Mauricio Pochettino announces a surprising #USMNT roster for November camp. Missing a number of regulars (Pulisic, McKennie, Weah, Richards). Gio Reyna and Joe Scally are back in, as is Ricardo Pepi. (And Seb Berhalter...) Analysis with @henrybushnell.bsky.social: www.nytimes.com/athletic/678...

My kids spent five years at Rayito. It is a wonderful school. The kids went back after they graduated to bring donuts and visit their teachers because they missed them. I am sick.

Sources: LAFC assistant Marc Dos Santos is the frontrunner to be named LAFC's next head coach when Steve Cherundolo leaves this winter. LAFC fully focused on playoff run now, nothing will be done until winter, but Dos Santos frontrunner. w/ @paultenorio.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/athletic/677...

Sources: North Carolina FC has applied for membership to USL's new D1 league, which is set to start in 2028. NCFC's USL membership expires after this season. So club's plan is to wait to return until D1 league starts (with pro/rel). No guarantee they get membership, but that's the plan

Loved this video tour of Guadalajara from my guy @jonarnoldfc.bsky.social. Had the pleasure of hitting several of these spots with him last year when the #USMNT played there. www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eEZ...

ICYMI: The USL has hired Premier League chief football officer Tony Scholes to run its Division One league and help bring pro-rel to the U.S. Updated with quotes from USL's Paul McDonough. Reporting with @oliverkay.bsky.social: www.nytimes.com/athletic/676...

Found this piece super interesting, especially regarding the pace of the game and the impact on the non-subbed players. Great stuff.

Tonight was encapsulation of why Mansueto and the $650 million downtown stadium is so important. Being a soccer fan in Chicago right now takes dedication. That was worst "fan" experience I've had at a sporting event. Feel burned on money spent from multiple angles. One last story of Bridgeview...

Get to front of long concession line where they sell hot dogs, tenders, popcorn and French fries. “We are out of hot dogs, tenders and popcorn!” My wife: What *is* this place?! What an experience at SeatGeek. Won’t be bringing family back to a game until 2028 🤣

2-0 before we got to our seats 😫🤦‍♂️

Once again unacceptable operations by Bridgeview for the Fire playoff game. Parking a disaster — my family and I are boxed into a lot now with only one exit — and lines to get intl stadium at kickoff are a mess.

Chief football officer Tony Scholes is leaving the Premier League to join USL as president of its new first division league and help to bring promotion and relegation to the USL and American soccer. Reporting with @oliverkay.bsky.social: www.nytimes.com/athletic/676...

“I’m not just going to sort of sit here and take all the blame for something that was made out to be completely my fault…I was just upset that I wasn’t really playing.” Completely tone deaf from Gio Reyna given Pochettino’s team-first messaging. #USMNT apnews.com/article/gio-...

Lionel Messi ended all speculation by signing a new deal to stay in Miami. But the decision to extend is about more than just his playing days. @paultenorio.bsky.social and @felipecardenas.bsky.social have the details behind Messi's decision to extend his stay ⬇️ 🔗 www.nytimes.com/athletic/675...

U.S. Soccer will not hold a January camp this year. The annual exercise will return in December 2026, with future camps likely to be held in the same month going forward. The reasoning, quotes from USSF VP of Sporting Oguchi Onyewu and more inside: www.nytimes.com/athletic/674...

NEWS: Inter Miami has announced a new three-year contract for Lionel Messi, keeping one of soccer’s biggest names in the United States for the foreseeable future. More details from @paultenorio.bsky.social and @tombogert.bsky.social: www.nytimes.com/athletic/626...

Lionel Messi is staying with Inter Miami through 2028. The 🐐 has officially inked his contract extension. Reporting with @tombogert.bsky.social: www.nytimes.com/athletic/626...

Ok here it is! I remember being told it wasn’t a “playoff expansion” to 18 teams, it was a “postseason expansion” because it was just a play-in game, but the truth shall set you free!!

Is playing tonight the Fire's return to the playoffs? Or is winning tonight the Fire's return to the playoffs? Is this advancing in the playoffs or advancing to the playoffs? Is this a playoff game or a play-in game? I feel like MLS can't make up its mind how it wants to treat this...

📓 MLS notebook: - Chucky Lozano's status for playoffs is uncertain after internal situation - Luca de la Torre / San Diego future update - New England coaching search + timing update - Latest on talks between Minnesota and Dayne St. Clair & more www.nytimes.com/athletic/674...

In Austin, I sat with #USMNT legend Landon Donovan to talk about his openness with a big vulnerability and the unexpected reward of sharing his hair journey with the public. “We’re just people struggling, trying to figure it out and doing the best we can,” he said. www.nytimes.com/athletic/672...

Sat with Cristian Roldan — "if you want to build your perfect player; he has a little bit of everything," Poch said a day later — in Denver. Talked his path back to the #USMNT, his outlook on his role and a dream to play in a World Cup game in Seattle. www.nytimes.com/athletic/672...

Took a first crack at a #USMNT 2026 World Cup roster with @henrybushnell.bsky.social. Had the hardest time picking depth in midfield and deciding if Yunus Musah would play his way back into the team. www.nytimes.com/athletic/672...

Mauricio Pochettino says the change in climate between Austin (85-95 degrees) to Denver (altitude, much cooler) was a "massive risk" to the players in a night where Tillman couldn't play and Pulisic was withdrawn w/ @paultenorio.bsky.social @henrybushnell.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/athletic/671...

