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Sergiño Dest scored the US’s opener on Sunday thanks a collection of little actions from his teammatesThe United States men’s national team has undergone considerable change from one window to the next throughout Mauricio Pochettino’s tenure. And it makes some sense; the Argentine had plenty of first-hand assessments to conduct, limiting the core group’s ability to iron out patterns of play and forge partnerships.Still, amid all that turnover, Antonee Robinson and Sergiño Dest were expected to remain the first-choice options at full-back (or wing-back, depending on the system) for the 2026 World Cup. Both had been essential in the 2022 cycle, after all, and continued to fare well when healthy for their club teams (Fulham for Robinson, and PSV for Dest). That “when healthy” caveat has worked overtime throughout Pochettino’s nineteen months in charge, though, with Dest suffering a torn ACL just before the 2024 Copa América and Robinson missing for much of last fall due to knee issues.On Sunday, in Pochettino’s 25th game as USMNT boss, he picked Robinson and Dest as starters together for the first time. With the tandem restored, the US looked like a much more thrilling and dependable version of itself.Robinson and Dest fit the modern job description for wide defenders, although they’re hardly clones of one another. Robinson is more positionally measured, comfortable staying along the touchline and occasionally dropping into the channel to join the midfield. Dest carries a bit more dynamism, popping up all over the field to capitalize on whatever opponents offer. Both players have shown a knack for the give-and-go, and are able to forge passing triangles in tandem with defenders, midfielders, and forwards alike.They’re complementary profiles that dovetail nicely with the other presumptive US starters. The benefits each player brings were on full display on the opening goal in a 3-2 win over Senegal.Five minutes after the opening whistle, Ricardo Pepi – making his first US start since 18 November 2024 – forced Senegal goalkeeper Mory Diaw to clear the ball toward midfield thanks to some tireless one-man pressing. Thereafter Pochettino’s side began a lengthy sequence of possession, with Dest joining the line of attackers beneath Pepi while right center-back Alex Freeman shifted wider, occupying a traditional station for a right-back. The 21-year-old’s Freeman’s rapid rise from the Orlando City academy to the USMNT and Villarreal has been among the US player pool’s most vital developments. The son of former NFL great Antonio, Freeman has exceptional vision and understanding of how to maximize the freedom that accompanies a wide center-back role.In this instance, his versatility in shifting wide allowed Dest to stay in the US’s most advanced line as Tim Ream prodded the ball to Robinson along the opposite flank.Meanwhile, Christian Pulisic and Pepi scampered off the ball to offer Robinson his next option. With Krépin Diatta committing to close down Robinson’s dribbling lane along the touchline, the wing-back opted for Pepi’s lateral run into the channel.OFten an understudy since Folarin Balogun committed to the US over England and Nigeria, Pepi is still arguably the pool’s best hold-up forward – an argument aided by what he did next. As two opponents converge to force him into a turnover, Pepi spotted Pulisic making a direct run up the channel with minimal obstruction remaining between him and the goalkeeper.With the defenders committed, Pepi paid homage to his time in the Eredivisie with his take on a Cruyff turn, threading a ball between them and into Pulisic’s stride without overpowering it back into open territory.Here is where Dest’s loitering paid off. With Pepi having drifted wide to help with the buildup, the nominal right back offered Pulisic a potential target in the box.Pulisic rewarded his run with a low cross just outside the six-yard box, and Dest powered it into the net beyond a helpless Diaw.In total, the US strung together 20 passes in 64 seconds between Diaw’s clearance and Dest’s goal. Those final four passes – from Ream to Robinson to Pepi to Pulisic to Dest – took the team from inside its own half to a tap-in in just ten seconds. It’s a sequence that simply can’t happen on the international stage without some well-forged chemistry.Combinations like the ones maximized in this sequence haven’t been repeated often during the new manager’s surveil of the player pool. Those efforts unearthed understudies and alternatives, like Freeman and backup left-back Max Arfsten, but it has left Pochettino’s side without a distinct tactical identity amid all of his chopping and changing.You can still catch glimpses of this lack of understanding in the United States’ momentary lapses, as seen on Sadio Mané’s first goal to bring Senegal back into the game. Already up 2-0, Robinson attempted a one-two with Adams, another pair that hadn’t started alongside one another since November 2024. While Robinson was able to nutmeg his mark, the ball was undercooked and easy for Diatta to seize, beginning a break upfield that required just two passes to turn the turnover into a goal.On the whole, though, the US looked more in sync on Sunday than they have in a while; a vital step to restore hope around this team. The returnees who brought the US to the round of 16 in 2022 are refining those past combinations while forging new ones with newer members like Freeman and Sebastian Berhalter. Effective pressing and off-ball movement requires such cohesion, and they’ll need it.The US should expect to face a low block against its first two group stage opponents (Paraguay and Australia) before a stakes-dependent showdown with Turkey that could offer scarce openings behind the backline. Senegal proved more adventurous than any of these group opponents, stationing its block further upfield, so it’s possible that spaces like those seen on Dest’s goal will be much harder to come by.For now, however, there’s reason for optimism once again around the tournament co-host. Pulisic is back among the goals. The US has beaten a second opponent in four games among the world’s top dozen. And with Robinson and Dest maximizing wide areas together at last, those byways to advance upfield have reopened just in time.

