LONDON — Iga Swiatek won her first Wimbledon championship with a 6-0, 6-0 victory over Amanda Anisimova on Saturday in the first women’s final at the tournament in 114 years in which one player failed to claim a single game.
Swiatek’s victory on a sunny, breezy afternoon at Centre Court took just 57 minutes and gave Swiatek her sixth Grand Slam title overall. She is now 6-0 in major title matches.
The 24-year-old from Poland finished with a 55-24 edge in total points and accumulated that despite needing to produce merely 10 winners. Anisimova was shaky from the start and made 28 unforced errors.
Swiatek already owned four trophies from the French Open’s red clay and one from the U.S. Open’s hard courts, but this is the first title of her professional career at any grass-court tournament. And it ended a long-for-her drought: Swiatek last won a trophy anywhere more than a year ago, at Roland-Garros in June 2024.
Catherine, the Princess of Wales, was sitting in the Royal Box on Saturday and took part in the on-court ceremony afterward.
Swiatek is the eighth consecutive first-time women’s champion at Wimbledon, but her triumph stands out from the others because it came in a stunningly dominant performance against Anisimova, a 23-year-old American who was participating in her first final at a major.
Anisimova eliminated No. 1-ranked Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinals but never looked like she was the same player Saturday. When it was over, while Swiatek climbed into the stands to celebrate with her team, Anisimova sat on the sideline in tears.
All the way back in 1911, Dorothea Lambert Chambers was a 6-0, 6-0 winner against Dora Boothby.
Swiatek never had been past the quarterfinals of the All England Club and her only other final on the slick surface came when she was the runner-up at a tuneup event in Germany right before Wimbledon began.
Swiatek spent most of 2022, 2023 and 2024 at No. 1 in the WTA rankings but was seeded No. 8 at Wimbledon after going more than a year without claiming a title anywhere. She served a one-month doping ban last year after failing an out-of-competition drug test; an investigation determined she was inadvertently exposed to a contaminated medical product used for trouble sleeping and jet lag.
Anisimova, who was born in New Jersey and grew up in Florida, was a semifinalist at age 17 at the 2019 French Open.
She took time away from the tour a little more than two years ago because of burnout. A year ago, she tried to qualify for Wimbledon, because her ranking of 189th was too low to get into the field automatically, but lost in the preliminary event.
Anisimova will break into the top 10 in the rankings for the first time next week.
AVP, the biggest and longest-running professional volleyball league, will play matches in an NBA arena for the first time this weekend in Inglewood.
A crew picked up 16 dump truck loads from a quarry in Palm Springs, delivering 300 tons of sand into the Intuit Dome for AVP League matches on Friday and Saturday.
The crew constructed a wooden sandbox barrier to protect the arena floor. The sand, pre-washed and compacted upon arrival, was dumped into an 18-inch wooden frame, with elements such as hospitality added to help remove debris from the air.
A worker prepares sand at the Intuit Dome ahead of an AVP tournament.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
“If all goes well, it’s about a six- to eight-hour build from start to finish with the court,” said Logan Dan, head of operations for AVP Professional Beach Volleyball Tours. “It takes about six hours to build the court specifically.”
Once the event concludes, the crew dismantles the frame and removes the sand using equipment that looks like a modified small tractor.
“We break the box open and use a skid steer with a box broom attachment — it sweeps up a lot of the sand,” Dan said.
Although indoor beach volleyball is unusual, the AVP’s new league model — introduced last year — has made it possible to bring tournaments to unconventional venues. The league is investing in creative ways to grow accessibility and exposure.
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1.One of many trucks makes its way through the Intuit Dome to deliver sand in preparation of an AVP league event.2.Workers slowly cover the floor of the Intuit Dome with sand.(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
“What that has allowed us to do is to bring volleyball into different areas that it might not be,” Dan said. “For instance, we’re going to New York next week, and we’ll be putting a court in Central Park, right in Wollman Rink, where they normally have ice skating in the winter and pickleball in the summer.”
Conditions for beach volleyball differ significantly between outdoor and indoor play. Sun, wind and heat heavily influence outdodor players’ performance and court dynamics. Indoors, the environment remains cooler and still, free from elements such as whipping winds or scorching sun.
“It’s so close and loud and intimate that it creates that very cool environment,” Logan said.
AVP declined to disclose what it costs to build courts in unconventional locations such as the Intuit Dome.
Logan said AVP staff hope fans will enjoy a fun, family-oriented community environment that features more seats close to the action than a typical beach volleyball court.
Workers cover the floor of the Intuit Dome with sand ahead of an AVP league event.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
The schedule
AVP League matches start Friday at 5 p.m. with the L.A. Launch playing the San Diego Smash in the first match.
Doors open Saturday at 4 p.m., with the Palm Beach Passion playing the L.A. Launch during the first match.
Tickets started at $43.50 apiece.
What’s at stake
The AVP League format differs from traditional tournaments. A men’s duo and women’s duo represent a city and their combined records determine position in league standings. At the end of league play, one of eight cities will be crowned the AVP League champion. The playoffs feature a postseason tournament seeded based on each duo’s record during the season. The tournament splits into male and female competition groups, with the winning duo in each group earning the top prize.
The top two teams in the league standings are the L.A. Launch and the Palm Beach Passion. L.A. Launch is undefeated, while Palm Beach Passion is 6–2.
Who is playing in Inglewood?
Four of the league’s eight city teams will be represented. The lineup includes numerous Olympians, USC alums and a former NBA player.
No. 1 L.A. Launch Men: Hagen Smith and Logan Webber | Women: Terese Cannon and Megan Kraft
No. 2 Palm Beach Men: Trevor Crabb and Phil Dalhausser | Women: Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson
No. 6 San Diego Smash Men: Chase Budinger and Miles Evans | Women: Abby Van Winkle and Geena Urango
No. 8 Miami Mayhem Men: Chaim Schalk and James Shaw | Women: Kelly Cheng and Molly Shaw
For fans, parents and sportswriters,Edison’s seven-on-seven passing tournament, known as the Battle at the Beach, on Saturday is a key moment in the summer passing season, leading to the start of official football practice at the end of the month.
It’s not about wins and losses on Saturday but seeing which teams and players have made progress in the offseason and getting a first look at transfer students to see how they might fit in. It’s also a sensitive time for coaches trying to keep players happy so they don’t transfer to another school just as the season is about to begin.
The opportunity to see top skill-position players performing for their teams before pads come on next month is always the attraction of the well-run Edison tournament. The 9 a.m. games offer perhaps the best matchups of the day: Edison vs. Santa Margarita, Cathedral vs. St. John Bosco and Servite vs. Mission Viejo. One of those teams almost certainly will be crowned champion by the end of the day.
Edison coach Jeff Grady understands players are fresh and focused at the start of a long day, so that’s the time you learn the most about a team.
4 more days away from our annual Battle at the Beach Tournament as the Pool Play and Bracket Schedules are officially set
— Edison Football ⚡️ (@EdisonChargerFB) July 9, 2025
Mission Viejo, having beaten Mater Dei to win its own tournament last month, gets the favorite’s role behind quarterback Luke Fahey, an Ohio State commit. Santa Margarita will receive lots of attention in its first appearance since Heisman Trophy winner Carson Palmer was named head coach. There will be lots of focus on quarterbacks, from St. John Bosco’s Koa Malau’ulu to Palos Verdes’ Ryan Rakowski.
Coaches invited to this event know their players are expected to act classy with no fights. The officials use the event to get into shape for the season ahead and try out new officials. Players get to high-five their friends after intense competitions knowing they’re still friends, win or lose.
No one wins an 11-man championship based on seven-on-seven success (linemen are important), but there are so many good receivers and defensive backs in this tournament that it‘s always entertaining to watch and check out if any new players are ready to make an impact.
