Sports
Mauricio Pochettino understands his 'responsibility' with World Cup fast approaching
If there was any doubt the national soccer team was under new management it faded Saturday when fans arriving at Q2 Stadium for Mauricio Pochettino’s first game as coach were handed a poster bearing his face, the same face that stared out from a red banner behind the south goal.
“It was a massive shock for me,” said Pochettino, U.S. Soccer’s $6 million man, who also received a rousing ovation/welcome from the near-sellout crowd.
For much of the game that followed, however, Pochettino’s team played very much like the one that won just once in its final five matches under his predecessor, Gregg Berhalter. This time it did just enough to win, getting a goal from Yunus Musah four minutes into the second half and another from Ricardo Pepi four minutes into stoppage time to beat Panama 2-0.
So while the arrival of a coach who has enjoyed success in three of Europe’s top five leagues has inspired hope and energy — to say nothing of posters and banners — it must also be tempered with the knowledge that change doesn’t happen overnight. It certainly didn’t happen Saturday.
“I didn’t feel too many changes,” Panamanian coach Thomas Christiansen said. “He will need time to adapt his ideas to the team.”
Time, however, is short. The World Cup is returning to the U.S. in less than two years and Pochettino is reportedly being paid $6 million — nearly double the record for an American soccer coach — to make the team competitive for that tournament. The win over Panama, he said, was “the first step to start to grow and be better.”
Pochettino took the USMNT job a month ago and said the goal of his first camp, which will end with Tuesday’s friendly against Mexico in Guadalajara, was to introduce himself and his staff to the players and to begin to implement a style of play. That’s why the coach scheduled individual meetings with each player and used training sessions to establish “a few principles, a few concepts.”
“We want to put our stamp on the team,” he said in a news conference that moved seamlessly from English to Spanish and back again.
Against Panama the new coach went with a new look, opening with a 4-2-3-1 formation that featured 22-year-old midfielders Gianluca Busio and Aiden Morris as a double pivot. And for the first 20 minutes it worked, with the U.S. dominating possession and creating three dangerous chances, yet failing to put a shot on goal.
But, Pochettino added, he won’t be a slave to any one approach. If his players can’t adapt to him, he’ll try to adapt to them.
“People sometimes say ‘that’s my philosophy, my idea and I’m going to die with my idea’,” he said. “No, I want to live. I want to be clever. Sometimes we need to find a different way to put our players in a comfortable zone.
“If a player doesn’t have the conditions to do something, why would you force him? It’s about creating the dynamic, the possibility.”
U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino calls over Malik Tillman before putting the midfielder into Saturday’s game against Panama.
(Rodolfo Gonzalez / Associated Press)
That adaptation is likely to remain a work in progress, especially since Pochettino is missing more than half his probable starters — defenders Sergiño Dest, Chris Richards and Cameron Carter-Vickers, midfielder Tyler Adams, forwards Tim Weah and Folarin Balogun and attacker Gio Reyna — who were left off this month’s roster because of injury.
Christian Pulisic was present, however, and the new coach went out of his way to lavish praise the AC Milan forward, calling him “one of the best offensive players in the world.”
Pulisic, who assisted on the first goal Saturday, returned the compliment, saying he enjoyed his first week with the new staff.
“The training has been real intense and good,” said Pulisic, whose five goals ranks third in Serie A. “A lot of work and a long time on the pitch to kind of show how we want to play and get some ideas across.”
One idea Pochettino has emphasized since taking over the USMNT is confidence. Captain Tim Ream said Saturday that message has gotten through.
“He’s been speaking about confidence all week,” he said. ”When he tells guys to go and be themselves, you know it’s a sign that he has confidence in you.
“Knowing the caliber of manager that he is, the caliber of players that he’s that he’s managed, for him to come in and give guys that license to be themselves, it allows guys to express themselves more and more and more. And be confident doing that.”
Another theme is to believe, a term he used repeatedly in his introductory news conference last month.
