10 things to know for the World Cup

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The World Cup is here. Whether you’ve been bombarded by a glut of information or it feels like a college class you forgot you signed up for, The Ledger will help you sort through the noise and simplify. First thing’s first: The U.S. is playing Paraguay tonight at 9 p.m. Eastern on FOX and FS1 – yes, the U.S. will play all three of its Group D stage games on the West Coast, so it’ll be at least a couple of late nights. Here’s the schedule:

* Charlotte FC is hosting a watch party for the Australia game at The Revelry at North End and it’s sold out. There’s a waitlist you can join here.

Here are 10 things to know ahead of the 2026 World Cup:

The top 48 national teams from around the world will play 104 games in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. This tournament is the largest in the history of the World Cup, up from 32 teams. It will last 39 days, having started with two games yesterday (Mexico defeated South Africa and South Korea beat Czechia), to the final on July 19 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., home of the New York Jets and Giants. 

Twelve groups have four teams each. After playing each of the three teams in its group, the top two teams from each group will automatically qualify for the knockout round, in which each game is single-elimination. Eight third-place finishers will also advance to the Round of 32, as determined by total points (three for win, one for draw), goal differential, goals scored and other tiebreakers. (For all the latest rule changes FIFA, Fédération Internationale de Football Association, will employ for this World Cup, click here.) 

If you’re going by the oddsmakers, Spain is the favorite, led by 18-year-old phenom Lamine Yamal, who is already one of the eight FIFA World Cup legends on a McDonald’s collectible cup. France is next up, with the star power of Kylian Mbappe, who scored a hat trick in the 2022 World Cup final loss to Argentina in penalties.

France has played in each of the past two World Cup finals, winning over Croatia in 2018 in Moscow and losing on penalties to Argentina in 2022 in Qatar. England and Brazil are the next most favored teams, followed by the defending champion Argentina, led by Lionel Messi. Argentina is trying to become only the third country to repeat as World Cup champions, following Brazil in 1958 and 1962 and Italy in 1934 and 1938. 

This could be the last World Cup for both Messi and Cristian Ronaldo. Ronaldo, who is set to appear in his sixth World Cup tournament with Portugal at age 41, has said this will be his last World Cup. It’s the only major trophy he’s never won. Messi turns 39 on June 24, and many believe this will be his final World Cup as well.

And then there’s Neymar, of Brazil, who went viral for breaking down in tears when his name was selected to Brazil’s World Cup roster, given his host of injuries in recent years, including knee surgery. He’s been hampered lately by a calf injury and is a question mark for early World Cup action.

Other veteran stars to enjoy while you’ve got them: Luka Modric, Croatia; Virgil van Dijk, Netherlands; Kevin De Bruyne, Belgium; Mo Salah, Egypt; Sadio Mane, Senegal; Riyad Mahrez, Algeria; Son Heung-min, South Korea; and Manuel Neuer, Germany.

The U.S. men’s national team did not have to qualify for the World Cup by virtue of being a host country along with Mexico and Canada. This is the first time the World Cup has been on U.S. soil since 1994, when Alexi Lalas, Cobi Jones and Eric Wynalda led the U.S. to the knockout stage before losing to eventual champion Brazil 1-0 in the Round of 16 at Stanford Stadium.

That tournament paved the way for the establishment of Major League Soccer, which has grown from 10 teams in 1996 to 30, including Charlotte FC, since 2022.  A record 45 MLS players will suit up for this World Cup, including eight players on the U.S. team.

Charlotte was too late to MLS to land games for this World Cup. (The U.S. host cities chosen were New York, Atlanta, Dallas, Philadelphia, Miami, Kansas City, Houston, L.A., San Francisco, Seattle and Boston.)

But Panthers/Charlotte FC owner David Tepper has already declared he will be pitching to host games in the 2031 Women’s World Cup. Meanwhile, Charlotte has multiple connections to the action in other ways: Charlotte FC’s center back Tim Ream, 38, was chosen to captain the U.S. team by Coach Mauricio Pochettino.

Scotland’s national team is headquartered at Charlotte FC’s practice facility, Atrium Health Performance Park. Its players have visited Hornets and Panthers practices so far, as the team’s Instagram feed has documented. Though the most boisterous of activity surrounding Scotland’s national team seems to be coming from fans converging in Boston, where the team opens its group play Saturday night against Haiti. One group of Scottish fans woke up neighbors of their Airbnb by blasting bagpipes at 6:30 a.m.

Also, the German national team is practicing at Wake Forest in Winston-Salem, and Norway is in Greensboro at UNC Greensboro. Superstar Norwegian striker Erling Haaland, of Manchester City, was spotted in Raleigh on Thursday night cheering on the Carolina Hurricanes at Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final.

Former Charlotte FC striker Patrick Agyemang is injured and won’t be able to participate in the World Cup. He spoke with the Ledger recently about the disappointment of suffering an Achilles injury.

The U.S. has won just one knockout game in its history, defeating Mexico 2-0 in the Round of 16 in 2002. The record books show that the U.S. made the semifinals in the first-ever World Cup in 1930, but that was by virtue of advancing from their group.

The U.S. is 1-7 all-time in knockout games, including losses to Ghana in 2010, Belgium in 2014 and the Netherlands in 2022. The U.S. advanced to the quarterfinals in 2002 before losing to Germany.