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Côte d’Ivoire players celebrate after a goal against Gambia. Photograph: Sia Kambou/AFP/Getty ImagesReturning to the world stage after 12 years the 2023 African champions are ambitious and have plenty of options in attackThis article is part of the Guardian’s 2026 World Cup Experts’ Network, a cooperation between some of the best media organisations from the 48 countries who qualified. theguardian.com is running previews from three countries each day in the run-up to the tournament kicking off on 11 June.Côte d’Ivoire return to the world stage for the first time since the golden years of the early 2010s. They do not quite have the star power of old but their squad is packed with recognisable faces to fans in Europe’s top leagues. The 2023 Africa Cup of Nations winners, on home soil, usually play 4-3-3 although there are questions over who will play in arguably the most important position: holding midfield. Jean Michaël Seri, the 34-year-old former Fulham and Hull midfielder, had made the position his own but hasn’t been the same since spending a year out of the game with an ankle injury. Nottingham Forest’s Ibrahim Sangaré is expected to step into the breach.The coach, Emerse Faé, prefers a style of play that prioritises defensive solidity and relies on the individual qualities of wingers on the counterattack. Les Éléphants did not concede a single goal in 10 qualifying matches to get here. Their defence, which sometimes evolves into a back three, is led by Roma’s Evan N’Dicka, whose revolving defensive partners include Atalanta’s Odilon Kossounou and Reims’ Emmanuel Agbadou. Franck Kessié, formerly of Barcelona and Milan, still runs the midfield and wears the captain’s armband. Then Faé has a wealth of options in attack such as Nicolas Pépé, Amad Diallo and Yan Diomandé. Evann Guessand may bear the weight of expectation in the absence of a Didier Drogba-type figure up front.Absent in 2018 and 2022, Côte d’Ivoire want to make the most of their return to the big time and the president of their federation has set expectations high. “The fixed objective is to play at least six games, which is the quarter-finals,” said Yacine Idriss Diallo. He will want to move on from a disappointing Afcon defence in January, exiting to Egypt at the quarter-finals in Morocco. Friendly wins in March (1-0 v Scotland and 4-0 v South Korea) showed signs of promise.“I’m not going to the United States for a holiday,” Emerse Faé has said. “I’m a competitor and my objective is to go as far as possible. Why not win it?” The former midfielder has been on the coaching staff since 2022, initially as an assistant to Jean-Louis Gasset. After Gasset was sacked, remarkably mid-tournament at a home Afcon in 2024, Faé stepped in and led the hosts to their third continental title. This has been the 42-year-old’s first job as a head coach after he had spells in charge of youth teams at Nice and Clermont in France. This is his second World Cup experience having played for Côte d’Ivoire at their debut in 2006.Nicolas Pépé arrives at the World Cup in perfect shape to lead Côte d’Ivoire from the front. The former Arsenal winger was nominated for the player of the season award in La Liga after a fine campaign with third-place Villarreal that included eight goals and eight assists. The left-footer excels coming in off the right wing but can also play as a second striker. His main qualities lie in his dribbling but he’s not shy of letting fly when in range. Absent from Afcon in Morocco owing to personal reasons, this is a first, and probably last, World Cup for ‘Nico’ after winning his first cap 10 years ago. “I’m 30 now and I don’t see myself staying with the national team until 34 to play at the next World Cup,” he has admitted.Christ Inao is the present and the future of the Côte d’Ivoire side. The 19-year-old is a risk-taking midfielder who has enjoyed a breakthrough season in senior football with Trabzonspor in Turkey. He won his first cap last November and played his way into the starting lineup during the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco. After impressing in the Super Lig and winning the Turkish Cup, Trabzonspor hope to make a handsome profit on any future sale of Inao. Some standout displays this summer could increase that margin.Franck Kessié has been a Côte d’Ivoire international since 2014, winning his first cap a few months after their last World Cup appearance in Brazil. Now, at 29, he is the captain and yet still goes under the radar. The box-to-box midfielder provides much-needed balance to Faé’s team and does a lot of the dirty work. He left Barcelona for Al-Ahli in 2023 and has won back to back AFC Champions League titles with the Saudi Arabian club, being named best player in the competition this past season. A serial winner, Kessié also has league medals from Serie A and La Liga.Not many Ivorians will make the trip to North America owing to a number of administrative constraints placed on citizens of Côte d’Ivoire who want to enter the United States. It will be down to the diaspora already in the States to bring the noise, although their group fixture against Germany will take place in Toronto. The other two are in Philadelphia, where the team are based. Expect to see some familiar colours: the flag is very similar to Ireland’s and the team strip is like the bright orange of the Netherlands. Song and dance, and a dose of humour, form the base of the Ivorian support.Everyone in Côte d’Ivoire is happy to be back at a World Cup for the first time in 12 years. No comments have been made by the federation or players regarding politics in any of the host nations, including the United States, nor about the ticket costs. The Trump administration said in May that Côte d’Ivoire fans would be exempt from paying the $15,000 visa deposit to enter the US if they had valid match tickets, but that was way too late for the majority of people who had considered going. Côte d’Ivoire was one of a number of countries affected by the Trump administration’s cuts to USAID, with bilateral deals for public health aid agreed instead.Written by Prince Akabla for Le Kpakpato Sportif.

