Category: News Feeds

“Why not us?” That’s the question U.S. men’s team manager Mauricio Pochettino is asking about the USA’s chances of winning the 2026 FIFA World Cup. And with the 26 players selected for this summer’s tournament, we can go a step further and see who may be the starters in the June 12 opener against Paraguay. FOX Sports soccer analysts Alexi Lalas and Stu Holden, alongside reporters Doug McIntyre and Laken Litman, give their starting XI projections. Go With A Back-Five Setup In goal, Lalas has Matt Freese over 2022 starter Matt Turner, a choice he acknowledges might not be the most popular, but one he would make nonetheless.While some modern coaches prefer to label the shape a “back three,” Lalas explained on Tuesday’s episode of “Alexi Lalas’ State of the Union” following the roster reveal that USA should embrace the defensive stability of a true back five.”A lot of times people say, ‘Oh, we’re playing a back three.’ When in reality, they’re really playing a back five. They just don’t want to say it, because it sounds defeatist,” Lalas said. “But this is a back five.” In theory, this structure would allow Antonee “Jedi” Robinson and Sergiño Dest to move forward as wing-backs while anchoring the central defense with the trio of Tim Ream, Chris Richards, and Alex Freeman.In front of them, Lalas deploys the proven, gritty pairing of midfielders Tyler Adams and Weston McKennie.By locking down the center of the pitch, that would free Christian Pulisic and Folarin Balogun to spearhead the attack alongside Tim Weah, whom Lalas insists must stay in his traditional, right-wing position rather than being asked to track back and defend. The Gio Reyna ‘Wrinkle’ Holden agreed on the defensive personnel but threw a curveball into the midfield room.Rather than playing it safe with a standard double-pivot, Stu introduced a fascinating “wrinkle” by dropping Gio Reyna into a deeper, tempo-setting role.”Here’s my little wrinkle… I’ve got Gio Reyna, playing a little bit deeper,” Holden said. “He’s a guy that I want him passing the ball forward from that position. I don’t think Tyler Adams is. It’s probably more likely, if I’m being honest, that McKinnie would be further back and Reyna further forward.”Backed by the safety net of three center-backs, Holden suggests Adams could function as a lone pivot, pushing McKennie and Reyna higher when in possession.Holden says the fluid 3-3-3-1 setup gives the U.S. unique tactical flexibility to break down low blocks. Our FOX Sports soccer writers Doug McIntyre and Laken Litman also contributed their starting projections. Let’s look at their takes: Adams, McKennie Man The Middle There were a few surprises in Mauricio Pochettino’s final 26-man World Cup roster, including midfielders Tanner Tessman and Diego Luna not making the squad. Both are dealing with injuries, and it’s unknown whether that played into their omissions. Tessman figured to be a potential starter, but with him not in the team, perhaps Pochettino uses just one holding midfielder in Adams with McKennie having freedom to roam, as he’s done quite successfully for club Juventus and for the U.S. team. He can come back and defend as well, but it appears Pochettino will opt to play three center backs with Robinson or Dest serving as wing backs who get forward. Balogun is the starting striker and this opening match vs. Paraguay is a huge opportunity to prove why he’s the No. 1 with Ricardo Pepi and Haji Wright chomping at the bit to get in there. – Laken Litman Dest Is More? Sergiño In Attack Pochettino’s roster selection is thin in the middle but deep on the flanks — an indication that the former Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea manager will play with three central defenders and two wing backs, which squeezes out another player, probably in the heart of the field. This could put extra responsibility on defensive midfielder Tyler Adams, who won’t have another ball-winner next to him. Pochettino isn’t worried, though, noting that several players can be deployed centrally in addition to the deep-lying Adams, including reserves Sebastian Berhalter and Cristian Roldan. Weah pairs with Jedi as the fullbacks, which would allow Dest to play more in a winger position up top, the spot where Pochettino has used him previously. Dest has always had an inclination to push forward and could provide support in the attack that already features playmakers Pulisic and McKennie. – Doug McIntyre 2026 FIFA World Cup: How To Watch The 2026 FIFA World Cup will run from June 11–July 19, 2026. Spread across three countries, the tournament will culminate with the final on July 19 at New York New Jersey Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. 