Sports
Mauricio Pochettino’s week of ‘speaking about confidence’ pays off for Musah and USMNT
It is a rarity to see Yunus Musah without a smile. An ear-to-ear grin is a mostly-permanent feature for the 21-year-old midfielder.
But as he sprinted towards the corner flag on Saturday night in Austin, Texas, having scored his first goal in a U.S. senior men’s national team jersey in his 42nd appearance, the sense of gratification on his face shined through — even for someone who usually has a happy expression plastered on.
“That moment,” said Christian Pulisic, his AC Milan and USMNT teammate who provided the assist, “that’s why you play.”
The 49th-minute goal in a 2-0 friendly win against Panama was also an immediate validation of the instincts of the team’s debuting head coach, Mauricio Pochettino.
Musah’s joy was clear after his success in his new role (Tim Warner/USSF/Getty Images for USSF)
The 52-year-old Argentinian came into his first camp this week intending to spend time with every player on the roster and understand where they stood. The idea was to ensure each of them was handled the right way. It’s why Weston McKennie stayed on the bench on Saturday night; he had entered camp feeling some discomfort after playing in each of Juventus’ last six games, and Pochettino felt it was crucial not to take any risks with the midfielder. It was also why Musah was tested in a new role in his first game under the new regime.
Musah reported to camp having played just 45 minutes in Serie A for Milan in September and zero minutes so far in October. Though typically a central midfielder cast in a box-to-box No. 8 role, Pochettino met with Musah and proposed deploying him wider on the right. Pochettino knew Musah had played that role before, both in Arsenal’s academy and also when he first moved to Spain’s Valencia five years ago. In that position, Pochettino felt Musah would have more freedom to push forward on the ball, one of his strengths, without the pressures of being a focal part of the build-up at a time when he isn’t playing regularly for his club and thus wasn’t in his best form.
It worked to perfection early in the second half, when the U.S. built up down their left side through Antonee Robinson, Pulisic and Brenden Aaronson, and Musah came crashing into the box from the right to finish off a Pulisic cross.
“It’s always worth trying to build his confidence and to (make him) feel again (that he is) a player that can perform on the pitch,” Pochettino said. “It was an important moment for him, to (show) trust in him, but maybe not to give him too much responsibility in the build-up. It’s only to be in a position that can help the team, and then he arrived there and scored.
“Fantastic for him, fantastic for the team. And now maybe he’ll start to perform and behave in a different way, full of confidence. That is the important (factor) in our decision, is trying to help. We are here to help the player to find their best.”
Pochettino and Pulisic speak during the win over Panama (Photo: John Dorton/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images)
If there was a theme to the first night under Pochettino, it was exactly that: creating and building confidence. Confidence for each player, but also for a team that was winless in its previous four games. Copa America group-stage elimination was a crushing experience for a squad that knew how expectations were growing and understood how valuable a tournament run would have been on multiple levels, for them, the fanbase and the sport in the United States.
Pochettino’s hire was meant to restore some of the confidence and belief in the program.
Center back Tim Ream said Pochettino was “speaking about confidence all week”, and that it was reinforced and transmitted into the group by what he was asking the team to do against Panama. Mostly, players were told to be themselves, embrace their strengths and, as Musah said, “play free”.
“He wants us to be solid defensively, and then have guys play the way they are comfortable playing and being confident going forward with the ball,” Ream said. “And everybody saw that, especially in the first 15 minutes. Guys were moving, (there was) intricate passing and getting the ball, moving quick and getting in and around their box. When he tells guys to go and be themselves, it’s a sign that he has confidence in you, and you can see that come out with all the guys out here.”
Things were not perfect. Panama had good chances in the game. Matt Turner was forced into a big double save in the second half and they should have found an equalizer late in the game. As USMNT veteran DaMarcus Beasley said on the Turner Sports broadcast, there were also some mistakes in the build-up that top teams would punish.
But, the U.S. won, with Ricardo Pepi adding the second goal in stoppage time.
The result was needed, even if this was just a friendly.
“I looked back at our recent form, and I was thinking, ‘Wow, it’s been a while since I’ve won’,” Turner said. “Since the Bolivia game (at Copa America, on June 23), right, since we’ve won a game and had a clean sheet? So, yeah, it’s nice to set off this era with a win and a clean sheet. It goes in waves, but winning is something that you learn. You can’t just take it for granted. It takes energy and focus for 90 minutes, especially at this level.”
