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“Whenever I go in with a target, I just do very badly. So let’s not keep any target this season,” Ishan Kishan says after rescuing Jharkhand against Tamil Nadu with an uncharacteristic century

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Oct-2025Ishan Kishan is focused on the present, and wants to enjoy every opportunity he gets, irrespective of the level he is playing in.He’s currently captaining Jharkhand in the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy, and began with a back-to-the-wall century, his ninth in first-class cricket, to rescue his side after the top order wobbled against Tamil Nadu on a greenish surface in Coimbatore.Kishan ended the opening day unbeaten on 125, having faced 183 deliveries. This helped Jharkhand end strongly on 307 for 6, with the pair of Kishan and Sahil Raj having added an unbroken 150-run stand for the seventh wicket.Related

• Former selectors 'surprised' that Saxena is still uncapped

• Shami: If I can play Ranji Trophy, I can play 50 overs

• The 91st Ranji season is unmissable – here's why

“At this stage, I need to be very smart,” he said after the day’s play to . “You need to understand the importance of the Ranji Trophy. You need to understand the importance of these matches when you play against big teams.”Kishan walked out to bat at No. 5, with Jharkhand in trouble at 79 for 3 just after lunch. He buckled down for a better part of the next two sessions, shelving the big hits for a large part. That he hit only two sixes in his innings is some indication of the restraint he showed.”You make so many mistakes initially in your career and then later you realise the real meaning of experience,” he said. “You have to be in the middle and only then you can change the game.”I was checking the wind when the left-arm spinner was bowling. I really wanted to go hard against him. But looking at the scoreboard, six wickets down did not feel right for me. I did it [bat with caution] once in the Irani Cup and here in the Ranji Trophy, where I’m the experienced and the only India player in the team, my job was to ensure we were batting at stumps.”I was actually wanting to go for sixes. But the situation demanded otherwise. This comes with experience. When you play enough matches, you understand sometimes that singles are more important than sixes and over a period of time, your mindset changes. A partnership was important to make their bowlers tired.”Kishan has had a decent build-up to the season. After a short county stint with Nottinghamshire, where he hit 77 and 87 in two innings, he was in line to be recalled to the India squad for the fifth Test against England at The Oval as a cover after Rishabh Pant’s injury.However, Kishan suffered bruises from an e-bike accident in the UK around the same time. Tamil Nadu’s N Jagadeesan was eventually picked as cover, with Dhruv Jurel as the first-choice wicketkeeper-batter in Pant’s absence. Upon his full recovery, Kishan featured for Rest of India in the Irani Cup earlier this month, prior to the start of the Ranji season.”Whenever I go in with a target, I just do very badly,” Kishan said. “I just do something which is not important. So let’s not keep any target this season. Just keep on batting. If you are in the middle, you will get as many runs as you want. That’s the only goal for me.”

He thumped 60 off 22 balls as Afghanistan seek victory for a place in Super Fours

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Sep-2025Sri Lanka dominated proceedings for 18 out of 20 overs, but in those two overs, Afghanistan and Mohammad Nabi grabbed the momentum, and indeed the upper hand, as Afghanistan tore into Sri Lanka – primarily Dunith Wellalage – to score a whopping 49 runs off the final two overs and end on 169 for 8.Nabi ended on an incredible 60 off 22 balls, run out off the final delivery of the innings, as he saved his best for last against Wellalage, who had earlier dropped Nabi when he was on 6.For context, Wellalage, a left-arm spinner, was left to bowl the final over after Maheesh Theekshana had been left out of the XI, and the seamers had been bowled out earlier in the innings. That gamble seemed to have paid off for large parts of this innings, as Nuwan Thushara picked up figures of 4 for 18, while Chameera was unlucky to go for 50 runs in his four.Dasun Shanaka, the nominal fifth bowler, had gone for 29 runs, but picked up a wicket, while Wanindu Hasaranga had gone wicketless but was miserly in giving away just 18. But none of that accounted for leaving Wellalage against Nabi, a specialist spin hitter, at the last.Wellage attempted to bowl quick and flat, but he was no match as ball after ball was sent into the stands – over long-off and cow corner, time and time and time and time and time again. It was a brutal display of hitting, and one that a player as young as Wellalage will do well to try and put out of his mind sooner rather than later.But for Afghanistan, it was just what they needed in a must-win game.