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 app. A record 40 matches, more than one-third of the tournament, will air in prime time across FOX (21) and FS1 (19). The opening match on June 11 between Mexico and South Africa (3 p.m. ET) will stream for free on Tubi, as well as the USA’s opening match against Paraguay on June 12 (9 p.m. ET).​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

About two months into the season, the Cy Young picture is starting to separate into a few clear tiers. Injuries to reigning back-to-back winner Tarik Skubal and Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet have dramatically reshaped the American League race. Meanwhile, the National League remains centered around familiar dominance, with some fresh challengers entering the conversation. There are seven starting pitchers across both leagues with sub-2.00 ERAs. The last time that happened at this point in the season was in May 2015, featuring these arms leading the pack: Shelby Miller (ATL) 1.48 ERA; Zack Greinke (LAD) 1.48 ERA; Max Scherzer (WSH) 1.51 ERA; Dallas Keuchel (HOU) 1.76 ERA; AJ; Burnett (PIT) 1.81 ERA; Sonny Gray (ATH) 1.82 ERA; Felix Hernandez (SEA) 1.91 ERA. Keuchel won the AL Cy Young award that year, while Jake Arrieta (CHC) wound up besting Greinke for the NL Cy Young award. Who will shake things up this time around? Here’s our way-too-early check-in on the AL Cy Young award contenders: AMERICAN LEAGUE Frontrunners Schlittler leads the major leagues in ERA (1.50), and leads the AL in WHIP (0.84) and innings pitched (72), and is ranked third in the AL in strikeout rate (29.5%). Tha Yankees’ righty has proven that his impressive postseason performance last October was no fluke. The only concern remaining is how he will respond to surpassing his career innings total, particularly depending on how aggressively the Yankees deploy the 25-year-old down the stretch. Cease has hit the injured list for the first time in his career as he deals with a mild left hamstring strain, which is a blow to his Cy Young chances depending on how much time he needs to recover. But he’s not out of the race if he’s only sidelined for the minimum 15 days, and if he picks up some momentum again. Cease leads the AL with a 35.7% strikeout rate through 11 starts. He recorded a 3.05 ERA and 92 strikeouts over 62 innings. The typically durable Cease has made at least 32 starts in each of the past five seasons. The Blue Jays need him to bounce back amid their injury-plagued season. New Faces Soriano established himself as a frontline starter after recording a ridiculous 0.24 ERA in his first six starts, but his underlying metrics indicate he was getting lucky, as well as pitching better than his expected numbers. That’s part of why his 5.34 ERA over his last six starts isn’t all that surprising. Even if Soriano can’t maintain his initial brilliant pace all year, he can still be a legitimate Cy Young contender by season’s end. The South Sider’s emerging ace went from recording a 4.10 ERA in 25 starts and 142.2 innings last year, to posting a 2.04 ERA and the highest win total (7) in the AL across 10 starts this year. Per FanGraphs WAR, only three other starters have been more valuable than Martin this year. The biggest question is whether he will be able to continue throwing hitters off balance for the remainder of the year. Messick is not only going for the AL Cy Young, but he’s also a clear-cut Rookie of the Year contender after putting together strong outings against dominant, World-Series caliber lineups and suppressing hard contact. The most encouraging aspect of Messick’s Cy Young candidacy is that his expected numbers show that his 2.24 ERA over 11 outings and 64 innings is not an accident. More and more, Messick looks like the real deal. The 25-year-old should benefit greatly from this year’s wide-open race. If Everything Breaks Right Cole almost certainly won’t pitch enough innings for standard volume qualifications after missing the first two months of the season recovering from Tommy John surgery. But if he dominates opposing hitters all year like he did in his season debut, his proven track record has a chance to outweigh typical