The BBC has hosted Wimbledon for a staggering 90 years, but now reports suggest the rights to the tennis tournament in SW19 could be poached by two rival broadcasters
The BBC has hosted Wimbledon for a staggering 90 years
Despite hosting Wimbledon for a jaw-dropping 90 years, the BBC may be at risk of losing the rights to the iconic tennis tournament, according to reports.
For decades, the broadcaster has given us some of the world’s most epic matches from SW19, featuring stars, including Andy Murray, Serena Williams and Rafa Nadal, along with commentary from some of the game’s biggest stars. However, the Beeb is now reportedly facing a fight to retain its rights to Wimbledon – with two rival broadcasters eyeing up mega-money deals to get a slice of the annual action, which attracts millions of viewers.
Carlos Alcaraz at Wimbledon 2025(Image: Julian Finney/Getty Images)
According to City AM, the BBC pays £60m to the All England Tennis Club to broadcast Wimbledon each year, keeping it free to watch for anyone with a TV license.
Its trusted coverage and commentary from the likes of Tim Henman and John McEnroe is a big hit with fans. However, the corporation’s current deal expires in 2027, meaning it may have to pay more than £60m if it wants to secure the rights for 2028 to 2030.
The Broadcast Act of 1996 also states that while Wimbledon must be accessible via free terrestrial TV it does not guarantee exclusive broadcasting.
This is said to have made way for huge broadcasters Sky Sports and TNT Sports to potentially broadcast Wimbledon themselves in the future.
TNT Sports is already set to broadcast this year’s men’s and women’s singles finals alongside the BBC after taking over Eurosport. They have also been presenting part of the Olympic Games for the past two years.
Sky Sports, meanwhile, already has a huge following and has exclusive rights to the US Open, as well as the ATP and WTA tours.
Speaking last month, BBC commentator Andrew Castle said he didn’t think the BBC would “allow” anyone else to present Wimbledon.
Speaking via Betway, he said: “I don’t think they ever would [allow a rival broadcaster to take over].
“In terms of a domestic audience in the UK is concerned, I’d be very surprised if it wasn’t on the BBC and free to air. But I’ve been surprised before. I just don’t see why or the particular benefit and that’s what matters to me.
“It’s an institution and an event, not a tennis tournament. As long as people see it because it is the big showcase.”
Adding he was also a big fan of not being bombarded with adverts during the coverage, he added: “When I think of Wimbledon on the BBC, what is really lovely is there are no commercial breaks.”
The much-loved tennis tournament is now underway after kicking off on Monday and will finish onSunday, July 13,when the men’s singles final is played on Centre Court.
Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz is the defending champion in the men’s singles while Czech star Barbora Krejcikova won last year’s women’s singles title.
The Mirror has contacted the BBC for comment on this story.
The temperature at Wimbledon on Monday is expected to reach 33C, and possibly 34C.
That will make it easily the hottest opening day to the Championships – exceeding the previous record of 29.3C set in 2001.
The hot weather will stick around on Tuesday, with temperatures once again getting into the low 30s.
While 33C or 34C is the maximum air temperature, if you add in the humidity, the players and spectators will experience a heat index – or ‘feels-like temperature’ – closer to 37C.
It may even feel hotter on court, where there is more restricted airflow.
However, we’re not expecting to reach the highest recorded temperature during the Wimbledon fortnight of 35.7C, which was on 1 July 2015.
Cooler weather will move in for the rest of the week with some rain expected on Wednesday and maybe the weekend.
This article is the latest from BBC Sport’s Ask Me Anything team.
MINNEAPOLIS — Damion Downs scored in the sixth round of a shootout after three saves by Matt Freese, sending the U.S. to the semifinals of the CONCACAF Gold Cup with a 4-3 penalty-kicks win over Costa Rica after a a 2-2 tie on Sunday night.
The U.S. advanced to a Wednesday matchup in St. Louis against Guatemala, which upset Canada on penalty kicks in the opener of the quarterfinal doubleheader.
Mexico plays Honduras in the other semifinal on Wednesday in Santa Clara. The championship is in Houston on July 6.
The U.S. has reached the semifinals in 17 of 18 Gold Cups, including 13 straight since a quarterfinal loss to Colombia on penalty kicks in 2000.
Diego Luna and Max Arfsten scored in regulation for the U.S., which faced its highest-ranked opponent of the tournament in Costa Rica (54th) after breezing through the group stage with an 8-1 goal differential.
Alonso Martinez scored the tying goal for the Ticos in the 71st minute with a left-footed shot after Carlos Mora split Luca de La Torre and Arsten to take a shot on Freese and seize the rebound to set up Martinez.
CONCACAF changed the rules for this edition of the biennial championship for North America, Central America and the Caribbean, eliminating extra time except for the championship game.
John Tolkin had the first chance to win the shootout for the U.S. Keylor Navas knocked down his try in the fifth round. Freese then denied Andy Rojas with a diving hand, climbing to his feet while nodding his head and sticking out his tongue toward his cheering teammates at midfield. That set up the winner by the 20-year-old Downs.
Missing the tournament for the U.S. are regulars Christian Pulisic, Yunus Musah, Weston McKennie, Tim Weah, Gio Reyna, Antonee Robinson, Folarin Balogun and Sergiño Dest, due to a variety of reasons from injuries to rest to Club World Cup commitments.
Three of Costa Rica’s six goals during the group stage came by penalty kick, and Francisco Calvo added another one in the 12th minute after a foul by Arsten. Calvo went low to zip the ball just out of reach of a diving Freese.
Malik Tillman, who had three group stage goals, put a 37th-minute penalty kick off a post and Navas knocked away Arfsten’s attempt off the rebound.
Luna picked him up with his first goal in international competition by rocketing a shot off the chest of defender Alexis Gamboa for the equalizer in the 43rd minute.
Tillman made amends for his miss early in the second half by poking a pass ahead for Arfsten, who surged in from the left wing to send the ball into the opposite corner for the lead.
Mission Viejo High’s offense is Luke Fahey’s now — and it might be one that’s hard to stop if Saturday was a sneak peak of what’s to come.
A drive into Mission Viejo’s first pool game of the 30th edition of its seven-on-seven passing tournament, the senior quarterback wasn’t satisfied. Mission Viejo failed to score against Oceanside, a drop causing Fahey, wearing a relaxed-fit shirt and shorts, to yell toward his team.
“Offense, over here,” Fahey called out to his teammates as he hustled off to the sidelines.
The next five drives ended in the same way, the budding college football prospect — holding offers from Ohio State, Stanford and Indiana — dotting passes to his younger wide receivers on the regular, a trend that would continue throughout Saturday on Mission Viejo’s way to a 35-23 tournament final victory over Mater Dei.
Fahey is ready to take the next step. He split reps with Drai Trudeau two seasons in a row, and learned how to become a leader sitting behind Kadin Semonza as a freshman. Mission Viejo coach Chad Johnson said playcalling was up to Fahey, who picked up on his successes and helped his teammates through their mistakes.
“It’s his turn to take over,” Johnson said. “He’s the leader of our team. Every single break we have is led by him. He’s another coach on the field.”
Fahey pulled over a freshman teammate to the side midway through a game Saturday, helping explain to him the intricacies of routes so that he’d better understand what to do in a game. With standout wide receiver Vance Spafford unavailable, Johnson said, it was Fahey’s turn to teach.
After passing for 17 touchdowns and 1,638 yards as a junior, Fahey could be set for a big senior year for the Diablos.
“When we come out here, we want to be the best,” Fahey said. “We want to do everything right, 100%, no matter what it is, no matter who we play.”
Saturday, Fahey and Mission Viejo were the best — but he was not the only quarterback to showcase his skill in seven-on-seven action.