In an early boost for Celtic, Club Brugge boss Nicky Hayen is reportedly open to replacing Brendan Rodgers in Scotland as the Bhoys step up their chase for their next manager.

Those in Glasgow were thrown into chaos when Rodgers resigned and majority shareholder Dermot Desmond had his say in brutal fashion on Monday night. Since then, a number of potential candidates have already been mentioned and veteran manager Martin O’Neill has enjoyed his first win as interim boss.

After thrashing Falkirk 4-0 to get back to winning ways in the Scottish Premiership, O’Neill told reporters: “I’m really pleased to win the game in the manner we did, and we played some delightful stuff. Could have scored a couple of more goals, too.

“I’m hoping some of the players have played today are old enough to know who I am, some of the younger lads I wouldn’t be totally sure. They see this man stepping into the dressing room and think ‘what’s happening here?’.

“I’m delighted, satisfied in the sense I thought we played very well. My anxiety has calmed somewhat, and it was really nice to win. When you get a few goals in front you can perhaps enjoy the last 10 or 15 minutes, and it kind of brought me back.”

Alas, the Northern Irishman will know more than most that the true test awaits this weekend when Celtic square off against Rangers in the Old Firm derby. With a place in the Scottish League Cup final up for grabs, the Bhoys should be desperate to get one over on their rivals.

Meanwhile, as the action continues on the pitch so does Celtic’s managerial search. So far, Parkhead chiefs have drawn up a shortlist which includes Craig Bellamy, Robbie Keane and Club Brugge boss Hayen among others.

Nicky Hayen now open to becoming Celtic manager

As reported by Belgian newspaper Nieuwslabd, Celtic now have concrete interest in Hayen and have got serious about the Brugge manager, who is also open to a move elsewhere.

Rodgers upgrade: Celtic have "kamikaze" title-winning manager on the radar

Celtic have a manager on their radar who could come in as a big upgrade on Brendan Rodgers.

By
Dan Emery

Oct 29, 2025

The report claims that the Bhoys would have to pay a hefty compensation fee if they did go all in on the 45-year-old, but he may prove to be worth every penny.

Having held Celtic to a 1-1 draw in the Champions League last year before thrashing Rangers 9-1 over two legs in the qualifiers back in August, Glasgow should already know all about Hayen’s quality.

Whether Celtic decide to push on and secure his arrival remains to be seen, however. He is certainly a strong candidate for the job, but is far from the only name in the running to replace Rodgers.

One Celtic star has just made himself undroppable

Baseball history was made last night in Atlanta when the National League triumphed over the American League by winning a completely made-up swing-off competition to decide the All Star Game. Few will ever forget where they were when the venerable sport entered into this uncharted territory. For many of the people who were at Truist Park at the beginning of Tuesday night, they will say that they were nowhere near the excitement of Kyle Schwarber going 3-for-3 and a random coach being thrust into the spotlight to throw batting practice.

A photo taken in the bottom of the eighth inning shows just how much leg room fans seated behind home plate in the really good seats had due to others taking off early.

Now, this is the exact type of catnip that's going to fly around social media and inspire so many strong opinions about what it means or does not mean. It might be taking the bait to take a side here but with a deep breath, it does feel like this type of look can easily be explained and doesn't exactly mean all that much about the game's health.

First off, the picture was taken after 11 p.m. ET on a Tuesday night. It would be almost midnight by the time everything was decided. That's pretty late to stick around for what is, at the end of the day, an exhibition game. And most importantly, those seats right behind the dish don't exactly get packed with the most ardent diehards at events like these. It's perfectly reasonable to understand how a lot of people in town for all the All-Star festivities who don't love baseball decided to bounce slightly before the third day of activity wrapped up.

Again, that doesn't mean the most passionate baseball fans don't have a right to be a bit bummed out by this. In a perfect world the game's deciding moments would happen in front of engaged and actively-there human beings.

One easy fix would be to improve the pace of play. The All-Star Game featured multiple stoppages for legitimately cool moments like standing ovations for Clayton Kershaw and Freddie Freeman. Plus an awesome tribute to Hank Aaron and the moving Stand Up to Cancer stoppage. Throw in more pitching changes than are typical and, boom, all of that work baseball did to speed things up goes out the window.

Just spitballing but an easy fix would be to begin the pregame hoopla at 7:30 p.m. ET so first pitch can happen some time actually around 8. If Major League Baseball can create something like the Swing-Off, surely they can work to improve attentive attendance for its midsummer showcase.

