Sports
NBA All-Standpat Team: Lakers, Warriors earn honors for deadline inactivity
The definition of anticlimactic, courtesy of Dictionary.com: “An event, conclusion, statement, etc., that is far less important, powerful, or striking than expected.”
Does that sound about right, Los Angeles Lakers fans … Atlanta Hawks fans … Chicago Bulls fans … Sacramento Kings fans … and Golden State Warriors fans?
The list could go on from there, but that group of five teams makes up The Athletic’s inaugural All-Standpat Team for this year’s NBA trade deadline. The Milwaukee Bucks came close to making it but barely avoided the unflattering inclusion by landing a “Pat” from the Philadelphia 76ers — Beverley, that is — and potentially helping their awful defense.
As for the ones who did make it, this group is a mixture of alleged buyers and sellers who surprised the masses by keeping their underperforming teams intact. The motivations varied, but there’s one factor that it’s safe to say played a pivotal part for some of these teams: the league’s Play-In Tournament.
If there wasn’t more postseason wiggle room than before with 10 spots in each conference up for grabs rather than eight, then there would be an even greater need for each of these teams to take a long, hard look in the proverbial mirror and truly decide what they see in the reflection.
Instead, there’s a standings buffer that offers additional hope and, it seems, inspires cold feet when it comes to making the tough decisions.
That’s a broad generalization and hardly a one-size-fits-all explanation for this group. But let’s take a closer look at each situation and discuss what likely led to being inactive.
(Records and standings are from the time of the trade deadline.)
(27-25; ninth in the Western Conference)
This much is clear: Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka didn’t see the Hawks’ Dejounte Murray as the kind of difference-maker who would vault his team back into a title contender. If he did, he would’ve put Austin Reaves into the offer like Atlanta had wanted and done the deal.
Truth be told, I can’t blame him. And even with LeBron James sending so many (Knicks-colored) smoke signals indicating a strong desire for the Lakers to make a significant move, this wasn’t the way to go.
While Reaves has his faults, the third-year guard is a very productive piece of the Lakers’ core (15.5 points, 5.3 assists, 4.0 rebounds per game) who is signed to a team-friendly deal through the 2025-26 season (with a player option worth $14.8 million in 2026-27). He’s homegrown too, which comes with some sentimental value. Losing him would have hurt.
Then there’s the D’Angelo Russell factor.
While there will always be a roller-coaster element to the D-Lo experience, and times when a bad matchup (last season’s Western Conference finals against Denver) might become a major issue, the gap between him and Murray isn’t so great that it justifies losing two key members of the Lakers rotation, a 2029 first-rounder and additional draft compensation to bring Murray to town. Especially when this core showed last season that it can make a legitimate run.
But this surely sets the stage for a compelling next few months as it relates to James and his uncertain Lakers future. He has a player option for next season, meaning the free-agency exit door will be wide open if this Lakers season ends so poorly that he wants to consider other options. The timing of it all could make for dramatic NBA theater too.
James has until June 29 to decide on his option, which is just two days after the conclusion of the draft. Why does that matter? Because the Lakers will be able to offer three first-rounders for a star player of their choice by then, meaning James’ view of their next few seasons could be changed for the better at the 11th hour.
What’s more, that’s when his dream of playing with his son Bronny could be fulfilled if the current USC player decides to enter the draft (and James finds a way to persuade his current team to select him). There could be a consolation prize for the Lakers on the buyout market too, with ESPN’s Dave McMenamin reporting Thursday that they’re among the front-runners for Spencer Dinwiddie.
Hawks
(22-29; 10th place in the Eastern Conference)
Let’s just start by making this declaration on the Murray front: The price the Hawks paid in 2022 — three first-rounders, a first-round pick swap and Danilo Gallinari — has long since become a sunk cost. So if there’s any internal pressure to recoup those assets in a Murray deal to justify giving him up, that flawed logic needs to go.
After much speculation, Atlanta’s Dejounte Murray isn’t going anywhere. (Brett Davis / USA Today)
The Hawks still have time to figure out the Murray situation (he’s signed through the 2026-27 season with a player option in 2027-28), and the fact that the market wasn’t strong certainly appears to have played a part.
Beyond the Lakers, the Brooklyn Nets were believed to be interested, and the New Orleans Pelicans were the only other known team to show interest near the end. However, according to a Pelicans source, those talks were never seen as serious from their side. New Orleans believes it was largely used as leverage (that didn’t work) against the Lakers.
