In partnership with
01 The Lede
Ten days after Belgium ended the United States' home World Cup 1–4 at Lumen Field, the post-mortems are piling up and the coaching search is heating up. The tournament run — four wins in the group stage and Round of 32, then a group-stage stumble to Türkiye and a blowout exit to Belgium — left a program simultaneously proud and hollowed out. Now comes the hard part: figuring out who leads it next.
Thierry Henry's name won't go away. A piece from HITC highlights Henry's own past words — "I know the players" — as context for why he remains a realistic candidate for the vacancy. Nothing confirmed, but the drumbeat is steady.
02 Quick Passes
ESPN published a World Cup time-capsule photo essay — the images from this summer that the USMNT will carry forever. Worth a slow scroll.
Folarin Balogun told Awful Announcing he "knew" the political pressure around the FIFA ban overturn would be controversial — and that he saw genuine nerves ripple through the locker room.
Dave Portnoy declared the USMNT set soccer back 100 years — per Yahoo Sports. Noted. Filed under: takes that will age poorly.
Diego Luna opened up about missing the home World Cup roster — per MLS Multiplex. A painful story from a player who had circled this tournament for years.
Tim Ream was named to the MLS All-Star Game roster alongside Evander, Messi, and Son — a grace note for a 38-year-old finishing a remarkable career summer.
03 Player Watch
Matt Freese is turning hurt into fuel. The goalkeeper gave back-to-back interviews to the New York Post and ESPN this week — candid, unsparing ones. He acknowledged being "hurt" by his World Cup performance and said the experience will "motivate me" going forward. No deflection, no excuses. A goalkeeper owns his mistakes and gets back in the cage — that takes a certain kind of character, and Freese is showing it at 27.
04 The Scene
Cristian Roldan described mixed emotions after the World Cup — per Sounder at Heart. Proud of the run, stung by the exit. That about covers it.
A Yahoo Sports piece flagged a soccer referee delivering tough words on Freese's performances after the goalkeeper's own candid confession — piling on is a sport of its own, it seems.
You Don't Have to Guess When, Only Which Way
That's a perp. No expiry, no rollover fees, no options complexity. Just a straight trade on direction, held as long as you want it. $90T trades on this market offshore every year. Kalshi just made it the first legal, CFTC-regulated version in the US.
Using leverage increases risk of loss. Leverage is subject to the Firm's review and the customer's risk profile.
05 Extra Time
Dave Portnoy says the USMNT set soccer back 100 years. The team beat Paraguay 4–1, knocked out Bosnia, and pushed Türkiye before bowing to a very good Belgian side. The bar for "setting soccer back" keeps moving. Check back in 100 years.
— USMNT Daily. See you tomorrow.