Category: Soccer/Union

We are a week removed from the FIFA World Cup draw, and in the aftermath, a proverbial ball is beginning to roll on several fronts. FIFA opened its latest presale ticket lottery on Thursday for fans to enter the random selection phase of the tournament, the latest chance to hope and wish your name will be called to purchase tickets — ones that might still be priced in the hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars by the time it’s your turn.

These past few days have provided a greater opportunity to examine FIFA’s ways and which nations, cities, and fans benefited or flopped as next steps begin to trickle out.

With that said, these are our picks for winners and losers post-draw.

👍🏽 Philly getting Brazil, France, and Croatia

For many fans, it’s going to be a breathing-into-a-brown-bag moment watching players like Brazil and Real Madrid’s Vinicús Jr., Croatian midfield maestro Luka Modric, and countless players on France’s squad, undoubtedly headlined by forward sensation Kylian Mbappé, chasing World Cup glory at Lincoln Financial Field. Especially when you consider the French are one of the early favorites to win next summer’s spectacle at +700, according to futures odds on FanDuel.

👎🏽 Dynamic pricing on tickets

For some reason, it just seems counterintuitive for FIFA to stress its desire to grow the game — and then turn around and make the world’s biggest sporting event available only to those who still have expendable cash in this current economic climate.

This is the first time in the history of the tournament that soccer’s governing body has opted to use dynamic pricing for tickets, and some of the early price tags to secure a seat, even during presale, are laughable. Now, some matchups could see prices fall slightly, but it’s the World Cup; demand will always be higher than supply, and that holds for the bulk of the 72 group-stage matches beginning June 11.

👍🏽 The BIG apple

It was already one thing that MetLife Stadium will be the center of the soccer universe next summer as host for the World Cup final. But after last Friday’s draw, it could be argued that the New York-New Jersey delegation hit the jackpot with the group-stage matches and nations coming to East Rutherford, N.J.

First up, Brazil-Morocco (June 13, 8 p.m.), when Morocco is one of the hottest nations in the world, with its senior team just one place outside the Top 10 in FIFA’s latest world rankings. Additionally, MetLife will also host European giants Germany (June 25), England (June 27), and one of the most highly anticipated rematches in France-Senegal (June 16, 3 p.m.). The Senegalese defeated a star-studded French side in the 2002 World Cup, and it’s been the talk since this match got paired.

👎🏽 Banned fans

Some fans won’t be able to see their team play live in the United States due to immigration rules and restrictions. Nations like Iran and Haiti will find out just how strong their expat communities are here in the States, but both coaches wouldn’t mind a little diplomacy.

“[President Donald Trump] is a peace prize winner,” Migné said after the event, alluding to the U.S. president winning FIFA’s inaugural Peace Prize award. “Maybe he will continue, and it will open the possibility for our fans to come here.”

👍🏽 African-Caribbean vibes come to Philly

In addition to the big nations like France, Brazil, and Croatia, Philly will host matches featuring the Ivory Coast, Ghana, and Curaçao. Having matches here in Philly that feature the first two bode well for the city’s sizable West African population situated primarily in the West and Southwest sections of the city. They’re also among the top teams in Africa, with Ghana consistently fielding a strong national team, and the Ivory Coast, the defending AFCON champions, ran through qualifying without conceding a goal.

As for Curaçao, the nation with the smallest population competing in the World Cup, despite making Jamaica’s road a bit harder by defeating them in November and forcing the Reggae Boyz into a three-team FIFA playoff in March, people will naturally root for the underdog in a city where the underdog mantra has been fully embraced.

👎🏽 ICE fears

The Club World Cup served as a litmus test of how active U.S. immigration and customs enforcement and the U.S. Border Patrol would be in detaining fans attending the event, specifically in Philadelphia. Before that tournament, there were legitimate fears that ICE would be stationed outside arenas targeting fans.

While there were instances, and still could be next year, for the most part, it wasn’t as large as some led people to believe. During the Club World Cup, FIFA president Gianni Infantino was explicitly asked in a room full of reporters if he had any concerns about the enforcement and harassment of fans, to which he replied: “I don’t have any concerns about anything … most important for us is to be able to guarantee safety for the fans who come to the game.”

It’s important to know that a U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesperson told The Inquirer via a statement in June that “U.S. Customs and Border Protection is committed to working with our local and federal partners … as we do with every major sporting event, including the Super Bowl. Our mission remains unchanged.”

👍🏽 Philly’s party HQ

While planning for the next phase of the process is still forthcoming, the revival of the Lemon Hill Mansion and grounds in Brewerytown ahead of the World Cup is promising as FIFA will use the park and grounds as the Philadelphia chapter of its fan festival.

A storied park with incredible views of the city will receive a much-needed facelift and serve as the side stage on matchdays for the six games scheduled to come through Philly. It’s steps from the larger Art Museum area and the Parkway, which will be a fun time to navigate for visitors from around the world, said Meg Kane, the host city executive for Philadelphia Soccer 2026, responsible for planning the event in the city. However, questions still remain on things like transportation, logistics, vendors, and more, but it’s December, so we’re just going to ride out on the excitement of what’s to come.

If the idea of a trip to Trinidad in mid-February sounds appealing, you’ll want to know how the Union will kick off their 2026 campaign.

The first official game of next year will be against Defence Force FC of Trinidad & Tobago in the Concacaf Champions Cup. Defence Force won the Trinidadian league title in the 2024-25 season, then finished third in this year’s regional Caribbean Cup tournament.

The tournament starts in February, and though Concacaf hasn’t set the exact schedule yet, traditionally MLS teams play their first-round games in the middle of the month. If that is true again this time, the Union would play at Defence Force some time from Feb. 17-19, then fly north for their Feb. 21 MLS opener at D.C. United.

Soccer history buffs will appreciate that Defence Force’s home is Trinidad’s most famous sports venue, Hasely Crawford Stadium in Port of Spain. It was the site of the U.S. men’s soccer team’s legendary “Shot Heard ‘Round The World” win over the Soca Warriors in 1989 that clinched qualification for the 1990 World Cup, ending a 40-year tournament drought.

Defence Force’s name is literal: its squads have historically been built with members of Trinidad’s armed forces. But the soccer is serious too, as the club’s 24 domestic league titles are a record by far. It’s also the only Trinidadian club to have won the Concacaf title, in 1978 and 1985.

The Union will presumably host their home leg of the series some time from Feb. 24-26, leading up to the March 1 league opener against New York City FC.

Should the Union advance as expected, the tone of things will change fast. Either Mexican juggernaut Club América or Honduras’ Olimpia would await in the round of 16. The Union haven’t faced América since the 2021 Concacaf semifinals, Philadelphia’s first time in the tournament, when América won both games by 2-0 scores.

That round is scheduled for March 10-12 and 17-19, and it’s not clear which team would host first. Around those dates, the Union host the San Jose Earthquakes on March 7, visit Atlanta United on March 14, and host the Chicago Fire on March 21.

After that, MLS stops for the March FIFA window, the last national team games before the World Cup.

2026 Concacaf Champions Cup first round

Games are listed in order of the bracket. Some series will be played Feb. 3-5 and 10-12, and others will be played Feb. 17-19 and 24-26. Concacaf will confirm the schedule at a later date.

