Daily Archives: May 22, 2026

Analysing England’s World Cup squad: Arsenal and Man City dominate, has Tuchel prioritised athleticism?

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“It’s fair to say that Thomas Tuchel has ruffled a few feathers with his England squad for this summer’s World Cup. There was no room for Phil Foden, Morgan Gibbs-White or Cole Palmer. Or the Manchester United defensive pairing of Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw. Instead, the England manager has turned to the likes of Ivan Toney, Noni Madueke and Tino Livramento as the Euro 2024 runners-up look to go one better in the United States, Canada and Mexico. A breakdown of the squad per league minutes played shows that much of England’s starting spine will arrive into the tournament with plenty of miles on the clock — with Jordan Pickford, Marc Guehi, Declan Rice, Elliot Anderson, Morgan Rogers and Harry Kane having played 75 per cent or more of the 2025-26 season. …”
NYT/ATH (Video)
NYT/ATH – England’s World Cup squad analysed: Wharton woe, lucky Toney and where’s the creativity?

Picking the USA 2026 World Cup squad: A final projection of Pochettino’s 26-man roster

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“On May 26, U.S. men’s national team manager Mauricio Pochettino will step out at Pier 17 along the East River in Manhattan and announce his 26-man World Cup squad, which will be charged with representing the country on home soil. Since his arrival to U.S. Soccer in September 2024, Pochettino has been intent to remake the culture around the national team. He wanted to redefine how players thought about call-ups. He believed it critical to root out complacency and entitlement, making every player on the roster treasure the opportunity to put on the crest. The ultimate prize to those who bought in: the chance to be part of this summer’s World Cup.. …”
NYT/ATH (Video)
NYT/ATH: ‘I found my Beast Mode of soccer’: Brenden Aaronson and the trainer who unleashed his mentality (Video)

Stu Forster

Fox in ‘conversations’ with FIFA on World Cup hydration break use, to show half-time interviews

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“Zac Kenworthy, the vice-president of production at Fox Sports, has confirmed that his network intends to use half-time interviews during the World Cup and added it remains in ‘conversations’ with FIFA as to how they will use the three-minute hydration breaks in each half of games at the tournament. The Athletic previously reported that FIFA will allow broadcasters to cut away to advertisements during the ‘hydration breaks’ that will split up each half of all 104 World Cup matches. FIFA have previously described the three-minute breaks as being motivated by player welfare, but the breaks will take place in every game, even in temperature-controlled venues, which left many to conclude that there were also commercial motivations at play. …”
NYT/ATH (Video)