Former England boss Gareth Southgate has revealed his squad killed time between matches and training at the World Cup in Qatar by playing their own version of popular BBC TV show The Traitors. And the ex-Three Lions boss has also named the international superstar singer who joined them for a game after joining up with the squad to entertain them during the tournament in 2022.

• England Faithful search out Traitors

  For the uninitiated, in The Traitors contestants are secretly divided into "Faithfuls" and "Traitors" inside a castle. The Traitors aim to secretly "murder" the Faithfuls at night to steal the prize money. Meanwhile, the Faithfuls must uncover and banish the Traitors before they all become victims. At the 2022 World Cup, the England players were playing a very similar version of this, called Wolves and Villagers, and one night they were joined by a very special guest. 

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• Getty Images Sport
  

  Superstar entertains the Three Lions squad

  During the tournament in Qatar, Robbie Williams visited the England squad at their hotel to deliver a surprise morale boost. Ahead of their quarter-final match against France, he serenaded the players by the pool with some of his hits. Williams was performing in Doha and dropped in on the team, who were reportedly delighted by his presence. And Southgate has also confirmed that Williams joined in the card game, where he playfully identified striker Harry Kane as a "werewolf". The unscheduled performance was a memorable moment for the team.

• 'They absolutely loved it'

  Southgate told Chris Moyles on Radio X: "It was the card version, so it was Wolves & Villages, a bit of a different theme, but same game basically. The players loved it, absolutely loved it. Conor Coady was the sort of narrator, so he brought it to the group. 

  "And when we were in Qatar for the World Cup, I'd go to bed at, like, fairly early. Because I'm finished. They're all playing this game around the poolside, and you'd hear these werewolf noises coming across in the middle of the night. So yeah, they absolutely loved it. They got Robbie Williams playing it one night. He came in to sing for us and he joined in."

  In Britain, The Traitors has become a sensation on BBC One, with celebrities currently playing an expanded version of the game; the final airs on Thursday evening and is expected to be watched by millions of people. 

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  Early exit in Qatar

  Despite the fun of watching Robbie Williams sing and the fun  of playing a version of The Traitors, it ended up being heartache for the England player after they exited in the quarter-finals after a heartbreaking 2-1 defeat to France, despite a fine performance where they often outplayed the reigning champions. 

  The Three Lions topped Group B with two dominant wins over Iran (6–2) and Wales (3–0), along with a 0–0 draw against the USA. Their journey ended when captain Kane missed a late penalty that would have tied the score, just after having successfully converted an earlier spot-kick to level Wayne Rooney's all-time England scoring record. Southgate was praised for his tactical decisions throughout the tournament, especially in the 3–0 Round of 16 victory against Senegal. The Three Lions scored 13 goals in the tournament, their highest tally ever in a single edition of a major tournament. Despite the disappointing exit, the young squad, featuring exceptional players like Jude Bellingham and Bukayo Saka, demonstrated promise, leaving many optimistic about their future.

ESPNcricinfo understands Kishan’s injury was the reason he wasn’t selected as back-up wicketkeeper for the fifth Test in England

Shashank Kishore18-Aug-2025Ishan Kishan will miss East Zone’s season-opening Duleep Trophy fixture as he is yet to fully recover from a minor injury he suffered in the UK during his stint at Nottinghamshire. He has been replaced by Odisha’s Aashirwad Swain in East Zone’s squad.ESPNcricinfo understands Kishan required multiple stitches after falling off an e-bike, and it’s due to this that he wasn’t considered as a replacement for the injured Rishabh Pant ahead of the fifth and final Test against England at The Oval. Subsequently, Tamil Nadu’s N Jagadeesan was flown in as the back-up to Dhruv Jurel.Related

• Setbacks in the past, Kushagra hopes to remain 'in the eyes of the selectors'

• Iyer, Sarfaraz in West Zone squad

• Shubman Gill to lead North Zone in Duleep Trophy

• Kuldeep, Khaleel in Jurel-led Central Zone squad for Duleep Trophy

• BCCI introduces 'serious injury replacement substitute' rule in multi-day competitions

Kishan’s injury doesn’t appear to be a serious one. The decision to keep him out is a precautionary measure since he’s likely to be in the running for the India A squad that will play two four-day fixtures at home against Australia next month.For now, Kishan will continue to recuperate and undergo a fitness assessment at BCCI’s Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru. In Kishan’s absence, it’s likely Jharkhand’s Kumar Kushagra will be the first-choice wicketkeeper.