The first order of business is advancing from their group, beginning with the game against Paraguay tonight, Australia on Friday, June 19, and Turkey on Thursday, June 25. The U.S. is the odds-on favorite to win the group, with Turkey a close second.

The pundits, as they say in global soccer, say this is the most individually talented team the U.S. has fielded in a World Cup. The 26-man roster has 18 players currently with European clubs, like winger Christian Pulisic for AC Milan, defender Chris Richards for Crystal Palace and midfielder Tyler Adams (AFC Bournemouth).

And unlike the 2022 squad, which had 25 of 26 players playing in their first World Cup (only DeAndre Yedlin had played for Brazil in 2014), half of this roster brings the experience of playing in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, including the likes of Weston McKennie, Miles Robinson and Ricardo Pepi.

The World Cup is a family affair for many on the American roster. Midfielder Sebastian Berhalter is the son of Gregg Berhalter, who became the first man to both play and coach the U.S. in the World Cup.

Gregg played for the 2002 and 2006 teams and coached the 2022 team, before being fired and replaced by Pochettino. (Berhalter now coaches the Chicago Fire of MLS.) Video of the younger Berhalter getting emotional reading a congratulatory letter from his father is making the rounds.

Gio Reyna is the son of Claudio Reyna, who played for the U.S. national team from 1994-2006, and Danielle Reyna, who played for the U.S. women in 1993. Reyna was mired in a controversy in the 2022 World Cup after Berhalter nearly sent him home over what he called a poor attitude in training.

Then there’s Tim Weah, whose father, George Weah, was the first African to win the Ballon d’Or award as the world’s top player and went on to become the president of Liberia. Tim Weah was born in Brooklyn, N.Y.

And for one sports connection outside of soccer is defender Alex Freeman, who is the son of former Green Bay Packers receiver Antonio Freeman. 

And for those who might have questions about any accents you hear in postgame interviews, several members of the U.S. men’s national team grew up in Europe but are eligible because they’re born to American parents: Antonee Robinson (England), Sergino Desk (the Netherlands) and Malik Tillman (Germany).

If you want a crash course on what’s been happening in the news to the buildup for the U.S. men’s national team, the buzz started with the announcement of the U.S. men’s roster. Coach Pochettino came under fire for e-mailing out his decisions, rather than making individual calls to players.

He was scrutinized the most over his decision to leave off (and not call) Diego Luna, the Real Salt Lake midfielder who logged a lot of minutes with the U.S. team last year.

Then Pochettino drew another round of criticism when reports surfaced that he had met with officials from A.C. Milan about their coaching vacancy. Pochettino is not under contract with the U.S. beyond the World Cup. Players have come out in his defense, saying his future employment is not an issue.

Also, the biggest injury news out of the U.S. camp is that defender Chris Richards, who did not play in the two exhibition games against Senegal and Germany, is reportedly ready for the opener.  

The next six weeks will bring information fast and furious from a variety of sources. Our recommendation for how to find an expert who can give both vital info and positive vibes are simply to follow Men in Blazers Network’s Roger Bennett.

He’s a British transplant whose love for both the world’s game and for America is palpable. He’s been referred to as a soccer evangelist, and that’s spot on. Bennett has got to be running on fumes by now, given all the interviews he’s done on national outlets already, and he’ll be broadcasting bites from L.A. every morning at 8 a.m. Eastern during the World Cup, but he’s absolutely worth following. Men in Blazers is on most major social media platforms, including Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), YouTube and Facebook.

You’ll also want to jump on the bandwagon of the German soccer fan who has gone viral for posting about his road trip across the South on his way to see Germany play in Houston. His name on X is FreddyLA7 with a German flag and he went viral for posts about eating at Waffle House and Buc-ee’s. He’s been offered insider info about Houston by NFL star J.J. Watt and featured in national news from Fox News to People Magazine.

For some tension-building drama and an easy way to get to the know the players on the U.S. men’s national team is to binge-watch five episodes of the HBO Max documentary US Against the World, which chronicles the four years leading up to this year’s World Cup for players both on and off the field.

Charlotte FC is idle during the World Cup break, but the front office has stayed engaged. The club is poised to sign a new designated player: Allan Saint-Maximin, a 29-year-old French winger who starred at Newcastle United of the English Premier League. Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano is reporting that Saint-Maximin has agreed to a three-year deal with Charlotte FC and already completed his physical in London.

Charlotte FC had one of three DP spots on their roster vacated by Wilfried Zaha, who was unable to reach a deal on an extension with Charlotte FC and returns to Europe as a free agent. Charlotte FC will move forward with another proven player. Saint-Maximin had 30 goal contributions (goals + assists) in four seasons in the Premier League with Newcastle before leaving for stints with clubs in Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Mexico and mostly recently Lens of Ligue 1 in France.

The summer transfer window opens July 12, and Charlotte FC’s first game back is July 22 against Atlanta United. By signing early, Saint-Maximin improves his chances of acquiring visa and international paperwork ahead of the window.

When/Where: 9 p.m. at SoFi Stadium, home of the L.A. Chargers, in Inglewood, California.

How to watch: FS1 and FOX.

How to listen: WFNZ 92.7 FM in English or WOLS 106.1 FM for Spanish, or nationally on SiriusXM channel 83.

Notable:

Carroll Walton is a longtime baseball writer with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution now in her fifth season covering Charlotte FC. She would love to hear from you. E-mail her with questions, suggestions, story ideas and comments!