Happy Monday and...it's World Cup week! The moment we've been waiting for for four (well 3.5) years is finally here. The 48 teams that will participate in the summer tournament are now in the United States, Canada and Mexico where on June 11 the opening match between Mexico and South Africa will kick off the most awaited competition in the world. Want to know something about the World Cup? I'm Francesco Porzio with the latest.
📺 Footy fix
All times U.S./Eastern
Monday, June 8 ⚽ International friendly: France vs. Northern Ireland, 3:10 p.m. ➡️ FuboTV ⚽ International friendly: Peru vs. Spain, 10 p.m. ➡️ FuboTV
Tuesday, June 9 ⚽ International friendly: Iraq vs. Venezuela, 2:45 p.m. ➡️ FuboTV ⚽ International friendly: Senegal vs. Saudi Arabia, 7 p.m. ➡️ FuboTV ⚽ International friendly: Argentina vs. Iceland, 9 p.m. ➡️ FuboTV
⚽ The Forward Line
🏆 How USMNT should line up
Getty Images With only a few days left before the opening match of the United States men's national team against Paraguay, Mauricio Pochettino is about to name his first-ever lineup at the World Cup with the national team. After the friendlies, a 3-2 win against Senegal and a 2-1 loss to Germany, the United States will face Paraguay, Australia and Turkiye in the group stage of the tournament. Here's our own Chuck Booth breaking down what to expect from the Argentinian head coach:
- Booth: "The positioning of Sergino Dest was one of the biggest changes for the USMNT, as while technically he's been listed as a wingback, Dest has been operating more as a winger, pushing the pace of the attack ahead of Alex Freeman playing as a natural right back. It has added dynamism to the USMNT setup and may create a scenario heading into the World Cup that the attack is the strength that the team should lean on. With Weston McKennie as a number 10 and Malik Tillman in behind, Tyler Adams had to cover significant ground, but no one on the team created more chances than Tillman's five during this window. Sure, it's a small sample size, but when Pochettino mentions that Tillman can play everywhere, and he was also among the most used players for the USMNT during the break, all signs point to Tillman starting when Paraguay will look to bunker and counter the United States."
➡️ USMNT show some positives in a loss
Despite losing 2-1 to Germany in the last friendly match before the start of the World Cup, Mauricio Pochettino's USMNT showed some positive things. Speaking about the game, the Argentinian coach said, "Maybe we spend too much energy. We were so excited in the presentation of the players before the game. They were sometimes overexcited, and we know very well that you drain the energy in these moments, but I think it's a great opportunity, and to live that experience for sure helps in the first game of the World Cup." Here's how our Pardeep Cattry broke down the friendly defeat against the side coached by Julian Nagelsmann:
- Cattry: "The game marked one final experiment of the Pochettino era, a batch of 26 games building up to the World Cup that have been defined by tinkering – sometimes simply for the sake of it. Saturday's team, though, looked as close to a World Cup starting lineup as he might have been able to envision, considering Richards' injury specifically. After 18 months of wondering what exactly Pochettino's version of the U.S. team might look like, we seem to finally have our answer. The team has trended much like a group project that was assigned well in advance but was only completed right before the deadline, which is perfectly fine for an assignment in which the destination matters much, much more than the journey."
What's on CBS Sports Golazo Network
☀️ Morning Footy (Weekdays 8-10 a.m.): Join Golazo Network as it helps fans get their day started on the right foot on the network's flagship morning show with highlights, interviews and the biggest soccer storylines. Morning Footy is also available in podcast form, so you'll never have to miss an episode. 3️⃣ Attacking Third (Monday, Wednesday, Thursday): The leading women's soccer podcast and social brand is now a live studio show. The NWSL season is back, and our coverage of the women's game is stronger than ever. Our analysts will be breaking down the USWNT, NWSL and European domestic season all year long. And don't miss Sunday live streams on YouTube as soon as the last NWSL game of the weekend ends. ⚽ Call it What You Want is your front-row seat as the USMNT takes center stage at the 2026 World Cup as a host nation. The crew delivers live reactions, analysis, and debate before, during, and after every game. Catch new episodes live on the Golazo America YouTube channel.
🥅 Scoreline (Daily): Scoreline is the newest place for fans to catch up on all the biggest news and results impacting global football, match highlights from the top soccer competitions, and all the can't-miss goals from the day's action, starting Thursday and airing seven days a week. 📺 How to watch: CBS Sports Golazo Network is a free 24/7 channel exclusively dedicated to offering unparalleled coverage of all the top soccer competitions worldwide. You can stream for free on the CBS Sports app, Pluto TV and Paramount+.
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