In terms of Hawks surprises, I’m more stunned there wasn’t more discussion about some of their other guys. Whether it was Clint Capela, De’Andre Hunter or Bogdan Bogdanović, I thought for sure they’d be able to find a deal or two that could help reshape this roster a bit. But now with their Trae Young-centric culture intact and no objective observer convinced that their ceiling is anything more than a first-round bow out, it’s more of the same for the foreseeable future.
Jalen Johnson’s ascension has been a major bright spot, with the third-year small forward who was taken 20th from Duke in 2021 in the running for the NBA Most Improved Player Award. Beyond that, though, the Hawks had better hope second-year coach Quin Snyder has some serious X’s and O’s magic up his sleeves.
Bulls
(24-27; ninth in the East)
The Bulls might need to change their pregame theme music now, from the legendary “SIRIUS” instrumental by The Alan Parsons Project that sparks all those memories of Michael Jordan-led title teams to this 1973 ditty that is far more fitting in the modern day: “Stuck in the Middle with You” by Stealers Wheel.
That’s the harsh truth of these choices that they’re making with 87-year-old owner Jerry Reinsdorf prioritizing the chance to field a competitive team over a rebuilding pathway toward a younger core and true contention.
In that sense, it was almost perfect that they beat the West-leading Minnesota Timberwolves in overtime two nights before the deadline. That sort of best-case-scenario showing, small sample size and all, is the kind of thing that likely confirmed this sort of ethos.
“This team is very competitive in every game,” vice president of basketball operations Artūras Karnišovas told the media after the deadline passed Thursday. “And we have aspirations to compete for the playoffs.”
Zach LaVine was likely staying put even if his season wasn’t cut short by right foot surgery recently. His massive contract (four years, $178 million) was proving to be a significant deterrent for potential suitors. But Alex Caruso ($9.4 million this season, $9.8 million next) is a different story with his market known to be robust and his two-way impact tailor-made for contenders.
Meanwhile, DeMar DeRozan is still playing at a high level and will be an unrestricted free agent after this season. That’s typically a formula for a deal when a team is mired in mediocrity, but these Bulls will now look to keep the 34-year-old this summer. A league source with knowledge of DeRozan’s situation said he is happy there and would like to return — if the money is right.
Big man Andre Drummond was another bench player whose value has increased, with the Sixers and Knicks known to be interested. Again, though, no deal happened.
There’s real hope for the Bulls when it comes to Coby White, who like the Hawks’ Johnson, should be a serious candidate for Most Improved Player too. But because of Lonzo Ball’s unfortunate future — the 26-year-old is missing a second consecutive season because of chronic knee issues — the reasons for long-term optimism end there.
Kings
(29-21; seventh in the West)
The pressure from the Kings’ fan base to make any move was fairly significant, especially after the Kings lost to the lowly Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night. While Sacramento is in a decent position to make the playoffs for just the second time since 2006, the locals’ hope of this team evolving into something even more dangerous this season has been fading of late. And with good reason.
So when the Kings did nothing of significance at the deadline, it came as no surprise that there was a sense of significant disappointment among their faithful. But the truth about the situation is that they made their most significant roster choices long before the deadline arrived — at least when it comes to the possibility of adding impact players.
They had extensive talks with Toronto about Pascal Siakam in mid-January, choosing not to make that deal after league sources said a deal was close. As I reported at the time, it didn’t help matters that Siakam, who will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, didn’t want to be in Sacramento long term (or short term). Considering the Indiana Pacers would later give up three first-rounders to land Siakam, it’s hard to argue with the Kings’ choice to hold onto those kinds of draft assets.
Even before that, the Kings had decided against making a serious pursuit of the Raptors’ OG Anunoby before he went to the Knicks in late December for RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley and a second-round pick. Team sources said the cost of retaining Anunoby in free agency this summer was a concern.
What’s more, the Raptors’ desire to land second-year Kings forward Keegan Murray also was known to be an obstacle. Again, it’s not hard to see why a deal didn’t go down. When it comes to other high-profile targets, the Kings had long since lost interest in the Wizards’ Kyle Kuzma.
Only time will tell if the Kings’ patience pays off, but there’s something to be said for not making that next big move too early if it’s not there. Just ask the Hawks.