counting stats. A strong, comeback-player-of-the-year type of finish should grant him enough votes to make things interesting. Even despite the fact that his fastball velo is no longer as elite as it used to be, and his mechanics have changed over the years, deGrom still has exceptional execution and command, with a 29.8% strikeout rate that’s not so far off from what it was when he won the 2019 NL Cy Young award. As always, deGrom’s only real adversary here is his health. He finally completed 30 starts last year, and if he can slightly improve his numbers while running back the same workload, the two-time Cy Young winner has a shot to earn more hardware. AL honorable mentions: Gavin Williams (Guardians); Nick Martinez (Rays); Joe Ryan (Twins); Tarik Skubal (Tigers); Max Fried (Yankees); Kevin Gausman (Blue Jays) NATIONAL LEAGUE Frontrunners From last year’s All-Star Game snub to this year’s NL Cy Young award frontrunner, Sanchez is making sure everyone takes notice of how brilliantly he’s been pitching lately. Fresh off finishing a scoreless month of May, joining Orel Hershiser (Sept. 1988) as the only two pitchers since 1913 to go an entire calendar month without allowing a run, Sanchez is on a mission to win his first career Cy Young award. The southpaw owns a major league-leading 1.47 ERA across 12 starts this season. The hardware is his to lose. Of course, Skenes represents a worthy challenger to Sanchez. We’ve certainly seen surprising inconsistency from the reigning NL Cy Young award this year — he’s coughed up nine earned runs in his last two outings combined — to bring his season ERA up to 3.00. But he still leads MLB in WHIP (0.82), walks per nine innings (1.35), and strikeout-to-walk ratio (7.22) by a healthy margin. His quest for a second consecutive award will be an uphill battle, and he’s earned our trust to believe he can recover to pull it off. New Faces Misiorowski has been turning heads with his elite velocity and eye-popping strikeout numbers, making him a clear favorite to win the NL Cy Young award. His otherworldly 1.83 ERA through 11 starts is accompanied by a major league-leading 1.89 FIP, indicating his dominance is not going away any time soon. Misiorowski’s 100 strikeouts and 40.3% strikeout rate lead MLB, because his fastball is one of the nastiest pitches in the sport. It’s all about the slider for Burns, who is using his devastating breaking ball as his primary swing-and-miss pitch, getting a whiff 52.3% of the time that he throws it. Navigating his first full major-league season, Burns owns a 1.96 ERA and 0.96 WHIP in 11 starts for the Reds this year. That wipeout slider paired with a four-seam fastball that reaches triple digits has made Burns the breakout candidate of the year. If Everything Breaks Right Ohtani has pitched exceptionally as a starter, boasting a 0.73 ERA in eight outings while racking up 54 strikeouts in that stretch. But pitching on at least six days’ rest is hurting his stated goal of adding a Cy Young award to his decorated Hall of Fame career. He’s on pace to pitch 150 innings, and that’s not going to be enough alongside NL contenders who are showing no signs of slowing down, like Sanchez, Skenes, and Misiorowski. The Dodgers will likely have to adjust his pitching schedule down the stretch to include more frequent trips to the mound, making his candidacy more viable. The future walk-in Hall of Famer is putting together another vintage-Sale season, having recorded a sparkling 1.89 ERA and 0.87 WHIP through 10 starts this year. Even though he’s facing a crowded field this season, Sale should be considered right up there as a frontrunner for the award. His biggest enemy will be his health. If he can avoid a long stint on the injured list and show no signs of age-related decline, Sale’s dominance is an exciting addition to this year’s NL Cy Young race. All he has to do is maintain this run for about 20 more starts, which is easier said than done for most 37-year-old veterans in the league. NL honorable mentions: Yoshinobu Yamamoto (Dodgers); Bryce Elder (Braves); Nolan McLean (Mets); Kyle Harrison (Brewers); Max Meyer (Marlins) Deesha Thosar covers Major League Baseball as a reporter and columnist for FOX Sports. She previously covered the Mets as a beat reporter for the New York Daily News. The daughter of Indian immigrants, Deesha grew up on Long Island and now lives in Queens. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports