Matthew Mangam, a Rutgers alum, is a Senior Writer for New York Soccer Journal.
The Crew sold Diego Rossi and new summer reinforcements like defender Eric Bailly and forward Brais Méndez have yet to arrive, so Laurent Courtois will hope for his team to defend and control possession against NYCFC.
The World Cup final in East Rutherford, New Jersey became an elaborate spectacle, with a closing ceremony, a star-studded halftime show, and then another awkward trophy lift stage-crashed by US President Donald Trump.
Freese said his error leading to Belgium's third goal "stings more than probably any other moment in my life," but his solid track record for his country and at club level shouldn't be forgotten.
The hottest game played so far at the World Cup took place in Philadelphia on the Fourth of July, as France kept its cool and handled Paraguay's chippy, defensive approach in a tense 1-0 win.
"I'm just thinking about how I can help my team be here on July 19 in the final," Kylian Mbappé said after setting the record for most career goals scored in the World Cup knockout rounds.
What Jude Bellingham, Jordan Henderson, and Dan Burn had to say about England's 2-0 win in East Rutherford, New Jersey, topping Group L, and Harry Kane becoming The Three Lions' all-time leading World Cup scorer.
France rolled to a 4-1 win in Boston and emerged as winners of Group I as Ousmane Dembélé took over and as Norway rested many of its regular starters.
After scoring for Ecuador in its come-from-behind 2-1 win over Germany, Nilson Angulo spoke postmatch about the La Tri squad's confidence, the joy of scoring at a World Cup, and not being intimidated by Germany.
Haaland can do it on a humid, rainy night in East Rutherford, New Jersey, with the striker's two second-half goals the difference in Norway's 3-2 win to guarantee a spot in the knockout rounds.
A relatively simple afternoon for Matt Freese and the victorious United States, while Aiden O'Neill and Australia had a tougher time in the midfield in the 2-0 USMNT win in Seattle.
Didier Deschamps, William Saliba heaped praise on Mbappé after he became France's all-time leading goalscorer, with Mbappé crediting Michael Olise and saying he's focused on making more history with the national team.
After the 1-0 win for Ivory Coast, the RB Leipzig winger discussed his Player of the Match performance, a rumored move to Liverpool, and overcoming Ecuador in the heat of Philadelphia.
Both sides had chances, but it was the Ivory Coast that came out on top in the 90th minute to silence a Lincoln Financial Field crowd mostly wearing yellow jerseys and supporting Ecuador.
Fans at the first World Cup match in East Rutherford, New Jersey found it easier getting to the stadium before kickoff than they did getting home after Brazil played Morocco.
We convened a six-writer panel to make some bold predictions about the World Cup, like who will win it all, which players will take home top individual awards, and which hyped team will go down as the biggest flop.
Brazil struggled in qualifying and enter this World Cup flying a bit under the radar, but with a trophy-winning specialist at the helm and a world-class center-back pairing, they have a path to claiming the trophy for a sixth time.
