The United States’ dream start to the FIFA World Cup continued with a 2-0 win over Australia in Seattle that secured the Americans’ place in the knockout round.
Fans in Philadelphia packed the FIFA Fan Festival in Lemon Hill on Friday to take in the match.
The crowd on hand for U.S.-Australia, the first World Cup match of the day on Friday, was in favor of the Stars and Stripes, but Haitian and Brazilian fans took in the spectacle before their squads’ scheduled meeting at Philadelphia Stadium (8:30 p.m., Fox29).
Mayor Cherelle L. Parker helped open the gates of the fan festival before the USMNT’s clash with Australia.
Parker walked into the crowd waiting at the festival’s main gate and posed for photos with fans waiting in line, including one with a group of traveling Scottish supporters.
Parker said she was appreciative that fans are showing up to the city and the festival “authentically, as themselves.”
“We are a global culture, and we are one people,” Parker said. “What makes America and the world so amazing, is that all of us, no matter the fabric, no matter the patchwork in our quilt, we make up a global humanity, and an American community that’s representative of everyone. I’m excited about it all.”
Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle L. Parker at the opening of the FIFA Fan Festival.
After greeting fans waiting to get into the festival on Sedgley Drive, Parker greeted a few vendors inside the festival. She stopped at the Bank of America tent to make a bracelet — she chose a black band with all the Philly-specific charms and a World Cup trophy charm — then stopped into the FIFA store on the festival grounds.
With the help of a few store associates, Parker picked out some kits and World Cup merchandise, including both Brazil jerseys, a sea foam France away jersey, a yellow Curaçao jersey, two World Cup logo shirts, and a stripes U.S. jersey.
Parker said she’s enjoyed seeing soccer fans out and about in the city.
“We were on the parkway, and Brazil was turning it out and up,” Parker said. “Everywhere we’ve been, they’re like, ‘Philadelphia is beautiful, the experience is great.’ You can be a visitor one time, but they’ll feel Philadelphia.
“You have to feel the energy here. We are not like any other city in the nation. There is something special about Philadelphia, and being able to share that Philly-ness with the world is something really exciting.”
Moses Bango, 8, (center), playing with his friends Rudy Townsend, 8, (right), and Quinn Medaglia, 9, (left), at the FIFA Fan Festival at Lemon Hill Park on Friday.
Early arrivals
A line to enter the festival had already formed an hour before it opened to spectators at 2 p.m.
Friday was the first time a U.S. match coincided with a match being played in Philadelphia, making the fan festival a watch party for American fans and a prematch hangout for Brazilian and Haitian fans.
The festival is free to the public with registration, but only 15,000 people can be on the festival grounds at once.
The festival did not reach full capacity during the U.S. match, but it got close. Festival organizers said attendance peaked at 14,000.
According to the festival, more than 100,000 people entered its grounds in its first three days of operation.
Gus Sanchez, who stood near the front of the line on Friday afternoon, said he and his family arrived around noon after biking over from Northeast Philly.
Sanchez said he wanted to watch the U.S. men’s team take on Australia with a crowd, leading him to come over to the festival.
“It’s something I can’t explain,” Sanchez, 53, said. “Seeing people from different countries getting together, having fun, enjoying the game.”
Most of the fans waiting to enter the festival were wearing U.S. garb, but fans of Haiti, Brazil, and even Scotland, which kicked off with Morocco at 6 p.m., were represented.
Alex Nelson said he traveled from Prestwick, Scotland, about 30 miles south of Glasgow, to the U.S. to experience the environment of the World Cup.
He arrived in Philadelphia from Boston, where the Scots played Haiti last Saturday, to take in Scotland-Morocco at the fan festival on Friday.
Nelson, sporting a tartan kilt, said he’s loved his time in Philly so far.
“Very clean city,” Nelson said. “Everybody has been so helpful. Everybody’s mixed in — the Brazilians, the Moroccans, USA, all mixed. That’s what it’s all about.”
Alex Nelson poses with his wife before entering the FIFA Fan Festival on Friday afternoon.
Match moments
The lively crowd had plenty to celebrate, as the U.S. went up, 1-0, after Cameron Burgess knocked in an Australian own goal in the 11th minute.
The crowd erupted as the States took the lead, with chants of “U-S-A” following a frenetic celebration.
The crowd at the Fan Festival goes wild as the U.S. goes up, 1-0, on an Australian own goal.
American fans celebrated again as Alex Freeman doubled the States’ lead with a goal in the 43rd minute.
Their celebration was placed on a temporary hold, as the goal was called offside on the field and disallowed, but after a Video Assistant Referee check confirmed Freeman’s goal counted, the crowd got another opportunity to cheer.
Double celebration for Alex Freeman’s goal to put the U.S. up 2-0 before the half — once before the VAR, and once after
Fans looked on nervously as Australia angled to get back into the match in its final 20 minutes, and they shouted when the game got chippy in its closing moments.
The U.S. is through to the knockouts, and the crowd at the Fan Festival is loving it:
SEATTLE — It turned out that the U.S. men’s soccer team didn’t need Christian Pulisic to beat Australia, and make history in doing so.
With the star playmaker unable to shake off a calf injury, the Americans used two first-half tallies and a raucous atmosphere in Seattle to earn a 2-0 win, before a packed-to-the-roof crowd of 66,925.
The win clinched qualification for the knockout rounds, and marked the first time since 1930 that the U.S. men’s program has won two games in a World Cup group stage.
U.S. manager Mauricio Pochettino started Ricardo Pepi in the open lineup spot, leading to a tactical change. The Americans rolled out a 3-5-2 formation, with Pepi and Folarin Balogun paired up top.
It didn’t take long for that to pay off. In the 11th minute, Antonee Robinson sprung Balogun down the left flank. He ran almost to the end line, then laid a pass into an onrushing crowd that included Pepi, Sergiño Dest, and three Australian defenders. The ball hit one of them, Cameron Burgess, and pinged into the net.
The statisticians at TruMedia noted this marked the first time in World Cup history that one team benefited from own goals in consecutive games, following the opening tally of the U.S.’ win over Paraguay.
During the rest of the first half, the action was as physical as expected. Each team committed eight fouls in the period, and German referee Felix Zwayer left more potential ones uncalled. There were two yellow cards, for Jordan Bos’ tackle on Tyler Adams in the 16th minute, and Alessandro Circati’s hard hit on Malik Tillman in the 32nd.
The mood came to a boil in the 38th when Alex Freeman collided head-to-head with Paul Okon-Engstler, and both players stayed down for a while. Fortunately, neither had to leave the game.
The Americans got their second in the 43rd, and in controversial fashion. After Dest and Tillman combined to draw a foul on the right wing, Robinson served the free kick wide to Dest at the top of the 18-yard box. He ripped a shot that hit the crowd, flew up in the air, and Freeman jumped to head it past Matt Beach.
The controversy was that the flag was up for offside, and it sure looked at first like there was good reason. Balogun and Weston McKennie were indeed off when Dest shot. But Freeman wasn’t, and since Balogun didn’t touch the ball, the video review officials called it a good goal.
Australia manager Tony Popovic admitted how deep a hole his team was in by making three substitutions at halftime, including taking out Burgess. Another, replacing striker Mohamed Touré with Nestory Irankunda, raised the question of why Irankunda surprisingly hadn’t started.
Popovic had another complaint in the 63rd when Adams, who was risking a suspension for yellow card accumulation, knocked Connor Metcalfe over in the box off the ball and it went uncalled.