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Australia pose following victory in the Fifa Series match between the Socceroos and Curacao. Photograph: Graham Denholm/Getty ImagesTony Popovic has brought discipline and structure as the Socceroos target their first knockout win in a World CupThis article is part of the Guardian’s 2026 World Cup Experts’ Network, a cooperation between some of the best media organisations from the 48 countries who qualified. theguardian.com is running previews from three countries each day in the run-up to the tournament kicking off on 11 June.The Socceroos are stepping into the unknown as much as any side with a new crop of eye-catching attacking talents playing alongside a more experienced midfield and defensive core. Qualification for a sixth consecutive World Cup was sealed without needing to tread carefully through the playoffs for the first time since 2014, but only after a change of direction when Tony Popovic replaced Graham Arnold as the head coach.The renowned disciplinarian demanded a greater physical intensity and defensive zeal in all areas of the field, with results quickly improving and building into an eight-match unbeaten run that locked in a World Cup spot. The Socceroos have suffered from mixed fortunes since then as Popovic has cast the net wider to give opportunities to fringe players and the next generation.The side have become better organised defensively with three centre-backs, two wing backs and a pair of battle-hardened midfielders, a common set up especially in first halves when Popovic likes to keep contests tight. The emergence of young forwards Nestory Irankunda and Mohamed Touré – and Jordan Bos on a wing – adds a spark to the lineup and can be especially threatening on a counterattack late in games. The inclusion of Cristian Volpato, who switched his allegiance from Italy to Australia at the last minute, offers another potentially exciting option.After reaching the last 16 for the second time, in 2022, the hope is that the Socceroos can win a first knockout game. It will be easier said than done while starting in an evenly matched group but, as is his way, Popovic has insisted the side are up to the challenge. “We’re always deemed as the underdog or the team that will be fighting for the bottom spot and we have an opportunity through our actions and our performances and results to show that that can be different,” the Socceroos coach said in early May.Tony Popovic coaches like he played as a hard-nosed defender in his 58 matches for the Socceroos, including being part of the renowned 2006 World Cup squad. The 52-year-old values substance over style, but finds a way to make it work with a coaching record that includes two A-League premierships and an Asian Champions League crown. Popovic quickly put his fingerprints all over the Socceroos when taking charge in September 2024 with their World Cup qualification hopes floundering. His steely determination and the side’s newfound sharper edge booked their ticket to a sixth consecutive global showpiece. Now they are ready to face arguably the trickiest group.The Socceroos lack star power, but Nestory Irankunda is their human highlight reel. The 20-year-old attacker launches rockets from outside the area, beats defenders with pace and has a bag full of tricks. He often celebrates his goals with a backflip and a Michael Jackson dance move. This tournament can be the stage for Irankunda to bring those talents to the world. Meanwhile, Mohamed Touré may just upstage his childhood friend if he can carry his red-hot goalscoring form from club to country.Jordan Bos has become a darling among the most ardent Socceroos fans. He could soon bring himself to the attention of the country. The 23-year-old has lit up the Eredivisie in his first season with Feyenoord, becoming the first Australian to win a player of the month award in the Netherlands’ top flight. Bos’s pace, power and technique down the left flank are a huge asset for club and country, whether he is picked as an attack-minded wingback or as part of the midfield. He can also be dangerous near goal and recently scored in three consecutive appearances for the Socceroos.Alessandro Circati flies under the radar with a role at centre-back, but the 22-year-old has quickly emerged as one of the most important pieces of Popovic’s Socceroos puzzle. His physicality sets the tone while his composure calms the nerves – while also having the skill and polish on the ball that helps turn defence into attack. Circati’s standing within the team was revealed when he became the youngest player to captain the side, in a friendly against New Zealand last year. The defender has also risen through the ranks at Parma in line with the club’s rise from Serie B to Serie A and should relish the opportunity to test himself at the highest level.When it comes to the World Cup, Australia’s fans fall into three groups. The national sporting psyche is subconsciously activated and even the most sport-agnostic find themselves shaking their fists at the TV. The sport-appreciators quickly rekindle their love of the round-ball game and wonder why they don’t watch more. The tried and true Australian football devotees shout from the rooftops “we’ve been here all along” as the country duly unites around them and the men in green and gold. Some will make the trip, but many may have been turned off by costs and uncertainty on the ground. At home, the unusually agreeable kick-off times lend themselves to full pubs, watch parties or office huddles. A national crisis was averted when the decision to ban screenings of matches at Melbourne’s Federation Square was overturned in less than 24 hours.While Australian politicians toe the line on Donald Trump, refusing to call out even his most egregious statements for what they are, one outspoken Socceroos veteran has not been shy. The St Pauli captain and midfielder Jackson Irvine has become the leading critic of Fifa among current players and took aim at football’s governing body for awarding a peace prize to the US president. “As an organisation, you would have to say decisions like the one that we saw awarding this peace prize makes a mockery of what they’re trying to do with the human rights charter and trying to use football as a global driving force for good and positive change in the world,” Irvine said.

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Pulisic scores and assists in first half to break rotten runSergiño Dest opens scoring just seven minutes inUS final tune-up comes v Germany on 6 June in ChicagoChristian Pulisic broke a nearly six-month period without a goal on Sunday, assisting on the US opener and scoring a lovely goal himself not long afterward to lead the US to a 3-2 victory against Senegal in Charlotte, North Carolina.Playing in front of 57,741 in the first of two send-off matches ahead of this summer’s World Cup, the US looked lively throughout the match, a far cry from the dour pair of performances they put in against Portugal and Belgium in March. And the sterling performance from Pulisic, perhaps their most important attacking player, offers plenty of reasons for optimism for a program that had few of those after the two-loss March international window.The encouraging effort did leave lingering questions, though, about the US’s ability to defend and manage games. Senegal’s Sadio Mané scored just before and after half-time, with both goals coming off of US defensive breakdowns, continuing a troubling trend for the Americans.In other cycles, send-off matches have served largely as a celebratory tour for the team, an opportunity to make tiny adjustments and build confidence. The buildup to this World Cup has felt different, as US head coach Mauricio Pochettino has faced a bevy of questions ahead of an all-important tournament on home soil.Pulisic’s poor form aside, Pochettino has yet to name a starting goalkeeper and neither Matt Turner, who started on Sunday, nor NYC FC’s Matt Freese has emerged as a clear frontrunner. Questions have lingered, as well, about the US’s mentality, and about the exclusion of a handful of players from Pochettino’s 26-man roster.Pochettino’s lineup on Sunday was a mix of locked-on starters and reserves. Midfielder Gio Reyna made his first start for club or country since November 2025, when the US beat Paraguay in a friendly. Turner, fresh off a run of excellent club form with the New England Revolution, got the nod in goal. Pochettino also started Pulisic, perhaps seeking to give the Milan midfielder another chance to break his dry spell.Pulisic did so 19 minutes into a match that already felt firmly in the US’s grasp. PSV forward Ricardo Pepi, who was excellent throughout