“’Believe’ for me is a word that is so powerful,” he said then. “In football you need to believe that all is possible.
“We need to really believe in big things. Believe that we can win not only a game, we can win the World Cup. We want players that show up and think big.”
“The potential is there. The talent is there,” he added. “It’s only to create the best platform for them to express themselves.”
It’s a theme he returned to last week when he again talked about the challenge of preparing for the fast-approaching World Cup, one that has the potential to change the sport’s trajectory in the U.S.
“That is our responsibility. It is a massive, massive responsibility,” he said. “We need to build that confidence and trust that we can arrive in two years and be really competitive and feel proud about a sport that maybe wasn’t born here, but starts to belong here.”
The countdown clock for that mission is already ticking. And Saturday’s win over Panama was a positive first step.
⚽ You have read the latest installment of On Soccer with Kevin Baxter. The weekly column takes you behind the scenes and shines a spotlight on unique stories. Listen to Baxter on this week’s episode of the Corner of the Galaxy podcast.
Sports
Golf star records lowest round in LPGA major history with astounding performance at Evian Championship
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There are good days on the golf course, and then there is what Haeran Ryu just did on Saturday.
Ryu, 25, recorded the lowest round in LPGA major history on Saturday with an 11-under 60 at the Evian Championship. With the South Korean golfer’s historic round, she holds a three-stroke lead.
Ryu’s round comes just two weeks after winning her first major at the Women’s PGA Championship. On the 18th hole, Ryu left a 30-foot eagle putt a few inches short, and instead settled for a birdie.
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Haeran Ryu of South Korea reacts on the 18th green after the third round of The Amundi Evian Championship at Evian Resort Golf Club in Evian-les-Bains, France, on July 11, 2026. (Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)
She said after the round that she had no idea what she had done until she counted up her scorecard.
“But after the putt and I counted my score with my caddie,” she said. “Oh my God, it’s 11-under par today. It was so amazing. My caddie says, ‘Yep.’ I’m so happy right now.”
If Ryu had made the eagle putt on the 18th hole, she would have been just the second player to shoot a 59 in LPGA history.
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Haeran Ryu of South Korea celebrates a birdie on the 15th green during the third round of The Amundi Evian Championship at Evian Resort Golf Club on July 11, 2026, in Evian-les-Bains, France. (Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)
Her 60 broke the record for the lowest round in an LPGA major by one shot. Leona Maguire and Jeungeun Lee6 in 2021, and Hyo Joo Kim in 2014, each shot 61 at the Evian Championship, which was designated as an LPGA major in 2013.
The lowest round in a men’s major is 62, which is shared by four players — Branden Grace at Royal Birkdale in the 2017 British Open, Xander Schauffele and Rickie Fowler in the 2023 U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club, and Schauffele and Shane Lowry in the 2024 PGA Championship at Valhalla.
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Haeran Ryu of South Korea and Lottie Woad of England interact after their round on the 18th green during the third round of the Amundi Evian Championship at Evian Resort Golf Club in Evian-les-Bains, France, on July 11, 2026. (Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)
Ryu hopes her historic third round can help propel her to a second major win in three weeks.
“That is amazing, amazing dream,” Ryu said. “So I just want that one to come true, but we have one more day.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Taylor Crabb is no stranger to South California beaches. The Long Beach State alum returns home this weekend to compete in AVP League matches.
It marks the first time AVP will compete in Long Beach since 2020 and allows players to compete at the 2028 Olympics beach volleyball venue.
Crabb, 34, made his AVP debut in 2013 with his brother, Trevor, and advanced from the qualifier in Manhattan Beach before finishing 25th in his first tournament.
After years of competing with various different partners, Taylor Crabb and Andy Benesh have delivered the top performances this AVP season.
The following interview with Crabb has been edited for clarity and length.
Are you excited to compete in this weekend’s event at Long Beach?