This was the start of the Socceroos gaining momentum, and Wayne’s Matt Freese was forced into his first proper save of the day in the 65th. A few seconds later, Chris Richards shoved Irankunda outside the box as Freese was charging off his line toward them, Zwayer didn’t blow his whistle, and Popovic was angry again.
Pochettino finally made his first substitution in the 74th, sending in Sebastian Berhalter for Pepi and taking the U.S. back to a one-striker setup.
Tyler Adams (left) and Weston McKennie (right) battling with Australia’s Nestory Irankunda during the second half.
The crowd might have preferred hometown hero Cristian Roldan, and a lot of people wanted to see Adams taken off before picking up that feared second booking.
Instead, there were two other defensive substitutions in the 80th: Joe Scally for Dest and Media’s Auston Trusty for Robinson.
Tempers flared again in the 88th when Australia’s 6-foot-6 centerback Harry Souttar and Balogun got each other in mutual headlocks. There was a brief coming together of the teams, and both players were booked. Australia’s Jacob Italiano was also booked amid the scuffling.
As six minutes of stoppage time began, the crowd gave another hearty “USA!” chant. Then they had a brief laugh in the 93rd when Zwayer cramped up on the field, and needed some medical assistance. Players from both teams came over to lend a hand.
Pochettino then made two last substitutions, withdrawing Balogun for Haji Wright and McKennie for Gio Reyna.
Following the Eagles’ Super Bowl LIX win, Deptford High School students Hunter Thomas and Dominic Alia made an Instagram fan page for then-rookie edge rusher Jalyx Hunt, who played a key role in wrecking Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ night.
Just over a year later, Hunt showed up to the high school graduation of the “Jalyx Hunt enthusiasts.”
On Thursday, while waiting to receive his diploma, Thomas received a text from his mother. Hunt, whom Thomas invited, was sitting in the away stands of Deptford’s football stadium. He waved to the Eagle, who signaled right back at Thomas and his friend, Antoine Sims.
“After that, my head starts spinning,” Thomas told The Inquirer. “There’s no freaking way that he actually came.”
Thomas first met Hunt at last year’s Eagles Autism Challenge. There, he showed the edge rusher the fan page called @jalyxhunt_enthusiast. Hunt loved it and followed the account back. Since then, Thomas and Alia have exchanged direct messages with Hunt, wishing him happy birthday and sending him messages throughout the season.
Before the Eagles’ final regular-season game this past season, a 24-17 loss to the Washington Commanders, Hunt met Thomas and Alia above the tunnel to sign Thomas’ jersey. “Always love,” Hunt, who recognized the pair, signed. “Go birds!”
When graduation came around, Thomas had an extra ticket, so he thought to text his favorite player first. To his surprise, Hunt responded that he would be able to come. Immediately, Thomas employed his sister to decorate his graduation cap, complete with Hunt’s No. 58 and a throwback Eagles logo.
In a post to his Instagram story on Thursday, Hunt shared a photo of his view from the Deptford stands. “I’m locked,” he wrote, tagging the fan account which now sits at roughly 1,000 followers.
“I get my diploma, and my mom, because she’s a teacher, she gives it to me,” Thomas said. “I hug her, and when I walk back to my seat, I point out to Jalyx. He points back. When I did it, I was just thinking, ‘I got to show him some love.’”
Jalyx Hunt with Hunter Thomas at Thomas’ high school graduation.
After all his classmates’ names were called and his cap was thrown, Thomas made his way over to Hunt, who was now sitting with Thomas’ father. Hunt caught up with Thomas, telling him that he was cheering loudly when Thomas received his diploma. Eventually, Thomas found Alia on the field and the three posed for photographs.
“There’s a lot of NFL players with all this clout, and their heads are so big, and then he’s just the most down-to-earth [person],” Thomas said. “He’s like, ‘Yes I play football, but I’m still a normal guy at the end of the day.’
“He’s one of the nicest people I’ve ever met in my life. Me and Dom said, after we were like, ‘This is like a memory that we’re going to have forever.’”
The Phillies entered the season as a team whose fate would be determined mostly by how little went wrong. That’s somewhat true for most teams, but it is especially true for a team that basically skipped a development cycle while building and retaining a roster via trades, free agency and contract extensions.
In Major League Baseball, there are three main sources of year-to-year improvement.
External additions via free agency and trade.
Internal additions from the minor league system.
Internal improvement from young players who have yet to reach their peak.
Every now and then, you’ll see a mid-career bump by a player like Cristopher Sánchez or Brandon Marsh. For the most part, though, a team’s upside is a function of its young potential breakout candidates combined with whatever payroll it adds. Otherwise, what you end up seeing will look a lot like what you’ve previously gotten, along with whatever regression occurs.
Nearly halfway through the schedule, the Phillies are exactly what you’d expect to get if you took last year’s team and subbed in a leadoff hitter who is batting .223/.276/.334 instead of .304/.355/.457. Marsh’s quasi-breakout has given them enough margin for error to withstand the rookie inconsistency they’ve seen from Justin Crawford and Andrew Painter at the bottom of the lineup and the rotation. But something dramatic is going to need to change for the Phillies to stop yo-yoing back and forth between .500 and a 90-win pace. Right now, the most likely something is the aforementioned leadoff hitter.
Trea Turner is the man with the keys to the Phillies’ offense for the rest of the season. That’s really all there is to it. You can talk about the trade deadline, talk about the pitcher Painter was supposed to be, talk about the 31-16 record under Don Mattingly … all of it is noise. The Phillies simply aren’t a team that is capable of winning 95 games when one of their megacontract hitters isn’t hitting even half his worth.
Phillies shortstop Trea Turner entered the weekend with a .610 OPS. His career mark is .816.
Mattingly knows this. It’s the reason for the patience he continues to exhibit with Turner at the top of the lineup. Getting him right is the Phillies’ only hope at making a late charge at the Braves. That 31-16 record since Rob Thomson’s firing is glitter more than gold. Seven of those wins came against teams that are 12-plus games under .500. Another seven have come against the Marlins and Athletics. The Phillies are 5-7 against their four opponents who entered Thursday at least four games over .500. Series losses to the Brewers, Dodgers, and Guardians. Their 96-win pace over the last month is more representative than 113.
Even 96 wins is overstating things. We got a little taste of what a 96-win offense looks like a couple of days ago when Turner was out of the lineup with a sore wrist. Mattingly seized the opportunity to get a little funky with his lineup. The hot-hitting Marsh took the place of Turner in the leadoff spot, giving the Phillies three straight lefties at the top of the order with Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper following Marsh.
Mattingly’s lack of regard for convention paid dividends. Marsh reached base twice, scored two runs, and had two RBIs, which is something Turner has not done since last August. The top three hitters in the Phillies’ order combined to reach base six times and score five runs in an 8-2 win. Sometimes, different is good.
The next day, Mattingly went back to the old drawing board. Turner went 3-for-5 with a double, his first three-hit game since May 9. It needs to be the start of something, although he left Thursday’s game after again being hit by a pitch.
Turner is the reason everybody thinks the Phillies need to make a big splash at the trade deadline. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski will be hard-pressed to find a hitter who would be more of an improvement than the Turner of last year returning. If he doesn’t, 87 wins is as good as it is going to get.
The Phillies don’t have many other pathways. They are long on veterans and short on potential upside. It is a daunting position to be in at this stage of a season.