his 45-minute stint, found Pulisic with a through ball 20 yards from goal. A deft first touch towards the far side of the box took Senegal goalkeeper Mory Diaw out of the play and Pulisic’s right-footed, angled finish put the US ahead 2-0.Pulisic was involved in the US opener, as well, which was among the nicer team goals they’ve scored in quite some time, a 10-pass sequence capped off by PSV wing-back Sergiño Dest. US captain Tim Ream found Fulham’s Antonee Robinson at the near sideline. Robinson found Pepi further upfield, who slyly found Pulisic running towards goal. Pulisic’s pinpoint cross across the face of goal was touched home by Dest.The assist was Pulisic’s first international goal contribution since September 2025, when he notched an assist in the US’s 2-0 friendly victory over Japan.Senegal entered Sunday’s match having put together convincing wins over the Gambia and Peru in March. Arguably Africa’s best team – they somewhat controversially won the 2025 Afcon final before being stripped of the title – the Lions of Teranga are preparing for their fourth World Cup. Mané’s well-taken goal came off an errant pass from Robinson, with Tyler Adams beaten to the final ball as well.The US made wholesale changes at half-time, replacing every player on the pitch except for midfielder Sebastian Berhalter and, surprisingly, inserting Brady in goal. Brady, the presumed third-choice for the US, has been arguably the best keeper in MLS in recent months, thrusting him back into the already-murky pecking order. He did little to help his case on Sunday.Just minutes into the second half, Senegal equalized. Miles Robinson’s poor back pass was pounced on by Mané, who crashed goalwards. Brady was late off his line and unable to intervene.Conceding within minutes of half-time has become a habit of the US, who gave up goals within 10 minutes of the half-time whistle in both March friendlies. In their 2-0 loss against Portugal, they very nearly did so on both sides of it.The US’s third and final goal came off the right foot of Folarin Balogun in the 62nd minute. Weston McKennie, who found himself in the final third after pressing Senegal’s backline moments earlier, controlled the ball at the near edge of the area, feeding Timothy Weah out wide. His well-hit cross was deflected but found Balogun, who sealed the victory for the US.For as many conclusions may be drawn from this game, there’s no clear correlation between how the US play in send-off matches and how they perform at a World Cup. The US beat up on Venezuela and Latvia in 2006 before laying an egg in the group stage not long after. In 2002, just before the USassembled their best World Cup finish in the modern era, they played a lackluster friendly against the Netherlands.The US have never lost both send-off matches ahead of a World Cup, though – and Sunday’s result ensures they won’t break that record. More importantly, the win served as a much-needed boost of confidence to US players and fans alike.

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Hakan Calhanoglu is the elder statesman in a new-look Turkey team. Photograph: Armend Nimani/AFP/Getty ImagesVincenzo Montella has created harmony in the squad to mould one of the country’s strongest teams ever around a generational talent in Arda GulerThis article is part of the Guardian’s 2026 World Cup Experts’ Network, a cooperation between some of the best media organisations from the 48 countries who qualified. theguardian.com is running previews from three countries each day in the run-up to the tournament kicking off on 11 June.The last time Turkey made it to the World Cup, Arda Guler and Kenan Yildiz were not even born. After a 24-year hiatus, the Crescent Stars ended their exile by navigating a tense playoff path, eliminating Romania and then Kosovo. The coach, Vincenzo Montella, has guided the national team to back-to-back international tournaments with arguably their strongest squad ever.Turkey lost one game in their qualifying campaign – against Spain, the reigning European champions – picking up 13 out of 18 points. “I wouldn’t trade these players for anyone,” Montella said after the Kosovo win. “They have shown they can make sacrifices.”Guler and Yildiz were just breaking into the team at Euro 2024; the team now revolves around the duo. Turkish football has built a reputation for throwing around the term wonderkid loosely, but Guler, of Real Madrid, and Yildiz, of Juventus, merit the title.Ugurcan Cakir is a safe pair of hands and heads into the tournament having lifted the league title with Galatasaray. A centre-back pairing of Abdulkerim Bardakci and Merih Demiral provide a fairly solid defence. The right-back Ferdi Kadioglu is well known to Brighton fans after a terrific season. Hakan Calhanoglu is now the elder statesman and has assumed a deep-lying playmaker role, while Besiktas’s Orkun Kokcu is in hot form and could make a name for himself.The team is young, but the spine remains largely unchanged from the Euros two years ago. And the same problem persists: Montella does not have a proven striker. The position is up for grabs, with Eintracht Frankfurt’s Can Uzun a contender. The side will enter the World Cup capable of magic and madness.Vincenzo Montella has been the architect behind the national team’s resurgence since his appointment in 2023. L’Aeroplanino – ‘the little airplane’ – has fully immersed himself in the culture and he definitely gets the Turkish psyche. “Turkish culture is very close to that of the place where I spent my childhood. I was born and raised near Naples,” he says. Montella has managed the team better than most Turkish coaches of the past. Gone are the major fractures or squabbles between players and staff. The Italian’s default is a 4-2-3-1 setup, but he is not afraid to mix things up and has proven to be an astute tactician. Montella is a stylish, composed, likable character who has built one of the strongest Turkey teams in modern history.Arda Guler has successfully managed the transition from prodigy to established force at Real Madrid. The 21-year-old is unfazed by pressure, which is a blessing considering the weight of the country’s expectations are on his shoulders. Described by Thierry Henry as “an undisputed, elite world-class talent”, he is the creative spark in this team with an eye for goal. The midfielder has risen to the occasion for his country when called upon. The national team is not short on talent, but there is no doubt that Guler is a gamechanger.An argument could be made for Kenan Yildiz – whose surname does mean star – being just as important and talented as Güler. Long tipped for success since making a name for himself in the Bayern Munich academy, Yildiz has come into his own at Juventus and is poised for a breakthrough on the world stage. The charismatic forward has technical elegance and physical power in equal measure, a joy to watch for the neutral, and loves to take on defenders. While Montella is not yet clear on who his No 9 will be, Yildiz is a winger with an eye for goal. With 11 goals and 10 assists for Juventus last season, and three goals in qualifying for Turkey, he could be the outlet for his team.Orkun Kokcu’s move from Benfica to Besiktas last year appeared strange on the face of it. But it made more sense after he revealed it was a childhood dream to play for the Black Eagles and it has turned into an inspired move. A hard worker who does the dirty work that often gets unnoticed, he also plays a key role in attack. Kokcu scored 10 goals and provided nine assists for Besiktas in all competitions; impressive numbers for a central midfielder. The 25-year-old possesses impressive technique and passing range and, like Ferdi Kadioglu, was born in the Netherlands.While not comparable to the Turkish diaspora in Europe, there is a sizeable community in the US, with estimates ranging from 250,000 to 500,000. Turkey fans do not get the opportunity to see the national team often at the World Cup, but considering the distance and the exuberant price of travel and tickets there will not be many organised ultra groups making the trip. Expect lots of flags, but not so many flares.Turkey-US relations are less complicated than some of their neighbours in the region. There are no major diplomatic rows and Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Donald Trump get along well. After a phone call on 20 May Trump said: “Isn’t it nice to have relationships with some very tough people? He’s a tough guy, and I have a relationship with him that nobody else has.” Hopefully, though, the focus will be on football, which is a relief considering Turkey and the US are in the same group.Written by Emre Sarigul for Turkish-Football.com.

