Drones, hype videos and data: The number-crunchers and "support engine" behind the USMNT's World Cup prep "If we've done our job well, we'll be the most prepared team going into this" www.espn.com/soccer/story...

The auditions are over, but there is still work to be done for #usmnt manager Mauricio Pochettino. Here's what he needs to figure out before naming his World Cup roster in May. www.espn.com/soccer/story...

San Jose is off to its best start in franchise history. Bruce Arena's young team has conceded only one goal in six games. What they lack in star power, they have been making up for in sublime effort: www.soccerbayarea.com/2026/04/04/y...

Preston Judd channeling his inner Finidi George from World Cup '94 after scoring to put #Quakes74 3-0. Judd is definitely old school.

Did March window provide more clarity as to the makeup of the #usmnt World Cup roster? Not really, so here's version 6.0 of the USMNT Big Board. www.espn.com/soccer/story...

Sophia Wilson and Tierna Davidson are back with the #USWNT for three friendlies against Japan. Full roster from Emma Hayes 👇

Player ratings: Pulisic 3/10 in USMNT's loss to Portugal www.espn.com/soccer/story...

More Poch: "Even if [the loss] painful, it’s the only way to improve...In small details we lose the game." #usmnt

Pochettino saying that on the first goal, Jedi Robinson was too high, so when the ball turned over, he couldn't recover. Poch adds that they'll have time to iron out these positional issues before the World Cup. #usmnt

FT: #usmnt 0-2 Portugal. US never looked like getting back into this game after halftime. Some decent approach work, but few shots. Defensively, I thought Richards & Freeman were good. The rest, whoo boy. Don't feel like this window answered many questions for the U.S. in a positive way.

Goal Portugal. Bruno corner to Joao Felix, who is given all day to settle the ball and then lash it home. Looked like it was Morris who should have been on him quicker. #usmnt

HT: #usmnt 0-1 Portugal. The US had chances, but Pulisic is clearly out of sorts, as the yellow card showed. Trusty hasn't been good. Bruno's runs from deep causing all kinds of problems. I'm sure we'll see a ton of subs in the second half.

Goal Portugal. Bruno runs through, Richards over to cover, but clever backheel finds Trincao who slots it home. Those runs from midfield have been on more than once this half. #usmnt

Weah teed up Pulisic in the box. Wasn't sure if CP tried to let that through to McKennie or if he just missed it. Either way, good chance wasted. #usmnt

Anthem time. But definitely looks like a smaller crowd than Saturday. #usmnt

Still trying to figure out who the forward is in this lineup. Pulisic? McKennie? Probably Pulisic. Pochettino did say that he might tweak some things to get CP the ball closer to goal. #usmnt

Turkiye defeat Kosovo 1-0 to fill out Group D. I thought that's how it would end up. The #usmnt will be hoping they'll have taken care of business by the time the face Turkiye on June 25. No guarantee of that. www.espn.com/soccer/story...

"Focused" Pochettino says no talks with Spurs or Real Madrid. Could he come back for another go with the #usmnt? "Never say never. In football, everything can happen." www.espn.com/soccer/story...

Pochettino asked about links to Tottenham and Real Madrid. "I think the most important thing now is focusing [on] tomorrow and in the World Cup." Then asked if he's open to staying with the #usmnt. "Never say never. Everything can happen."

Mauricio Pochettino said that Johnny Cardoso felt the same discomfort in his leg that he arrived with. Poch said they are not going to force things. Cardoso isn't available tomorrow and has already left camp. He added that they'll assess Chris Richards later today. #usmnt

Sebastian Berhalter on the quality of the grass, but indoor pitch last Saturday. #usmnt "I think [the field] was honestly better than what we've had in the past. I feel like that was a pretty good pitch and maybe a little slippy here and there, but I think in general, I think they did a good job."

* A reasonably exciting batch of center forwards! * Poch has his faves * Not much evolution at center-back (save us, Noahkai Banks) 😬 * The best XI haven't actually fully played together yet 😬😬 I looked at how the #USMNT player pool has changed over the last four years. www.espn.com/soccer/story...

No sign of Miles Robinson, which isn’t a surprise, but not seeing Johnny Cardoso either. Richards is training with the group. Poch will reveal all shortly.

