star man Christian Pulisic asked coach Mauricio Pochettino if he could skip the Gold Cup. Other regular starters (Antonee Robinson, Yunus Musah) were out, too. Interest in the team plummeted. A year away from the 2026 World Cup on home soil, die-hard and casual USMNT fans alike were less enthusiastic than ever about their country's chances of making a deep run on the biggest stage in sports next summer. ADVERTISEMENT Four Gold Cup wins later, a skeleton squad stocked mostly with scrappy reserves has some of the most cynical U.S. supporters starting to believe again. This U.S. squad entered the summer on a low point, but has found a renewed spark at the Gold Cup. (Photo by Omar Vega/USSF/Getty Images) "It could have been a not-great situation going into the Gold Cup," veteran defender Tim Ream said Tuesday, two days after the Americans' dramatic shootout win over Costa Rica that sent them to Wednesday's semifinal against Guatemala at a sold-out Energizer Park (kickoff at 7 p.m. ET; coverage begins at 6 p.m. ET on FS1). "But everybody used it as a learning experience and a moment to understand what it would take to come together to play in the tournament, survive, and continue to move on. "The bonds that are being created in such a short amount of time, I don't think you can speak about it enough," Ream added. "It's something that maybe we've not necessarily had enough of in the past." Alexi Lalas on USA's PK win & what they'll look like in the Semifinals | FULL INTERVIEW | The Herd For decades, the USMNT had a well-earned reputation for punching above its weight. They won games they weren't supposed to. When they lost, they fought like hell. Nobody wanted to face the Americans. It made for a likable team that was easy to root for. That changed sometime after the 2022 World Cup. And it came to a head in March, when Pulisic and the rest of the usual starters finished dead last at the Concacaf Nations League finals — a competition they'd won the previous three editions of. Now, with most of the usual starters missing, the reserves have restored some of that pride. They have fought for the jersey and they have fought each other. Almost literally. Ream, one of a handful of holdovers from March along with fellow vets Tyler Adams, Chris Richards and Malik Tillman, wasn't the only player to mention the way teammates leaped to the defense of Tillman when Costa Rica forward Kenneth Vargas got in his face and taunted his first-half penalty miss. "Watching everybody rush in. It may sound weird, but that's an enjoyable thing to see," Ream said. "It shows that OK, finally, we're a group of guys that are going to push back. You're not going to push us around. We're not going to take that kind of s--- anymore." The U.S. roared back from an early 1-0 deficit to take the lead before ultimately prevailing in the tiebreaker. When Costa Rica's Kenneth Vargas began taunting Malik Tillman, plenty of U.S. players stepped up. (Photo by John Dorton/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images) Fans ate it up. Pochettino did, too. "Me, I'm Argentino," said the former Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain and Tottenham manager. "We love to fight." Pochettino noted that goalkeeper Matt Freese, the hero of the shootout, ran the length of the field to enter the scrum and protect Tillman. "That means a lot, because it means that we are connected, that we care about my teammates, and that needs to be natural between them." It can also be the difference between winning and losing. "Malik is probably one of the quietest guys in our group, and to see that happen to him, it's like, no, you're not going to pick on [him]," Ream said. "I was like, nah, this isn't happening." Sebastian Berhalter and Max Afrsten, with four and eight caps respectively, were among the first to confront Vargas. "When you get a group of guys who have maybe more of a chip on their shoulder than others," Ream continued. "That's something that they take with them." Matt Freese has risen to the occasion for the U.S. squad, highlighted by his penalty-kick masterclass against Costa Rica. (Photo by Jeremy Olson/ISI Photos/ISI Photos via Getty Images) They'll need it against Guatemala. Los Chapines stunned Canada, one of the pre-tourney favorites, in the quarters. What they lack in talent, FIFA's 106th-ranked side makes up for in pluck. While the Americans hold an all-time series record of 16W-5L-6T, the Guatemalans have upset the U.S. in the past, most recently during that disastrous 2018 World Cup qualifying cycle. "It's going to be a very difficult game," U.S. midfielder Luca de la Torre said. "We have to want it just as much, if not more than them, if we want a chance to win." It would be fair to wonder less than a month ago if this USMNT was up to the challenge of reaching the Gold Cup final. Pochettino himself might have been questioning it. Not anymore. "This group is going to give everything," he said, "to make our fans feel proud of us." Doug McIntyre is a soccer reporter for FOX Sports who has covered United States men's and women's national teams at FIFA World Cups on five continents. Follow him @ ByDougMcIntyre . share

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