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Álex Arce of Paraguay celebrates after qualifying for the World Cup. Photograph: Christian Alvarenga/Getty ImagesAfter a public holiday was declared to celebrate World Cup qualification, expect a physical Paraguay side well prepared for intense conditionsThis article is part of the Guardian’s 2026 World Cup Experts’ Network, a cooperation between some of the best media organisations from the 48 countries who qualified. theguardian.com is running previews from three countries each day in the run-up to the tournament kicking off on 11 June.Paraguay earned their place on football’s greatest stage by going back to their roots: defensive strength and collective intensity. For years the team tried to play a possession-based game without succeeding in either defence or attack. Then, in August 2024, Gustavo Alfaro arrived with a clear message from day one: “Paraguayan DNA, intensity and clean sheets. That’s what will take us to the World Cup.” He was not wrong.The Argentinian coach remained faithful to the 4-4-2 formation in almost every match, only switching to a back five in the high-altitude games against Ecuador and Bolivia. At the World Cup he seems most likely to favour that classic 4-4-2, with perhaps an occasional 4-2-3-1.Since replacing Daniel Garnero – sacked after a dismal Copa América – Alfaro has transformed the team. From his first match, away against Uruguay in Montevideo, Paraguay looked a different side. Subsequent home victories against Brazil and Argentina convinced even the biggest skeptics that the “new” Albirroja was real.During qualifying, Paraguay lost only once away under Alfaro, against Brazil. They earned heroic draws in Bolivia, 4,100m above sea level, in Ecuador at 2,800m, and in the suffocating heat and humidity of Barranquilla against Colombia. Qualification was sealed with a tense 0-0 draw at home against Ecuador. The result triggered euphoria and the country’s president, Santiago Peña, declared the following day a national holiday.While Paraguay’s greatest strength lies in their intensity and physicality, they can also produce good football, building smoothly from the back and relying on the gamechanging talent of Julio Enciso.Gustavo Alfaro has inspired the rebirth of the national team after years of failure. The Argentinian retired as a footballer in 1992, aged 30, to concentrate on a burgeoning coaching career. Relying on toughness and defensive discipline, Alfaro guided humble Arsenal de Sarandí to glory winning the 2007 Copa Sudamericana and the 2012 Argentinian Primera División. Those triumphs defined his whole career and he is still regarded as a defensive coach. He once used a quote widely attributed to the former basketball player and executive Pat Riley to explain his philosophy: “If I want to build an offensive team, the first thing I have to do is work on defensive discipline, otherwise my ass is going to be out of here.”One of his greatest achievements came when he led a young Ecuador side to the 2022 World Cup. A well-read man, who often uses philosophical phrases in press conferences to explain things, Alfaro is also known as “El Cazador (The Hunter)” in reference to the book he wrote after taking La Tri to Qatar, titled Cazadores de Utopías Imposibles, Hunters of Impossible Utopias.Julio Enciso. One of the greatest players produced by Paraguayan football in the last 20 years. La Joya (The Jewel) amazed with his talent in Libertad – who gave jobs to both his mother, a house cleaner, and his father, a street vendor, to convince them to move to Asunción when their son was just 12 – and debuted for the national team at 17 before making the bold leap to the Premier League. He had some good moments in Brighton, scoring a Puskás Award-worthy screamer against Man City, however injuries and managerial changes gradually eroded his impact.Enciso got married and found a new beginning in Strasbourg, where he currently plays. Fast and direct, a difference-maker, a gamechanger in the final third, Enciso is a special talent. In honour of his grandfather, he fulfilled his dream of playing in a World Cup: “I dedicate this to him. He’s surely watching me from heaven.”Damián Bobadilla. Unlike his father, the former goalkeeper Aldo Bobadilla, Damián Bobadilla never put on the gloves. And it’s a good thing he didn’t – he has become an excellent midfielder. But his father remains his great hero. “My dad didn’t have a cape, but he flew from post to post,” he once said affectionately. Bobadilla burst onto the scene at his boyhood club Cerro Porteño in 2021, showing all the strengths of a high-quality box-to-box midfielder: physicality, calmness, and clever decision-making. Since 2024 he has been playing for São Paulo in Brazil’s top division, where he has already established himself as one of the team’s key players. Now 24, if he continues performing at this level he looks ready for the next big step in his career.The entire team structure relies on Andrés Cubas. He provides balance, wins duels and fights for every ball as if it were his last challenge. Although he is primarily a defensive midfielder, Cubas is also capable of initiating quick transitions into attack after regaining possession. Born in Argentina, and a former Argentina international at under-20 level, Cubas promised his mother – who was born in Paraguay – that he would represent her country if he was given the chance. At 5ft 6in he is not physically imposing, but his intelligence, positioning and tenacity more than make up for it.Travel agencies in Paraguay are offering round-trip packages to the United States that include tickets to all three group-stage matches, with prices starting from US$20,000 (£15,000). Considering the average monthly wage in the country is around $450 it is an enormous sum. Nevertheless, thousands of Paraguayans fans are expected to make the journey to the World Cup after a 16-year absence. The streets of Inglewood and Santa Clara are likely to be filled with red, white and blue – not the stars and stripes, but the traditional Tricolor of Paraguay and the Albirroja jersey. And those colours will be joined by the iconic chanting: “La Albirroooo, la Albirroooo, la Albirroja, la Albirroooo!” on repeat.Paraguay and the US have been long-term allies and there has been little to suggest that is about to change: Peña, the 47-year-old who has served as president of Paraguay since 2023, described Donald Trump’s reelection as “a dream come true”, while Marco Rubio described Peña as a “strong American ally”. Earlier this year, however, Trump described his Paraguayan counterpart as a “young, handsome guy”, which turned out not to be as positive as it initially appears. “It’s always nice to be young and handsome. It doesn’t mean we have to like you,” Trump continued. “I don’t like young, handsome men. Women, I like. Men, I don’t have any interest.”Written by Christian Pérez and Óscar Gómez for VS Sports.

