We grew a unique USMNT fandom this summer, then crashed right into its limits. Every four years, we ask if this is the year that soccer will break through into the mainstream. But what does that mean exactly? Read more »
Soccer Analysis
WC26: The USMNT Spectacle Ends In A Whimper
WC26: U.S. Soccer Emotions Grows Through Adversity, Subjectivity
If the group stages were about what U.S. soccer could be, the Bosnia match revealed what's beneath the layers. The mix of energy, composure, and skill are just part of the team DNA now. Read more »
WC26: The USMNT Prepare For The Reality Of The Knockout Rounds
Taking in the differences between the Turkiye match and the opening two victories clarifies what exactly makes Mauricio Pochettino's first team so dynamic. Read more »
WC26: A Soccer Culture Arises Alongside Pochettino's USMNT
If the opening match embodied Pochettino's style, the second match brought forward a vision of what U.S. soccer culture could look like going forward at scale. Read more »
WC26: Mauricio Pochettino Creates An Energy For What USMNT Could Be
In the opener, we saw a fusing of the raw material of U.S. players and Mauricio Pochettino's energetic system. Read more »
2026 FIFA World Cup xG Tracker: Results, Expected Goals Of Every Match
Updated after each final whistle, this page serves as a running record of how the numbers align with the results across all 104 matches. Read more »
World Cup 2026: The Last Dance Collides With A Generational Shift
The game has never been more modern heading into the 2026 World Cup and yet it still may be decided by its past. Read more »
A Tale Of Two Madrids, Part 1: Diego Simeone Goes Out In Peace
Diego Simeone is in his post-modern management era of finding meaning after completing all of his tasks as he and Atleti need each other more now than ever. Read more »
Cesc Fabregas Disrupts Serie A From The Outside
The ideal disruption in Serie A would be to have Como's success but with local owners, a young Italian manager and young Italian players, playing fast attacking football through wingers and pressing at high intensities. Read more »
Pep Searches For The Next Great Premier League Winger In Big Spaces
Pep Guardiola responded to mid-table Premier League clubs becoming more direct and athletic, which gave tactical problems to his careful, technical structures, by realizing he needed wingers with more physicality. Read more »
77 Days In Europe: Tactics Boards, Relegation Battles, And Survival
If and when the next MLS manager makes the move to Europe, the experience of managing complex, skeptical rosters will be as essential as any tactical ingenuity. Read more »
The Meaning Of Roberto De Zerbi In 2026
Under Roberto De Zerbi, the football will be beautiful, his sides will give up goals, and there will be emotional collisions. Read more »
Ruben Amorim & The Poisoned Chalice Of The Superclub Dream
We revere the tacticians and attacking innovators, but the most difficult challenges can come from overcoming the internal structures of a club, and still having enough of oneself left to pick up in the aftermath. Read more »
The Psychology, Poetry And Portals Of The Panenka
Brahim Diaz would have been the Player of the Tournament and a national hero had he hit the Panenka. Instead, he is a symbol of flying too close to the sun. Read more »
Maresca, Rosenior Test Limits, Possibilities Of Chelsea's Structure
Managerial instability has defined the club for over two decades now. But Enzo Maresca's sacking was distinct from the past and specific to Chelsea’s sporting structure. Read more »
2025 Trend Of The Year: Set Pieces & The End Of Soccer
If Pep Guardiola's style from last decade exposed the limits of what a team can do with the ball, it does feel like optimizing set pieces is some sort of end to soccer Read more »
Lionel Messi In The Streaming Age
Lionel Messi's future is given the same consideration as another season of Severance in terms of retention. It might have always been, but it's more pronounced now, that MLS is just another season of a television series. Read more »
The Value Of A Calendar: MLS Outgrows Its Startup Era, 30 Years Later
MLS could continue to sign aging stars from Europe to capture audiences while profiting from sending young players the other way. Read more »