— Pumas UNAM (Mexico) vs. San Diego FC (United States); the winner plays Toluca (Mexico)

— Los Angeles Galaxy (United States) vs. Sporting San Miguelito (Panama); the winner plays Mount Pleasant (Jamaica)

— Cruz Azul (Mexico) vs. Vancouver FC (Canada)

— Monterrey (Mexico) vs. Xelajú (Guatemala); the winner plays Cruz Azul or Vancouver FC

— Los Angeles FC (United States) vs. Real España (Honduras); the winner plays Alajuelense (Costa Rica)

— Nashville SC (United States) vs. Atlético Ottawa (Canada); the winner plays Inter Miami (United States)

— Club América (Mexico) vs. Olimpia (Honduras)

— Union (United States) vs Defence Force FC (Trinidad & Tobago); the winner plays América or Olimpia

— Tigres UANL (Mexico) vs. Forge FC (Canada)

— FC Cincinnati (United States) vs. O&M FC (Dominican Republic); the winner plays Tigres or Forge

— Vancouver Whitecaps (Canada) vs. Cartaginés (Costa Rica); the winner plays the Seattle Sounders (United States)

Philadelphia will welcome two of the soccer world’s greatest powers, Brazil and France, for its slate of World Cup games next summer.

Brazil, whose five men’s World Cup titles are the most of any nation, will play Haiti on June 19. That will fill the city’s streets with a vibrant mix of the Seleçao’s famed yellow-and-green kits, and Haiti’s diaspora from across the northeast United States.

It will also mean an unofficial home game for Union midfielder Danley Jean Jacques, who helped Les Grenadiers reach their first men’s World Cup since 1974. He’ll get to play against superstars including Vinícius Júnior and Estêvão, who coincidentally played at the Linc last summer in the Club World Cup.

But that day will put Philadelphia in the middle of this World Cup’s political spotlight. Haiti is one of two teams in the field, along with Iran, whose citizens are currently banned from entering the United States because of political unrest in the tiny Caribbean nation. Anyone in an official delegation — players, coaches, team staff, etc. — will be fine, but whether fans will be able to travel here remains a huge question.

Haiti was unable to host its World Cup qualifiers on home soil, and manager Sébastien Migné has never set foot in the country. When asked about that at Friday’s group draw, he told reporters: “It depends on Mr. Trump.”

As President Donald Trump had just won the first edition of FIFA’s Peace Prize (with timing that perhaps wasn’t coincidental), Migné then offered a hope that “maybe he will continue with that [spirit], and he will open the possibility for the fans to come here.”

France will play here on June 22 against the winner of the March intercontinental playoff bracket, which includes Bolivia, Suriname, and Iraq. That will bring one of the world’s absolute superstars, Kylian Mbappé, who led Les Bleus to the 2018 title and the 2022 final.

France’s squad is among the most loaded in the tournament. Mbappé is joined by reigning world player of the year Ousmane Dembélé and a fleet of outstanding youngsters: Bradley Barcola, Rayan Cherki, Desiré Doué, Hugo Ekitike, Michael Olise, and Warren Zaïre-Emery.

Philadelphia’s slate begins on June 14 with Ivory Coast vs. Ecuador in Group E. Expect Ecuador to bring a huge crowd, all clad in the country’s yellow jerseys, — and star players in midfielders Moisés Caicedo (England’s Chelsea) and Kendry Paez (France’s Strasbourg, owned by Chelsea).

Ivory Coast’s squad, led by midfielder Franck Kessie (Saudi Arabia’s Al-Ahli) and forward Amad Diallo (England’s Manchester United), will play two games in Philadelphia.

Les Elephants’ second game here will be their group stage finale, June 25 vs. Curaçao — a Caribbean island making its World Cup debut.

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The Blue Wave’s history as a Dutch colony led the governing body to recruit dual nationals in recent years, and that paid off this year by topping Jamaica in their World Cup qualifying group.

This World Cup marked the first one where FIFA did not set games in venues at the moment of the draw. That caused a lot of consternation around the world.

On Friday at the Kennedy Center’s Concert Hall, where the draw took place, The Inquirer overheard a FIFA staffer admit the truth about why that’s the case.

Before the draw, stadiums were assigned games in groups, but not specific matches. That meant any given matchup could be in one of two stadiums. FIFA’s decision to not set the venue at the moment of the draw meant it could move a matchup with less-popular teams to the smaller of the two stadiums available for it, and not worry about unsold tickets.