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Injuries forced late decisions, but Jesse Marsch remains convinced this is the strongest squad Canada has ever assembled. Now comes the harder question: can they finally deliver on home soil?The only surprise is that we were surprised. In his final moments of deliberation Jesse Marsch looked at the options in front of him and chose speed. Why change the habit of a lifetime?Jacob Shaffelburg was the final winner on Friday night as Marsch named his 26-man World Cup squad in a primetime TV address to the co-host nation. The LAFC winger was likely Mr 26 as Canada’s American head coach cut six names from a group of 32 he’d named earlier in the week. Fitness, particularly in defense, was the factor which had forced Marsch to bring the expanded group to camp in Charlotte. Most acutely, the health or otherwise of captain Alphonso Davies occupies so many Canadian thoughts and will continue to do so. The Bayern Munich man didn’t make it as far as North Carolina but will join his 25 teammates on home soil in the coming days.In his late shuffling Marsch stacked defense and midfield and named four strikers. Nonetheless he’s adamant that the slew of health issues won’t affect his squad on their mission to deliver history at home.“Guys are getting healthy, I promise you,” said Marsch. “The reason we put this squad together is because these guys are all trending in the direction, they’re looking ready to go. We have really our best group of 26 players that this country has ever assembled at any one time.”It is both a quirk and a concern that the one area of the roster which was fully known ahead of time also contains Canada’s biggest unknown.Marsch has done many things in two whirlwind years at the helm where Fifa ranking and World Cup expectations rose. What he hasn’t done, remarkably, is pick a No 1. His indecision between Maxime Crépeau and Dayne St Clair rolls on to Edmonton on Monday night where Canada face Uzbekistan in the first of two pre-tournament tests. Both will get 45 minutes, continuing this prolonged timeshare between the posts.What hasn’t helped is that both come into the World Cup on the back of struggles in MLS. Just as Crépeau felt slightly favored he’s been torched for 38 goals in 14 games this season. His experience and authority may swing it but the indecision must end.The first men’s World Cup to land on Canadian soil took its sweet time getting here. For Marsch’s injury-ravaged defense, every extra minute has been priceless.The past 15 months have been spent with the entirety of what had emerged through the 2024 Copa América odyssey as Canada’s first-choice back four absent. Marsch’s leading central defensive options tell the tale: Moïse Bombito (broken leg) hasn’t played a club match since October; Derek Cornelius (hamstring) not since November and Alfie Jones (ankle ligament) December.Yung duo Ralph Priso and Jamie Knight-Lebel travelled to Charlotte with hope but Marsch clearly saw enough from the recuperating trio to stick with them, Luc de Fougerolles and veteran Joel Waterman offering cover. Barring setbacks, Bombito and Cornelius will surely start the opener against Bosnia & Herzegovina.Marsch has all but ruled Davies out of that historic day in Toronto, Canada’s captain recovering from yet another muscular issue. In spite of all the progress made under Marsch and the proliferation of Canadian talent across European leagues, Davies remains the one indisputably world class player on the roster. Getting him back for either Qatar or the final group game against Switzerland feels imperative.In such circumstances, the fitness and form of right back Alistair Johnston is pivotal. The versatility and dependability of Niko Sigur could tell too.The system which Marsch honed at club level has, with some tweaks, worked a charm with this gifted Canadian generation. Much of the relentlessness of the Rouge Bull way starts with vice captain Steph Eustaquio haring across every inch of the middle. His partnership with Ismaël Koné is locked in. After a stellar Serie A campaign Koné feels primed to put a major imprint on this tournament. Anderlecht’s Nathan Saliba is another on the rise and will offer energy off the bench.The biggest dilemmas for the coaching staff were out wide. While Tajon Buchanan owns the right, the left looked stacked. While Ali Ahmed has looked to make the position his own, Liam Millar finished his season in brilliant form, helping Hull City reach the Premier League. Meanwhile Marsch heavily recruited Canadian-born Mexican international Marcelo Flores and after a January switch, saw Flores light up the March window. That piled pressure on MLS duo Jayden Nelson and Shaffelburg, a breakout star of that Copa América run which gave the Marsch era instant lift-off.Nelson, ultimately, misses out but with some cutting up top, Marsch found room for Shaffelburg, another on his way back to fitness. But could a man with a moniker as good as the Messi of the Maritimes really have been omitted?An irony of the year leading into this tournament was that Canada’s defense was threadbare yet water-tight while its attack was fully-healthy but mostly anemic. An irony and a serious concern.Marsch insists his team will score. Jonathan David, as ever, is likeliest to do so even if his maiden season at Juventus was the least prolific of his career and in Marsch’s system he’s deployed deeper. Cyle Larin’s World Cup prospects looked grim around Christmas but the veteran has been invigorated on loan at Southampton and will lead the line in front of David.The only thing that could stop Promise David scoring goals in Belgium proved to be a ruptured hip flexor. His rapid recovery has been, according to Marsch, “a revelation”. The always-quotable powerhouse put it another way this week: “I think I could regrow a limb if I lost it.”Tani Oluwaseyi rounding out a leaner attacking corps meant last-minute cuts for both Jacen Russell-Rowe of Toulouse and Daniel Jebbison, who switched his allegiance to Canada in 2025 but hadn’t yet found his feet.(First-time World Cup indicated with an asterisk, caps and goals listed in parentheses)Goalkeepers (3) Maxime Crépeau* (Orlando City, 30/0) Dayne St. Clair, (Inter Miami, 19/0), Owen Goodman* (Barnsley, 0/0)Defenders (9) Moise Bombito* (Nice, 19/0), Derek Cornelius (Marseille, 42/1), Alphonso Davies (Captain; Bayern Munich, 58/15), Luc de Fougerolles* (Dender, 11/0), Alistair Johnston (Celtic, 56/1), Alfie Jones* (Middlesbrough, 1/0), Richie Laryea (Toronto FC, 73/1), Niko Sigur* (Hajduk Split, 17/2), Joel Waterman (Chicago Fire, 17/0)Midfielders (4) Mathieu Choinière* (LAFC, 22/0), Stephen Eustaquio (LAFC, 54/4), Ismaël Koné (Sassuolo, 38/4), Nathan Saliba* (Anderlecht, 13/2)Attacking midfielders/wingers (6) Ali Ahmed* (Norwich City, 24/1), Tajon Buchanan (Villarreal, 58/8), Marcelo Flores* (Tigres, 2/0). Liam Millar* (Hull City, 39/1), Jonathan Osorio (Toronto FC 89/9), Jacob Shaffelburg* (LAFC, 31/6)Strikers (4) Jonathan David (Juventus, 75/39), Promise David* (Union SG, 8/3), Tani Oluwaseyi* (Villarreal, 22/2), Cyle Larin (Southampton, 88/30)