Look at the teams that overperform their expectations and you’ll find that the differentiator is almost always someone who is at the stage of his career where improvement comes in leaps and bounds. Drake Baldwin will continue to improve for the Braves. Same goes for Andy Pages and Dalton Rushing with the Dodgers. Ben Rice with the Yankees. For all the hand-wringing about the Dodgers and their limitless payroll, they’ve also had five rookies hit 19-plus home runs since 2013.
The Phillies don’t have any obvious candidates right now. Harper and Schwarber have been about as good as you could hope. Alec Bohm, Bryson Stott, and J.T. Realmuto have been about what you’d expect. Turner’s is the one spot in the lineup where the potential for significant improvement exists. At least, they better hope it still exists.
No matter where Kahleah Copper’s basketball journey takes her, she continues to carry North Philadelphia with her — even on her shoes.
The Phoenix Mercury guard and four-time All-Star debuted a custom “Norf Philly” Adidas Harden Vol. 10 player-exclusive sneaker during Wednesday night’s game against the reigning WNBA champions Las Vegas Aces.
The black-and-white shoe features “Just a kid from” on the left heel and “Norf Philly” on the right heel. Copper has adopted the phrase “just a kid from Norf Philly” throughout her time in the WNBA. It’s a nod to the neighborhood that helped shape her.
Her love for basketball started on the streets of North Philadelphia. She practiced shooting by attaching a crate to a one-way sign on 32nd & Berks Streets.
“There wasn’t a lot of opportunities for young girls to play in different leagues, so I played in a league with a bunch of guys,” she said in an interview in 2025. “The things those guys instilled in me, whether it was that toughness or that grit or just always having that chip on my shoulder because I wasn’t as strong as them … shout out the guys.”
In 2021, Copper was named WNBA Finals MVP after leading the Chicago Sky to their first championship. After winning the championship, she paid it back to her Philly roots.
“North Philly is different,” she said in a 2021 article in the Players’ Tribune. “It’s a place I love, the place where I learned how to play tough.”
The Aces won Wednesday’s game, 86-76, and Copper, who finished with 26 points, is averaging a team-best 19.3 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.9 assists for the Mercury (4-12), who are 13th in the WNBA standings.
Copper has joined the tradition of Philadelphia basketball stars using sneakers to show where they’ve come from. The Nike Kobe 4 Philly dropped on Jan. 1, 2009, with a color scheme of red, white, and blue to pay homage to Kobe Bryant’s hometown and the 76ers. A “Philly” Nike Kobe 4 Protro was released in 2024.
Official Look at the 'Philly' Nike Kobe 4 Protro
This "Philly" colorway pays homage to Kobe Bryant's connection to the Philadelphia area, as his father, Joe, played for the Philadelphia 76ers in the 1970s.
Rasheed Wallace, a 2004 NBA champion with the Detroit Pistons and Simon Gratz graduate, was known for wearing high-top Nike Air Force 1s.
“The strap was a Philly thing,” Wallace told the All the Smoke podcast in May 2025. “In Philly when we wear the high-top Air Force 1s, you keep the strap on the back.”
Two years ago, La Salle College High School fell to Radnor in the PIAA 3A boys’ lacrosse championship. Just last Saturday, the Explorers flipped the script.
La Salle earned its first state crown since 2019 and sixth overall title after defeating Radnor, 16–9. The Raptors were making their sixth consecutive championship appearance. The victory, however, was the culmination of a season that hardly began according to plan.
La Salle opened the year 1–2 after losses to St John’s College High School in Washington, D.C, and Malvern Prep. While head coach Jack Forster understood that his team was up against tough competition, he knew they were leaving a ton on the table, especially with a roster consisting of seven seniors who are committed to Division I schools.
“I remember Coach Forster in the locker room before the [next] game was like, ‘I’m sick of telling people that we almost had them. Let’s go out there and win, and put all those little things together,’” said senior long-stick midfielder Johnny Wachs, who will play at Jacksonville University.
The Explorers went on go undefeated in Catholic League play and won 21 of 22 games en route to a state final victory.
“I think we kind of just took [the losses] as learning opportunities,” said senior attacker Will Trymbiski, who scored five goals in the championship game. “We saw the cracks in the sidewalk and knew how to fill them.”
Forster also believes that his team’s transformation occurred during their spring break trip to Bradenton, Fla. While there, the Explorers picked up a decisive 9-5 win over IMG Academy, but lacrosse was secondary to the relationships developed across the team.
“Just being around each other all week — and guys getting to know everybody and not just their class, and [upperclassmen] bringing the freshmen and sophomores along. … [The trip] was a big turning point for our team,” Wachs said.
“Some of the kids I talk to most are underclassmen. I feel like that made us a better team, because there was no separation between classes.”
This year’s senior class made sure to savor their last season playing together. Trymbiski and midfielder Dylan Malone, who’s heading to Duke in the fall, had played together since second grade, when the two were on the same club lacrosse team.
“It was super special to finish off the season with him and finish off the season in that way with him,” Trymbiski said.
This year’s seniors are most proud of the legacy they’ll leave behind.
La Salle has consistently been a dominant program and hasn’t dropped a Catholic League game in four years.
Before last weekend, the Explorers last won a state title in 2019, which marked their longest drought since winning their first in 2004. After going the distance this season, the seniors believe that they’ve left behind a structure that will return La Salle to the championship, even without their presence.
“Leaving a blueprint behind for underclassmen to follow, having leadership where you’re not too strict and not too lenient is where we had a great balance, and we found equilibrium between the two,” said Malone.
Trymbiski added, “I’m most proud of how the senior leaders handled this team, and hopefully for years to come, we can have a huge [winning] streak for La Salle.”
Five months later, almost to the day, Bo Bichette stepped in the batter’s box in Citizens Bank Park.
Boooooooo!
(No, they weren’t calling his name.)
Depending on who you ask, Bichette was either on the verge of signing with the Phillies or deep in talks about their seven-year, $200 million offer. It was the middle of January, a pivot point in the offseason.
“I thought it was an opportunity, for sure,” he said. “But there was definitely things that needed to be worked out for that to become a possibility. So, no, I didn’t think that [it was close].”
In any case, Bichette is in town this weekend with the rival Mets, who swooped in with a short-term (three years), high-salary ($126 million) deal with two opt-outs. And not that anyone has forgotten, the visit is a helpful reminder that the Phillies still are searching for a big right-handed bat.
Bo Bichette, who signed with the Mets over the Phillies’ seven-year, $200 million offer in January, is in town for the first time with his new team.
The trade deadline is six weeks away — 6 p.m. on Aug. 3, if you want to set a calendar reminder. It’s a long way from here to there. The market hasn’t taken shape and likely won’t for a while.
Entering the weekend, 12 National League teams and 11 in the American League were no more than three games out of a playoff spot. Some are more realistic contenders than others; none is ready to wave the white flag.
“It’s pretty quiet right now,” Phillies general manager Preston Mattingly said this week on Phillies Extra, The Inquirer’s baseball podcast. “You’re talking to teams and checking in, and we’re having conversations to kind of lay some groundwork. But pretty quiet right now.
“I’m sure over the next two to three weeks to one month, things will start to pick up a little bit.”
The Phillies made a small trade last week to address a lack of outfield depth after losing Adolis García to a season-ending muscle tear near his right shoulder. They sent two minor leaguers to the White Sox for platoon outfielder Derek Hill.
It’s possible they will have to make a similar trade for starting pitching depth after demoting Andrew Painter to triple A with a 7.06 ERA.