Of course, there’s so much demand in the U.S. and worldwide that every game is expected to sell out. But a supposedly “lesser” game in a bigger stadium could give a chance to fans who don’t want to shell out thousands of dollars for tickets on FIFA’s in-house secondary market.

There’s a chance Philadelphia could benefit from that in Curaçao-Ivory Coast and the city’s last group game, Croatia vs. Ghana on June 27. Croatia has one of the world’s all-time midfield maestros in Luka Modrić, and Ghana will also draw from West Philly and well beyond. But the teams’ fan bases aren’t big enough to fill the Linc on their own, so the odds might improve for local fans to get tickets.

After that, the Linc will have a week to recover before the city’s last game in the tournament, a round of 16 contest on July 4. The round of 32 games that feed into that matchup include the winners of Group E and Group I, which means Philly could see France return to town to play Germany in one of Europe’s classics.

Beyond the matchups, fans will also have an eye on kickoff times amid the hot summer weather. The city’s first two games will have nighttime starts, including a late one for Brazil-Haiti. But the remaining four will all have late-afternoon kickoffs, including a 5 p.m. start time on July 4.

As for the U.S. team, fans will be staying up late for two of its three group games. The June 12 opener vs. Paraguay in suburban Los Angeles is a 9 p.m., ET kickoff on a Friday, and the June 25 group stage finale against a European playoff winner will be a brutal (at least for East Coast fans) 10 p.m. start on a Thursday.

The middle game, June 19 (also a Friday) against Australia, will be a 3 p.m. Eastern kickoff.

2026 World Cup games in Philadelphia

All games will be played at Lincoln Financial Field, which will be called Philadelphia Stadium during the tournament because FIFA bans the use of commercial sponsors’ names on stadiums during its senior World Cups.

June 14: E3. Ivory Coast vs. E4. Ecuador, 7 p.m.

June 19: C1. Brazil vs. C3. Haiti, 9 p.m.

June 22: I1. France vs. I3. Bolivia, Suriname, or Iraq (an intercontinental playoff), 5 p.m.

June 25: E2. Curaçao vs. E3. Ivory Coast, 4 p.m.

June 27: L2. Croatia vs. L3. Ghana, 5 p.m.

July 4: Round of 16 game, 5 p.m.

WASHINGTON — Don Garber said it when MLS announced its switch to a winter-centric schedule a few weeks ago, and he said it again Thursday at his State of the League address.

The commissioner knows as well as anyone that the league needs to not just change when it plays, but how it plays to truly improve its standing on the world stage. That means loosening the roster rules, letting teams not just spend more money but have more freedom about how they spend it.

This time, he said to not just the usual audience of domestic media who cover the league all year, but a big crowd of international journalists who came to the nation’s capital for Friday’s World Cup draw. Some of them might have headed to Fort Lauderdale afterward for Saturday’s MLS Cup final between Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami and Thomas Müller. (We can only wonder how many would have made the even shorter trip to Chester were the Union hosting.)

“One of our core principles is that we will do whatever it takes, and make whatever decisions necessary, that will define our future,” Garber said as he started to address the coming changes, including “increased investment in player development, and an evolution of our roster strategy that will elevate the overall quality of the play on the field.”

Those were some strong words, and they prompted a natural question. Just how far is the league willing to go to deliver that pledge? And in particular, how much work is the commissioner himself willing to do behind closed doors to push team owners who want to spend less than others do?

“MLS has had this view, and it’s defined the position that we’re in today, that our owners are partners off the field, and they’re fierce competitors on the field,” Garber said. “And in order to do that, you’ve got to consider the thoughts of teams that are in smaller markets that might have a different view as to what the competitive balance should be, and then those that are in larger markets and newer stadiums. You would say maybe the legacy teams versus the middle teams versus the new teams.”

Indeed, many watchers would say that, and some were facing Garber’s podium.