Chris Richards: "I'm fine...Just had a little bit of knee pain, soreness. [I've been] training individually all week and I'm available for tomorrow." #usmnt

Despite a multi-layered process to prevent teams wearing jerseys that are too similar, Saturday's match between the #usmnt & Belgium featured jerseys that were too alike. The players said that while it didn't affect the outcome, it made it harder to pick out teammates. www.espn.com/soccer/story...

Unsurprisingly, not too many positive player ratings for the USMNT today after their 5-2 loss against Belgium. IMO, Jedi the only starter who could his head high after that one... www.espn.com/soccer/story...

The #usmnt was given a rough lesson on what is needed to compete at a World Cup level. It's not time to panic just yet, but Mauricio Pochettino and his players have a lot of work to do. That starts in the coming days with Tuesday's match against Portugal. www.espn.com/soccer/story...

Pochettino: "To feel this kind of pain is good." He thinks his side will learn from this. They certainly need to. #usmnt

Pochettino said that pulling Cardoso at halftime was planned due to some discomfort the player felt earlier in the week. #usmnt

Pochettino, taking a positive from the first half. He said, the problem was they couldn't maintain the level of intensity. #usmnt

FT: #usmnt 2-5 Belgium. Well, that was a brutal second half. The U.S. was poor in every aspect of its defending, but especially in 1-v-1 situations. This result also raises concerns about just how deep the team is. Pochettino has lots of work to and it starts with Tuesday's match against Portugal.

Lukebakio makes it 4-1, leaving Arfsten in his wake to fire home from 18 yards. Getting ugly now. #usmnt

Fantastic double save from Turner, but Ream whistled for handball and Belgium awarded a penalty. VAR checking.... Call upheld. De Ketelaere scores and the #usmnt with a mountain to climb now. #usmnt

Onana puts Belgium 2-1 up, with Doku the instigator again. He sucked almost the entire #usmnt defense towards him and got the ball to De Ketelaere who laid it off for Onana to fire home.

Interesting to see that Cardoso comes off for Roldan, though perhaps Poch wanted Cardoso to get on the ball more. #usmnt

HT: #usmnt 1-1 Belgium. U.S. didn't play bad, but they haven't been able to contain Doku, who played a part in the equalizer. Center backs haven't been the problem, IMO, but rather team giving up transition opportunities. U.S. had some decent chances, but couldn't convert beyond McKennie's goal.

Belgium equalize. Doku, who's been a menace all half, fires a shot that is well-saved by Turner, but the rebound carries to Debast who hits a drive from 25+ that sneaks inside the far post. #usmnt

Goal #usmnt! McKennie with the redirect from Jedi's corner. The man is in the form of his life.

Anthem time. #usmnt

Kevin De Bruyne in the starting XI for Belgium. Yes, he was one of the goalscorers in *that* round of 16 match at the 2014 World Cup between the #usmnt and Belgium. Axel Witsel also played in that match, and is on the bench today for Belgium.

Big match for just about everybody, but Turner, Tessmann, Tillman and Cardoso will bear watching. Still mulling over the formation. Depends on where Tessmann plays I think. #usmnt

🍑 ATL XI 🇺🇸 #USMNT x The Home Depot

Pochettino on thinking about picking the final roster. "I am suffering two months in advance." #usmnt

USMNT manager Mauricio Pochettino says that "for sure" Miles Robinson is out with a groin injury. He added that Chris Richards situation is "difficult to assess" but he has "problems with his knee." He didn't finish Wednesday's session, and is out for Saturday. #usmnt

Pochettino to Martino and Martino back: “I love you.” #usmnt

Not seeing Miles Robinson or Chris Richards at training today. Pochettino will no doubt reveal more at his press conference. #usmnt

Great work by editor Nick Som and our ace design/data-viz team (cc: @lukeknox.me) on this piece breaking down how much it could cost you to follow a team through the 2026 World Cup: www.espn.com/soccer/story...

Official now: #USWNT's Catarina Macario has joined the Wave via transfer from Chelsea. The Wave confirm they used the High Impact Player Rule, "marking one of the largest contracts in women’s soccer history."

Group hugs are the order of the day. #usmnt

With ESPN colleague Moises Llorens ... Sources: Saudi Arabian club Al Ittihad has resumed their pursuit of Liverpool's Mohamed Salah. www.espn.com/soccer/story...