But the deadline represents a chance to take a bigger swing. And the perception within the sport, based on conversations with league sources, is that the Phillies are prioritizing a right-handed hitter for the top half of the order to offset lefty-swinging Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber, and Brandon Marsh.
Let’s take a still-too-early dive into a few players who may be available before the deadline by dividing them into categories:
The Phillies haven’t shown any interest in moving Bryce Harper back to the outfield.
Non-outfield options
The outfield is the most obvious place for the Phillies to add a hitter.
Unless …
“I’ve said it multiple years before — and this year, still — for the right player, I would do it,” Harper said of moving back to right field. “I mean, that’s as real as it gets. I don’t want to do it long-term. But if the right player comes along and that’s what we need, or if that’s what we want, I’d be open to it at any point.“
Could the right player be Willson Contreras? Or fellow first baseman Christian Walker? The free-falling Red Sox could move Contreras, who is under contract next year for $18.5 million. Astros owner Jim Crane once vowed to never be a seller. But if Houston keeps fading, Walker and third baseman Isaac Paredes could bring value.
Harper hasn’t played right field since April 2022, when he tore a ligament in his right elbow. He moved to first base a year later.
“I still feel like I can throw a baseball from right field, and I can catch a fly ball,” Harper said. “It’s been a long time. But, yeah, I would do it in a heartbeat for us to win a World Series, without a doubt.”
But the Phillies didn’t take Harper up on his previous offers, and it doesn’t sound like they’re about to start.
“I know he’s always been very open-minded to trying to help the organization however he can, but we haven’t talked to him,” Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said this week. “And I really don’t contemplate it because I really like the way he goes about his business at first base. … I’m looking at him as being a first baseman.”
With the Angels sinking to the bottom of the American League, outfielder Jo Adell could be on the move at the trade deadline.
Midrange outfield targets
Drafted a year apart, Marsh and Jo Adell came through the minors together with the Angels and became close friends.
What if they were reunited with the Phillies?
“That’d be kind of a cool reunion if they could get Jo there,” former Angels manager Joe Maddon said on a recent episode of Phillies Extra. “Because that man’s got some power.”
Indeed, Adell broke out last season with 37 homers and a .778 OPS. The 27-year-old’s production has dipped (10 homers, .683 OPS through Thursday) and isn’t helped by a 2.9% walk rate that ranks among the lowest in the majors.
But Adell would fit the Phillies as a right-handed hitter who bashes lefties (.862 OPS through Thursday). His defense has improved over the years in right field, too.
And the Angels are headed for their 11th losing season in a row. With one year left on Adell’s contract, this might be their time to cash in, especially if they won’t move Mike Trout, who went on the injured list this week with a hamstring strain.
Taylor Ward, a former Angels outfielder, represents an option as an outfield rental. A right-handed hitter and a free agent after the season, he has been an on-base machine for the Orioles, reaching at a .394 clip through Thursday, though he hit only three homers.
Lefty-hitting outfielder Jarren Duran is a trade candidate if the Red Sox continue to fall out of contention in the American League.
Lefty-hitting outfield options
The Phillies had seven left-handed hitters in the lineup Wednesday against Marlins ace righty Sandy Alcantara.
“I actually like it,” interim manager Don Mattingly said. “I do. I just think hitting left-handed against righties, it’s an advantage, right? And there’s pitchers that get righties out maybe better. … It just takes certain pitches away from a righty.”
Said general manager Preston Mattingly: “I probably would side on the side of my dad. I don’t think it’s a bad thing to run out seven, eight, nine left-handed hitters vs. a right-handed pitcher. And I think we have [lefty hitters] that are well equipped to hit lefties.”
File that away. Because although rival evaluators are expecting the Phillies to hunt for a right-handed hitter, Dombrowski may not shy away from an appealing left-handed bat.
Maybe someone like Jarren Duran. The Red Sox will have a surplus of outfielders when Roman Anthony returns from an injured finger. Duran, drafted by Boston when Dombrowski headed its baseball operations department, could finally be the odd man out in left field.
Twins center fielder Byron Buxton would be among the most coveted hitters on the market if he waived his no-trade clause.
Pie in the sky
At last year’s All-Star Game, Byron Buxton pledged his allegiance to the only organization he has known.
“I’m a Minnesota Twin,” he said, “for the rest of my life.”
Buxton actually has control over that. The 32-year-old center fielder has no-trade protection and no desire to waive it, even after the Twins traded 10 players at last year’s deadline, including star closer Jhoan Duran and center fielder Harrison Bader to the Phillies.
Amid another stellar season (23 homers, .919 OPS through Thursday), Buxton is doubling down on his loyalty.
“I ain’t said nothing about leaving, nor will I,” Buxton told The Athletic. “I’m a Twin.“
But what if the Twins sell again at the deadline? What if they move ace Joe Ryan and catcher Ryan Jeffers? Maybe that would change Buxton’s tune. Maybe not.
The Phillies appear to lack the prospect capital to get him anyway. Justin Crawford and Gage Wood might be a start. But the farm system is in the bottom third of the sport, according to many evaluators, after the Phillies used Mick Abel, Eduardo Tait, Starlyn Caba, George Klassen, and Sam Aldegheri in deals over the last two years.
“We feel good where our system’s at,” Preston Mattingly said. “We’re not concerned about a lack of assets in the minor leagues. A lot of times you see that top-100 [prospects] list. That’s not necessarily what teams internally talk about, and those are not the players they ask about.”
It would be moot anyway if Buxton wants to be a Twin forever.
Lincoln Financial Field has been renamed “Philadelphia Stadium” for the duration of the World Cup. In addition to five group stage games, the city will host a Round of 16 game on July 4.
// Timestamp 06/19/26 10:38pm
Haiti first team eliminated from World Cup after losing to Brazil
Brazil’s Vinícius Júnior celebrates after scoring the third goal against Haiti Friday night.
Vinícius Júnior scored and assisted on one of Matheus Cunha’s two goals as five-time champion Brazil eliminated Haiti from the World Cup with a 3-0 victory on Friday night.
Haiti, the Western Hemisphere’s poorest nation that qualified for the World Cup for the first time since 1974, became the first team guaranteed not to reach the knockout round. Meanwhile, the Seleção got the decisive performance they needed.
Cunha, the Manchester United standout, got the start and showed with every surf-and-slide goal celebration why he should have been in the starting lineup in Brazil’s listless 1-1 draw against Morocco. Brazil coach Carlo Ancelotti made the surprising decision in the opener to instead insert Cunha as a late substitute.
Cunha thrilled the Brazilian fans who made up the bulk of the 68,324 spectators at Lincoln Financial Field when he tapped in a rebound for his first career World Cup goal. He then sent a left-footed strike into the upper left corner for a 2-0 lead in the first half against the overmatched Haitians.
Brazil forward Raphinha, who was subbed out with an injury in the first half, had an early goal disallowed on an offside call that only temporarily muted the yellow-clad Seleção fans in an otherwise festive atmosphere at the home of the two-time Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles — whose cheerleaders did their part to rally the crowd.
Cunha added to the frivolity in Philadelphia, home to nearly 6,000 Brazilian immigrants, when he flashed his familiar surfing celebration.
— Associated Press
// Timestamp 06/19/26 10:14pm
A full house in South Philly
It’s a full house at the Philly World Cup. We’re like the dang Tanner Family up in here.
Fans at the World Cup are riding the waves and doing the wave – three times around Philadelphia Stadium. My favorite part was the fan who kept yelling “It’s coming! It’s coming!”
