Matt Turner was in goal for the United States for Saturday's friendly against Belgium, raising the possibility he has a chance to regain the Americans' starting job from Matt Freese at the World Cup.
Eder Militao's season with Real Madrid is almost over after suffering a muscle injury in the biceps femoris. Militao will focus on returning for the World Cup 2026.
Portugal's performance was disappointing, managing only two shots on target despite having significant attacking talent available. The absence of Cristiano Ronaldo was felt throughout the match.
Yamal won the penalty and promptly picked himself up and despatched the kick to make it 1-0 to Barcelona. However, instead of celebrating the opening goal, Yamal lay on the ground and was quickly surrounded by worried team-mates.
Marc Casado, the 22-year-old midfielder, has struggled for regular minutes at FC Barcelona, leading to speculation about his departure in the upcoming summer transfer window.
It's in the nature of a tournament played only every four years that the participating teams are at the mercy of timing. And right now, the fickleness of form and injuries and minutes, and every other variable that will go some way in determining how the World Cup co-hosts fare in June, all favor the USMNT.
Yes, he will do the same thing that he does on the pitch, he shows it in training every day. If they know how to pray? They better! We have great players too who we can perhaps spread out and not play 1 vs 1 because he is so decisive. We have the tool to try and counteract him.
Javier Assad threw 51 pitches in the outing, allowing nothing, and continuing to stretch himself out for the MLB regular season. He's done this before for Team Mexico, and it's really impressive how reliable he is in any capacity.