Pochettino will know that this win was important in building trust and confidence that the ideas he is installing with the team will lead to success. Musah’s goal reinforced that.
The job now is to keep carrying it forward.
“It’s the first step,” Pochettino said. “To start to grow and be better.”
(Top photo: John Dorton/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images)
Sports
‘Quad God’ Ilia Malinin avenges Olympic disappointment with backflip for third straight world title
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
It seems like Ilia Malinin, the “Quad God,” has done a nice job of moving on from his Olympic heartbreak.
Last month, the 21-year-old Team USA star was the overwhelming favorite to bring home the gold in the men’s free skate. But the unimaginable happened as he fell twice and dropped all the way to eighth place.
However, he has begun to avenge the loss and is now a three-time world champion.
Ilia Malinin from the United States competes during the men free skating at the Figure Skating World Championships in Prague, Czech Republic, Saturday, March 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
Malinin shouted and punched the air with relief after finishing a skate that showed he had achieved his desire to “move on” from the Olympics after days of being tormented by his mistakes.
Malinin scored 218.11 in the free skate for a total of 329.40, far ahead of silver medalist Yuma Kagiyama of Japan on 306.67. Another Japanese skater, Shun Sato, was third on 288.54.
Malinin was blunt about his Olympic performance when speaking to NBC afterward, saying simply, “I blew it,” and said it was a clear mental hurdle from start to finish.
“I just had so many thoughts and memories flood right before I got into my starting pose, and almost, I think, it maybe overwhelmed me a little bit. I’ve been through a lot in my life, a lot of bad and good experiences,” Malinin told reporters.
Gold medalist Ilia Malinin from the United States waves to spectators after the medal ceremony after the men’s free skating at the Figure Skating World Championships in Prague, Czech Republic, Saturday, March 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
LINDSEY VONN KEEPING RETURN TO SKIING ON TABLE DESPITE INJURIES: ‘I DON’T LIKE TO CLOSE THE DOOR ON ANYTHING’
“So, I just feel like it’s the pressure of especially being that Olympic gold medal hopeful. It was just something I can’t control now. The pressure of the Olympics, it’s really something different, and I think not a lot of people understand that. They only understand that from the inside and going into this competition, especially today, I felt really confident, really good,” he added. “But it really just went by so fast I did not have time to process.”
But with some pressure off, Malinin was able to show who he truly is on the ice.
Gold medalist, Ilia Malinin from the United States waves before the medal ceremony after the men’s free skating at the Figure Skating World Championships in Prague, Czech Republic, Saturday, March 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
Malinin becomes the first skater to win three consecutive men’s world titles since fellow American Nathan Chen, who achieved the feat in 2018, 2019 and 2021 after the 2020 event was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Fox News’ Jackson Thompson and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
Sports
Ilia Malinin bounces back from Olympic nightmare to win third straight world figure skating title
PRAGUE — Ilia Malinin is back on the top step of the podium.
Six weeks after a disastrous skate knocked the Olympic gold-medal favorite off the podium, the “quad god” reeled off one huge jump after another, and a backflip for good measure, to retain his world championship title for the third year running.
Malinin shouted and punched the air with relief after finishing a skate that showed he had achieved his desire to “move on” from the Olympics after days tormented by his mistakes.
He praised the crowd’s support, saying: “It was really challenging, really hard but with you guys I was able to make it through.” His aim, he added, had simply been to get through the free skate “in one piece.”
Skating last after leading the short program, just as he did in Milan, Malinin landed five high-scoring quadruple jumps but not his pioneering quad axel, a jump he didn’t attempt at the Olympics.
Malinin scored 218.11 in the free skate for a total 329.40, far ahead of silver medalist Yuma Kagiyama of Japan on 306.67. Another Japanese skater, Shun Sato, was third on 288.54.
Ilia Malinin performs a backflip during his free skate at the World Figure Skating Championships on Saturday in Prague.
(Petr David Josek / Associated Press)
Kagiyama beat his personal-best free skate score but still had to make do with a fourth career world championship silver in a career which includes four Olympic silvers and five total worlds medals, but no gold from either event. He still embraced Malinin after his skate and they jumped together in celebration.
In a showcase of top-level skating, there was no podium spot for France’s Adam Siao Him Fa, who had been in second after the short program but dropped to fifth overall after a fall. Estonia’s Aleksandr Selevko also fell dropped from third to sixth.
Malinin had no rematch with Mikhail Shaidorov, the skater from Kazakhstan who won the Olympic gold, because he opted against competing again this season.