Brazil fans Miguel Sosa and his son, Enzo, of Nebraska, attend Friday’s match against Haiti at the Linc. A happy Brazilian fan with a unique hat watches Brazil’s dominance in South Philly. A Brazil fan waves his national flag during Brazil vs. Haiti. Fans navigate the stairs in the upper concourse of the Linc, which has been rebranded Philadelphia Stadium.
SEATTLE — It turned out that the U.S. men’s soccer team didn’t need Christian Pulisic to beat Australia, and make history in doing so.
With the star playmaker unable to shake off a calf injury, the Americans used two first-half tallies and a raucous atmosphere in Seattle to earn a 2-0 win, before a packed-to-the-roof crowd of 66,925.
The win clinched qualification for the knockout rounds, and marked the first time since 1930 that the U.S. men’s program has won two games in a World Cup group stage.
The statisticians at TruMedia noted this marked the first time in World Cup history that one team benefited from own goals in consecutive games, following the opening tally of the U.S.’ win over Paraguay.
SEATTLE — I’ve just left the stadium here, three hours after the U.S. game ended, and all the sports bars across the street on Occidental Avenue are still packed.
The sun is shining, the temperature is in the 70s, there’s a breeze off the water, and it looks like the citywide party will keep going for a good while.
You can bet they’ll be watching Brazil-Haiti on the TVs here. And they’ll be watching the Mariners too, since they have a home game against the Red Sox in two hours. T-Mobile Park is a block south of Lumen Field, so there’s a mix of soccer and baseball fans around.
Emily Vanim of Pottstown welcomes fans to “FIFA-delphia” ahead of Friday night’s matchup betwen Brazil and Haiti.
Emily Vanim of Pottstown had one of the best FIFA volunteer jobs – sitting in a lifeguard chair with a megaphone welcoming fans to “FIFA-delphia” and answering all their questions.
“Never give a teacher a megaphone,” she said.
The sixth grade teacher said she’s met the best people as a FIFA volunteer.
“We’re friends for life and we’re having an awesome time,” she said. “It’s surreal and the fans are outstanding.”
Brazil fans tries to use Rocky curse against Argentina
🥊 🇦🇷 Nos Estados Unidos, é tradição entre torcedores rivais colocar bandeiras ou camisas na estátua de Rocky Balboa, em Filadélfia, para tentar dar azar ao adversário. Entrando na brincadeira, um torcedor brasileiro decidiu dar uma “forcinha” aos argentinos nesta Copa do Mundo.… pic.twitter.com/xvWKunH4It
Things got chippy towards the end of the U.S. men’s national team second group match against Australia, but it was forward Florian Balogun who kept composure in the face of a second yellow card.
Going in for a challenge in the 88th minute, Balogun and Australian defender Harry Souttar got tangled in the air and found Souttar with his arm wrapped around the neck of Balogun on the way down. Instead of reacting to the bait, Balogun who picked up a yellow card earlier in the match was smart to walk away.
It led commentator Stu Holden to say: “The Australians have come here to have a rugby match, but to have restraint in these moments, to not swing an arm and punch back. Souttar is trying to get under his skin.
It kicked off a string of chippy plays down the stretch, but in the end, the U.S. men picked up their second win in this World Cup, securing a berth into the knockout round of 32.
Depending on the result of tonight’s match between Turkey and Paraguay (11 p.m., FS1), should that game end in a draw, the U.S. will win Group D outright.
A lot of love in Philly as Brazil and Haiti fans get together
Bob Travers, 78, of Southhampton, was among tailgaters accepting high-fives at Lot L outside Philadelphia Stadium.
Travers wore a Brasil jersey and a hat that said “Dysfunctional Veteran.” This was his second World Cup, having gone to one in 1994. This one was better already though, he said, because he was accompanied by his sons and grandson.
“I love it,” he said “The atmosphere is fantastic!”
Perhaps the only time fans of opposing teams have gotten along while tailgating at the Linc, aka Philadelphia Stadium for the World Cup. The vibes are immaculate.
How bad was it for Australia? They made three subs at halftime.
Australia’s Paul Okon-Engstler reacts after a collision with a U.S. player.
SEATTLE – You know a first half went badly for a team when it makes three substitutions at halftime.
That’s what Australia did, with the biggest one being Nestory Irankunda replacing Mohamed Touré up front. Why Iranknunda didn’t start, as one of the Socceroos’ rising stars, was a big question among the Australian media before kickoff.
The other moves were Jason Geria replacing the yellow-carded Cameron Burgess on the back line, and Connor Metcalfe replacing Nishan Velupillay in midfield.
Alex Freeman doubled the U.S. lead in the 43rd minute off a free kick play. But it wasn’t surprising the offside flag was up initially, and by the rules it could have stayed that way.
When Sergiño Dest took the initial shot that deflected up in the air, Folarin Balogun and Weston McKennie were clearly offside, while Freeman was not. And when the ball came down, Balogun was right next to Freeman, in close range to the goalkeeper.
Though Balogun didn’t touch the ball, his presence there could be called interfering with the goalkeeper, and that’s grounds for keeping the flag up. But the video review crew decided that Balogun didn’t interfere enough, so they let the goal stand.
Double celebration for Alex Freeman’s goal to put the U.S. up 2-0 before the half — once before the VAR, and once after
‘It’s such a dream’: Brazil fans take over Stateside Live!
Brazil fans at Stateside Live! in Philadelphia hours before their country takes on Haiti.
Stateside Live! turned into Brasil Live! Friday as a sea of fans descended on the stadium bar complex prior to their team’s World Cup game against Haiti at nearby Philadelphia Stadium.
By 3 p.m., the entire complex was a sea of yellow-and-green, dotted with islands of Haiti fans (and a few team USA fans) in red, white, and blue.
Belange Pierre, 54, of Ottawa, Canada, waved a Haitian flag outside the gates. He drove to Philly with four friends to catch his team’s first World Cup game in 50 years. They were confident they’d be driving back to Canada with a win under their belts after the game.
“Allons-y!” the group shouted, which is French for “Let’s go!”
Andre Magalhaes and his wife, Kelly Bennett, traveled from Orlando to watch Friday’s Brazil-Haiti game.
Andre Magalhaes, 47, a native of Brazil now living in Orlando, was counting down the hours until his first World Cup game at Stateside Live! Friday.
“It’s a child’s dream come true,” he said of attending his first World Cup match. “I’ve waited for this moment my entire life to be here.”
Magalhaes wore a leather cangaceiro, a traditional hat from Northeast Brazil. His wife, Kelly Bennett, 44, wore a team Brasil shirt a U.S. flag as a cape.
“We’re going to watch the game here then I’m going to fold up the flag and I’m going into the stadium and root for Brazil,” she said.
The couple, who are only in town for the three days, said they loved Philly’s sports complex.
“You have all three stadiums and public transit right here!” Bennett said. “It’s such a dream, especially coming from Orlando.”
SEATTLE – It didn’t take long for the United States’ shift to a two-striker front line to pay off.
Folarin Balogun’s hot form continued just 11 minutes in, as he forced an own goal off Cameron Burgess to put the Americans ahead. Antonee Robinson sprung Balogun down the left flank, and he sprinted almost all the way to the end line, then laid a pass into the middle for Ricardo Pepi and Sergiño Dest’s late runs.
But the ball hit Australian centerback Cameron Burgess near the six-yard box instead, and pinged right into the net.
The crowd was thrilled, and the hosts were off and running again.
Lumen Field, known as Seattle Stadium during the World Cup, ahead of U.S. vs. Australia Friday.
