World Cup
World Cup 2026
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The 2026 FIFA World Cup gets underway in Mexico City this afternoon, and you can follow the latest tournament news and analysis right here.
We will be live every minute of every day for the next six weeks. Get involved by chatting with us here or by emailing live@theathletic.com.
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How to follow the 2026 men’s World Cup with The Athletic
Before heading back to the USMNT base camp and team hotel in Orange County, head coach Mauricio Pochettino met Jim Harbaugh, head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers — one of two NFL teams that play their home games in the stadium where Pochettino’s squad will take the pitch tomorrow.
Unclear if Pochettino taught Harbaugh how to say his favorite motivational catchphrase, “Who’s got it better than us?” in Spanish.
Los Angeles Linkup. 🤝 @chargers pic.twitter.com/xDwloZFu8A
The daily Pick'em consensus correctly picked Mexico to defeat South Africa. Can the consensus go 2-for-2?
After almost 24,000 votes, readers strongly favor South Korea to either win (50 percent) or draw (34 percent). Sixteen percent of voters are picking Czech Republic to pull off the upset.
Still waiting to get in your picks? Click here to visit our Pick'em page.
South Korea and Czech Republic are nearing kickoff for their World Cup schedules, and The Athletic has you covered with what you need to know before kickoff.
Check out our live blog for important and insightful information on this evening's match in Mexico City.
FIFA installing hydration breaks with an eye for revenue from advertisements was already a controversial topic. Some countries' broadcasts opted to stick to the live feed altogether.
But Fox, the USA broadcast, invited further controversy by playing ads over game action.
At around the 69:30 mark, players had to wait to resume play for the ad break, and when play resumed, Fox was still in the ad break and missed seconds of game action.
The Athletic's Henry Bushnell shares more on Fox's broadcast miscues and the reaction to hydration break advertisements (and, in some cases, absences) around the world.
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Fox uses World Cup hydration breaks for commercials – but leaves fans missing action
USMNT's secret weapon might just be their brotherhood. With the unique challenge of representing their country in a World Cup within their own borders, the United States players are embracing the moment and the friendships they have forged in assembling a golden generation of talents.
Christian Pulisic spoke about the team's close bonds today:
💬 “It helps, it just gives you that extra level of comfort. You want to fight for guys like that. I played with some of these guys for so long, you don’t want to let them down. You want to give them everything, you want to have their back always. And I think that pushes you through in tough times.”
Read more in this terrific feature from Paul Tenorio.
Canada's Alphonso Davies will not play in Canada's World Cup opening match against Bosnia and Herzegovina tomorrow.
Manager Jesse Marsch announced Davies' absence during a news conference today. Davies suffered a hamstring injury during a May 6 match for Bayern Munich.
💬 “We did an MRI with (Davies) yesterday. It showed very positive signs that he’s healing incredibly well, almost completely. We’re getting ready to ramp things up. I think that he’s showing, like he always has, a real good ability to recover from muscle injuries.”
Our Joshua Kloke provides further context into Davies' recovery in this article.
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Canada star Alphonso Davies ruled out of World Cup opener against Bosnia
Mauricio Pochettino says he’s not a fan of FIFA’s hydration breaks, saying they should only be used when the weather truly dictates it.
At this World Cup, there will be one hydration break in each half for every single game, even the ones that are indoors.
USMNT coach Mauricio Pochettino says in Spanish that this team is ready in all phases: tactical, physically, mentally and emotionally.
The Argentine manager is quite serious in this news conference. He's already in game mode. Seems ready to go right now. Sometimes Poch is a bit light-hearted and will joke in press conferences. All business here at the stadium in Los Angeles.
USMNT coach Mauricio Pochettino talked about how well the team has prepared for this tournament, not just physically and tactically, but mentally to prepare for the moment. He said he is quite happy with where the team is going into the opening game on Friday against Paraguay.
As attention turns to tomorrow's U.S. and Canada openers, USMNT coach Mauricio Pochettino confirms that defender Chris Richards is "available" for the match against Paraguay.
Pochettino didn't say that Richards would start… but he surely will.
A local reporter in Chattanooga, Tenn. got quite a shock today when finding Spain superstar Lamine Yamal pushing a shopping cart out of a Walmart in nearby Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia.
Lamine Yamal at the Fort O Walmart. This can’t be real life.
Dude is bigger than any superstar that we have seen in this area. pic.twitter.com/s0nKiUZbE3
An Airbnb in outside of Boston appears to have been overtaken by British forces in a way not seen since 1775.
In the dead of night the Scots arrived at the Airbnb across the street. Decked out and playing the pipes at 6:30 am. So it begins… pic.twitter.com/LczU1loVXp
A whopping 93 percent of readers playing our daily Pick'em game correctly predicted that Mexico would defeat South Africa in today's World Cup opener.
If you're among the 93 percent, congratulations! You are one winner down, and only need 103 winners to go your way for perfection.
Want to still participate but did not get in your picks before kickoff? Click here to make your Pick'em selections and prove your World Cup prognostication skills.
The opening match of the tournament between Mexico and South Africa was certainly an eventful one, with three players sent off as co-hosts Mexico won 2-0.
Julian Quinones scored the opening goal of the tournament in Mexico City early on and almost added a second before half-time.
South Africa’s Yaya Sithole was sent off after the break for bringing down Brian Gutiérrez on the edge of the penalty area, with Mexico’s striker Raul Jimenez adding the second goal shortly after the hour mark; his first World Cup goal at the age of 35.
Things got worse for South Africa when Themba Zwane was then dismissed for violent conduct. But he wasn’t the last player to go, with Mexican captain and centre back Cesar Montes dismissed in stoppage time for a lazy challenge when his side were coasting to victory.
Check out our reaction to the match here
Toronto’s fan festival today is apparently cancelled due to lightning.
Out of an abundance of caution, the FIFA Fan Festival Toronto is being evacuated due to risk of lightning.
The decision was not made lightly, however safety is our utmost priority. FIFA Fan Festival Toronto will not reopen tonight. pic.twitter.com/7ZeANxHGtT
Latest update in the ongoing viral embrace between Algeria and the residents of their home base in Lawrence, Kansas: Star and former Manchester City man Riyad Mahrez showing off his basketball skills at the famous Phog Allen Fieldhouse on the University of Kansas campus.
The university, which is located in Lawrence, has one of the most prestigious men’s college basketball programs in the country.
Riyad Mahrez in the cathedral of college basketball 👀 pic.twitter.com/rqXj3RCQvO
One of the great traditions during the World Cup is when people put flags on their cars.
It's already begun leading up to the World Cup in Toronto but as I walked around my local neighbourhood today, I found it more plentiful.
This person has both Portugal and England flags on both front windows. Portugal has yet to win a World Cup and England hasn’t won since 1966 (is it coming home?).
I've also seen two cars with Germany flags. There's a big German population in Toronto and Germany is one of the countries playing a group stage World Cup match in the city.
Finally, I did spot a Canadian flag on a car. The excitement is building 24 hours until Canada’s opening World Cup match in Toronto against Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Notable: Former USWNT star and current Fox Sports analyst not a fan of the hydration breaks.
I hate it. https://t.co/wSccS6JIR4
In his news conference before USMNT's World Cup opener, Christian Pulisic demonstrated poise and calm that belied his status as the Americans' biggest star.
From Pulisic:
💬 “I feel a lot more calm and comfortable as a player going into this (World Cup), as opposed to the last one."
Henry Bushnell has more on Pulisic's mentality heading into the World Cup.
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Christian Pulisic welcomes the weight of a home World Cup where his stardom could skyrocket