Akash Deep advised rest

Meanwhile, East Zone will also be without India fast bowler Akash Deep, who has been advised rest. Akash’s nature of niggle or injury – if any – is unknown, and his fitness assessment has been set for a later date.Akash was on the recent Test tour to England, where he missed the fourth Test in Manchester due to a back niggle. He subsequently returned for the decider, where he struck a maiden half-century after coming in as a nightwatcher in the second innings.Overall, Akash enjoyed a decent series – picking up 13 wickets in three Tests, including a match-winning ten-wicket haul in India’s series-levelling win in Birmingham. Akash has been replaced by Assam’s Mukhtar Hussain in the Abhimanyu Easwaran-led squad.East Zone open their campaign against the Shubman Gill-led North Zone in the quarterfinal starting August 28. All matches will be played at the CoE, in the outskirts of Bengaluru.Riyan Parag, the India and Assam allrounder, has been named as Easwaran’s deputy. The squad also comprises two other India internationals in Mohammed Shami, who has played just one first-class game in the last two years, and Mukesh Kumar.East Zone squad for Duleep Trophy opener: Abhimanyu Easwaran (capt), Aasirwad Swain (wk), Sandeep Patnaik, Virat Singh, Denish Das, Sridam Paul, Sharandeep Singh, Kumar Kushagra (wk), Riyan Parag (vice-captain), Utkarsh Singh, Manishi, Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal, Mukesh Kumar, Mukhtar Hussain and Mohammed Shami

West Ham United boss Nuno Espírito Santo has been handed an injury update, with one member of his squad not set to return until nearly Christmas.

West Ham prepare for Man United clash after Liverpool defeat

The Hammers travel to Old Trafford on Thursday seeking to make amends following their first defeat since October, but Lucas Paqueta’s suspension after his sending off against Liverpool leaves Nuno with a real selection headache.

West Ham’s 2-0 loss to the Merseysiders on Sunday ended a three-match unbeaten streak, with Paqueta’s bizarre dismissal proving very costly.

Another Brazilian, Luis Guilherme, could make a rare start in his compatriot’s absence, while Crysencio Summerville is also a major doubt to face Man United after missing Liverpool with a calf problem.

Man United, meanwhile, arrive in confident mood after Joshua Zirkzee and Mason Mount both scored in a 2-1 comeback at Crystal Palace over the weekend.

Matheus Cunha could return after missing recent matches with a head injury, though a place on the bench appears more likely.

On paper, West Ham will be given encouragement by the fact they’ve won four out of their last five meetings against the Red Devils and completed the double over them last season.

However, West Ham rank joint-second in the league for goals conceded from open play with 14, and first for goals conceded from set-pieces with 10 – weaknesses Ruben Amorin will undoubtedly look to exploit.

West Ham set for 'big decision' over selling 'most talented player' with Nuno 'fuming'

It would be a controversial move.

By
Emilio Galantini

Dec 2, 2025

Alongside Summerville and Paqueta, another player who’s set to sit out of this one is young defender Ollie Scarles.

The West Ham academy graduate, who’s been out of action since breaking his collarbone against Leeds United, has now returned to no-contact training as he slowly builds his capacity.

Following Nuno’s update, the Portuguese has now been handed a more specific timeline when it comes to the full-back’s return.

West Ham without Ollie Scarles until nearly Christmas

According to Hammers News, West Ham will be without Scarles until nearly Christmas as he continues his gradual comeback.

The Englishman could be back to face Man City on December 20 at the earliest, coming as a slight boost for Nuno given the difficulty of a trip to Eastlands.

However, the tactician might not want to risk him either, considering just how serious Scarles’ injury was and the delicacy of his recovery.

Once the England Under-20 international is back fit and firing, he’ll be a valuable asset, with Nuno starting him in each of his last two appearances before succumbing to injury.

Called West Ham’s ‘most exciting prospect since [Declan] Rice’ by members of the media, Scarles excelled at youth level with three goals and 14 assists in 50 appearances for the Under-18s.

The defender also racked up 13 goal contributions (six goals, seven assists) for the Under-21s, and Scarles has since been handed 19 senior cameos in all competitions for the east Londoners.

