Micah Adams

Hydration break. This is your reminder to drink water! A very even midfield battle so far, but as @_samirmello_ pointed out, Spain look slightly more comfortable both on and off the ball than Argentina.

For the last month, I dove into the 8-year process to research, develop, grow, install, and maintain the pitch at MetLife Stadium for the 2026 World Cup final. FIFA enlisted huge help from grad programs at Michigan St. and Tennessee Read @sportingnews👇 sportingnews.com/us/soccer/news…

@RBairner I thought it was fake too but I don’t have a tool to double check that one so we couldn’t use it. Assuming you checked OPTA or TruMedia? I don’t have it but curious what that number looks like for the 45th to 66th minute (fittingly almost same amount of time)

I thought this had to be fake so I double-checked it. It's not. It's true.

Bulls fans haven’t been this excited this D-Rose. Inject this directly into my jugular.

Miejsca półfinalistów Mundialu w rankingu FIFA: 1994 🇧🇷3, 🇮🇹4, 🇸🇪10, 🇧🇬29 1998 🇧🇷1, 🇫🇷18, 🇭🇷19, 🇳🇱25 2002 🇧🇷2, 🇩🇪11, 🇹🇷22, 🇰🇷40 2006 🇵🇹7, 🇫🇷8, 🇮🇹13, 🇩🇪19 2010 🇪🇸2, 🇳🇱4, 🇩🇪6, 🇺🇾16 2014 🇩🇪2, 🇧🇷3, 🇦🇷5, 🇳🇱15 2018 🇧🇪3, 🇫🇷7, 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿12, 🇭🇷20 2022 🇦🇷3, 🇫🇷4, 🇭🇷12, 🇲🇦22 2026 🇦🇷1, 🇪🇸2, 🇫🇷3, 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿4

@IanDarke @landondonovan The best in the biz! An iconic voice with an earnest, authoritative, trustworthy and genuine passion that’s impossible to fake. You’re an amazing steward of the game, have loved you and Landon with the full circle symmetry from the 2010 moment. Cheers!

Fourteenth and final World Cup commentary of this tournament for me and @landondonovan on Saturday in Kansas City…. Argentina and Messi in their adopted city against Switzerland , aiming for a first ever semi. Very much enjoyed another trip to USA and thanks for watching.

You rest when your playing career is over. Period.

@AnthonyDabbundo Eh. There’s a middle ground that I think is reasonable. Its very dumb to just cherry pick the best athletes and say “WHAT IF THEY PLAYED SOCCER?!?!” But its not silly to wonder what happens if even 10% of our top athletes choose soccer. Right now, it might be 1%.

It’s really silly to do the “if only our best athletes played soccer” discourse the day after we got cooked by Leandro Trossard (it’s always dumb to do this discourse)

@PaulCarr Three putting a Par 5 after hitting the green in two is the single best analogy I’ve heard for this USMNT. Perfect.

🇺🇸 I've said since the World Cup draw that par for the USMNT was R16. I still think that's true. 🇺🇸 But it feels like a missed opportunity, like three-putting a par-5 after reaching the green in two, given how good the team looked, how poor Belgium had been, homefield, etc. 😕

Let's talk about Belgium. Fair play to Rudi García, he got everything right tonight. The starting lineup was a surprise, especially with players like Doku, De Bruyne, and Lukaku left out. But every change made sense. Rudi García understood that, with the United States playing with three midfielders + Pulisic operating inside, using only two midfielders alongside De Bruyne would have been a nightmare defensively. It would have created a 4v2 overload centrally, as De Bruyne doesn't contribute consistently enough without the ball. Using Tielemans as a #10 isn't ideal in possession, but it worked brilliantly defensively. Out of possession, Tielemans almost became a third central midfielder, giving Belgium much more protection in the middle of the pitch. Starting Lukebakio instead of Doku also made sense for two reasons. First, his defensive work was outstanding. He consistently tracked Robinson's runs and dropped deep when needed, at times even helping Belgium form a back five. Second, he offered more threat in large spaces and transition moments than Doku. De Ketelaere also had an excellent game, scoring twice and constantly causing problems with his intelligent movement and runs in behind. Belgium's defensive plan was well organized and executed. They weren't overly aggressive or excessively passive, they found the right balance. The profiles García selected suited the game plan perfectly. What I liked most, though, was Belgium's approach in possession. They clearly wanted to prevent the United States from using one of their biggest strengths: their aggressive high press and counter-press. After recovering the ball, Belgium often played backwards to Courtois instead of forcing risky passes through the middle. Courtois would then play long over the first line of pressure. This stretched the United States, and Belgium had enough physical presence, (Onana, Vakanen, Lukebakio, and even Tielemans) to compete for and win the second balls. The other option Belgium used was to immediately play forward into the space behind the US press after regaining possession. By doing this, they avoided giving the United States the opportunity to counter-press and instead attacked quickly in transition. The United States are one of the best teams at reacting immediately after losing possession, but Belgium simply didn't allow them to play to that strength. To be honest, Belgium hadn't looked convincing recently. They struggled to create chances and often found it difficult to beat opponents they should have been dominating given the quality of their squad. Tonight, however, they looked far more solid defensively, even without some of their biggest attacking stars. The game plan was excellent, the player profiles fit it perfectly, and Belgium completely nullified the United States.

look at my center back dawg, cannot be giving up goals in both these situations

So with Balogun… Is he sitting on a yellow? Because he’s playing after a red? Or if he gets a yellow tonight, is he still eligible for a quarterfinal? Legit have no idea.

Good things happen to good people. Jude Bellingham was a monster tonight.

@Aaron_Torres This is very much like Carmelo’s Cuse team. They are a bigger threat than Davidson ever was.

Soccer people: Is Erling Haaland getting Norway to the Round of 8, basically Steph Curry getting Davidson to the Elite 8. The analogy makes sense in my head. But Ive also only been invested in soccer for the last 7-10 business days 🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️

@VanLathan They play a remarkably hateable (yet effective) brand. Its like choosing Tony Bennett Virginia basketball.

I love Aresenal so much

@ScottStras They do in the month leading up to the World Cup when all these teams are playing warm up games. That’s what I mean, more of friendlies in the six months leading in.

qualifiers yes, nobody cares about exhibition games in any sport

And of course, if not Fox, then whoever gets 2030. NBC. ESPN. Fox. Turner. Whoever. That’s completely besides the point. The point is leveraging THIS momentum to create a consistent, connected, always on World Cup experience.

Yes, the broadcast rights are spread all over. Yes, there are some versions of this for individual confederations. Yes, that crew has other gigs. I get all of that. But there’s an opportunity for innovative disruption. And GameDay comes from Fox or CBS games all the time.

Fox needs to turn the World Cup into a legit 3-year production. Bring qualifying and even friendlies into the public conscious. College GameDay level of studio presence with the main desk of Lowe, Henry and Zlatan. Rinaldi features. Jameis man on the street. Bracketology.

Disgraceful from Paraguay. That referee let it get out of hand, terrible officiating as well.