Day: March 17, 2026

New York Yankees star Aaron Judge has said that his No. 1 goal is to win a World Series, but he’s put that quest on a brief hold to captain Team USA at the World Baseball Classic. “Now that I got a USA jersey on and ‘USA’ across my chest, my main focus right now is to go out there and win a gold medal for those guys,” Judge said in an interview with fellow Yankees legend and MLB on FOX analyst Derek Jeter. This is Judge’s first time participating in the World Baseball Classic. He passed on the opportunity to represent Team USA in 2023 after he signed a nine-year, $360 million contract to stay in the Bronx through 2031 and was named Yankees team captain. Four years later, Judge is captaining Team USA at the tournament, and the three-time American League MVP isn’t taking the job lightly. “My job is just to get the best out of every single guy in that room,” Judge said. “I told the guys in the very beginning: I’m an open book; lean on me.” He’s also motivated by the Team USA squad that fell short against Shohei Ohtani and Samurai Japan in 2023. “I think of Paul Goldschmidt,” Judge said of his Yankees and Team USA teammate. “He did it the previous couple of years, and he talked about how much it hurt coming up short in ’23. I want to finish it off for guys like him, Kyle Schwarber, DeRo. They all came up short, but it’s time to finish it off.” Judge and Team USA will have the opportunity to avenge the disappointment of 2023 in the 2026 World Baseball Classic final on Tuesday against Venezuela. They’re hoping to be the latest American team to bring home the gold after the men’s and women’s hockey teams reached the summit at the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Milan, Italy. “I think just watching them — both of them — leave it all on the ice … I think that was pretty cool to watch. Just like us, they’re grinding with guys they’re usually playing against, or competing against. Rival teams.”​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

The 2026 FIFA World Cup is about to get Zlatan’d. Global soccer legend Zlatan Ibrahimović will join FOX Sports as an analyst for the 2026 FIFA World Cup this summer. The 48-team tournament will be the largest edition ever held, kicking off on July 11 and held across Canada, Mexico and the United States. Ibrahimović, who retired in 2023 as Sweden’s all-time leading scorer, has developed a reputation that transcends soccer because of his memorable quotes, huge personality and unwavering confidence. One of the most prolific and accomplished strikers of all time, Ibrahimović played at some of the world’s biggest clubs. After breaking through at Swedish club Malmö FF, he played at Ajax, Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester United, and Italy’s three biggest sides (Juventus, Inter Milan, and AC Milan). He also made his mark in Major League Soccer with two unforgettable seasons with the LA Galaxy. – Zlatan Core: Ibrahimović’s Most Memorable Quotes In all, Ibrahimović scored 573 goals in his career, including 511 at the club level and 62 at the international level. Only three players have scored more goals than him in the 21st century: Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Robert Lewandowski. Ibrahimović won 34 major trophies in his career, including 11 league trophies across four different countries — eight of which he won in consecutive seasons. Zlatan Joins Star-Studded FOX Soccer Crew Ibrahimović will be the latest soccer luminary joining FOX Sports for the World Cup. France legend and World Cup winner Thierry Henry, who made his FOX Sports debut at the FIFA World Cup draw in December, will be part of the network’s broadcast crew this summer. Award-winning presenter and celebrated broadcaster Rebecca Lowe will make her FOX Sports debut this summer as one of the network’s hosts for FIFA World Cup. 2026 FIFA World Cup: How To Watch From June 11 through July 19, 2026, FOX Sports presents its largest World Cup production and broadcast slate to date featuring all 104 matches live across FOX (69) and FS1 (35) with every match live-streaming on FOX One and the FOX Sports App. All 104 tournament matches will air live across FOX (70) and FS1 (34) with every match streaming live and on-demand within both the FOX One and the FOX Sports apps. A record 40 matches, more than one-third of the tournament, will air in prime time across FOX (21) and FS1 (19).​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

It’s a big year for the biggest sporting events around the globe, and the U.S. has taken center stage with more to come this summer. After U.S. men’s and women’s hockey’s big successes last month at the Olympics, Team USA is looking to add to the trophy case at the World Baseball Classic. Later this summer, the United States men’s national team will host the biggest sporting event ever and hope its team can hold up its end of the bargain at the 2026 World Cup. The build to the summer has already begun, as U.S. soccer unveiled its World Cup kits on Monday morning with a stars-and-stripes inspiration. USA Baseball star pitcher Paul Skenes was gifted the jersey on Tuesday’s broadcast of the final. The U.S. men’s national team’s home and away uniforms for the 2026 World Cup were dropped. The Americans will debut those kits on March 28, when they face Belgium in the first of four pre-World Cup friendlies. Aaron Judge also showed love to the U.S. hockey teams, both of which won gold medals at the Winter Olympics last month. The American captain donned the sweater on his way into loanDepot Park on Tuesday night. On the diamond, Team USA is vying for its second World Baseball Classic title. The Americans will face Venezuela, which is appearing in its first WBC Final.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

The World Baseball Classic is meeting the moment – and plenty of eyeballs are tuning in and watching some high-stakes baseball in March. Team USA’s 2-1 win over the Dominican Republic in Sunday’s semifinal on FS1 drew the most viewers in tournament history on any network with a total of 7,369,000 viewers. The 2-1 USA win also became FS1’s most-watched telecast since 2019 and the most-watched event throughout last weekend. Viewership peaked at 8,170,000 people from 11-11:08 p.m. ET, toward the end of the game as Team USA wrapped up its victory. Team USA’s win over Canada on Friday was the most watched WBC quarterfinals eve, with a viewership figure of 4,285,000. While both lineups were stacked, it was the pitching in the game that made the difference. Paul Skenes allowed one run over 4.1 innings, and was supported by Tyler Rogers, who took over for Skenes in the fifth inning with the bases loaded, and got out of the jam clean. Dominican Republic starter Luis Severino struck out six batters and Huascar Brazoban struck out three batters across 1.1 innings in relief. However, Gregory Soto conceded a home run to Roman Anthony, the first batter he faced, and that was the winning run. Team USA faces Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic Final on Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET on FOX.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports