first goal

Imagine it. A neophyte coach, leading a team for the first time at any competitive level, and it being a high-profile assignment on the biggest of big stages.

A self-assured broadcaster, critical and competitive, having his bluff called, being invited to not just talk about it, but to be about it: Walk the walk, why don’t you?

A former player — scorer, shooter — being challenged to step up and right a listing ship while navigating politics and the push and pull of history and high hopes.

Imagine that guy going: “Bet.”

As in, you betcha. As in, I’d bet on me.

Lakers fans, you’ve seen JJ Redick run this play in the NBA.

Bosnia and Herzegovina’s faithful — who comprised the vocal majority amidst the full house for Thursday’s 4-1 Group B loss to Switzerland at SoFi Stadium — are seeing manager Sergej Barbarez pull the same improbable stunt.

The 54-year-old Barbarez is Bosnia’s national soccer team’s fifth manager since 2022. He’s also a former national team captain turned professional poker player turned broadcaster whose turn coaching this team came as a complete shock.

He might be the most interesting man amidst a mass of most interesting men at the World Cup, and he has Bosnia back on two feet.

And he had them on equal footing Thursday until Switzerland scored the match’s first goal in the 74th minute.

“Maybe our start wasn’t that good,” Barbarez said through an interpreter. “But from the first cooling break until the goal, we were the better players, the better team.

“I don’t like self-pity,” he added. “I entered the dressing room and told them all that they have one hour to cheer up to lift their heads up.”

The loss to the 19th-ranked Swiss was the first in six matches for 64th-ranked Bosnia, following six consecutive 1-1 or 0-0 draws, including their 1-1 World Cup opener against host Canada.

They know they’ll have to win their next match Wednesday against Qatar for an opportunity to reach the knockout stage: “It seemed,” Barbarez said, “from the very beginning that the last game would be the most important one, and it turns out it is.”

And they’ll be ready, he said.

“It’s hurtful; it’s quite painful,” he said. “But this is my job, and trust me, I’ll make sure they will be fine ahead of the next game. We will try to remedy what happened.”

We’d expect to hear something similar from Redick — whose poker face isn’t as good as Barbarez’s, whose small sigh and slight smile betrayed his only emotions during his postgame news conference Thursday.

(As for who wore it better: Barbarez pumping up Bosnian fans in all-black business attire beats Redick’s all-black athleisure.)

Ahead of schedule and happy to be here, Bosnia is playing in the World Cup for the first time in 12 years. Playing hard with house money.

Barbarez spent most of his 14-year professional playing career in the Bundesliga, scoring 105 goals for Borussia Dortmund, Hamburg and Bayer Leverkusen. When he retired, he got his coaching license but didn’t use it until 2024, taking a gamble on a different competitive calling.

He played poker professionally in Europe for a decade, made at least $143,000, according to Cardplayer.com, and reached two final tables in the World Series of Poker.

He also became an unabashed critic of the Football Assn. of Bosnia, which was churning through managers; three of them were hired and fired within months. Beyond failing to qualify for the 2024 Euros, Barbarez admonished the association’s leadership for its 2022 decision to schedule friendlies with Russia soon after it was banned by FIFA and UEFA for invading Ukraine.

And then, in April 2024, he was introduced as the national team manager.

“His energy and authority can be crucial factors in getting the national team back on track for success,” the president of the Football Federation Vico Zeljkovic told reporters.

Also key: “Personality,” Zeljkovic said.

Barbarez maintained from the outset that his goal was to qualify for the Euros in 2028 — and for his players to feel proud wearing Bosnia’s blue, yellow and white.

On Thursday, his players felt it and so did thousands of fans who showed up at SoFi Stadium wearing those colors for a World Cup match. All of them, all in.

“They support us all over the world,” said Ermin Mahmić, who scored his side’s only goal in the 93rd minute. “It’s not normal to be honest, and we’re very thankful for them.”

And surely for Barbarez, who took a path rarely traveled, willing to bet big on Bosnian football.

The Iranian national team finally got to just play soccer.

Their journey to the World Cup has been uniquely fraught, with a war erupting between the host of their matches and their home country.

They had to relocate their base camp from Arizona to Tijuana, struggled to get all of their traveling party into the United States amid visa scrutiny and absorbed President Trump’s suggestion they may not be safe if they chose to play in the World Cup.

Iran forward Mohammad Mohebi (8) heads the ball for a goal during the second half against New Zealand in group play at the World Cup on Monday.

(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)

With the focus shifted solely to soccer, Iran’s 2-2 draw with New Zealand in front of an announced crowd of 70,108 Monday night at SoFi Stadium may have felt like a victory because of the sheer fight it took for Team Melli to play in Inglewood.

After Belgium and Egypt tied 1-1 earlier Monday, all the teams in Group G are tied at one point apiece.

The All Whites showed no signs they were rattled by the pro-Iran crowd or their standing 65 slots behind Iran in FIFA world rankings.

Iran fell behind twice, but the team rallied to avoid plummeting to the bottom of its group.

A flurry of chances generated by both teams during stoppage time never translated into a winning goal.

New Zealand struck first.

New Zealand forward Elijah Just, right, celebrates after scoring his second goal against Iran on Monday.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Elijah Just rumbled toward the box and seemed to pinball around the Iranian defense. He passed to Sarpreet Singh, who chipped the ball to Chris Wood in the box. Wood then chested the ball back to Just, who took one touch before kicking the ball in for New Zealand’s first goal in the seventh minute.

A small but hearty contingent of New Zealand cheered.

After the hydration break, Iran’s Ramin Rezaeian pushed the ball into the box and tapped it to Saman Ghoddos. Shahriyar Moghanlou’s shot was blocked, but Rezaeian was in position to tap the deflection into the far lower left corner of the net in the 32nd minute.

The stadium roared as Mexico fans joined Iran fans cheering and waving flags.

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1. Iran goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand watches the ball go into the net after a goal by New Zealand forward Elijah Just in the first half. (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times) 2. Iran defender Milad Mohammadi leaps over a New Zealand defender during the second half. (Kelvin Kuo / Los Angeles Times) 3. New Zealand defender Finn Surman, top, goes after the ball in front of Iran forward Ali Alipour during the second half. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) 4. Iranian soccer team fans show their support during the team’s 2-2 draw with New Zealand. (Kelvin Kuo / Los Angeles Times)

Both teams has chances to break the tie late in the first half.

New Zealand earned a free kick in the 45th minute just outside the box. Wood took a direct shot at the goal, but Iran goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand gathered it with ease.

During first-half stoppage time, Rezaeian’s free kick was headed home by Ali Nemati, but Nemati was clearly offsides and the goal was waived off by the referees.

In the 54th minute, Iran turned the ball over and Just connected with Just for his second goal of the match.

Iran responded in the 64th minute with Rezaeian’s cross headed home by Mohammad Mohebi, tying the game and delighting fans.

Iran forward Mohammad Mohebi reacts after scoring against New Zealand in the second half Monday.

(Kelvin Kuo / Los Angeles Times)

Before the game, protesters outside SoFi Stadium argued Iran’s oppression regime should be sanctioned for human rights violations and banned from competition. Other Iranian Americans countered they gathered at the venue to cheer on players rather than Iran’s totalitarian leaders.

Iran captain and star striker Mehdi Taremi said before the game he hoped the team that has unified in the face of massive distractions could provide solace during a difficult time.

“We, the players of the national team, we play for every Iranian, be it the Iranian diaspora or be it Iranians in the country,” Taremi said through a FIFA interpreter. “Look, in every country, people have different opinions, but we are here as footballers to unite people, and we will try to bring joy to all Iranians, irrespective of where they live.

“Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and we respect them, but we are here to bring joy to the Iranian people. We do not get involved in politics. We are here to play football.”

MEXICO CITY — FIFA president Gianni Infantino described Mexico City Stadium as a venue “blessed by the gods” and a “true cathedral of soccer.”

Azteca Stadium, as most people know it, is steeped in soccer history and is now the only venue to host three World Cup opening ceremonies. But the Mexican national team had never much World Cup success at the venue.

On Thursday, spurred on by most of the 80,824 fans in attendance and forwards Julián Quiñones and Raúl Jiménez, Mexico managed to defeat South Africa 2-0 and securing its first opening match victory.

Mexico opened the scoring in the ninth minute when Quiñones capitalized on a defensive error by South Africa and fired a shot down the middle, between the legs of goalkeeper Ronwen Williams. The striker, a top scorer in the Saudi Pro League, immediately ran off to celebrate with the bench, marking the first goal of the tournament. The crowd responded by throwing beer into the air.

Mexico continued to press with numerous chances in the first half, including another shot by Quiñones that hit the post and another great save by Williams, who was South Africa’s best player.

“We were far superior in the first half; we could have been up 3-0,” Mexico coach Javier Aguirre said.

South Africa was reduced to 10 men just as the second half began when Sphephelo Sithole brought down Brian Gutiérrez, who was heading toward the goal unmarked. Brazilian referee Wilton Sampaio showed a red card.

“We played well; there were moments when Mexico didn’t know what to do and our organization was very good,” said Hugo Broos, South Africa’s coach.

It seemed the match was going to be easier for the Mexicans with South Africa short-handed, but fans began to boo the Mexican players after they stopped attacking and appeared nervous.

Seeing his players’ lackluster performance on the field, Aguirre responded with substitutions: bringing on 17-year-old Gilberto Mora, a fan favorite, as well as Luis Chávez, to reshape the midfield.

Mexico’s Raúl Jiménez cries while hugging teammate Roberto Alvarado after scoring against South Africa in Mexico City on Thursday to open the World Cup.

(Natacha Pisarenko / Ap Photo/natacha Pisarenko)

“[It was] the start of the World Cup. It’s an intense atmosphere,” Aguirre said.

“In 25 games, we’ve never had players with cramps — today we had three. It was a very intense, emotional state. It shows that the setting weighed on them a little. Not on everyone.”

Shortly after the substitutions, Roberto Álvarado crossed the ball from the right to Raúl Jiménez, who headed it past South Africa’s goalkeeper, Williams, in the 67th minute.

South Africa was reduced to nine men after Themba Zwane struck Álvarado off the ball. After consulting the video assisted referee, the official gave Zwane a red card.

“I think you can accept the first red card,” said Broos. “I think the second one is debatable. It was a bit harsh on the referee’s part. We have two players who won’t be able to play in the next match.”

After the second red card, Mexico took its foot off the gas again and was met with whistles from the crowd, who were hungry for more goals.

Mexico and South Africa faced off in front of 80,824 fans at Mexico City Stadium, more commonly known as Azteca Stadium, on Thursday to open the World Cup.

(David Ramos / Getty Images)

Mexico’s César Montes was sent off in stoppage time for bringing down Khuliso Mudau outside the box as he was heading toward the goal.

With the win, Mexico leads its group with three points and waited to see the result of South Korea versus the Czech Republic in Guadalajara later Thursday. South Africa has zero points. Mexico’s next match is in Guadalajara on June 18 against South Korea, while South Africa faces the Czech Republic in Atlanta.

“We need the next three days to get over the disappointment and fatigue,” Broos said, before addressing his team’s mere two shots on goal. “We have to work on our offense because it wasn’t enough today.”

The match marked the debut of Mora, the youngest player in the World Cup.

“For his first game, he didn’t disappoint,” said Aguirre.

Timothy Tillman scored in the 86th minute, his first goal in more than two years, Thomas Hasal had five saves, and LAFC beat the Seattle Sounders 1-0 on Sunday night in the final MLS match before the 2026 World Cup break.

LAFC (7-5-3) ended a three-game losing streak and a four-game winless stretch.

LAFC has won six straight and is 9-0-1 at home against the Sounders in the regular season. Seattle has two wins at BMO Stadium in the MLS Cup playoffs, most recently a 2-1 victory in extra time to advance to the 2024 Western Conference final.

Tyler Boyd played a cross from the right side to the back post, where Tillman put away a sliding half-volley to give LAFC a 1-0 lead.

Hasal, who had his first shutout since 2022 for Vancouver, made his second consecutive start (his third this season) in the place the injured Hugo Lloris, who is out (leg) indefinitely. Lloris leads MLS with eight shutouts, including an MLS-record six straight to open the season.

Andrew Thomas had two saves for the Sounders (7-3-3).

Seattle has given up 11 goals this season, tied with Nashville — the points leader in all of MLS with 33 — for the fewest in the league.

The Sounders are 3-2-2 and have conceded just four goals on the road this season.

Seattle’s Danny Musovski subbed on for Paul Rothrock in the 69th minute and hit the crossbar with a shot from the center of the area in the 76th.

The Sounders lost 2-0 at home against the Galaxy on May 16 to snap a nine-game unbeaten streak dating to a 2-1 loss at Real Salt Lake on Feb. 28. The loss to the Galaxy also snapped Seattle’s 22-game home unbeaten streak across all competitions.

SAN DIEGO — Ryan Hollingshead scored his first goal this season in the 14th minute of stoppage time and Denis Bouanga added a goal for LAFC on Saturday night in a 2-2 tie with San Diego FC.

Mathieu Choiniere’s soft header off a corner kick played to the back post by David Martinez bounced in front of the goal and Hollingshead slammed home the finish to cap the scoring.

Marcus Ingvartsen scored two goals — his first career multi-goal game in MLS — for San Diego.

Anders Dreyer played a corner kick to the near post and Ingvartsen headed home the finish to open the scoring in the seventh minute.

On the counter-attack, Dreyer played a cross from the right side to Ingvartsen, who knocked down the ball with his first touch and then blasted a shot from the center of the area inside the left post and into the side-net to make it 2-0 in the 71st minute.

Ingvartsen has seven goals and two assists this season. The 30-year-old had two goals and one assist in eight appearances, five starts, in 2025, his first season in MLS.

Denis Bouanga scored in the 82nd minute, LAFC’s first shot on goal. Bouanga, who has scored at least 20 goals in each of the last three seasons, has five goals this season.

LAFC (6-2-3) beat Minnesota 1-0 last time out to snap a three-game winless streak.

San Diego (3-5-3) snapped a five-game losing streak.

CJ Dos Santos made his season debut and had three saves for San Diego but left due to injury in stoppage time and was replaced by Duran Ferree. The 24-year-old Dos Santos, who had 10 shutouts last season, suffered a fractured cheekbone and orbital floor fracture in a playoff loss at Portland on Nov. 1.

Sophia Wilson scored in stoppage time for her first goal of the season and the Portland Thorns defeated Angel City 2-1 on Sunday.

After a scoreless first half at BMO Stadium, Pietra Tordin’s header opened up the scoring for the Thorns (4-1-1) in the 76th minute. In her professional soccer debut, rookie defender Carolyn Calzada provided the assist.

Wilson doubled the lead in stoppage time with a left-footed blast into the side netting. It was her first goal of the season after taking all of last year off for the birth of her daughter. Her last goal for the Thorns came on Nov. 1, 2024.

Second-half substitute, forward Prisca Chilufya trimmed the lead in half in the final minute of stoppage time for Angel City.

Japan International Jun Endo made her return from injury as a substitute in the 62nd minute for Angel City (3-2-0).