Mater Dei, with Dash Beierly out of the picture, primarily split the series between JSerra senior transfer Ryan Hopkins and junior Furian Inferrera (Beierly’s backup in 2024).
Hopkins, more of a prototypical pocket passer, seemed to have a strong connection with star tight end Mark Bowman — a passing display between the duo that was featured early in Mater Dei’s contests. Mater Dei coach Raul Lara said that Hopkins, a Wisconsin commit, and Inferrera, a Minnesota commit, are battling for the starting position.
“The two kids that are battling out for the first spot at quarterback, I just love their competitiveness,” Lara said. “They’re both buddies. It’s neat to see.”
Crean Lutheran quarterback Lucas Wong.
(Benjamin Royer / Los Angeles Times)
Among younger quarterbacks, Crean Lutheran freshman Lucas Wong emerged poised and controlled in the pocket — enjoying a standout moment Saturday when he tossed a 30-plus yard touchdown pass on the last play of regulation to defeat Huntington Beach 21-19 in one of its five games.
“We saw a lot of confidence in him,” Crean Lutheran coach Rick Curtis said, adding that expected starting quarterback Caden Jones was out for the tournament. “We said, ‘Hey, let’s put his feet for the fire, and we’ll see what he can do.’ He’s doing a great job today.”
Huntington Beach quarterback Brady Edmunds, listed at 6-foot-5 and 215 pounds despite being two years from fulfilling his current Ohio State commitment, was far and away the most physically imposing quarterback in the tournament.
Edmunds’ touch on his passes was hit or miss Saturday — Huntington Beach scoring the third-fewest points in pool play — but his power behind every throw kept the Oilers in every contest.
La Habra quarterback DJ Mitchell.
(Benjamin Royer / Los Angeles Times)
One of the sneakier standout back-and-forth games ended in a tie — thanks to La Habra junior DJ Mitchell and Oaks Christian sophomore Treyvone Towns Jr. matching each other blow for blow.
Mitchell ended the dueling programs’ pool-play game with a touchdown pass and two-point conversion as the time limit expired to secure a split.
“We practice it every day,” Mitchell said. “Two-minute drill — I know how to execute, make my reads and just hit it. Hit a touchdown.”
Both Mitchell and Towns appear primed for breakout years as they grow into their respective frames.
Etc.
Corona Centennial primarily used Dominick Catalano as its quarterback in Mission Viejo. Catalano backed up Husan Longstreet — now at USC — last year. …
Corona Centennial quarterback Dominick Catalano at the Mission Viejo passing tournament on Saturday.
(Benjamin Royer / Los Angeles Times)
San Juan Hills senior quarterback Timmy Herr, one of a couple southpaws at Mission Viejo, was accurate and controlled, much like he was last year for the Stallions and coach Rob Frith. Mater Dei third-string quarterback Trevor Scott is a left-hander standing 6–foot-4, whose skill set showed rawness as well as potential. Lara said the seven-on-seven tournament was a perfect place for Scott to get his feet wet against Southern Section competition. …
San Clemente won the St. John Bosco passing tournament, defeating the hosts in the final. … Junior quarterback Deshawn Laporte led Burbank to the title at the Simi Valley tournament, defeating the hosts in the final and taking down Sierra Canyon and Chaminade along the way.
Saturday is one of those busy days in summer passing competitions for fans to get a sneak peek of the high school football season.
Mission Viejo is hosting a seven-on-seven passing tournament that includes Mater Dei, which will then take its mandatory two-week dead period immediately after the tournament. A matchup of Mission Viejo and quarterback Luke Fahey against Mater Dei’s outstanding defensive backs will be something that’s likely to take place.
Santa Margarita has pulled out from participating in the Mission Viejo tournament and will be replaced by Schurr, which won a tournament earlier this month.
There’s also an eight-team passing tournament at St. John Bosco featuring the Braves, Servite and Gardena Serra, among others. Salinas pulled out and has been replaced by La Sierra in Riverside.
Simi Valley, Redondo Union and Baldwin Park are also hosting tournaments this weekend.
After Saturday, the next big day for passing tournaments is July 12, featuring Huntington Beach Edison’s Battle at the Beach, along with tournaments at Ocean View and Huntington Beach.
THE most iconic tennis tournament in the world is BACK for another year of scintillating action.
All eyes turn to the capital, as tennis superstars, celebrities, royalty and tens of thousands of fans descend on Wimbledon for two weeks of non-stop action.
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Carlos Alcaraz is aiming to win a third successive Wimbledon titleCredit: The Times
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Coco Gauff is among a number of women’s singles stars aiming for a first Wimbledon titleCredit: Getty
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Emma Raducanu reached the fourth round in 2024Credit: GETTY
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Brit heartthrob Jack Draper is hoping to go past the second round for the first time
Back-to-back winner Carlos Alcaraz is looking to build on a thrilling Roland Garros victory over rival and world No 1 Jannik Sinner this summer.
The 22-year-old star has already gone one better in SW19 than Rafael Nadal as the only Spaniard to win the men’s singles tournament in consecutive years, with two Nadal’s two titles in 2008 and 2010 split by Roger Federer in 2009.
Furthermore, Alcaraz goes into the tournament fresh off a Queen’s Club win after beating Jiri Lehecka by straight sets.
Last year’s women’s finalist Jasmine Paolini will be among names such as Coco Cauff and Arnya Sabalenka in the list of women looking for their first singles title at Wimbledon.
Gauff and Sabalenka were Roland Garros finalists, while Paolini won the women’s doubles title alongside Sara Errani.
Barbora Krejcikova is the defending women’s champion but has endured an injury-hit season and lost in the first round at Queen’s.
When is Wimbledon 2025?
Wimbledon 2025 takes place over the course of two weeks in the summer
The tournament will be played between Monday, June 30 and Sunday, July 13.
The men’s singles final will be on Sunday, July 13 while the women’s singles final will be on Saturday, July 12.
How to watch Wimbledon 2025 for FREE in the UK
Wimbledon remains FREE to watch in the UK in 2025.
The BBC will show ALL of the action from the capital this summer.
While they will remain the main domestic broadcaster of the tournament, TNT Sports will show the men’s and women’s singles finals, as well as a 90 minute highlight package each day.
However, full coverage will remain free, as mentioned above, on the BBC.
It will be broadcast across BBC TV channels, the BBC Sport website and can be live streamed on iPlayer.
Alternatively, SunSport will be running a blog with all the latest news and live action as it happens from the All England Club.
Are tickets still available for Wimbledon 2025?
In short, yes – tickets are still available for EVERY day of Wimbledon.
It is a much tougher ask to guarantee exactly which matches you could see on a specific day, however.
The ballot for specific matches and tickets has closed but Wimbledon remains one of the only remaining sporting events where the public can buy tickets on the day of play.
The Queue remains a very popular way to attend the event, although we’d advise early arrival (or even the night before).
Each day it is possible to purchase a limited number of Show Court tickets or Grounds tickets.
The different tickets will allow specific access to certain courts.
There is limited availability on both, but tickets do also frequently become available later in the day should those already inside choose to leave.
Wimbledon also offers a variety of hospitality packages which includes fine-dining, complimentary drinks, prime seating, a concierge service and buggy shuttles to the Gate.
Alternatively, tickets for specific matches on Centre Court, Court 1 and elsewhere are available to purchase on secondary ticket sites such as StubHub.
Hospitality packages can also be purchased via Seat Unique.
*Please note that StubHub and similar secondary ticket resale sites may list tickets above face value.*
Wimbledon Ticket Options
There are a range of ways to get into Wimbledon…
The Queue
As one of the only major sporting events that allows guests to purchase tickets on the day of the event, demand is high.
Each day a large queue forms of people wanting either a Grounds or Show Court ticket – with many even arriving the night before and camping to guarantee a place.
