Month: March 2026

Mercedes-Benz Stadium (ATLANTA) — The United States men’s national team impressed early against Belgium. Then the wheels fell off. A first-half lead in Saturday’s high-profile World Cup warmup match against Belgium — FIFA’s No. 9 ranked squad — melted away as the USA conceded four straight goals in front of a heavily pro-USA crowd of 66,867 fans at the home of the Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United. Weston McKennie put coach Mauricio Pochettino’s team ahead in the 39th minute by deftly redirecting an Antonee Robinson corner kick past Belgian goalkeeper Senne Lammens. The visitors equalized before the first half was over, though, when fullback Zeno Debast’s low rocket flew through a sea of bodies, past the outstretched hand of USA keeper Matt Turner and into the bottom corner of the net. Belgium got another shortly after the break, then scored three more as they ran away with the second-to-last match before Pochettino must select his final 26-player World Cup roster, though the Americans did pull one back late via second half substitute Patrick Agyemang. Here are my takeaways: 1. USA Faltered In the Second Half Pochettino’s side entered the match on a three-match winning streak, all against World Cup-bound foes. But Belgium is better than any of those teams by some distance. Still, the USA matched them almost evenly in the first half, even if the guests had almost 60 percent of possession and one more shot on target. Only a brilliant (and lucky) save by Senne Lammens on McKennie’s earlier shot in the opening stanza kept the game scoreless almost until the intermission. With former Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne and current Man City star forward Jeremy Doku leading coach Rudi Garcia’s attack, Belgium tested a USA backline missing injured center back Chris Richards repeatedly, mostly to no avail. Central midfielders Tanner Tessmann and Johnny Cardoso covered when fullbacks Robinson and Tim Weah bombed forward, repeatedly frustrating the Red Devils. Tim Ream and Mark McKenzie held firm, while Turner made a series of acrobatic saves in his first start since losing the No. 1 job to Matt Freese last June. The winning streak is over. A 5-2 loss is unsightly, at best. But based on the performance, the lopsided scoreline was probably both a little bit harsh on the home squad and a crucial reminder that there are no moral victories at the highest level. For Pochettino and Co., it’s better to learn that lesson now than in June. 2. Silver Linings? ‘Jedi’ and Matt Turner Stood Out Turner played every minute of the USA’s four matches at the 2022 World Cup. Antonee “Jedi” Robinson was on the field for all but the final moments of the round of loss to the Netherlands in Qatar. But both veterans had been out of Pochettino’s lineup for most of the Argentine’s tenure — Robinson because of injury, Turner because of the emergence of Freese. But both returned to Poch’s starting lineup on Saturday. And while Jedi’s return — U.S. Soccer’s male player of the year in 2024 didn’t make a single appearance last year because of knee issues — was expected, Turner’s was the biggest surprise before the match against the Red Devils kicked off. Jedi looked as good as ever, just as he has done with Fulham in the Premier League. And Turner justified Pochettino’s decision by making a series of fine stops during an overall confident display, even if his poor clearance led to a goal that was only ruled out because it inadvertently deflected in off forward Charles De Ketelaere’s arm. Turner’s best save of all might have been on the play that led to De Bruyne’s successful penalty, with Turner tipping the ball over his crossbar after it hit Ream’s hand and changed trajectory. 3. Pochettino Went With Best Available Players Richards wasn’t the only projected World Cup starter missing on Saturday. Tyler Adams, who captained the Americans at the last World Cup in Qatar, is injured. So is right back/winger Sergiño Dest. Yet Poch still got his best available players on the field, deploying Weah as an outside defender even with natural right back Joe Scally available. (Scally came on late in the second half.) At his core, Poch is a pragmatist. His lineup choices on Saturday confirmed as much — and provided a preview of what USA fans can expect in terms of personnel decisions when their World Cup campaign begins in earnest on June 12 versus Paraguay in Los Angeles. Who fills those spots is another matter. With just three more tuneup games to go before then, there are still plenty of lineup questions remaining. 4. Another Big Test Awaits Belgium is good. Very good. Reigning UEFA Nations League champions Portugal — FIFA’s sixth ranked side and the team that the USA will close out the March window in Tuesday’s match in Atlanta — is even better. That’s a scary thought. Yet it’s also an opportunity to right Saturday’s wrongs almost immediately and end this month on a decidedly brighter note. 4 ½. What’s Next? Time to regroup for that Tuesday game against Portugal, which will be taking on Mexico on Saturday night in Mexico City. The Portuguese are without superstar Cristiano Ronaldo during this swing through North America, but there is still tons of quality star power. Manchester United midfielder Bruno Fernandes. PSG dynamic duo Nuno Mendes and Vitinha. The USA will have its hand full.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