A win and a draw in the October window for the #USMNT...

Malik Tillman is on the bench, but dressed in sweats. He is not available for selection tonight for the #USMNT, as confirmed by @henrybushnell.bsky.social here in Commerce City.

Mauricio Pochettino first heard the quote from Chick-fil-A's chairman, over breakfast in Georgia earlier this year. Last week, it was posted in the USMNT's meeting room, handwritten by Poch himself. "Culture eats strategy for breakfast." Poch tells @theathletic.com the story behind his message:

OFFICIAL STATEMENT: I'm back. www.nytimes.com/athletic/671...

Christian Pulisic trained Monday, expected to play a role Tuesday vs. Australia. That and more from Mauricio Pochettino's press conference: www.nytimes.com/athletic/671...

A moment in which the Austin crowd spurred the #USMNT to a deserved goal could end up being a turning point. Or it could just be overblowing a tie (not even a win!) in an October friendly. It's part of why Tuesday's friendly matters a bit more... www.nytimes.com/athletic/671...

The U.S. under-20 team will look to be the first American group to advance to the semifinals since 1989. I spoke with U.S. U-20 coach Marko Mitrovic to preview the game here: www.nytimes.com/athletic/670... And an oral history of that 1989 team is here: www.nytimes.com/athletic/991...

The #USMNT played its best 90 minutes under Mauricio Pochettino in a 1-1 draw with Ecuador. You can see the confidence building in its new tactical flexibility and identity — and players are embracing the approach. www.nytimes.com/athletic/670...

Folarin Balogun shined and got a deserved goal to equalize Enner Valencia’s superb first half finish in #USMNT’s 1-1 draw with Ecuador. www.nytimes.com/athletic/670...

Jeff is an OG on The Athletic Soccer team, helped build the vertical into what it is and did a ton of great work in his six-plus years with us. Know he's going to continue to crush it with coverage in the years to come.

Christian Pulisic arrives to #USMNT in form, but status for Friday suddenly in doubt as Pochettino says the No. 10 did not train today. www.nytimes.com/athletic/670...

Darlington Nagbe decided over the summer that 2025 would be his last season in MLS. He stayed quiet about until today. Nagbe, and those closest to him, spoke to The Athletic about his decision and the emotional conflicts of his announcement. www.nytimes.com/athletic/669...

Inter Miami's Jordi Alba surprisingly announces he will retire at the end of the season. Miami finalizing deal with Sergio Reguilon, who won't be eligible to play until 2026. www.nytimes.com/athletic/668...

Outside of USMNT camps, Mauricio Pochettino hardly communicates with players. It's a stark departure from the Berhalter era, but there's a method to the apparent madness. w/ @paultenorio.bsky.social, inside Pochettino's strategy and silence: www.nytimes.com/athletic/667...

#USMNT coach Mauricio Pochettino and his staff have taken a different approach to communication: they don't talk much to players outside of camp. It has a purpose. With @henrybushnell.bsky.social, a deep dive on Poch wanting players to talk with their play: www.nytimes.com/athletic/667...

FIFA chasing those famously passionate Super Bowl crowds...

Houston Dynamo and USMNT midfielder Jack McGlynn has undergone surgery on a foot injury on an injury suffered this weekend and will miss the rest of the 2025 season. McGlynn was initially included in the USMNT October squad I’m told, but misses out with injury

Mauricio Pochettino's World Cup roster may be coming into focus as Turner, McKennie, Antonee Robinson return along with Aidan Morris, Tanner Tessmann and others. No Tyler Adams (personal reasons) or Yunus Musah. Details here with @henrybushnell.bsky.social: www.nytimes.com/athletic/668...

D.C. United has hired Erkut Sogut as its new sporting director, per sources. Indicative of leaning toward global experience as MLS model shifts in that direction in coming years. Confirming earlier reporting from @stevengoff.bsky.social and @tombogert.bsky.social. www.nytimes.com/athletic/664...

In the last 15 seasons, just four players have had a season with 9+ goals + assists in Europe’s Big 5, then played four straight seasons in B5 without reaching 1,000 mins in any – and then had 9+ G+A again in a Big 5, per TruMedia. Can Gio Reyna be the fifth? #USMNT www.nytimes.com/athletic/663...

Luis Suárez gets an additional three-game suspension from MLS for Leagues Cup rumble. Steven Lenhart's credential revoked for remainder of 2025 season. Seattle fined for misappropriation of credential. No other punishments for Inter Miami players. www.nytimes.com/athletic/661...

Mauricio Pochettino was trying to fix a very real problem in this #USMNT by creating competition. But the U.S. depth only extends so far. Pochettino has to cope with the flaws of the best players, bring them back in and coax more out of them. www.nytimes.com/athletic/660...

Sad. www.nytimes.com/athletic/660...

Guys. I say things are "peak MLS" all the time. This is the most #PeakMLS thing I have ever experienced. Inter Miami stars Luis Suárez, Sergio Busquets and Sounders team psych Steven Lenhart among those suspended for postgame Leagues Cup final brawl. www.nytimes.com/athletic/660...

#USMNT’s Mauricio Pochettino looking forward to reuniting and coaching against his former star Son Heung-min www.nytimes.com/athletic/660...

Over/under on number of minutes after Cowboys-Eagles kicks off Leagues Cup (and MLS?) announce disciplinary decisions?