Upon arrival, visitors are issued a Queue Card, which is numbered and dated and should be kept until a ticket has been purchased.
While there is a limited number of entries, it is possible to remain in the queue and wait for people already inside to leave, with those tickets then becoming available.
It is also possible to check the status of the queue on the Wimbledon website.
This year, organisers are asking potential queuers to download the Wimbledon app and create a myWimbledon account.
Show Tickets
If you get to the front of the queue, then there are a limited number of tickets available for purchase for Centre Court and Courts 1, 2 and 3.
Note that Centre Court tickets are available for the first 10 days of the tournament, the final four days were already pre-sold.
Prices vary depending on the Court, seat and day of the event and will increase the further into the tournament you visit.
For example, Centre Court rows A-T cost £105 on Day 1 and £315 on Day 14 (men’s final).
Grounds Pass
A Grounds Pass costs £30 and allows visitors to watch matches on Courts 3-18 on unreserved seats, though there will also be a queue to get into Court 3.
Ticket Resale
From 3pm each day, tickets may become available from people who have left Wimbledon and made their seat available.
A Grounds Pass is needed to join the virtual queue on the Wimbledon App.
Tickets cost £15 for Centre Court or £10 for Courts 1/2.
Hospitality
There are a range of hospitality packages still available on the Wimbledon website.
Hospitality packages offer guaranteed premium seating to major matches as well as fine dining experiences, complimentary drinks, a shuttle and concierge service.
Hospitality packages can also be purchased via Seat Unique.
Secondary Markets
Sites such as StubHub offer tickets for the main courts for specific days and times.
*Please note that StubHub and similar secondary ticket resale sites may list tickets above face value.*
As the table above shows, 29 players have won the U21 Euros and then a major senior tournament – including Laurent Blanc, Fabio Cannavaro, Gianluigi Buffon, Francesco Totti and Manuel Neuer.
Not just counting the winning team, many of the world’s best players have impressed at previous European Under-21 Championships.
Among the players to win the best player of the tournament award were Rudi Voller, Blanc, Davor Suker, Luis Figo, Cannavaro, Andrea Pirlo, Petr Cech, Juan Mata, Thiago and Fabian Ruiz.
However, there are a few outliers.
Renato Buso and the late Francesc Arnau never won a senior cap for Italy or Spain respectively, while Royston Drenthe only played once for the Netherlands. Arsenal’s Fabio Vieira, 25, has yet to feature for the Portugal senior team.
Sweden’s Marcus Berg had a good goal-laden career, although never played for one of Europe’s top clubs.
The list of Golden Boot winners is more of a mixed bag.
Andrea Pirlo, despite being a midfielder, Alberto Gilardino and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar were among the previous winners.
But Massimo Maccarone, Maceo Rigters, Jan Kliment or Luca Waldschmidt are unlikely to have any statues made of them.
Germany’s Nick Woltemade is the top scorer in this tournament with five goals – two clear of three different players.
Heimo Schirgi’s first big job in soccer was as head of operations for UEFA, the largest and most influential of the global game’s six geographic confederations. Part of that job involved planning and managing the UEFA Champions League, the largest and most influential club soccer competition in the world.
So when Schirgi moved into his current job as FIFA’s chief operating officer for the World Cup, he brought with him the knowledge that the Champions League, for all its prestige and gravitas, also had one weakness: its field was limited to the 55 soccer-playing countries of Europe.
“You have all these club competitions on a confederation, continental level, right?” he said. “But you don’t have it on a global level. You never had clubs from South America competing against European clubs in a serious tournament with high stakes.
“I’m personally interested how the rest of the world’s clubs are going to fare. There’s only one way to find out.”
That one way is the FIFA Club World Cup, which kicked off in the U.S. 10 days ago. And while the tournament has many flaws, it has gone a long way toward answering Schirgi’s curiosity. Europe, it seems, isn’t so dominant after all.
Paris Saint-Germain, the reigning European champion, lost to Botafogo, currently eighth in Brazil’s Serie A. Iconic English club Chelsea was beaten handily by Flamengo, another Brazilian team. Mexico’s Monterrey played Inter Milan, the Champions League runner-up, to a draw. Real Madrid, Europe’s most decorated club, tied Al Hilal, which finished second in the Saudi Pro League.
And Spanish power Atlético Madrid, which made the round of 16 in the Champions League, didn’t even make it out of the group stage.
Those results may still prove to be little more than a stumble on the way to an all-European final four. Or not. And that uncertainty, Schirgi insists, is why the Club World Cup was created.
“Our sport is a sport where underdogs have a genuine chance, right?” he said. “It’s not just the money game. We know that club soccer is at a very high level.”
The real winners through the tournament’s first 34 games have been Latin American teams: Five of the six South American clubs entered Monday unbeaten, as did Mexico’s Monterrey. And if there’s been a big loser, it’s arguably been Major League Soccer, which has shown it’s not ready to play with the big boys.
Although the U.S. league made history when Inter Miami beat Porto 2-1 in a group-stage game, marking the first time an MLS club has beaten a European team in a competitive match, the league’s other two entries — LAFC and the Seattle Sounders — combined for just two goals and were shut out three times in their first five games, all losses.
But if the first Club World Cup has proven to be surprisingly entertaining, even compelling, there have been a few hiccups. Attendance was hurt by several early weekday kickoffs and high admission prices, which forced FIFA to essentially start giving away tickets. The average announced attendance of 36,043 through the first 34 games was matched by nearly as many empty seats.
Just one game has sold out; six others drew fewer than 14,100 fans.
Porto’s Rodrigo Mora tries to cool off after the FIFA Club World Cup group match on Monday.
(Adam Hunger / Associated Press)
The weather has also proven difficult with several players complaining about the heat and humidity. It was so bad in Cincinnati last Saturday, Borussia Dortmund’s substitutes watched the first half on TV in the dressing room. And it’s only going to get worse. Temperatures are expected to top 100 degrees on Tuesday in New Jersey, where Porto plays Al Ahly, and an excessive heat warning has been issued in Philadelphia, where Chelsea and Esperance de Tunis meet.
High 90s temperatures are also forecast Tuesday for Nashville, Tenn., and Charlotte, N.C., where afternoon games are scheduled. That, however, will serve as a wake-up call for next summer’s World Cup, which will be played in similar conditions.
Perhaps the most complex problem FIFA faces in attempting to make the Club World Cup a significant quadrennial event, however, is the crowded fixture schedule. The World Cup will expand from 64 to 104 games next summer. Recent years have seen tournaments such as the Nations League added to the international calendar while club competitions including the Champions League, Europa League and Club World Cup expanded.
Others, such as the Leagues Cup, were created out of whole cloth.
As a result some players have played more than 70 matches for club and country in the last year. The fixture schedule has become so packed that the only place left to accommodate a monthlong tournament such as the Club World Cup was the traditional early summer break between one European season and the next.
FIFPRO, the global union representing soccer players, has cited scientific research in its call for a mandatory four-week break each year. FIFA, the Club World Cup organizer, responded by offering a $1 billion prize-money purse to get teams to play through that break.
“With the introduction of the new Champions League format and the new Club World Cup, which extends for over a month, the workload on teams and players has increased significantly,” said Giuseppe Marotta, chairman and chief executive officer of Inter Milan. “However these competitions also represent a huge opportunity in terms of visibility and revenue. For this reasons, they must be safeguarded.
“Adjustments should instead be made to the rest of the calendar to lighten the overall load.”
Marotta suggests shortening league schedules, which means diminishing domestic competitions while giving more power to the likes of FIFA and UEFA. That could be a slippery slope, one that would make the world’s game less local and more global.
But if the Club World Cup follows the trajectory of the Champions League, Schirgi thinks that’s a trade worth making.
“The beginnings of the Champions League, it was not always this huge, great event,” he said. “There is a lot of growth that needs to happen and a lot of education. We are super excited that we are part of history.”