UConn men’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma is ripping the double-regional format being used in the women’s NCAA Tournament, saying it doesn’t make sense for the teams still playing or for efforts to grow the game. Auriemma brought up attendance, bad shooting percentages and teams having to come to the arena early and late on the same day when taking aim at the format that’s in place for the fourth year, and set to continue for at least five more. “Well, I think the first question you’d have to ask is why did they go from four (sites) to two. What was the rationale?” the 12-time national champion coach said Saturday. “If they can explain it legitimately and then prove that it works, then great. So what was the reason?” NCAA officials didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press. The defending national champion Huskies (37-0), the overall No. 1 seed, play Notre Dame (25-10) in the Fort Worth Regional 1 final on Sunday. The Huskies held their required media availability Saturday morning, after the Fighting Irish had already completed their session and before two Sweet 16 games in Fort Worth Regional 3 were played at Dickies Arena. UConn and Notre Dame both had scheduled practice times there later in the evening. “So we had to get our kids up, come over here. You already knew who we were playing last night, but we can’t get on the court, and neither can the other teams,” Auriemma said. “Does anybody who makes these decisions ever ask the coaches and the players, hey, does this work?” AP All-America teammates Azzi Fudd and Sarah Strong agreed with their coach’s strong sentiment. “Everyone’s trying to figure that out right now,” Fudd said. “Every team is going through that. There’s no excuse in that. So we’ll figure it out. We’re making it work, but it definitely isn’t the most ideal setup.” Auriemma, the winningest men’s or women’s NCAA basketball coach with 1,287 victories, didn’t wait for a question from reporters to share his thoughts on the format, opening his session by reading off a piece of paper these numbers: 4 for 20, 4 for 22, 1 for 17, 5 for 17, 4 for 16, 7 for 26. “That’s the 3-point shooting yesterday across the country,” he said. “How many arenas are we going to sell out with that? Now, maybe it was just a bad day shooting by everybody. These are all teams that average probably 30%, over 30, for the season. Know what time our shootaround was yesterday? Six in the morning, 6:20, I think, for half an hour.” He also mentioned the total combined attendance (18,821 announced) at the two venues Friday, in Fort Worth and Sacramento, California. UCLA coach Cori Close, whose team is the top seed in Sacramento Regional 2 and plays Duke in an Elite Eight game on Sunday, said it is important to get maximum exposure and coverage while also looking for the best setup to have high-level basketball played on the court. “I think that I was in favor of going to the two regional sites when that happened,” Close said. “I think every year we should look and go, where are we in our game, how did this play out efficiency-wise, from a student-athlete well-being side, is there some ways in which we can organize to make things a little bit more cohesive so teams aren’t going back and forth from media coverage to practices later and those kinds of things?” Auriemma said there is a lack of input from coaches, and that nothing changes even when the NCAA sends representatives to schools every year after the tournament. “Hopefully I’m speaking for the other coaches,” he said. “Some coaches might think I’m full of it. And this is not about UConn. I hope everybody understands that. This is not about us. … We’ve managed to go to the Final Four and win national championships no matter where they’re played, when they’re played, what time they’re played, whatever. “I think there is a level of frustration right now among the coaches that’s higher than any time I’ve ever seen it.” Duke coach Kara Lawson would like more practice time on the game court, especially more than the designated half-hour on game days for shootarounds, which routinely last about an hour the rest of the season. “That would be the only thing I’d change,” Lawson said. “I mean two regionals. I think the arena thing is the thing that’s hard. It’s not that we’re in the same city, it’s that we don’t get long enough practice or shootaround times in the venue for your most important games of the season.” For the second day in a row, Auriemma mentioned new rims and new basketballs being used during NCAA Tournament games, and the impact those have on shooting. “It’s hard to make shots in the postseason,” Auriemma said Friday after UConn’s 63-42 win over North Carolina, in which the teams were a combined 8 of 42 on 3-pointers. “They just break out these new baskets, new rims, and then it gets in the kids’ heads.” The coach on Saturday again brought up “new basketballs right out of the box” and the rims. “Got people dribbling the ball off their feet,” he said. “You got people missing layups all over the place. You bounce the ball, and it goes up to the ceiling. There’s just no concept of how basketball is played. Not that I have any of the answers. “Believe me, I just have questions.” Reporting by The Associated Press.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