SEATTLE – Like most NFL stadiums, Seattle’s press box is glass-enclosed, though it least it has some small windows that open to pick up a bit of the atmosphere.
But I wanted the real thing for a moment. So I snuck outside to the seating bowl for the players’ walkout and the national anthems.
Both sets of fans belted out their national anthems, with the Star-Spangled Banner ringing around the entire stadium. You could probably hear it up the street at the ferry terminal.
Media aren’t allowed to take videos inside the stadium unless they’re rightsholders, a FIFA rule I’ve lived with at every World Cup I’ve covered. But we can take photos, so here’s mine of what it looked like.
At Fan Fest, Mayor Parker thrilled to share ‘Philly-ness with the world’
Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle L. Parker at the opening of the FIFA Fan Festival in Fairmount Park Friday.
Mayor Cherelle L. Parker helped open the gates of the FIFA Fan Festival ahead of the U.S.’s clash with Australia at 3 p.m.
Parker stepped out into the crowd waiting at the festival’s main gate and posed for photos with fans waiting in line, including one with a group of traveling Scottish supporters.
Before the gates opened, Parker said she was appreciative that fans are showing up to the city and the festival “authentically, as themselves.”
“We are a global culture, and we are one people,” Parker said. “What makes America and the world so amazing, is that all of us, no matter the fabric, no matter the patchwork in our quilt, we make up a global humanity, and an American community that’s representative of everyone. I’m excited about it all.”
After greeting the line of fans waiting to get into the festival on Sedgley Drive, Parker walked into the festival to greet a few vendors. She stopped at the Bank of America tent to make a bracelet – she chose a black band with all the Philly-specific charms and a World Cup trophy charm – then stopped into the FIFA store on the festival grounds.
With the help of a few store associates, Parker picked out some kits and World Cup merch, including both Brazil jerseys, a seafoam France away jersey, a yellow Curaçao jersey, two World Cup logo shirts and a stripes U.S. jersey.
Parker said she’s enjoyed seeing soccer fans out and about in the city – especially Brazilian fans, whose team will take the field against Haiti at Lincoln Financial Field at 8:30 p.m.
“We were on the parkway, and Brazil was turning it out and up,” Parker said. “Everywhere we’ve been, they’re like, ‘Philadelphia is beautiful, the experience is great.’ You can be a visitor one time, but they’ll feel Philadelphia.
“You have to feel the energy here. We are not like any other city in the nation. There is something special about Philadelphia, and being able to share that Philly-ness with the world is something really exciting.”
Check out The Inquirer’s all-new pop-up soccer show!
Ahead of today’s pivotal World Cup matches, get up to speed on all things soccer with the Inquirer’s Soccer Extra, our pop-up soccer show during the matches here in Philly, featuring writer Jonathan Tannenwald and host Lisa Carlin.
Catch the show Thursdays at 11 a.m., until the final match at Philadelphia Stadium (aka the Linc) through July 4. In their second episode, the duo take a look at this first week of World Cup action and look ahead to Philly’s upcoming matches in Brazil-Haiti tonight and France-Iraq on Monday.
— Inquirer sports staff
// Timestamp 06/19/26 2:35pm
Like Philly, Seattle putting the ‘city’ in ‘World Cup host city’
Seattle Stadium, usually called Lumen Field, as fans arrive for the World Cup match between the U.S. and Australia Friday.
SEATTLE – You might not think that Philadelphia and Seattle have much in common, thousands of miles apart and with different cultural vibes. But during this World Cup, it feels like they have a lot in common.
It’s not just that the U.S.-Australia and Brazil-Haiti games are on the same day, which has put the two cities at the top of the World Cup’s headlines. It’s that they’re true cities, the kind where you can feel the energy of a big event just by being there.
That’s how a World Cup is supposed to be, and has been at all the other ones I’ve been to. The sights and sounds of big fan gatherings are as important as the games themselves.
Philadelphia has seen that a few times now, from the Club World Cup last summer to the masses of Ecuador and Brazil fans in recent days. Soccer brings people together from all over the place like nothing else, even in a city where other sports are more important.
Another thing you can tell out here is how different things are from the first U.S. game in suburban Los Angeles. The stadium is exceptional and the atmosphere was great, but there just wasn’t the same kind of buzz beyond the game because L.A. isn’t the same kind of city.
Fans at Pioneer Square in Seattle.
The downtown doesn’t matter as much, and everything else is way too sprawling – and that’s before getting to the U.S. camp being over an hour south in Orange County. You’re never going to have the same kind of buzz when everything around is highways and shopping centers.
In Philadelphia, you can walk anywhere in Center City, then take a quick subway ride to the game. Here, you can walk from the waterfront to the stadium, and there’s a light rail line across town too.
I made that walk this morning, and saw thousands of fans going in both directions. A “Men in Blazers” live show on one of the piers drew a huge crowd that filled the plaza and the sidewalks beyond it.
The big crowd here isn’t just wearing red, white, and blue. There are plenty of Australia backers too, all in their traditional green and gold. You’ll see them behind one end zone, behind the team’s bench, and in a few sections of the upper deck.
I unexpectedly walked through their fan march on the way to the stadium. Everyone was in good spirits, including the U.S. fans at bars nearby who responded with lighthearted boos and “USA!” chants.
One Socceroos fan carried the amusing sign you see above. A bunning snag is Australia’s similar culinary tradition, a grilled sausage in a folded piece of white bread topped with grilled onions, then ketchup and/or mustard.
Christian Pulisic is still recovering from his calf injury.
SEATTLE – Christian Pulisic will not play in the U.S.-Australia game, as he hasn’t recovered enough from his calf injury to make the squad.
“Christian is not available,” U.S. manager Mauricio Pochettino told Fox Sports’ broadcast moments before FIFA published the teams’ starting lineups. “Let’s hope that as soon as possible he can be ready to be selected again, and to be part of the team. Now we need to be focused on our team, and the players that are going to play. We have ahead very important game – Australia is going to be really tough.”
Pochettino said Pulisic trained Friday morning and “the feelings are good” on the star playmaker’s overall recovery.
“A little bit sad,” Pochettino admitted. “He wanted to participate today. But it’s still [too] early.”
EXCLUSIVE: USA star Christian Pulisic is OUT today with a calf injury against Australia and Ricardo Pepi will get the start, USMNT manager Mauricio Pochettino tells FOX Sports’ @JennyTaft. pic.twitter.com/ZobSiOfjYx
Ricardo Pepi comes into the U.S. lineup, and that means a tactical shift with two strikers on the field. My guess is the Americans will line up in a 3-4-2-1 formation that looks like this:
Australia has all of its players healthy. The Socceroos’ starting lineup is headlined by rising star striker Nestory Irankunda and 6-foot-6 centerback Harry Souttar. There’s also a familiar face from MLS in New York City FC midfielder Aiden O’Neill.
The #USMNT starting lineup with Christian Pulisic out – Ricardo Pepi comes in to throw two strikers at Australia.
I am guessing it will look like this formation-wise…
Fans from all over gather for entrance into the FIFA Fan Festival
Fans wait to enter FIFA Fan Festival at Lemon Hill in East Fairmount Park Friday.
The gates of the FIFA Fan Festival don’t open to visitors until 2 p.m., but a line has already started to form at the main gate.
Gus Sanchez said he and his family had been in line since about noon after biking over from Northeast Philly.
Sanchez said he wanted to watch the U.S. men’s team take on Australia with a crowd, leading him to come over to the Fan Festival.
“It’s something I can’t explain,” Sanchez, 53, said. “Seeing people from different countries getting together, having fun, enjoying the game.”
The crowd is full of U.S. kits, but other nations are represented, too. Kits from Haiti and Brazil, which will face off tonight at Lincoln Financial Stadium, can be spotted in the line, as well as fans from Scotland.
Alex Nelson said he traveled from Prestwick to the U.S. to soak in the environment of the World Cup.
He traveled from Boston, where the Scots played Haiti on Saturday, to Philadelphia to take in Scotland-Morocco at the Fan Festival.
Nelson, sporting a tartan kilt, said he’s loved his time in Philly so far.
“Very clean city,” Nelson said. “Everybody has been so helpful. Everybody’s mixed in —the Brazilians, the Moroccans, U.S.A., all mixed. That’s what it’s all about.”
Brazil fans bring the party to Philly’s Rocky steps
// Timestamp 06/19/26 9:36am
Photos: Brazil fans take over Philly
Brazil fans play a little soccer as they rally at the Philadelphia Museum of Art Thursday. Thousands of Brazil fans swarmed the streets ahead of their team’s matchup against Haiti in Philly. Brazil’s Lucas Paquetá poses for a photo with fans outside the Sofitel Philadelphia at Rittenhouse Square.Brazil soccer fans wait outside of the Sofitel Philadelphia at Rittenhouse Square to greet the players. A Brazil soccer fan cheers outside the Sofitel Philadelphia at Rittenhouse Square. Brazil fans are hoping for the team’s first 2026 World Cup win in Philly.
// Timestamp 06/19/26 8:09am
Everything you need to know about the World Cup in Philly
Philadelphia’s second World Cup game is Sunday night.
Brazil fans work to avoid Rocky curse again of Philly game
Brazil fans guard the Rocky statue at the Philadelphia Museum of Art to prevent being jinxed.
International soccer supporters, be warned — clothe the Rocky statue at your own risk.
The fans of the Ecuadorian national team learned Sunday what many NFL fans already know about draping their colors over the statue of Rocky on the steps of the Philadelphia Art Museum.
Ecuadorian supporters fitted Rocky with a yellow La Tri kit, then saw their team concede a 90th-minute winner in its FIFA World Cup group-stage opener against Ivory Coast on Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field (aka Philadelphia Stadium).
The effects of the “Rocky curse” are well-documented when it comes to football, but it was relatively untested on the beautiful game. Ecuador lost, 1-0, to the Ivorian side, which entered the tournament ranked 10 spots behind La Tri in the FIFA World Ranking.
With Brazil coming to Philly for a Group C match against Haiti on Friday (8:30 p.m., Fox29), Movimento Verde Amarelo, Brazil’s main supporters’ group, went to great lengths to ensure the yellow and green of the Canarinho stayed off the Rocky statue.
The Rocky statue was roped off with a four-post retractable nylon stanchion, with four members of MVA, sunglasses on and earpiece in, standing at attention at each corner as Brazilian fans gathered for a rally in front of the Art Museum.
The bodyguards discouraged fans from draping any Brazilian garb on the statue, holding signs that read:
“Operation Rocky Protectors — Attention: it is forbidden to put Brazilian colors on the statue.”
Matheus Henrique, 30, was one of the MVA members protecting the statue. Henrique, a native of Belém, Brazil, moved to Los Angeles a decade ago for college.
Henrique is friends with the person who helped organize Brazil’s takeover of the steps and responded when a call went out for volunteers to guard the statue.
“It’s a superstition, we heard,” Henrique said. “We’re enjoying the event as well.”
Christian Pulisic’s status a mystery ahead of USMNT-Australia
Christian Pulisic during a United States men’s national soccer team in Seattle Thursday.
There was no surprise news about Christian Pulisic from U.S. men’s soccer team manager Mauricio Pochettino in his news conference before Friday’s game against Australia (3 p.m., Fox29, Telemundo 62). Pochettino did not rule the star playmaker in or out, and that was not surprising.
“As you know, he was training in an individual way the whole week,” Pochettino said. “But like always, I think tonight, the day before the game, we have a meeting with our medical area, and we will assess the whole group, the players, and tomorrow we will communicate all the things that we can agree tonight.”
Pulisic was seen briefly at the start of Thursday’s practice, then headed off to work on his own. When he arrived, he wasn’t wearing the sleeve over his injured left calf that he sported on Wednesday. But after a few minutes, he sat down on a bench by the sideline and put it on.
“He is evolving, he is much better from [last] Friday,” Pochettino said. “I think at the moment we’ll see. … He’s doing a massive effort trying to be ready.”
The manager also praised Pulisic for being “strong and with a great mentality” as the Hershey native works to be ready for kickoff.
Asked who might play if Pulisic can’t go, Pochettino didn’t answer. This was no surprise either.
“I will tell tomorrow if that is the situation,” he said. “At the moment, we are evaluating all the possibilities just in case, and then we will decide when we have the confirmation in one or another direction tonight.”
Former U.S. men’s star Landon Donovan will be on the call for Brazil vs. Haiti in Philly Friday night.
The second of six World Cup matches will take place Friday night in Philadelphia, with Brazil taking on Haiti (8:30 p.m., Fox) in Group C action.
Calling the game on Fox tonight will be veteran soccer announcer Ian Darke, joined by former U.S. men’s national great Landon Donovan. Natalie Gedra will handle reporting at Philadelphia Stadium, otherwise known as Lincoln Financial Field.
Brazil vs Haiti
Time: 8:30 p.m. Philly time
Location: Philadelphia Stadium (Lincoln Financial Field)
TV: Fox (Ian Darke, Landon Donovan)
Spanish: Telemundo (Luis Omar Tapia, Diego Balado)
Philly hosted its first-ever men’s World Cup match last week, with Ivory Coast topping Ecuador.
Philadelphia was the star during its first 2026 World Cup match, which featured an Ivory Coast upset in front of a re-branding Lincoln Financal Field filled with Ecuador fans.
Philadelphia Stadium, as it’s called during the tournament, will host five more World Cup games, including a Round of 16 matchup on July 4.
Mike Schmidt returned to the Phillies television booth Thursday night, but not to call the game.
The Phillies legend walked away from NBC Sports Philadelphia this season after 12 years as a part-time announcer, but jumped back in the booth Thursday night to spend the fourth inning with Tom McCarthy, John Kruk, and fellow Hall of Famer George Brett.
It was a fascinating way to spend 20 minutes, especially considering the many ways Schmidt and Brett are linked. Two of the best third baseman in the history of the game, taken one behind the other in the 1971 MLB draft. Brett had 1,596 career RBIs, while Schmidt had 1,595 (Brett “hired someone to go back through his career and find an RBI” Schmidt once jokingly claimed).
And of course, there’s the 1980 World Series, where the Phillies defeated the Royals and Schmidt was named MVP, which Brett said was “hard to swallow.” They were both named the respective MVPs of their leagues that season, with Brett ending the season with a batting average of .390.
George Brett and Mike Schmidt, seen here ahead of Game 1 of the 1980 World Series.
“By the way, I had .260 in the bag,” Schmidt joked. “I went 0-10 in the last series and dropped down to .250.”
“I feel so bad for you, Mike. You only had 50 home runs that season,” Brett shot back.
For the record, Schmidt ended the 1980 season with 48 home runs and 121 RBIs.
Schmidt and Brett compared stats, busted chops, and shared a life-long friendship borne through intense competition on the field.