Then again, it’s still less than ideal that they couldn’t find anyone to help inject some new life into their lineups. They were known to be interested in the Nets’ Royce O’Neale (who went to the Suns in a three-team deal) and Dorian Finney-Smith (who wasn’t traded). They had eyes for Washington’s Delon Wright and Miami’s Caleb Martin. But the trade dud-line theme continued in Sacramento too.
It was clear in recent weeks that Sacramento wanted to hold onto second-year forward Keegan Murray (David Richard / USA Today)
Warriors
(23-25; 11th in the West)
I probably covered the Warriors dynasty too closely for too long and with my eyes wide open in sheer awe for so much of that time. So when Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. chooses to lean into their storied history at this deadline, holding onto those hopes that Stephen Curry can lead them out of this darkness rather than rolling the dice on whatever deals came their way, I sort of get it. Even with all the bad basketball we’ve seen from this particular Golden State squad this season.
They won four titles in eight years and went to the NBA Finals six times in that stretch. Their last title was less than two years ago. There were signs of long-term hope in their second-round loss to the Lakers last season. And now, just four months into this season that has been so revealing in the worst kind of way, you’re surprised that they want more time to figure out how to forge a new future with Curry still at the center of it all? I am not surprised.
Andrew Wiggins was the only one who was out there in terms of trade talks by the time deadline week arrived. But as my “Tampering” podcast co-host and Warriors beat writer Anthony Slater discussed in our latest episode, Draymond Green’s recent return from his league-issued suspension has allowed the Warriors to play Wiggins and the emerging Jonathan Kuminga together much more effectively.
If their convincing win over Indiana on Thursday night was any indication, their quiet deadline was well received in the Warriors locker room.
As for the Klay Thompson situation, which was front and center this week when he discussed his basketball mortality with such vulnerability, that’s a bridge to be crossed when he becomes a free agent this summer. Ditto for Chris Paul, whose $30 million salary for next season is not guaranteed. Those answers, much like a new Warriors era, will come in time.
(Top photo of Joe Lacob and Mike Dunleavy Jr.: Rocky Widner / NBAE via Getty Images)
Sports
Thunder lose star Jalen Williams for Western Conference Finals Game 7 as hamstring injury lingers
Spurs force Game 7 vs. Thunder, SGA struggles, Will Wemby carry this momentum? | The Herd
Victor Wembanyama scored 28 points and 10 rebounds in the San Antonio Spurs’ 118-91 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 6 of the WCF. Jason McIntyre says that Wemby showed up in the biggest moments, and asks if he can carry this momentum into Game 7. Plus, he discusses Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s struggles and asks if he will cost the Thunder the series.
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The Oklahoma City Thunder will be shorthanded in Saturday’s pivotal Game 7, as one of Oklahoma’s key contributors has been sidelined with an injury.
OKC guard Jalen Williams has been ruled out for Game 7 with a hamstring issue, ESPN reported on Friday. Williams appeared to aggravate his left hamstring during the Thunder’s 122-113 victory in Game 2. He missed the next three games before returning for Game 6, but logged just 10 minutes off the bench in Oklahoma City’s loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday, which forced a winner-take-all Game 7.
“He’s obviously not 100%,” Mark Daigneault, the head coach of the Thunder, said.
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Jalen Williams watches during the fourth quarter against the San Antonio Spurs in Game One of the NBA Western Conference Finals at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma on May 18, 2026. (Alex Slitz/Getty Images)
Daigneault applauded Williams for fighting through the injury and doing everything he could to help Oklahoma City.
“He didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t know what to expect. So, it was a matter of getting him out there in kind of an insulated role and see what he can bring to the team. He’s an All-Star player, he’s an All-NBA player. He hasn’t done a full return to play [protocol] like he would if this was the regular season, and yet, he just wants to do whatever he can to try to contribute whatever he can to the team.”
BLOCKBUSTER GAME 7 SHOWDOWN: FOUR BEST BETS FOR SAN ANTONIO SPURS AT OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER
“I give him a lot of credit to get himself out there. He did the best he could. He’s certainly not the reason we lost.”
Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jalen Williams reacts to a shot by forward Luguentz Dort in the third quarter against the San Antonio Spurs during game one of the Western Conference finals for the 2026 NBA playoffs at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, on May 18, 2026. (Alonzo Adams/Imagn Images)
Williams did not talk to reporters after Thursday’s game in San Antonio.
Williams underwent surgery last offseason to repair a wrist injury but still played a key role in the Thunder’s run to the NBA Finals last season. He appeared in just 33 regular-season games before this year’s playoffs.
