Boasting two of the four starting center-backs from this year's UEFA Champions League final, Ecuador will look to prove their second-place finish in South American qualifying wasn't a fluke.
The first World Cup match of 2026 in East Rutherford, New Jersey, saw Morocco get off to a flying start, but a moment of brilliance from Vinícius Júnior and some necessary adjustments by Carlo Ancelotti helped Brazil rescue a point.
The United States stacked up a bunch of World Cup firsts while winning their tournament opener 4-1 over Paraguay, with NYCFC's Matt Freese starting in goal and making some history of his own.
What it was like at the first free World Cup watch party at the National Tennis Center in Flushing, and what New York City's World Cup czar said about the benefits of making the tournament more accessible and affordable.
What each of Matt Freese, Kai Trewin, and Aiden O'Neill will be hoping to accomplish for their national teams as play in Group D, home to both the United States and Australia, begins.
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.
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.
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.
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.