West Ham appear to have high hopes for the youngster, who most notably put in the best performance of his career to date in a 1-0 win away to Arsenal back in February.

The final week of the MLB regular season promises to be a memorable one. While three teams have clinched divsion titles thus far and another five have clinched postseason berths, much has yet to be decided. The Guardians' incredible surge to the top of the American League Central—and the Tigers' collapse—has made a division race that was seemingly decided in August now up for grabs in September. The same can be said for the AL East race, where the Blue Jays' seemingly sturdy lead slipped through the club's fingers, and they are now tied with the Yankees atop the division with four games to play. Toronto owns the tiebreaker.

Plus, the races for the third wild-card spots in both leagues, in which as many as five teams are involved, figure to come down to the wire, potentially to the season's final day.

But much has also been decided already, and plenty of teams have already been eliminated from postseason contention. To keep you updated on the goings-on, here's a live list of the teams who officially won't be playing October baseball this year.

Every MLB Team Eliminated From the 2025 Playoffs So Far

Who's clinched a playoff berth?

Who's still left in the race for MLB Playoffs?

New York Mets

The Mets' second-half swoon has them in a race to the playoffs that will, after their victory over the Marlins on Saturday, come down to the season's final day. To avoid a tiebreaker that will result in their elimination, the Mets need to win and the club needs the Reds to lose.

Cincinnati Reds

The Reds have seemingly dug their heels in and refused to fall out of the postseason chase, as they've played middling baseball since the All-Star break but have been aided by the lackluster play of the Mets. Cincinnati, owns a tiebreaker over the Mets, so it just needs to tie with New York, at the worst, to make the postseason.

They were arguably favourites for the first time in an ICC final, but that second-place feeling was as acute as ever

Firdose Moonda20-Oct-2024Second sucks. That’s it. That’s the tweet, as they say.Second sucks even if you know you were second-best. Second sucks when you’ve been second three times in the last three finals. Second sucks because, at some point, you think you’ve done enough to finish first. And South Africa were at that point this time.With England and India out of the way and defending champions Australia knocked out by their own hands, South Africa may never have a better chance to win a World Cup. No disrespect to a determined New Zealand outfit but, on pre-tournament form and semi-final performance, South Africa appeared to be the stronger and potentially better resourced and more settled side. They found themselves in the unusual position of being favourites in a final for the first time, and it seemed as though they did not know what to do with that.Despite Paul Adams’ motivational speech before play, complete with an aerial picture of the Arc de Triomphe to inspire patriotism and symbolise a central point at which people from many paths must meet, they lacked something in the field, as South Africans so often do. They lacked zip and intensity, their body language of furrowed brows and sometimes hunched shoulders did not suggest they were owning their moment as they had earned the right to. South Africa were doing that old South African cricket thing and allowing the opposition to dictate the run of play.They were taken aback by New Zealand’s fearless approach in the Powerplay and were hit off their plans. Marizanne Kapp bowled only two overs upfront, rather than usual three she has been tasked with through most of this tournament and though Ayabonga Khaka took an early wicket, she was unusually expensive. A stoic Wolvaardt later acknowledged that New Zealand’s coming out “with real intent caught us on the back foot a little bit,” and so South Africa found themselves reacting and not directing. “We thought we could sort of ride it out, hopefully take a wicket or two, but they just kept going.”With New Zealand 70 for 3 in the 11th over, South Africa had started to pull things back but never looked in control. As a result, New Zealand became the first team at this tournament to expose South Africa’s weakness in not selecting a fifth first-choice fifth bowler. They took Nadine de Klerk and Sune Luus for 34 runs in four overs combined, wrecked South Africa’s death-bowling plans and took Nonkululeko Mlaba and Khaka apart in their final overs. “They had a really good last five or six overs where they really pushed that run-rate and we were perhaps a bit off.”That is one way of explaining how South Africa sent down 10 wides and three no-balls, which showed an unusual lack of discipline. It also meant that they bowled two extra overs, which is careless in any game not least a final. They did not shell any chances – which has been a feature of this tournament – until the very last ball of the innings, but there were enough fumbles in the field to gave New Zealand the confidence to take on their arms and turns ones into twos. Ultimately, that meant the target South Africa hoped they would chase, of around 140, became almost 20 runs greater. And there, the match was lost.South Africa had reason to believe at various stages of the tournament, and the final•AFP/Getty ImagesIn some ways, it made the defeat easier to accept because at least this one lacked the brutal last-ball agony of June’s men’s T20 World Cup final which went down to the final over, or the inevitability of Australia winning again, as was the case last February. This time, South Africa had most of the second innings to process the fact that the World Cup was not theirs. Though Tazmin Brits and Laura Wolvaardt, in particular, had a promising Powerplay, South Africa’s middle-order were untested in pressure situations at this tournament and fell away. That is something South Africa will have to address in the future.For now, there is just the familiar emptiness of another trophy that was won by someone else, at a time South Africa believed was theirs. They say it so often, it seems ridiculous to keep at it, but this time (just like last time and the time before that), it felt like “the curse of not winning a World Cup,” as interim coach Dillon du Preez put it, was going to be broken. And the team felt that too, which brought an expectation of its own that probably did more harm than good. Wolvaardt described her parents as looking “more sad than I did, which is a bit heartbreaking,” but also speaks volumes about the external pressures the team continues to face. At least, she could see the lighter side of it.Related