The 2026 UFL season opened Friday with new teams, new coaches, new players, new uniforms and new rules. [2026 UFL: Everything To Know About the 2026 UFL Season] Kicking things off on FOX UFL Friday, the beloved Birmingham Stallions escaped a close one against the Louisville Kings — one of the league’s three brand-new franchises. Up first on Saturday, it was a battle between two familiar faces, as the St. Louis Battlehawks took down the defending champion DC Defenders. Later that afternoon, the Dallas Renegades, who relocated from Arlington this season, crushed the Houston Gamblers, who reverted to their original name from the legacy USFL this season. Closing things out Sunday, two new teams will go head-to-head, as the Columbus Aviators face the Orlando Storm. Here are the results from Week 1: Birmingham Stallions 15, Louisville Kings 13 Key players: Stallions QB Matt Corral (21-for-30 for 208 yards, one touchdown), WR Jaydon Mickens (9-for-9 for 108 yards); Kings QB Jason Bean (14-for-27 for 226 yards, one touchdown). Game recap: The Kings immediately turned the ball over on their first drive of the game, which led to a quick touchdown by the Stallions to make it 6-0. The Kings fired back with a touchdown drive of their own to regain the lead 7-6 late in the first quarter. Birmingham added a field goal midway through the second quarter to lead 9-7 at halftime. The Stallions had the ball for nearly eight minutes to open the second half and ended up turning things over on downs late in the frame. That allowed Louisville to kick a field goal and take a narrow 10-9 lead into the fourth quarter. After the Stallions turned the ball over on downs yet again to open the final frame, the Kings went up 13-9 with another field goal. Just when it looked like things were over for the Stallions, they scored a touchdown with two minutes remaining to take a 15-13 lead. Louisville turned the ball over on an interception on its next drive, sealing the win for Birmingham. Up next: In Week 2, the Stallions face the Gamblers and the Kings take on the Storm. St. Louis Battlehawks 16, DC Defenders 10 Key players: Battlehawks QB Brandon Silvers (16-for-28 for 198 yards, one touchdown), OLB Pita Taumoepenu (6.0 tackles, 2.5 sacks); Defenders QB Jordan Ta’amu (9-for-16 for 123 yards), WR Seth Williams (3-for-4 for 51 yards). Game recap: The first points of the game were historic for the league, as Defenders kicker Matt McCrane connected on a 60-yard field goal — marking the first four-point field goal in UFL history. The Battlehawks responded with a field goal of their own from 58 yards to make it a one-point game early, 4-3. The Defenders fired back with a 10-play, 66-yard touchdown drive that ended with a goal-line rush to make it 10-3. The second quarter was chaotic — a flurry of punts, interceptions and missed field goals — before the Battlehawks connected on a short field goal just before halftime to close the gap slightly, 10-6. The Defenders never found a rhythm in the second half. They finished the game with three more punts, an interception and a missed field goal, while the Battlehawks added a score late in the third and a field goal early in the fourth to seal a 16-10 win at home. Up next: In Week 2, the Battlehawks face the Renegades and the Defenders take on the Aviators. Dallas Renegades 36, Houston Gamblers 17 Key players: Renegades QB Austin Reed (26-for-40 for 376 yards, three touchdowns), WR Tyler Vaughns (7-for-9 for 144 yards, one touchdown, WR Greg Ward (3-for-3 for 93 yards, one touchdown); Gamblers QB Hunter Dekkers (19-for-29 for 227 yards), WR Jontre Kirklin (4-for-4 for 60 yards). Game recap: The Renegades’ first drive ended with a missed field goal, but they turned things around quickly. Dallas picked off Gamblers QB Nolan Henderson at Houston’s 30-yard line, returning it for the first pick-six of the season. The Renegades turned the ball over on downs near midfield late in the frame, allowing the Gamblers to get a quick field goal to pull within three, 6-3, heading into the second quarter. The Gamblers’ second quarter was riddled with mistakes, while the Renegades came up with back-to-back scores and a field goal to make it a 23-3 game at halftime. Coming out of the break, the Renegades picked up right where they left off. They scored on the first play from scrimmage of the second half; Reed found WR Greg Ward for a monster 66-yard touchdown to open the frame. (In a surprising move, Dallas revealed this week that Reed secured the starting job for Week 1, relegating longtime starter Luis Perez — who led the UFL in passing yards the past two seasons — to the bench.) With that, it was a 30-3 game, but that was short-lived. The Gamblers answered by running the ensuing kickoff back 93 yards for a touchdown. Dallas added two more field goals, and Houston scored a touchdown in the fourth quarter before things ended. Up next: In Week 2, the Gamblers host the Stallions and the Renegades host the Battlehawks.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports