The 2026 FIFA World Cup is almost here, and fans stateside are starting to feel the excitement.

For the next month, some of the best soccer players and teams the world has to offer will duke it out on North American soil for the right to hoist the World Cup.

The U.S. Men’s National Team in particular is an exciting young soccer squad that is looking to make some noise on their home turf, and their road to the knockout stage couldn’t have been much easier (with all due respect to their fellow group members).

The Stars and Stripes will begin their quest for a World Cup on Friday, June 12, at 9 p.m. Eastern against Paraguay in Los Angeles.

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The Paraguayans will be making their return to the World Cup stage for the first time since 2010, and have been giant killers throughout their qualifying rounds, taking down the likes of South American heavyweights Uruguay, Argentina and Brazil.

Next on the docket, the U.S. will face off against Australia on Friday, June 19, at 3 p.m. Eastern in Seattle.

The Socceroos will try their best to muck it up and play a very defensive brand of soccer against America, while also boasting a great goalkeeper in Matthew Ryan.

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Goals will be at a premium for anyone who plays Australia in this tournament.

To conclude group play, the United States will play Turkey on Thursday, June 25, at 10 p.m. Eastern back in Los Angeles.

Fresh off a quarterfinals appearance in Euro 2024, this is a very talented Turkey who may not have the star power of a France or Brazil, but will be a very dangerous out for anyone in the World Cup.

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Though the subject of who moves on may already be decided when Türkiye and the United States square off, these are the two heavyweights of Group D and should make for an exciting conclusion to group play.

All three games will be streaming on Fox Sports and Fox One, with both the Australia and Paraguay matchups available on Fox (blackout restrictions may apply).

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Additionally, the U.S.-Paraguay matchup will be available for free on Tubi.

Happy World Cup, everyone, and go, go USA!

Somali referee Omar Abdulkadir Artan was denied entry into the United States for the World Cup after enduring an 11-hour interrogation in Miami, according to media reports. Andrew Giuliani, head of the White House Task Force on the World Cup, indicated Artan was suspected to having ties to a Somali militant group.

“We want to make sure we are not going to allow a soccer tournament to be the opportunity for terrorists to potentially get in the country or anybody who is actually talking to them,” Giuliani told the British Broadcasting Corporation.

The New York Times reported that Artan’s name is similar to that of a man identified as linked to Al Shabab, a group that has been the target of U.S. government sanctions.

“I am very, very disappointed,” Artan told the Times from Istanabul, where he stopped on his way back to Somalia. “I’m just simply a referee who’s trying to live his dream, the biggest dream of my life, to come to the World Cup.”

Safety was purportedly the concern with Artan, whose interrogation was conducted by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

“During processing, the traveler underwent additional inspection, a routine part of CBP’s inspection process when officers need to verify information or determine admissibility,” CBP said in a statement. “Following inspection, the traveler, a referee for the FIFA World Cup, was determined to be inadmissible due to vetting concerns and was denied entry.”

Somalia is on the U.S. list of banned countries for immigration, although exceptions can be made. Artan is considered one of the best referees in Africa, having officiated in the Somali national football league championship and at the African Cup of Nations.

“Despite the circumstances, I am in a positive mood and focused on the next challenges in my refereeing career,” Artan said in a statement. “I would like to thank FIFA and [the African federation] for all their support and I promise to keep my refereeing levels up as I concentrate on the future.”

Artan, Africa’s Referee of the Year in 2025, was greeted Wednesday at Aden Adde International Airport in Somalia by government officials and hundreds of well-wishers.

“I want to thank FIFA for supporting me all the way, and for Somali people also,” he told Al Jazeera. “So I am very grateful for FIFA and for CAF also. This is what I have to say.”

The Carolina Hurricanes have evened up the Stanley Cup Final once more thanks to Jordan Staal’s two-goal night in Las Vegas to beat the Golden Knights in Game 4, 5-3.

The series now sits at 2-2 with Game 5 slated for a return back to Carolina’s Lenovo Center on Thursday to see who will have the edge in this pivotal clash on ice.

This game didn’t need overtime like the previous two, but it did need someone to break the 3-3 tie that went into the third period between these opponents.

With 13:39 left in Game 4, Shea Theodore made a disastrous turnover in the Golden Knights’ own zone, and Hurricanes star Seth Jarvis picked it off right in front of the net.

Luckily for Vegas, Carter Harter stopped Jarvis’ backhand, but the threat wasn’t averted just yet. Jarvis battled to get the puck back out in front, and it ended up trickling to the stick of Nikolaj Ehlers, who tried flipping it to Staal.

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Staal lost his edge on his skate, but that didn’t stop him from swatting a back-handed shot of his own toward the net. It just trickled past Hart, and Staal celebrated while still down on the ice. He became the first player in 44 years to score a goal in each of the first four games of the Stanley Cup Final.

With the way these games have been going, though, a one-goal lead was not safe. This time, however, the Hurricanes had the defense and timely saves by Brandon Bussi, who head coach Rod Brind’Amour went with over Frederik Anderson, and the decision paid off.

The Golden Knights took 20 shots on goal, with Bussi saving 7 in his first time on ice for Carolina in this series. And Ehlers sealed victory when he cleverly banked the puck out of his own zone with an empty net on the other end that walked into the net for the 5-3 win.

The Hurricanes came out roaring in the first period in this one as well, scoring three goals to the Golden Knights’ one by captain Mark Stone. Logan Stankoven notched his 11th of these playoffs just 1:06 into the game. Jackson Blake quickly followed on a goal assisted by Taylor Hall and Ehlers.

Then, Staal’s first goal of the game came 12:48 into the period on a power play. Shayne Gostisbehere ripped a shot on goal, and after Hart made the save, Staal was first to find the puck and a clear shot right in front of the goal.

With a 3-1 lead after the first 20 minutes, the Hurricanes had to feel good. But again, no lead is safe, and Vegas reminded them of that in the second period.

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William Karlsson got Vegas closer with his third goal of the playoffs, while Brett Howden, adding to his case for the Conn Smythe Trophy, scored his 14th to tie it all up at three.

In the end, Staal’s heroics for the Hurricanes is why he has a “C” on his sweater.

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