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Mauricio Pochettino hold new Nike footwear during USMNT training. Photograph: John Dorton/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty ImagesOptimism is not high for Mauricio Pochettino’s co-hosts, who are under pressure to justify fans’ considerable outlay on ticketsThis article is part of the Guardian’s 2026 World Cup Experts’ Network, a cooperation between some of the best media organisations from the 48 countries who qualified. theguardian.com is running previews from three countries each day in the run-up to the tournament kicking off on 11 June.Host nations get a direct runway to the tournament field, but a qualifying campaign would have likely helped clarify the USA’s ideal approach.While Mauricio Pochettino has overseen immense tactical fluctuation throughout his half-cycle in charge, the aim is always to retain at least shared custody of proceedings. The USA had about 60% of possession against lower-ranked opponents such as Paraguay, Australia, and Ecuador last autumn, while clashes with presumed favorites (recently: Uruguay, Japan, and Belgium) saw closer to a 50/50 split. Pochettino’s longtime penchant for high pressing has largely been absent in this role, instead focusing on establishing a mid-block defense to try limiting the opponent’s final-third touches.In possession, the USA works to string passing sequences up the channel, recently utilising a pair of attacking midfielders and a double-pivot behind them to better navigate the middle of the park. Width almost entirely falls on full-backs or wingbacks, with midfielders occasionally drifting off-center to create numerical advantages.Despite a thin center-back corps, Pochettino saw great success with a back three and wingbacks last fall … only to revert to a 4-2-3-1 in a disastrous 5-2 thrashing against Belgium in March.Both formations largely operate the same, with a 3-2-5 in possession and a 4-4-2 or 5-3-2 when defending. It’s a classic predicament of personnel: will Pochettino get his team in its best structure with five defenders (the 5-1 win over Uruguay), or get more of his best players on the pitch in spite of the tactical ramifications (the Belgium bummer)?“Belgium and Portugal have, in the top 100 players, [a] few or some players in that top 100. I think we don’t have [any],” Pochettino said after a 2-0 loss to Portugal. It was their final match before his squad was named. Gulp!While they may not be world-beaters, Pochettino’s 26 picks have received the more welcome WhatsApps and emails than those left off the squad. There are proven glue guys who help the squad regardless of their on-field roles, and a determination for a more harmonious environment than four years ago. Once the whistle blows, this group remains determined to show they can control games more than the bunker-and-counter iterations of bygone World Cups. All that’s left for them to do is to play in such a stylish manner and get results against top opposition.One of a few celebrity managers at this tournament, Mauricio Pochettino opted to test international soccer after a grueling and thankless stint with Chelsea. As a player, he represented Argentina at the 2002 World Cup, offering physicality and sharp tactical reading at center-back. He’s forever a beloved figure in some parts of north London after guiding Tottenham through its best stretch of the modern era. Appointed in 2024 after the USMNT went out in the groups at a home Copa América under Gregg Berhalter, Pochettino is expected to return to the club scene following this tournament.While Pochettino and the Guardian’s voting panel have omitted him from the top 100 players in the world, Christian Pulisic is a proven match-winner for the USA and Milan alike. The 27-year-old has been the face of the program since it missed out on the 2018 World Cup, bearing immense pressure to lead the USMNT into a brave new era of contention rather than competence. This year has been tough for the Hershey-born forward, goalless since last December in all arenas. Nonetheless, his ability to bypass opponents and set up a shot makes him a marking priority in every match.Following the exits of Jozy Altidore and Clint Dempsey, the USA got through the 2022 cycle with a striker-by-committee approach. It was a coup, then, when Folarin Balogun committed to his birth nation over England and Nigeria: an Arsenal-raised striker worth more than $40m in the transfer market. Balogun is a fine finisher, with the requisite movement to earn tap-ins away from opponents and the turn-and-shoot chops to fire from just about anywhere inside 25 yards with the right service. His form with Monaco has fluctuated but he was largely in-form this spring. He’s the latest danger man to wear the No 20 shirt for the USA, following Brian McBride.Aside from possibly Tyler Adams, no player is more irreplaceable in this USA roster than Chris Richards. An FA Cup winner with Crystal Palace in 2025, Richards is the surest presence along the backline in the program, a modern center-back with strong defensive rates on the ground or aerially and the range of passing to work into possession schemes. His club exploits were largely overshadowed by Marc Guéhi’s until the England man’s departure; similarly, his partnership with Tim Ream was an unheralded strength for much of this cycle. A dependable set of shifts this summer could inspire the next generation to appreciate the art of defending.Optimism is in short supply after the calamitous March window, coupled with feeling wrung out for every dollar with this World Cup’s pricing model. The rates are so lavish, in fact, that it’s hard to guarantee similar support to past tournaments with far friendlier pricing models. The four-figure get-in point could alter morale in the stands with more pressure to justify the outlay. You know the rest: red, white and blue, “U-S-A! U-S-A!” and cosplayers as Revolution patriots and bald eagles abound.While hosting the 1994 World Cup catalyzed this nation’s interest in the game, 2026 was seen as a trampoline upon which the sport would spring to even more prominence. Domestic leagues have synced their mid-to-long-term planning with this summer hoping to maximize reach to newcomers. If fans don’t flock (again: it’s insanely expensive to get in) to find their local club, some worry about attrition among the investor class.As for the lads on the field: last-16 exits in 2010, 2014, and 2022 have left the program without a quarter-final showing since 2002. They were once hyped as a possible golden generation and a deep run would make amends for an up-and-down cycle and justify Pochettino’s lavish wages. If not, fans will be eager to get on to the next generation in hopes of becoming a bona fide top-10 team worldwide.