⚽ You have read the latest installment of On Soccer with Kevin Baxter. The weekly column takes you behind the scenes and shines a spotlight on unique stories. Listen to Baxter on this week’s episode of the “Corner of the Galaxy” podcast.
Fossil Free Football say: “Particular concern is for the fixtures in the no-shade stadium in Charlotte where a heat index of 38C (Real Madrid v Pachuca) and 41C (Benfica v Bayern) is forecast for the next two matches.
“This underlines the dangers facing players and fans at this tournament and in 2026. Fifa have done very little to allay safety concerns.”
The game between New Zealand part-timers Auckland City and Boca Juniors is also due to take place in 41C in Nashville at a ground with limited cover.
Matches in Philadelphia, New York, Cincinnati and Washington DC will also be played in the anticipated heatwave.
After Atletico’s 4-0 defeat by Paris St-Germain in 32C in Pasadena, Marcos Llorente said it was “terribly hot” and added “my toes were sore, my nails were hurting… it’s incredible”.
Fans spoke of having to leave that game because of the heat – and complained about long queues and restrictions of water when arriving at the stadium.
A Fifa statement read: “Fifa’s top priority is the health of everyone involved in football, and Fifa’s medical experts have been in regular contact with the clubs participating to address heat management and acclimatisation.”
The governing body added there will continue to be cooling breaks in the 30th and 75th minute where needed – and that fans are allowed to bring empty clear bottles of up to one litre into stadiums.
Chelsea, who are one of two English teams competing along with Manchester City, beat Los Angeles FC in their opener but then lost 3-1 to Flamengo on Friday.
“It’s not easy because of the temperature,” said boss Enzo Maresca. “We’re going to try to rotate players.”
“I was in shock,” the veteran winger said. “It’s very beautiful here. I like it very much. One day we [went] bowling. And played mini golf. I was thinking when I finish football, to come to live.”
Then there’s the soccer, where not all the memories have been good ones.
After contributing two assists to a win in PSG’s tournament opener, Kvaratskhelia was unable to get any of his game-high five shots past goalkeeper John Victor in Thursday’s 1-0 loss to Brazilian club Botafogo before an announced crowd of 53,699 at the Rose Bowl.
The upset, the tournament’s most shocking result so far, snapped PSG’s win streak at six games in all competition, marked the first time it has been held scoreless since March 5 and leaves in doubt the team’s spot in the second round. Botafogo (2-0) leads the four-team group with PSG and Atlético Madrid (both 1-1) tied for second with a game remaining. With just two teams moving on, PSG will need a victory over the Sounders on Monday in Seattle to advance.
A draw would also send it through if Atlético Madrid loses its final group-stage match with Botafogo.
It wasn’t supposed to be this hard for PSG, the reigning French and European champion and a heavy pre-tournament favorite. Botafogo, which won last year’s Copa Libertadores, is the reigning South American champion, but it is just eighth in Brazil’s 20-team Serie A 11 matches into the current season.
Whether Thursday’s upset helps the struggling Club World Cup find an audience, it’s far too early to tell. But it can’t hurt, especially since Inter Miami also made history Thursday with a second-half goal from Lionel Messi in a 2-1 win over FC Porto, marking the first victory by an MLS club over a European rival in a competitive match.
Igor Jesus of Botafogo celebrates after scoring against Paris Saint-Germain in FIFA Club World Cup group play Thursday.
(Jam Media / Getty Images)
The Club World Cup is the largest and most lucrative global club competition in soccer history but attendance has lagged in the early going, averaging just 36,433 through 20 matches. Nearly half the seats have been empty.
Six games have drawn more than 50,000 fans, including both of Paris Saint-Germain’s matches at the Rose Bowl. But two got fewer than 5,300, with just 3,412 showing up in Orlando for a game between South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns and South Korea’s Ulsan HD and 5,282 for Pachuca-RB Salzburg at TQL Stadium in Cincinnati.
And that’s despite the fact that FIFA, alarmed at the slow pace of ticket sales, slashed prices on the eve of the tournament.
“The atmosphere was a bit strange,” Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca said after his team beat LAFC in its tournament opener before nearly 50,000 empty seats at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium. “This is a world tournament. It deserves more.”
That the competition hasn’t produced more interest is largely FIFA’s fault. World soccer’s governing body has been unable to convince fans or players that the tournament — a 32-team, month-long competition wedged between the end of one European season and the start of the next — was necessary, or even desired.
And until Thursday the tournament had produced little real excitement, with three of the first nine matches — including the opener featuring Messi and Inter Miami — ending in scoreless draws while Bayern Munich, ranked sixth in the world in the Opta Power Rankings, beat Auckland City, ranked 5,068 places lower, 10-0.
With many games kicking off at midday or in the early afternoon, the hot and sticky summer weather has also been a factor on both the play and the attendance. Powerful Real Madrid, playing with Kylian Mbappe in 89-degree temperatures and 71% humidity in suburban Miami, struggled to a draw against Saudi club Al-Hilal while Atlético Madrid wilted under bright summer skies at the Rose Bowl in its first game.
“Playing in this heat is impossible,” Atlético’s Marcos Llorente told reporters. “The heat is terrible. My toes hurt, even my toenails.
“No one in Europe is used to it. I couldn’t stop or start running. It’s unbelievable, but since it’s the same for everyone there’s no point complaining.”
It will be no cooler next year when the real World Cup returns to North America for the first time in 32 years. And in that sense, this summer’s tournament is making good on one of its aims by exposing national team players to the kind of weather, travel and atmosphere they can expect then.
“We’re going to come prepared next year,” said Inter Milan’s Marcus Thuram, who played in the 2022 World Cup final for France. “It’s good preparation to manage the jet lag. America is very big. You get can a taste of what you will get next year. It’s a great preparation.”
As for Thursday’s game, Kvaratskhelia, PSG’s most dangerous attacker, was frustrated twice in the first 10 minutes, with Victor batting down his first shot and the second curling wide of the far post. That allowed Igor Jesus to put Botafogo in front to stay shortly before the intermission, splitting a pair of PSG defenders to run on to Jefferson Savarino’s perfectly weighted through ball, then beating keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma from the top of the box.
It was the first goal PSG has allowed in 366 minutes in all competition and it was all Botafogo would need, although Savarino nearly doubled the lead eight minutes into the second half, putting a strong header on goal that Donnarumma batted down.
Bradley Barcola appeared to tie the score in the 79th minute, but two PSG players were well offside on the play. Then on the first touch of stoppage time, Kvaratskhelia sent a free kick just over the crossbar.
PSG dominated statistically, controlling the ball for three-quarters of the game, making more than three times as many passes, taking 10 corners to one for the Brazilians and outshooting Botafogo 16-4. But all four of Botafogo’s shots were on target while Victor was called on to make just two saves.
Times staff writer Nathan Solis contributed to this story.
Messi, alongside Luis Suarez and Co, will kick-off the tournament, as Inter Miami host Al Ahly FC at the Hard Rock Stadium in the tournament opener.
The Premier League will be represented by Chelsea and Man City, with the Blues having won the competition in 2021, and the Citizens two years later in 2023.
Pep Guardiola’s side also come into the tournament as defending champions, as Real Madrid won the inaugural FIFA International Cup, which replaced the Club World Cup on the footballing calendar.
How to watch the Club World Cup for FREE in the UK
The Club World Cup will stream LIVE in DAZN for FREE in the UK.
23 matches from the tournament can also be watched on free-to-air Channel 5 and My5.
The tournament will take place between Saturday, June 14 and Sunday, July 13.
The first game between Inter Miami and Al Ahly FC will take place at 1am BST on Sunday, June 15 in the UK.
The tournament will be live from the USA, ahead of the World Cup being held there in 2026.
When is the Club World Cup 2025?
The Club World Cup will take place over the course of a month between June and July.
The tournament is set to kick-off on Saturday, June 14 from the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, As Inter Miami take on Al Ahly FC.
The clash will be at 1am BST on Sunday, June 15 in the UK.
The final of the tournament will be on Sunday, July 13 at 8pm BST from the MetLife Stadium in New York.
Think of the World Cup as a big dinner party. Only instead of asking over family, neighbors and some folks from the office, the whole planet has been invited.
Many of those people will be coming to Southern California, and with Wednesday marking the one-year countdown to the tournament’s kickoff, Larry Freedman, co-chair of the Los Angeles World Cup host committee, acknowledges there’s still a lot of tidying up that has to be done before the guests arrive.
“As with any event of this magnitude, there are a tremendous number of moving pieces,” he said. “Nobody is ready, 100%, a year out. When we signed up for this, we knew we would be working to the end to get ready.”
The 2026 World Cup will be the largest and most complex sporting event in history, with 48 national teams playing 104 games in 16 cities spread across the U.S., Mexico and Canada over 39 days. Eight games will be played at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood.
With more than 6 million fans expected to attend matches and another 6 billion engaging globally, FIFA, the World Cup’s organizer, says the economic impact to the three countries could top $40 billion. But the number of obstacles host cities will have to negotiate are almost as large and complex as the tournament itself.
“Transportation, communications, ticketing, security, the fan fest,” Freedman said. “You name it.”
Hovering over it all like a black cloud are uncertainties over visas, which about half the fans coming to the U.S. for the tournament will need in order to enter the country.
Last week, the Trump administration reneged on a pledge to host an open World Cup by issuing a travel ban on people from 12 countries, including Iran, which has already qualified for the World Cup. Citizens of seven other countries face severe restrictions in obtaining visas.
Before that, the State Department, which is charge of visa issuance, announced plans to close 10 embassies and 17 consulates and reduce its work force by 3,400 at a time when the average wait for a visa application appointment in some countries is more than a year.
And Southern California, which will host the U.S. national team’s first game, has experienced days of civil unrest sparked by widespread immigration raids. After protesters shut down freeways, burned cars and vandalized businesses, the national guard was deployed.
The turmoil could threaten the success of an event that Kathryn Schloessman, president and chief executive of the L.A. Sports & Entertainment Commission, considers both a unique opportunity and a major responsibility.
“The thing that keeps me awake at night is how quickly this has been,” she said. “We started in 2017 on this bid and it just always seemed like it was a long way away. Then, all of sudden, poof, we’re at one year out.”
“I want to make a positive impact on people and their memories,” she continued. “That, to me, is the biggest responsibility here because we’re not going to have this event here again in my lifetime. So this is the one opportunity of the world’s biggest event to really do some good in L.A.”
This is already the second World Cup played in the U.S. in Schloessman’s lifetime. The first, in 1994, was the most successful in history, setting records for average and overall attendance and returning a record $50-million profit to its organizing committee, headed by Alan Rothenberg.
A year out from that tournament, Rothenberg had far different concerns. The U.S. didn’t have a first-division soccer league then and its national team had played in just one World Cup since 1950. As a result, soccer was so foreign to most Americans, many of the nine stadiums selected to host games didn’t have fields wide enough to meet FIFA standards.
“We had a keen sense of confidence and yet, at the same time, total apprehension. Because nobody had ever done it before,” Rothenberg said.
“We were reasonably confident about how ticket sales were going to go. A lot was riding on the success of the [U.S.] team. If the team was an embarrassment it would be a real downcast over the entire operation.”
Instead, the U.S. drew Switzerland, beat Colombia and advanced to the knockout round, where it played eventual champion Brazil even for 70 minutes.
That World Cup also introduced a number of features that have since become common, such as fan fests and group-play victories counting for three points instead of two. It was also the first World Cup in which a temporary grass carpet was laid over an artificial-turf field; next summer eight of the 16 stadiums will do that.
Rothenberg even planned a halftime show for the final at the Rose Bowl, signing Whitney Houston to perform. FIFA nixed the idea then but has revived it for 2026.
“Everything we did was like a first, other than the actual playing of the matches,” Rothenberg said.
“I think it really took ‘94 to let the rest of the soccer world accept the fact that ‘OK, the U.S. can be part of our club.’ We were doing some unusual things. We were using celebrities and doing all kinds of entertainment events to build public interest. We had our legacy tour where we were going to city after city, basically traveling the country to get people interested.”
Fans pack the Rose Bowl during a World Cup match between Brazil and Italy on July 17, 1994.
(Lois Bernstein / Associated Press)
And Rothenberg could do that because, as president of U.S. Soccer and chairman of the World Cup organizing committee, he was in charge of the entire tournament. That has changed. FIFA now runs the show, overseeing each of the 16 World Cup cities, who are acting independently of one another.
The financial agreements between FIFA and the World Cup hosts have also changed, which is why it’s highly unlikely any future tournament will be as profitable for the host country as Rothenberg’s was for the U.S. In 1994, FIFA shared some of its earnings with local organizers, who were also allowed to cut their own sponsorship deals. That led to a $50 million surplus that funded the U.S. Soccer Foundation.
This time around FIFA is taking virtually all tournament-related revenue from ticket sales, sponsorships and broadcasting, even at the local level, while leaving host cities on the hook for public services, security and stadium operations. The relationship is so one-sided that Chicago, where the World Cup opened in 1994, backed out of the 2026 tournament citing the costs to the public.
Los Angeles threatened to pass on the tournament as well until a privately funded host committee made up of nearly a dozen local sports and civic organizations agreed to cover much of the risks to taxpayers.
In return, a report by Micronomics Economic Research and Consulting estimates Southern California will receive $594 million in economic impact from the tournament, including $343 million in direct spending on hotels, meals, transportation and other services from the estimated 180,000 out-of-town World Cup visitors.
But that’s assuming those visitors show up. According to the State Department website, wait times for a non-immigrant B1/B2 visa — the one World Cup visitors who do not qualify for a visa waiver will need to enter the U.S. — topped a year in Colombia, Honduras and several cities in Mexico.
And things may be getting worse.
“Based on our experience, the approval rate for B1/B2 tourist and/or temporary business visas in Colombia has changed,” said Pamela Monroy, a paralegal who helps prospective U.S. visitors through the immigration process. “There has been a considerable increase in the denial rate for this visa category. We believe this is a result of the ongoing policies and changes in immigration matters being implemented by the Donald Trump administration.”
Those kinds of stories worry Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Los Angeles), whose district borders SoFi Stadium. Last month Kamlager-Dove sent a letter, signed by a bipartisan group of more than 50 congressional representatives, to Secretary of State Marco Rubio asking him to “ensure expeditious and secure visa processing” for the World Cup.
In testimony before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, of which Kamlager-Dove is a member, Rubio promised he would. But the congresswoman has yet to see proof.
“Show me what that looks like,” she said Monday. “We’re not going to wait too long. We’re all unified, Republicans and Democrats. We want these games to be successful, want them to get their act together and are willing to work with one another to push the State Department to follow through on their commitment.”
The White House, meanwhile, has sent mixed messages. Last month, President Trump opened the first meeting of a task force on the World Cup by saying that “everyone who wants to come here to enjoy, to have fun and to celebrate the game will be able to do that.”
A month later he signed the travel ban, effectively limiting the definition of “everyone.”
President Trump signs a soccer ball as Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, right, and FIFA President Gianni Infantino look on at Lusail Palace in Doha, Qatar, on May 14.
(Alex Brandon / Associated Press)
At that same White House meeting in May, Vice President JD Vance, the co-chair of the task force, warned World Cup visitors that they would have to leave immediately after the tournament. “Otherwise,” he said “they will have to talk to Secretary Noem,” referring to Homeland Security secretary Kristi Noem, whose agency has detained and interrogated people with approved immigration documents at U.S. points of entry.
The last two World Cup hosts — Russia in 2018 and Qatar in 2022 — allowed visitors to enter their countries with a game ticket essentially doubling as their visa. Both governments also performed background checks on all visitors coming to the tournament.
Trump’s travel ban, which took effect Monday, bars travel to the U.S. for people in 12 countries and severely limits access to people from seven others. In addition to Iran, which has already assured itself a place in the 2026 tournament, those 19 countries include Sudan, Haiti, Cuba and Venezuela, whose teams still have a chance to earn World Cup bids via regional qualifying tournaments.
An exception to the travel ban will allow athletes, coaches and support staff into the U.S. but not fans, directly contradicting FIFA president Gianni Infantino, who told delegates at last month’s FIFA Congress that “the world is welcome in America … but definitely also all the fans.”
Infantino has built a relationship with Trump, attending the president’s inauguration in January. If the administration’s seemingly contradictory actions caught the FIFA leader by surprise, it also might have convinced some foreign soccer fans to not attend games in the U.S.
Marcel Ott, a 30-year-old software consultant from Leipzig, Germany, has long been saving for a trip to the World Cup but reports of German tourists being detained, some for weeks, at U.S. airports has led him to reconsider.
“Now I’m not so sure because of the political developments in the U.S.,” he said in German. “I don’t know if it’s worth the risk of getting stopped and detained at the airport and risk being deporting back to Germany.”
Germany is one of 42 countries whose citizens are eligible for the visa waiver program, which generally allows them to enter the U.S. for visits of up to 90 days without a visa. However, they must obtain Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) approval prior to travel and can be turned away at any point of entry by Customs and Border Protection officers.
Ott, who has attended two World Cups, said he may fly to Canada and try to enter the U.S. from there.
“If I get sent back at the border crossing to Canada, I won’t have to fly back to Germany right away,” he said. “I’m thinking the guards at the border to Canada might be a little more relaxed. And there are World Cup games in Canada, too, so it wouldn’t be so bad if I get sent back at the Canadian border.
“To be honest, I am still not sure what to do next year.”
A 21-member FIFA delegation visits SoFi Stadium in 2021.
(Los Angeles World Cup Host Committee)
Marlene, 33, who declined to give her last name, is also uncertain. A city government employee in Berlin, she attended the last two World Cups in Russia and Qatar and planned to travel to the U.S. next summer “but the general events and U.S. politics put me off. I think it would be better for me not to travel to the USA.”
But Volker Heun, who worked as a bank executive in the U.S. and once golfed with Trump, said those fears are misplaced, citing the nearly two million Germans who visited America without issue last year.
“This whole issue is being totally overblown in the German media,” said Heun, who plans to enter a World Cup lottery for tickets to multiple games. “The atmosphere is going to be great.”
In South Korea, Jo Ho-tae, who helps manage the Red Devils, a supporter group that recently followed the country’s national team to a qualifying match in Jordan, said he will rely on government officials to warn of potential problems.
“I haven’t thought too much about Trump’s immigration policy yet,” he said. “But who even knows if our matches will be held in the U.S. and not in Canada or Mexico?”
The White House could always reverse its immigration policy, as it has done repeatedly with tariffs, and prioritize visa requests for World Cup travelers. That’s the solution Freedman, L.A. organizing committee co-chair, is betting on.
“They are looking at this as a showcase event for the country and the host cities. And they understand, it seems, how important it is to welcome the world,” he said. “I am hopeful that it all gets sorted out in a good way.”
Many close observers of World Cup preparations share Freedman’s optimism.
Whether that cautious optimism is justified may soon be known. Tickets for the tournament are expected to go on sale this summer and the draw to determine matchups and venues for the group-play stage of the tournament will be held this winter. Those two events could go a long way toward determining how the World Cup plays out, said Travis Murphy, a former U.S. diplomat who is founder and chief executive of Jetr Global Sports + Entertainment, a Washington-based firm that works to solve visa and immigrant issues for athletes and sports franchises.
“There’s kind of this stopwatch that begins the moment the draw is complete to figure out [training] camps and logistics and visas and travel arrangements,” he said.
“I do think they’ll make it happen. Is that to say there won’t be any issues? Of course not. There was never going to be a scenario where there’s not significant challenges to get all these people into the country.
“There are times when the rhetoric seems to run contrary to what’s happening on the ground. But it does, at least for the moment, seem like they’re implementing changes that are ultimately going to be helpful.”
Baxter reported from Los Angeles, special correspondent Kirschbaum from Berlin and staff writer Max Kim from Seoul.
When the CONCACAF Gold Cup was launched, it was intended to be the confederation’s version of UEFA’s European Championships or CONMEBOL’s Copa América.
And for more than a generation it sufficed.
But as Mexico and the U.S. got better, playing group-play matches against the likes of Saint Kitts and Nevis or Martinique every other year ceased to be a challenge. So twice in the past decade the confederation brought South America’s championship tournament to North America just to make things interesting.
However, this summer the Gold Cup, which kicks off Saturday with Mexico, the reigning champion, facing the Dominican Republic at SoFi Stadium, has gotten its groove back. (The U.S. opens play Sunday in San José against Trinidad and Tobago.)
It’s not that the tournament has gotten more competitive; if anything, it may be worse. In addition to the Dominican Republic, 139th in the FIFA rankings, the 16-team tournament includes seven other teams outside the world’s top 80.
But the fact that the Gold Cup comes less than a year before the World Cup returns to North America has made it noteworthy.
Because the World Cup will be played in the U.S., Mexico and Canada, those countries have been spared an arduous qualifying competition — tense games that would have steeled them for the tournament ahead. And with no qualifiers, the fixture calendar for all three teams are wide open between the Gold Cup and the World Cup.
That’s not a good thing.
The U.S. has friendlies with South Korea and Japan scheduled for September, but with qualifying competitions in South America running through the end of the summer and tournaments in the rest of the world spilling over into 2026, it will be difficult to schedule more games with a World Cup-caliber opponent until early next year.
In fact, after this summer there will be just four FIFA match windows — short ones that leave time for three or four training days and a couple of games — before World Cup rosters are called up.
That makes the Gold Cup, a three-week tournament with group play and a single-elimination knockout stage, an important preparatory test for the three hosts even if the field is less than stellar. But only Mexico will have its first-choice team this summer.
Canada will be without winger Alphonso Davies, who tore his anterior cruciate ligament in the Nations League semifinals in March, and defender Moise Bombito. The U.S. is missing eight potential starters in captain Christian Pulisic, midfielders Weston McKennie and Gio Reyna, defender Antonee Robinson and forwards Tim Weah, Yunus Musah, Folarin Balogun and Josh Sargent, who are out because of injury, personal reasons or commitments to the FIFA Club World Cup.
Because the Gold Cup is held outside a FIFA international match window, clubs are not obligated to release players for the tournament. And many didn’t. As a result, 15 of the players on the Americans’ 26-man training camp roster play in MLS. Not an ideal way for a team that lost to Canada and Panama in March — with its best players — to prepare for the World Cup.
“Many people can say it’s really important for us to be all together for the last time before the World Cup,” said Pochettino, the first U.S. coach with a three-game losing streak in his first 10 games since Manfred Schellscheidt in 1975, according to statistician Paul Carr.
“Sometimes we give too much importance to be[ing] together.”
In the Gold Cup, the U.S. will follow Trinidad with games against Saudi Arabia and Haiti, giving it a low bar to clear to get out of group play. Mexico will play Suriname and Costa Rica after its opener with the Dominican Republic. With two teams advancing to the quarterfinals from each of the four four-team groups, Mexico is virtually assured of moving on as well.
Whether any of that helps the teams prepare for the World Cup won’t be known for a year. But there may be an omen there because there have been links between the World Cup and Gold Cup since the first CONCACAF tournament was played in 1991.
That came just a year after the U.S. returned to the World Cup, ending a four-decade absence, and three years before the country hosted the tournament for the first time. It was important then because, without it, the U.S. would have played just 11 games that year, hardly enough to prepare for a World Cup.
The inaugural Gold Cup was also the first tournament for new coach Bora Milutinovic and marked the first time the U.S. would play in the Rose Bowl, where they drew 18,435 fans for a game with Trinidad. The stadium and the coach would reunite three years later when Milutinovic coached the U.S. in a World Cup game with Romania that drew a crowd of 93,869, still the largest for the men’s national team game at home.
The tournament also included a 2-0 U.S. victory over Mexico, just the second win over El Tri in 54 years and a scoreline that has been repeated nine times since.
Then there’s 2002, when the U.S. won the tournament on its way to the World Cup quarterfinals for the only time in the modern era.
But if the Gold Cup provided a challenge then, it really doesn’t anymore. The U.S. and Mexico have combined to win every tournament this century — and have met in the final seven times.
All of which that brings up an idea: If the U.S., Mexico and Canada — the only other country to win a Gold Cup title — can’t find anyone to play while the rest of the world is busy with qualifying, maybe they should just play one another.
That’s probably how the Gold Cup is going to end up anyway.
⚽ You have read the latest installment of On Soccer with Kevin Baxter. The weekly column takes you behind the scenes and shines a spotlight on unique stories. Listen to Baxter on this week’s episode of the “Corner of the Galaxy” podcast.
Plans to hold a European T20 franchise tournament this summer are to be shelved until 2026 because three potential owners are instead focusing on completing deals to buy team stakes in The Hundred.
The European T20 Premier League (ETPL), part owned by Bollywood star Abhishek Bachchan, and involving city-based franchises from Ireland, Scotland and the Netherlands, was set to start next month.
The six-team tournament was slated to take place from 15 July to 3 August but multiple sources have told BBC Sport the event will definitely not happen this year.
The project is being led by Cricket Ireland in collaboration with the boards of Scotland and the Netherlands.
Dublin, Belfast, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Amsterdam and Rotterdam were the designated venues for the ETPL, which promised to “elevate local talent, draw global superstars, and ignite a wave of cricketing enthusiasm across Europe”.
Deals for at least three of the six city-based franchises are understood to be very close to being signed off, and it was initially hoped that once they were wrapped up, the remaining three would soon follow.
However, three of those potential ETPL franchise owners are also acquiring stakes in The Hundred and are said to have prioritised those deals.
In April, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) extended the deadline to complete sales of the Hundred franchises that were agreed earlier this year.
The knock-on effect of the delay in those sales is the postponement of the ETPL, with a formal announcement to confirm it has been rescheduled to be made within the next 48 hours.
Bollywood actor and film produce Bachchan was announced as part-owner of the ETPL in conjunction with Rules Sport Tech when it was launched in January.
Rules Sport Tech are a private Indian company who “promote and create high quality sports initiatives, tournaments and events”.
Mumbai-born Bachchan, 49, travelled to Dublin in March to promote the tournament via a series of media interviews and Instagram posts.
It is not the first time a European T20 franchise tournament involving the Dutch, Irish and Scottish cricket boards has struggled to get off the ground.
That came after team names were announced, a draft held and marquee players including Eoin Morgan were allocated to franchises.
The tournament was then postponed several times over subsequent years and never took place.
Organisers are buoyant about the ETPL’s prospects, even though no franchises have yet been sold, and are confident it will not be plagued by the same issues as the Euro T20 Slam.
Cricket Ireland, Cricket Scotland and the Royal Dutch Cricket Association all declined to comment.
Under threat of elimination, UC Irvine‘s bats emerged once again.
Bringing the power for a second straight game, the Anteaters connected for five home runs Sunday, eliminating Arizona State 11-6 in the Los Angeles Regional of the NCAA baseball tournament.
Needing to win four straight games to advance to the super regionals after losing to Arizona State on Friday, UC Irvine is halfway to its goal.
Alonso Reyes — who had just one home run in 2025 entering Sunday’s game — ripped a two-run home run off of Sun Devils starter Derek Schaefer in the fourth inning. Later in the inning, after Arizona State coach Willie Bloomquist went with Lucas Kelly out of the bullpen, Chase Call cleared the batter’s eye in dead center field for a two-run home run to give the Anteaters a 6-1 lead.
UC Irvine took a 7-2 lead in the sixth when Call launched a changeup over the heart of the plate from Sun Devils closer Cole Carlon beyond the left-field wall and into the neighborhood behind Jackie Robinson Stadium.
Call’s two home runs weren’t the only examples of the Anteaters’ power at the plate.
UC Irvine star center fielder Jacob McCombs connected for a no-doubt home run (423 feet, 106.5 mph) for the second straight day in the third inning, lifting the ball over The Jack and Rhodine Gifford Training Facility in right field. McCombs, an All-Big-West First Team honoree, leaned back in the batter’s box after his home run, taking time to admire his go-ahead blast.
Even when the Sun Devils threatened — scoring three in the sixth to make it a two-run game — James Castagnola replenished the lead with a two-run home run in the seventh. UC Irvine forced Carlon — who entered the game with a 2.73 earned-run average — from the game. He conceded a season-high five runs (four earned) across 1⅓ innings.
Plenty is still up for grabs for the Anteaters, but it will now require more of the same offense — and taking down UCLA twice (once Sunday night and on Monday) to extend their season. Luckily for coach Ben Orloff, he preserved most of his pitching staff thanks to redshirt sophomore left-hander Ryder Brooks’ start.
The brother of former UCLA Friday night starting pitcher Jake Brooks made himself at home at Jackie Robinson Stadium, tossing 5⅓ innings of five-run ball, giving up six hits, walking four and striking out three with low-slot delivery. It was Brooks’ longest start since a complete-game shutout of Hawaii on April 19.
Orloff dipped into his bullpen for just two relief pitchers. Ricky Ojeda, the Big West Pitcher of the Year, tossed 1 ⅓ innings on 34 pitches. Over the last three days, Ojeda has thrown 74 pitches — and would be on just a few hours rest if he pitches Sunday night against UCLA. The Anteaters split their midweek season series against the Bruins earlier this year.
World number one Scottie Scheffler continued his stunning form with a four-shot victory at the Memorial Tournament in Columbus, Ohio.
The American shot a two-under-par 70 to beat compatriot Ben Griffin, whose challenge faded on the back nine.
After bogeys on the 12th and 13th, Griffin eagled the 15th and birdied the 16th to move to within a stroke of Scheffler.
But he double-bogeyed the 17th to ease the pressure on his rival, who went on seal his third win from his previous four tournaments.
The victory follows his triumph in the PGA Championship in May, Scheffler’s third major win.
He dropped just one shot in his final round when he bogeyed the 10th hole, but made birdies on the seventh, 11th and 15th.
Scheffler’s victory makes him just the second player to win the Memorial in consecutive years, following Tiger Woods’ victories in 1999, 2000 and 2001.
Canadian Nick Taylor shot an impressive four-under-par round of 68 to take a share of the lead at the Memorial Tournament in Columbus, Ohio.
The 37-year-old made four birdies during his second round as he joined overnight leader Ben Griffin, who carded an even-par 72, at the top of the leaderboard.
Griffin’s fellow American Akshay Bhatia is a further two shots behind the pair in third at five under.
World number one Scott Scheffler is within striking distance after he finished the day at four under following back-to-back rounds of 70 at the Muirfield Village Golf Club.
Ireland’s Shane Lowry is the heading the European challenge a further shot back, four off the lead.
