Unlike most other countries, the US are playing the 2026 World Cup not just for themselves, but for the future of their voice in the sportWorld Cup newsletter | Daily podcast | Download the appMauricio Pochettino paused. The microphone signal flickered. He tried, for a second time, to say a few things to the 5,500 fans who had gathered in the sun Monday at Championship Soccer Stadium in Irvine, California – the United States’ World Cup home base – for an open training session. Nothing. Then something. More choppy audio. By the time things came back online, he had developed a quip.“We are in the greatest country in the world,” he said in his Rioplatense-accented English. “But the technology does not work.” Continue reading...