• Mashimbyi wants more long-format cricket for all-format development

• 'The team needs a little bit more' – Dillon du Preez unsure about future with South Africa

• The colours of the rainbow, so pretty in the South African sky

• Beyond the big three – doing it despite 'not having it like others'

• 'We are breaking barriers every day' – Bates proud to fly the flag against ageism

“Before the game, we had a discussion that we really feel this is our year. A lot of people felt that way,” Wolvaardt said. “They had some aunt who had a feeling or had a funny tingling in their pinky finger that we were going to win. That just shows that mother cricket is always in charge and has bigger plans. You can never predict what’s going to happen or write any team off.”The words Wolvaardt used shine a light on how silly the superstitions of our sport can be, even as people hold on to them when it’s all they have. Gut feelings will always come up against the cold, hard reality and the truth is that South Africa did not bring their best game to the game that mattered most. “To play one of our worst games in the tournament in the final is a bit disappointing,” Wolvaardt said.Arguably, South Africans needed this more than New Zealanders, who at least have an ODI World Cup to their names. Arguably, South Africans, who battle poverty, crime, corruption and hardship are more in need of hope than New Zealanders, whose country is in the top 10 on global living standard indexes. But South Africans also know, from experience, how to move on, and they will do that quickly. Once the tears have dried, they will realise that, in just a year’s time, at the ODI World Cup in India, they will have the chance to go again and, as South Africans always do, they will.

USMNT icon Landon Donovan expressed disappointment over Ricardo Pepi’s limited minutes during the November 2025 window, saying the young striker has slipped in the team’s forward pecking order – now behind Folarin Balogun and Haji Wright – and that the coach’s selections make that clear. Donovan expressed particular concern about Pepi's complete absence in the USMNT's impressive victory over Uruguay.

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  Donovan highlights Pepi's absence against Uruguay

  The former USMNT captain noted that despite the team scoring multiple goals and having a comfortable lead, head coach Mauricio Pochettino still opted not to give Pepi any playing time. 

  “I would say yeah,” Donovan said on his Unfiltered Soccer podcast when asked if Pepi’s lack of minutes was a concern. “I mean, this is a game where you can’t wait to get on the field if you’re watching from the bench because you’re like, there’s going to be chances, especially when they went down to 10 men. You’re like 'Get me on the field, get me on the field!'

  “And yeah, I’m not in Pochettino’s head, I can’t speak for him, but [Pepi] had a chance the other night that he fluffed and should have scored.”

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• PSV striker now third in depth chart for USMNT

  Donovan's assessment placed Pepi clearly third in the striker pecking order under manager Mauricio Pochettino.

  “It’s pretty clear right now, although this is always changing, but like it goes, Balogun and then Haji Wright. And I think Pepi right now is third and that’s the way he views it,” Donovan said.

• Competition up front

  Over the last few camps, Folarin Balogun has taken over as the USMNT’s No. 9 with the AS Monaco star leading the charge going into 2026. His form has matched that as he has netted three goals in his last five caps for the USA. The same applies to Haji Wright, who has netted two goals in his last two caps while Pepi has struggled for form and fitness.

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  Critical four months ahead as World Cup approaches

  With only one international window remaining before World Cup qualifying intensifies, the competition for striker positions continues to intensify.