“Our job is to pull them all together,” Garber said of his circuit’s 30 clubs, “and come out with a competitive format and roster rules that move our league forward.”

‘Nudge it a little more’

He asked the next question himself, before others could.

“And how do you do that?” he said. “You know, you can listen to noise — and noise is important, because noise is really research — and get an understanding of where fans are and where is MLS in the conversation. But it’s also about metrics. What’s driving our revenue? What’s driving our ratings? What’s driving the overall sale of our commercial [product], which speaks to fan interest and what we call fan avidity?”

Garber did not need to use that jargon to back up his point that “that’s all moving in the right direction with the rules that we have.” No one, even the league’s critics, doubts that is happening. It’s just about how quickly or slowly that movement is going. And with the unparalleled opportunity that comes from the World Cup being on home turf, Garber knows it’s time to push the gas pedal.

“How do you nudge it a little more as the market gets more sophisticated?” he said. ”And that’s our job. And you’ve got to figure out ways that you go into a board room, and you wrangle a bunch of them together, and you do the work in committees, and base it on research. We try to not to be distracted by the loud voice of few, but use data to drive our decisions, and research that drives decisions, and that’s what made MLS successful.”

Garber engages more with the rest of the world’s soccer leagues than he ever has. He sits on the management board of the World Leagues Forum, along with English Premier League CEO Richard Masters and Italian Serie A CEO Luigi De Siervo.

That is good company to keep, but it’s also a constant reminder of how far MLS has to go.

“[MLS is] very different from the rest of the world, which has open rules and basically can do what they want, but they have different competitive formats,” Garber said. “They have their version of the Champions League, which has its own economic value. We’ve got to think about our business and ensuring that our league is stable and moving in the right direction.”

Garber concluded his reflection by saying that the league will “continue to do what we’re doing, and push the envelope as much as we can without being reckless.”

Where the balance of that lands will define the rest of his tenure.

Promotion and relegation?

Speaking of MLS’s differences from the rest of the world, Garber was given a proverbial open goal to shoot at when a reporter from abroad asked if MLS will ever have promotion and relegation, a cornerstone of the global sport.

In most of those years, as Garber went on to indicate, he thumped his shot in with a resounding no. But there is growing speculation that he might retire when his contract ends in 2027. He has not stopped that speculation in recent times, by talking about how the league will look after he steps down. He went in that direction again Thursday.

“This will be fun,” he said to start his answer. “In every single press conference we’ve ever had, somebody’s saying, ‘When are you going to have promotion and relegation?’”

That is indeed close to true.

“Back in the day, I would say, ‘Never,’” Garber said. “Today I would say, ‘There’s no real point in saying never, because I don’t know what the future will look like.”

Garber admitted the league’s calendar flip influenced his thinking on that, as something he also “never thought we would adapt to.” But with that now happening, and with the lower leagues of the USL getting stronger over time — albeit in a totally separate business entity — the question continues to arise.

He stood on his longtime point that relegation is bad for team owners who invest a lot of money and don’t make it back. But when Americans buy European clubs, as happens often, they know what they’re getting into, and Garber knows a fair few of them from his travels.

“If I were to ask most European leaders of pro leagues, and many owners, whether or not promotion and relegation was good for their investment and good for the broad, macro view of the sport,” he said, “most of them will say, ‘Well, I’m not quite sure. But as a fan, I think it’s kind of fun and it’s kind of cool.’”

From there, he cracked open the door for a moment.

“So let’s see how it plays out,” Garber said. “Maybe as the development of the lower divisions continues to grow, as they’ve been doing so well over the years, there would be a proper ecosystem. I’m not sure — frankly, I don’t believe that ecosystem consists can exist today. But who knows? I’ve learned, never say never.”

Then, after taking a breath, he slammed the door right back shut.

“That doesn’t mean we’re having promotion or relegation anytime soon,” he said, and went on to the next question.