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Veterans such as Messi and Modric are much in evidence at the finals, but an obsession with celebrity may undermine PortugalIt turns out that 2022 wasn’t Lionel Messi’s last dance after all. He will turn 39 during the World Cup, but despite concerns over the “muscular overload” that led to him limping out of Inter Miami’s 6-4 win over Philadelphia Union on Sunday, he remains the figure on whom Argentinian hopes rely.Messi won’t be the only veteran in Canada, the US and Mexico: Cristiano Ronaldo, aged 41, will also be there – inevitably, given how his career and Messi’s seem inextricably bound. So will Luka Modric and Edin Dzeko, plus the goalkeepers Manuel Neuer, Craig Gordon, Guillermo Ochoa and Vozinha, all of whom are 40. And there is one 39-year-old other than Messi: the Japan defender Yuto Nagatomo.That is seven players aged 40 or older, a remarkable number given that only seven players have previously played at the World Cup having reached that age. The oldest was Essam El Hadary, who played in goal at the age of 45 years and 161 days when Egypt lost to Saudi Arabia in 2018. Both countries were already out and there were some qualms that he had been picked out of sentiment, a tribute to one of the undoubted greats of the Egyptian game, but he saved a penalty and performed well enough to justify selection.Goalkeepers, not surprisingly, make up the majority of the previous seven. Faryd Mondragón, aged 43 years and 3 days, came on with five minutes remaining in Colombia’s 4-1 win over Japan in 2014. In his case, there was no doubt he was being introduced purely so he could become the oldest player at a World Cup.There was no such favouritism, though, being shown to Pat Jennings in 1986, Peter Shilton in 1990 or Tunisia’s Ali Boumnijel in 2006, and certainly not to Dino Zoff when he captained Italy to World Cup victory in 1982. He had been heavily criticised after the 1978 tournament, but his late save, plunging on to an Oscar header, was just as vital in the 3-2 win against Brazil as any of Paolo Rossi’s three goals.The exception is Roger Milla who, after coming out of retirement to inspire Cameroon in 1990, returned in 1994, aged 42, to become the oldest outfielder at a World Cup. He came off the bench against Brazil and Russia, scoring in the latter game, although his side were already 3-0 down and went on to lose 6-1.But whatever the details, the comparison is striking: there could be more players over the age of 40 at this World Cup than in the 22 previous tournaments put together. In part, that is perhaps because of the expansion of the tournament. Vozinha is a regular for Cape Verde – he’s certainly not going for sentimental reasons – but would his team have qualified for a 32-team World Cup? And would a team ranked higher than 69th in the Fifa standings be going to the World Cup with a goalkeeper who plays for Chaves in the Portuguese second division?And in part it’s because sports science has improved. Injuries that once would have ended a career can be overcome. Nutrition is far better. Footballers no longer sink double digits of pints every time they get a day off. Understanding of recovery, stretching, prehab and rehab have all improved. While the 500-game rule still seems to hit some players, others are going on for longer. To take just two examples, James Milner, born 1986, and Robert Lewandowski, born 1988, have only recently begun to show signs of wear.Modric and Dzeko are diminished by age, but they are, fairly clearly, the best Croatia and Bosnia and Herzogavena have to offer in their respective roles. Messi’s case is more questionable – however dangerous he looks in MLS, he is evidently not capable of operating at the highest level in Europe.But it would be hard to say with any great certainty that Argentina would be better off had he been phased out. It remains just about conceivable, given the nature of international football, that Julian Álvarez and Messi’s clubmate Rodrigo De Paul can again do his running for him and that Messi’s capacity to produce a defence-splitting pass or other moments of inspiration will make it worth the sacrifice.But Ronaldo is not the player he was. He is not even the player he became after he ceased to be the player he was. He lumbers about in an increasingly small sphere of influence, still decent in the air, still a good finisher, but barely able to move, lacking the explosive power that once made him great. He has won the Saudi Pro League this season, but that is less an endorsement of him than an indictment of the league.Even at the last World Cup he seemed like a burden. When he was left out for Gonçalo Ramos against Switzerland, Portugal found renewed pace and verve and scored six, Ramos getting three of them. Yet still fans in the stadium called for Ronaldo, the biggest cheers coming as he came off the bench and then marked an obviously offside goal that was swiftly disallowed with his trademark celebration; a part of modern football is obsessed by personality and spectacle.The danger is that Ronaldo’s presence could mean that a potentially brilliant generation of Portuguese creators is never truly unleashed. That is the irony of the suspension for his red card against Ireland being commuted; it may represent a preposterous injustice as Fifa ensures the biggest names are on the field as much as possible, but it will probably end up hampering Portugal.There is no doubt Ronaldo is in incredible shape – for a 41-year-old. Nor is it wrong to point out that, Ronaldo aside, Portugal have not produced a world-class centre-forward since Eusébio. But there comes a point at which his immobility makes him an albatross and any halfway competent forward who can move is a better option.The continued presence of familiar faces may be testament to how much better players are at looking after themselves than they used to be, but, in at least one case, it is also evidence of the modern world’s obsession with celebrity.