When they open their World Cup in New Jersey, France will need to see Kylian Mbappé click as a center-forward, and they'll hope coach Didier Deschamps can find the right tournament formula one last time in search of another world title.
Strahinja Tanasijević officially departs NYCFC with only months remaining on his contract, with the reserve center-back said to be leaving so the club can gain additional roster flexibility.
An unpacking of the controversies and off-field issues swirling around the World Cup as it kicks off, like pricing absurdities, attempted water-bottle bans, and US travel and immigration policies impacting fans, referees, and team officials.
The only team playing twice in New Jersey during the group stage, Senegal will try to shake off lingering feelings from January's controversial AFCON final and make noise in a group with France and Norway.
Reviewing the United States performance against Germany and previewing their World Cup expectations and their group-stage opener against Paraguay, plus discussion of the Dutch national team practicing at NYCFC's training facility.
Santos Laguna will travel north and come to Paterson, New Jersey, to face the Cosmos in an international friendly held on Sunday, June 28.
How the Netherlands ended up training in Orangeburg, what the Dutch squad made of their brief stay in White Plains, and what role Pascal Jansen played in bringing his national team to his club's campus.
An announced crowd of 24,902 mainly Morocco fans got an early goal from Brahim Díaz and a stifling defensive performance vs Norway's potent attack, but the score ended level after a late Martin Ødegaard strike.
Expectations are sky-high for The Three Lions, but they'll need their world-class striker and their new coach to find a way to pull off some big wins to avoid another tournament disappointment.
The result was a 2-1 Germany win, but the United States looked solid after falling behind early, got a world-class goal from Antonee Robinson, and learned some important things about the goalkeeper and center-back positions.
Scotland made itself at home at Sports Illustrated Stadium, with the Scots rolling to a 4-0 win in front of a lively portion of thousands of its Tartan Army supporters.
The prolific Manchester City striker and his talented teammates from some of Europe's top teams have Norway seen as a potential dark-horse contender tipped to go far.
The $98 train tickets from midtown Manhattan to MetLife Stadium have not been selling well, with less than 6% of the expected 320,000 train tickets actually purchased as of this week.
Scotland has never reached the knockout rounds of a World Cup, but there's belief it will happen in this tournament thanks to an experienced squad led by the likes of Scott McTominay.
Tackling one of the more persistently confounding parts of New York City FC's approach to building a squad: How and why they loan players out, and why they seem less willing to loan new players in.
A thorough explanation of the coverage we have in store for the World Cup, with three of our writers credentialed and ready to be in the building for some of the tournament's biggest matches.
