Who Gets Managed
Christian Pulisic hopes to play against Turkey after a calf injury sidelined him for his nation’s second match of the tournament, a reminder that even the stars are treated as assets inside the World Cup machine. Pulisic said, “I’m feeling good, yeah,” and added, “I’ve obviously joined with the team in the last few days, so I’m feeling good, positive going into it, and hopefully, I’ll be able to play it hard tomorrow.” He also said, “I want to be a part of the group, I want to get on the field and try to help the team in whatever way I can.”
CNN Sports watched Pulisic during a short training session on Wednesday and said he looked unrestrained and moving freely. He wore no protection on his calf and had no signs of a limp or any limitation during drills at Great Sports Park. The body is fine, the apparatus says, and the tournament keeps moving.
Who Holds the Schedule
The report said the United States goes on to the Round of 32 and, as things stand, plays Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Bay Area, though that opponent can still change. Turkey is going home no matter the result. The United States had won its group, and the Americans’ last group game against Turkey had very little riding on it. That is how the hierarchy works here: the match matters less than the bracket, the calendar, and the decisions made above the pitch.
The report said the US Men’s National Team could rest key players and give minutes to players who had not yet gotten on the pitch this summer. Manager Mauricio Pochettino said, “We need to perform tomorrow. We need to perform,” and added, “I have no doubt that the team that is going to play is going to perform.” The language is all discipline and output, the usual managerial hymn for a system that turns athletes into managed labor.
The report also said the USA had won two group stage matches, over Paraguay and Australia, and that the country was rallying behind the team. It said a loss or even a drab draw would introduce doubt, while a win would keep the momentum going to Santa Clara for a July 1 showdown with Bosnia or whoever else qualifies ahead of it.
What the Tournament Sells
The report noted that the World Cup was shifting into gear, that South Africa and Canada had both made history by reaching the knockout rounds for the first time, that a cult figure may have played his final match for Mexico, and that Haiti had produced a performance that made an entire nation proud. The spectacle keeps expanding, packaging national feeling into a global product while the people inside it are asked to carry the weight.
Guillermo “Memo” Ochoa, 40, made his professional debut at the Estadio Azteca in 2004 and was substituted onto the pitch in the 77th minute of Mexico’s 3-0 win against Czech Republic. The report said Ochoa had been Mexico’s undisputed starting goalkeeper in the 2014, 2018 and 2022 World Cups. The old guard gets cycled through, celebrated, and moved along as the tournament machine demands.
CNN’s Antonia Mortensen speaks with Giorgio Gazzaniga, son of Silvio Gazzaniga, who designed the FIFA World Cup trophy, about how the iconic prize came to be. Even the trophy has a lineage, a designed object for a designed hierarchy.
Haiti lost 4-2 to Morocco inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium, but twice went ahead with goals from Lenny Joseph and Wilson Isidor. Haiti fan EJ Emmanuel said, “My dad used to tell me what happened 52 years ago, now I’m going to tell my kids. Fifty-two years, that’s two generations. And I love it!” Jacqueline Charles, who has reported on Haiti for over a decade for the Miami Herald, said, “That emotion you heard was Haitians saying, ‘OK, we can hold our heads up while we go out here.’ In a country that’s very divided, that is politically unstable, with a capital overrun by gangs, this World Cup appearance really has united Haitians in an incredible way.”
The report said South Korea watched its final group stage match from Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul, where thousands chanted “Dae-han-min-guk” as the Taegeuk Warriors lost 1-0 to South Africa. It said children, office workers, tourists and soccer fans filled the square, some wearing 2002 World Cup “Be the Reds” shirts or Son Heung-min’s former Tottenham jersey. It said goalkeeper Kim Seung-gyu made two saves and that South Africa forward Thapelo Maseko scored in the second half. It also said Turkey was out and the US team had won the group, and that the Americans would use the match to rest players and give minutes to others.