Crabb: Very excited. A lot of my college teammates and part of the school have reached out, saying that they’re gonna come. So I’m excited to get a chance to play in front of them again.
When was the last time you were in Long Beach?
Crabb: I always try to go down there for alumni events or any big games they have. I went to UCLA against Long Beach last year, when it was No. 1 versus No. 2, so I always try to get down there and support them.
You missed out on the chance to compete in the 2020 Olympics because of COVID-19 restrictions and chose not to pursue a spot at the 2024 Olympics. Are you fired up to try to compete in the 2028 Olympics, knowing that Long Beach will host the competition?
Crabb: Yeah, it’s definitely an exciting time having the Olympics in Long Beach, and we kind of get to break it in this weekend. As you said, Tokyo didn’t go the way I wanted, but I’m going full force now. I have a great partner in Andy Benesh, who obviously went to the Paris Olympics, and if it weren’t for the Olympics being in Long Beach, and me getting a partner like Andy, I’m not even sure I’d be going for it, but because of those two things, I want to make the most of it.
You mentioned that if it wasn’t for a partner like Andy, you wouldn’t be going for it. What do you mean by that?
Crabb: I didn’t feel motivated by playing in all the international events, but now, I think, sitting out kind of lit the fire under me, and I’m really motivated now.
You’ve had different partners throughout your time. What other motivation does Andy give you?
Crabb: He’s been, in my mind, the top blocker for the U.S. the last four or five years. Seeing the professionalism he brings every day to practice, on and off the court, while traveling and when showing up to tournaments, it rubs off on you and that’s really motivating to see. And I just want to make him proud.
Why do you love volleyball?
Crabb: A lot of reasons, but it’s just a feeling I have when I’m out there on the court. It feels natural. It feels like home. I was born into a volleyball family. I had a volleyball in my hands my entire life, so I’ve always just enjoyed it.
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CM Punk appeared on “Friday Night SmackDown” ready to take on any challenger that was ready to step to him after winning the Undisputed WWE Championship against Sami Zayn.
Punk entered the ring in Oklahoma City and called back to the “Monday Night Raw” after WrestleMania 42 when he told Cody Rhodes he’d be ready to deliver if a championship opportunity fell “out of the sky.”
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Cody Rhodes and CM Punk face off during SmackDown at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Okla. (Craig Ambrosio/WWE via Getty Images)
“When championship opportunities fall out of the sky, CM Punk catches them,” he said.
Punk named potential SmackDown superstars he’d think might come for the title, including Gunther, Finn Balor, Royce Keys, Damian Priest and Trick Williams. He even said that Zayn could come back around and get his rematch if he wanted. He didn’t mention Rhodes’ name, but the “American Nightmare” came out uncalled and marched his way down to the ring.
“I don’t think you and I can run away from each other anymore,” Punk told Rhodes.
Cody Rhodes looks on during SmackDown at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Okla., on July 10, 2026. (Craig Ambrosio/WWE via Getty Images)
Rhodes agreed and mentioned that Punk would want a match with him, just “say when.” It was a quick retort from Punk, who said, “when.” SmackDown general manager Nick Aldis, who was in the ring for the segment, booked the match for SummerSlam.
Punk will defend the Undisputed WWE Championship at SummerSlam, which takes place Aug. 1 and 2 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.
First, however, Punk and Rhodes will be involved in a tag team match at Saturday Night’s Main Event in New York City next week. Aldis made the match after Gunther demanded that Aldis put him in a match against Punk. Gunther was hoping it would be for the championship. Instead, Gunther will tag with Zayn.
Gunther didn’t take too kindly to that and attacked Aldis. Rhodes came back out to break up the calamity. He wanted to take on Gunther after the show went off air but Gunther walked away.
Gunther makes his entrance during SmackDown at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Okla., on July 10, 2026. (Rich Wade/WWE via Getty Images)
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Punk definitely has his hands full as he moves to SmackDown to become a fighting champion.
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