That’s relatively common in figure skating for gold medal winners who face a rush of media and commercial opportunities after a grueling four-year Olympic buildup.
Malinin becomes the first skater to win three consecutive men’s world titles since fellow American Nathan Chen, who achieved the feat in 2018, 2019 and 2021 after the 2020 event was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The last competition of the championships is the free dance portion of the ice dance event later Saturday. France’s Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron are in the lead after Friday’s rhythm dance.
Sports
Tiger Woods released from jail after DUI arrest; eyes appear bloodshot in booking photo
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Tiger Woods was released from jail Friday night after he was arrested earlier in the day on a DUI charge following a car crash in Florida.
In a mugshot released hours after his arrest, Woods’ eyes appeared bloodshot, as he donned a blue polo inside the Martin County Jail in Florida.
Woods was seen leaving the jail in the passenger seat of a black SUV after his release on bail late Friday, according to The Associated Press.
Martin County Sheriff John Budensiek confirmed in a news conference that Woods was traveling at “a high rate of speed” when his vehicle collided with another car, resulting in his vehicle rolling over onto the driver’s side.
Tiger Woods was booked into Martin County, Florida, jail on March 27, 2026. (AP)
Authorities said Woods “exemplified signs of impairment.” He blew “triple-zeroes” for alcohol but refused a urine test.
“DUI investigators came to the scene here, and Mr. Woods did exemplify signs of impairment. They did several tests on him. Of course, he did explain the injuries and the surgeries that he had. We did take that into account, but they did do some in-depth roadside tests,” Budensiek added.
“We really weren’t suspicious of alcohol being involved in this case, and that proved to be true at the jail. … But when it came time for us to ask for a urinalysis test, he refused. And, so, he’s been charged with DUI, with property damage and refusal to submit to a lawful test.”
Woods was spotted on the phone after the crash, wearing navy blue shorts.
Woods was charged with DUI, property damage and refusal to submit to a test, all misdemeanor charges. No one was injured, authorities said. Woods was alone in the car and crawled out of the passenger door after the crash.
Tiger Woods was driven from the Martin County Jail after being arrested for driving under the influence following a car crash on March 27, 2026, in Stuart, Florida. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
VANESSA, KAI TRUMP TAKE IN TIGER WOODS’ RETURN TO GOLF AT TGL FINALS
“This could’ve been a lot worse,” Budensiek noted.
President Donald Trump commented on the arrest of his “very close friend.”
“I feel so badly. He’s got some difficulty,” Trump said. “There was an accident, and that’s all I know. Very close friend of mine. He’s an amazing person, an amazing man, but some difficulty.”
Woods has not commented on the arrest.
Tiger Woods was arrested on a DUI charge after getting into a car crash on Friday. (Associated Press)
Woods currently is dating Trump’s ex-daughter-in-law, Vanessa, whose daughter, Kai, is set to play college golf in Miami next week.
This is Woods’ second DUI arrest within the last decade. In 2017, he was taken into custody, also in Jupiter Island, after taking prescription drugs and being asleep behind the wheel of a running car at 3 a.m.
In 2021, he got into a wreck that resulted in serious leg injuries that kept him off the golf course for the entire year.
Golfer Tiger Woods stands by his overturned vehicle in Jupiter Island, Fla., Friday, March 27, 2026. (Jason Oteri/AP)
Woods made his return to competitive golf earlier this week in the TGL championship after rupturing his Achilles just before last year’s Masters (this year’s tournament is in less than two weeks). Woods has not appeared on the links since the 2024 PGA Championship, in which he missed the cut.
Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter
-
Movie Reviews1 week ago‘Youth’ Twitter review: Ken Karunaas impresses audiences; Suraj Venjaramoodu adds charm; music wins praise | – The Times of India
-
Sports1 week agoIOC addresses execution of 19-year-old Iranian wrestler Saleh Mohammadi
-
New Mexico6 days agoClovis shooting leaves one dead, four injured
-
Business1 week agoDisney’s new CEO says his focus is on storytelling and creativity
-
Tennessee5 days agoTennessee Police Investigating Alleged Assault Involving ‘Reacher’ Star Alan Ritchson
-
Technology6 days agoYouTube job scam text: How to spot it fast
-
Minneapolis, MN3 days agoBoy who shielded classmate during school shooting receives Medal of Honor
-
Texas1 week agoHow to buy Houston vs. Texas A&M 2026 March Madness tickets