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Jalen Williams drives into the paint during the first quarter of Game Two of the NBA Western Conference Finals against the San Antonio Spurs at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma on May 20, 2026. (Alex Slitz/Getty Images)
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The winner of Saturday’s Game 7 will advance to the NBA Finals to face the New York Knicks. New York snapped a nearly three-decade Finals drought by sweeping the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference finals.
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CLOVIS — Cool conditions produced a bunch of fast times Friday at the CIF state track and field championships.
Rosary Academy sprint coach Jon Gilmer was worried 4×100-meter relayers Tra’via Flournoy, Justine Wilson, Pfeiffer Lee and Maliyah Collins might get complacent at prelims, but the Royals were the top qualifiers in 45.13 seconds — nearly a full second faster than Canyon Country Canyon (46.07) — at Buchanan High School.
“It’s different not having Calabasas here,” Gilmer said. “Now we’ve got to push ourselves.”
Rosary set a state record (44.23) at the Arcadia Invitational on April 11, but lost to the Coyotes one week later at the Mt. SAC Relays. However, the anticipated state finals clash was not to be as Calabasas dropped the baton in the Southern Section finals and failed to advance.
Collins had a huge lead by the time she received the stick for the anchor leg Friday.
“This is maybe our fourth- or fifth-fastest time but we just wanted to make finals,” said Wilson, who ran the second leg before handing off to Lee. “We want to run faster tomorrow when we go for a PR, the meet and the state record.”
Calabasas might be out of the relay, but three Coyotes remain in contention in the 100, led by Malia Rainey (the top qualifier in 11.54), Marley Scoggins (11.63) and Olivia Kirk (11.63).
Calabasas sprinter Marley Scoggins, center, wins her 100-meter heat at the CIF state track and field preliminaries on Friday.
(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)
Collins won her heat in 11.62, the third-fastest time.
Servite won the first heat in the boys 4×100 relay in 40.29 — two hundredths off its winning time at last year’s state finals — and is primed to defend its title in the event. Concord De La Salle (40.81) was the second-fastest qualifier, followed by the other heat winners, Rancho Cucamonga (40.87) and Loyola (40.93).
“We got the stick around pretty good today,” said Jorden Wells, who ran the first leg Friday instead of his customary second leg, which was run by Jaelen Hunter. “Did it feel different? Not really, I’ve done it before.”
Wells said his twin brother Jace will run the first leg Saturday, he will run the second while Kamil Pelovello and Benjamin Harris will stay in the third and fourth positions.
Harris, the favorite to win the 100 meters, won his heat in a wind-legal 10.36, but three others were fractions faster in wind-aided times — Elk Grove’s Cy Lugo (10.20), Will Wood’s Deshawn Seymour (10.34) and De La Salle’s Damari Dean (10.34). Newbury Park’s Jaden Griffin won the last heat in 10.37, setting the stage for an exciting finals sprint as all nine qualifiers ran under 10.48.
Harris put himself in position for a Saturday double by winning his 200 heat in 21.10 but as he did in the 100, Lugo (the Sac-Joaquin Section record holder) had the fastest time (20.73), followed by Seymour (20.88), Camren Hughes (20.93) of Palos Verdes and Jace Wells (21.02). Jordan Wells (21.11) also made the cut.
Newbury Park’s Jaden Griffin, center, shouts after winning his heat in the 100 meters at the CIF state track and field preliminaries on Friday.
(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)
Servite (3:15.43) had the second-fastest qualifying time in the 4×400-meter relay behind only El Cerrito (3:14.96) of the North Coast Section.
Coming off a state-record 3:33.83 at the Masters Meet in Moorpark, Long Beach Wilson’s 4×400 girls relay had the fourth-fastest qualifying time (3:46.73) without two out of its best runners (Clara Adams and Saniah Varnado), taking second in the first heat behind San Luis Obispo (3:45.85) and safely advancing to the finals along with Heat 2 runner-up Rosary (3:45.08) and Heat 3 winner Canyon Country Canyon (3:46.77).
Having broken the Southern Section record in the 400 meters six days earlier in 51.98, Adams put it in cruise control to win her heat in 53.53, the fastest qualifying mark. Joining her in the final will be her three relay teammates Varnado (54.42), Wilson (54.57) and Fowler (54.62). Adams later won her 200 heat in 23.60, a tenth of a second behind fastest qualifier Naiaja Sizemore of Vanden.
San Jacinto Valley Academy’s Kaahliyah Lacy ran a wind-legal 13.59 for the top qualifying spot in the girls 100 hurdles and Varnado (40.85) was the top qualifier in the 300 hurdles.
Another showdown is brewing in the boys 400, where Loyola’s Ejam Yohannes (47.08) and Hunter (47.21) won their heats in the two fastest times Friday. Hunter clocked 46.32 to set a California freshman record last spring, but lost to Yohannes by 11 hundredths of a second at the Masters Meet.
City Section champion Jayden Rendon showed good form in his bid to defend the state 300 hurdles crown, posting the fastest prelims time (36.80). He also advanced to the finals in the 110 hurdles with a 13.83 effort. Moorpark’s Davis Benson (14.03) nabbed the last spot.
Corona Santiago’s Braelyn Combe, right, wins the first heat of the 800 meters at the CIF state track and field preliminaries on Friday.
(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)
Corona Santiago senior Braelyn Combe won her 1,600 heat in 4:46.88 and is set for a four-lap battle with San Diego Section champion Chiara Dailey of La Jolla, who won the second heat in 4:46.00. Combe is the defending champion, having edged Hanne Thomsen of Santa Rosa Montgomery by five hundredths of a second in the finals last year.
“I just wanted to advance with as little effort as possible,” Combe said. “It was not as hard as I expected. I don’t want to leave any regrets. I’m taking it one race at a time.”
Combe also had the fastest time (2:08:25) of three heats in the 800 meters.
Venice senior Lawrence Kensinger, who set the City Section shot put record with a state-leading throw of 65 feet 11 inches last week, had the third-best mark at prelims (59-6¾) and easily advanced to the finals. Defending state high jump champion JJ Harel of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame tied nine others for the second-best mark (6-6) heading into the second day.
Aliso Niguel senior Jaslene Massey had the top marks in the girls shot put (51-3¾) and discus (175-6) and transgender athlete AB Hernandez from Jurupa Valley was the leading qualifier in the girls long jump (20-5½) and triple jump (41-8½) and was one of 13 qualifiers in the high jump.
AB Hernandez competes at the CIF state track and field preliminaries at Buchanan High School on Friday.
(Tomas Ovalle / For The Times)
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We’re approaching the biggest sporting event North America has ever hosted.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup takes place across the USA, Canada and Mexico in 13 days.
Bettors and fans already have their sights set on the global spectacle, which will kick off on June 11. The World Cup final will be held at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium on July 19, 2026.
After the World Cup groups were announced in December, Spain opened as the favorite at +450, followed by England (+550) and France (+750).
Now, with less than two weeks to go, Spain has slightly drifted to +475, with both France and England making up ground on the oddsboard.
Let’s dive into the odds via DraftKings Sportsbook as of May 29.
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2026 World Cup winner odds
Spain: +475 (bet $10 to win $57.5 total)
France: +500 (bet $10 to win $60 total)
England: +650 (bet $10 to win $75 total)
Brazil: +850 (bet $10 to win $95 total)
Argentina: +900 (bet $10 to win $100 total)
Portugal: +1000 (bet $10 to win $110 total)
Germany: +1400 (bet $10 to win $150 total)
Netherlands: +2200 (bet $10 to win $230 total)
Norway: +3500 (bet $10 to win $360 total)
Belgium: +3500 (bet $10 to win $360 total)
Colombia: +4000 (bet $10 to win $410 total)
Morocco: +5000 (bet $10 to win $510 total)
Uruguay: +5000 (bet $10 to win $510 total)
United States: +6000 (bet $10 to win $610 total)
Switzerland: +6500 (bet $10 to win $660 total)
Japan: +6500 (bet $10 to win $660 total)
Mexico: +8000 (bet $10 to win $810 total)
Croatia: +8000 (bet $10 to win $810 total)
Ecuador: +8000 (bet $10 to win $810 total)
Senegal: +9000 (bet $10 to win $910 total)
Sweden: +10000 (bet $10 to win $1,010 total)
HOST NATIONS
United States
The United States is led by Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie, Tyler Adams, and Chris Richards, with several players competing in Europe’s top leagues. The U.S. has appeared in 11 previous World Cups, with its best finish coming in 1930 when the team reached the semifinals.
Canada
Canada’s key players include Alphonso Davies and Jonathan David, giving the squad top-tier pace and goal-scoring ability. Canada has made two previous World Cup appearances, and is still looking for its first win ever in the tournament.
Mexico
Mexico’s top contributors include Raul Giménez and Edson Álvarez, forming a strong mix of attacking talent and midfield stability. Mexico has played in 17 previous World Cups and reached the quarterfinals twice, in 1970 and 1986.
UEFA TEAMS TO KNOW
Spain
Spain’s top talents include Pedri, Lamine Yamal and Rodri, forming a core that blends elite playmaking with scoring depth. Spain has appeared in 16 previous World Cups and won the tournament once, lifting the trophy in 2010. The team also won the 2024 Euros.
France
France enters with Kylian Mbappé as the star player, with the 26-year-old just five goals shy of passing Miroslav Klose (16) for the most career goals at the World Cup. France has made 16 previous World Cup appearances and won the title twice, in 1998 and 2018.
England
England’s key players include Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham and Declan Rice, forming one of the nation’s strongest generations in decades. England has reached 16 previous World Cups and won the trophy once, in 1966.
Germany
Germany features Florian Wirtz, Jamal Musiala and Joshua Kimmich as central figures in a talented squad. Germany has participated in 20 previous World Cups and won four titles, most recently in 2014.
Portugal
Portugal’s top group includes Bruno Fernandes, Vitinha, with Cristiano Ronaldo still involved as the team’s all-time leading scorer and cap leader. Portugal has competed in eight previous World Cups and recorded its best finish in 2006, reaching the semifinals.
Netherlands
The Netherlands features top players such as Virgil van Dijk, Ryan Gravenberch and Denzel Dumfries, forming a core built around elite defending and midfield control. Memphis Depay should also be on the team, the country’s all-time leading goalscorer. The Netherlands has appeared in 11 previous World Cups and finished as runner-up three times, in 1974, 1978 and 2010.
CONMEBOL TEAMS TO KNOW
Argentina
Argentina is anchored by Lionel Messi, with Julián Álvarez, Enzo Fernández and Lautaro Martínez— headlining one of the most talented rosters in the tournament. Argentina has played in 18 previous World Cups and won three, including the most recent tournament in 2022.
Brazil
Brazil’s roster is led by Vinícius Júnior, Raphinha and Marquinhos, giving the team elite attacking and defensive quality. Brazil has appeared in every World Cup and holds a record five titles, with its most recent one coming in 2002.
Uruguay
Uruguay’s leading players include Federico Valverde, Darwin Núñez and Ronald Araújo, forming a core with elite midfield range and speed. Uruguay has appeared in 14 previous World Cups and won the tournament twice, in 1930 and 1950.
Colombia
Colombia is headlined by Luis Díaz and James Rodríguez, with the former playing for Bayern Munich and the latter having a decorated World Cup résumé. Colombia has made six previous World Cupsand recorded its best finish in 2014, reaching the quarterfinals.
CAF TEAMS TO KNOW
Morocco
Morocco’s key contributors include Achraf Hakimi, Noussair Mazaroui and Brahm Díaz, each with major European club experience. Morocco has appeared in six previous World Cups and achieved its historic best finish in 2022, reaching the semifinals.
Senegal
Senegal’s top players include Sadio Mané, Kalidou Koulibaly and Idrissa Gueye, forming one of Africa’s most experienced cores. Senegal has appeared in three World Cups and reached its best finish in 2002, advancing to the quarterfinals.
Ghana
Ghana is led by Mohammed Kudus, Antoine Semenyo and Inaki Williams, giving the squad strong playmaking and midfield presence. Ghana has competed in four previous World Cups and reached its best result in 2010, making the quarterfinals.
AFC TEAMS TO KNOW
South Korea
South Korea is headlined by Son Heung-min, supported by key players such as Kim Min-jae and Lee Kang-in. South Korea has played in 11 previous World Cups and reached its best finish in 2002, advancing to the semifinals as co-host.
Japan
Japan features Takefusa Kubo and Kaoru Mitoma as its leading players, blending top European experience with emerging talent. Japan has appeared in seven previous World Cups and reached the Round of 16 four times, its best result to date.
Australia
Australia’s top players include Jackson Irvine and keeper Mathew Ryan as its most experienced members. Australia has competed in six previous World Cups and reached the round of 16 twice, in 2006 and 2022.
OFC TEAMS TO KNOW
New Zealand
New Zealand is led by all-time leading scorer Chris Wood, with 45 international goals to his name. New Zealand has appeared in two previous World Cups (1982, 2010), and did not advance from the group stage in either appearance.
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