“I hated him. I didn’t like him at all,” Brett said, noting Schmidt beat him “every time I played against him.”
At one point, Phillies announcer Ben Davis, positioned in the dugout during the game, chimed in to note that between Schmidt, Brett, Phillies manager Don Mattingly, and Mets announcer Keith Hernandez, there were 31 Gold Gloves and 9,723 hits in the building.
“Who’s that talking?” Brett jokingly replied before taking a shot at himself.
“They always say you got 3,000 hits. I say, ‘No, I made 7,000 outs,’” Brett said, turning to Schmidt. “How many outs do you think you made?”
“Well, I know I made 7,000 strikeouts. I mean, I can count those,” Schmidt said.
The two even joked about their current roles. Brett serves as the Royals’ vice president of baseball operations, while Schmidt complained he can’t get a title with the Phillies.
“John Middletown, if you’re listening, give Mike a title,” Brett said. “I’m Mike Schmidt, and I own this stadium.”
So why was Brett in town for a Phillies-Mets game? To help Schmidt promote his “Play Sun Safe” skin cancer awareness campaign, something he’s been passionate about since being diagnosed with melanoma in 2013. As part of his partnership with the Phillies, 12 sunscreen stations have been placed across Citizens Bank Park during games.
As interesting as the pairing and the history was, the broadcast did lose focus of the game at times. Thankfully, McCarthy and company refocused after Derek Hill drove in Bryson Stott to tie the game in the bottom of the fourth.
Phillies head to national TV, but Kruk will still be around
John Kruk will jump to NBC Sunday to call the Phillies on national TV.
The Phillies have Friday night off, but NBC Sports Philadelphia won’t be broadcasting the team again until Monday.
Saturday night’s game will air on Fox, with Joe Davis and John Smoltz calling the game and Ken Rosenthal reporting from Citizens Bank Park. Chris O’Connor, the brother of Pennsylvania State Police Corporal Timothy O’Connor, who was shot and killed during a Chester County traffic stop in March, will throw a ceremonial first pitch.
NBC will take over for Sunday Night Baseball, with Kruk back on the network to broadcast the game alongside play-by-play announcer Jason Benetti and former Mets pitcher John Franco.
While Benetti is the voice of baseball on NBC, the network decided to turn to a rotating crew of analysts to call each game, one representing each team on the field. It’s largely a response to the biggest complaint networks hear when broadcasting baseball games — fans just want to hear their local announcers.
It’s the second game Kruk has called for NBC this season, though the first — an April loss to the Atlanta Braves — only streamed on Peacock. Hopefully this time Kruk will be a bit luckier for the Phillies. Having Zack Wheeler (6-1, 2.01 ERA) on the mound should help.
The Phillies will be back on Peacock July 5 when they take on the Pittsburgh Pirates, but they won’t be alone. Peacock will exclusively stream 13 baseball games that day as part of an event NBC is calling “Star-Spangled Sunday.”
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Phillies news
Andrew Painter has a 1-8 record and 7.06 ERA, and opponents are batting .404.
Haiti’s June 19 World Cup match against soccer’s most decorated nation, Brazil, held at Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field, encapsulates the contradictions at the heart of FIFA’s flagship event this summer.
A traffic sign on I-95 informs drivers of expected traffic delays to occur because of the World Cup match — Brazil is set to face Haiti — on Friday at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.
The World Cup — and Haiti’s first appearance in it since 1974 — is a welcome distraction from the humanitarian and security crisis at home. For many Haitians, however, the Trump administration’s cruel immigration policies, including its effort to terminate this Caribbean country’s temporary protected status (TPS) — a form of protection against deportation to dangerous situations — casts a shadow over the tournament.
Since a catastrophic 2010 earthquake, Haitians have dealt with one disaster after another, including a cholera epidemic, devastating hurricanes, increasing violence, and chronic political instability.
The current crisis, during which criminal groups have consolidated control over most of the capital, Port-au-Prince, and expanded to at least four more of Haiti’s 10 regions, has killed thousands, displaced more than 1.5 million people, and led to widespread sexual violence.
Even before the World Cup began, the odds were stacked against Haiti’s “Grenadiers” — a nickname that pays homage to the revolutionary soldiers who fought for Haiti’s independence in 1804. The squad managed to top their regional qualifying group for the tournament despite not being able to play a single game on home soil; their national stadium is in an area controlled by criminal groups. It was a remarkable feat — one that ended Haiti’s 52-year wait to participate in another World Cup, and became a source of immense pride for Haitian soccer fans around the world.
Haiti fans cheer during the World Cup Group C soccer match between Haiti and Scotland in Foxborough, Mass., near Boston, on June 13.
For the coming weeks, Haitians will be celebrated on the world stage and their players welcomed with open arms, but their fans may find their paths to the stadiums — or to the United States itself — inaccessible.
In Philadelphia, many by now will have already seen proud Haitian fans sporting their team’s blue and red jerseys. But while the World Cup inspires hope and pride for Haitians living in the U.S., the Trump administration’s immigration policies, including the possibility of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement presence at or near World Cup venues, may elicit anxiety, fear, and exclusion.
Haiti is one of 39 countries affected by U.S. government travel restrictions that prevent fans from supporting their countries in person this summer. Although the ban includes an exception for athletes, Woodensky Pierre, the only Haitian player based in the country, missed a vital pre-tournament match after his U.S. visa wasn’t approved in time. He landed at Miami airport shortly after the game began and was later embraced by his teammates on the pitch at the final whistle.
It is the attempts to terminate Haitians’ temporary protected status, however, that pose the most serious human rights concerns for Haitians who are already in Philadelphia and other cities.
Under U.S. law, the Department of Homeland Security can designate a country for this status when conflict, environmental disasters, or other circumstances temporarily prevent its nationals from returning safely, or when the country cannot adequately handle their return.
TPS protects beneficiaries from removal, allows them to apply for work and travel authorization, and prevents Homeland Security officials from detaining them solely based on their immigration status.
Haiti first received this designation after the 2010 earthquake. Since then, and because conditions in Haiti itself have not improved, hundreds of thousands of Haitians in the U.S. have built lives, raised families, and become essential contributors to local communities, including in Philadelphia. Approximately 330,000 Haitians now have TPS in the United States.
Haitian TPS holders in the U.S. need stability, protection, and a durable path forward, writes Robbie Newton.
The Trump administration is now trying to strip Haitians of this protection.
Despite clear evidence that the human rights crisis in Haiti is worsening, the Department of Homeland Security insists that “country conditions have improved to the point where Haitians can return home safely.” A Supreme Court decision on the legality of ending this protection is expected this summer.
Residents flee their homes to escape clashes between armed gangs in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, in May.
Terminating the protection would have devastating consequences, exposing hundreds of thousands of Haitians to detention and possible return to the “cataclysmic” situation unfolding at home, where they would face serious risks of kidnapping, extortion, and other abuses by criminal groups.
For the 15,000 Haitians protected by TPS in the state of Pennsylvania, making it to the World Cup and cheering on their team represents a powerful symbol of hope and unity at a precarious time for the community.
Other soccer fans who root for the underdog will very likely cheer on Haiti as it makes its way through all of its Group C matches (and, hopefully, into the knockout stage). But support for Haiti should extend beyond the World Cup. The U.S. government should renew temporary protected status for Haitians.
Haiti’s Grenadiers deserve their place at the World Cup. For Haitian TPS holders in the U.S., the stakes go far beyond the tournament.
Robbie Newton is a senior coordinator and in the sport and human rights team at HumanRights Watch.
