World Cup updates: Team USA looks forward to 2026

The Americans lost 3-1 to the Netherlands in the knockout round.

After years of controversy around its location, the 2022 World Cup is underway in Qatar.

There have been allegations of payoffs to FIFA members to earn the bid, criticism of Qatar's laws against women and LGBTQ individuals, the deaths of migrants used to build the sparkling new stadiums and even last-second controversy over beer sales. The tournament was also moved from its usual summer timeframe to the holiday season to avoid Qatar's intensely hot weather.

But on the field, the best players in the world -- such as Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar -- are ready to go. And the U.S. is back with a hungry, young team after failing to qualify for the last World Cup.


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Netherlands-Qatar and Ecuador-Senegal underway

The first two matches of the day are underway in Qatar, including the final game for the home squad.

Qatar, which cannot advance to the next round after losses in its first two matches, faces the Netherlands, which currently stands atop Group A. The Netherlands would advance with a win.

In the second match, Ecuador and Senegal face off with the winner guaranteeing a spot in the knockout stage. A draw would also be enough for Ecuador to move on.

If Senegal-Ecuador tie and Netherlands loses, it will come down to goal differential to determine whether Netherlands or Senegal advances. Netherlands is currently plus-2 in goal differential on Senegal, so they are looking good.


FiveThirtyEight gives US 38% chance of beating Iran

The odds of beating Iran are in the U.S.'s favor, but the overall chances of advancing to the knockout round are not -- at least according to FiveThirtyEight's World Cup predictions.

The U.S. has a 38% chance of winning, while Iran has a 31% chance, with a 31% chance of a draw. Only a win will put Team USA into the next round, so that means there's a 62% chance they won't advance to the knockout stage.

For those looking even further down the line, the U.S. has less than a 1% chance of winning the World Cup -- the same as Iran. For those looking on the bright side, the U.S. does have a 15% chance of making the quarterfinals.

FiveThirtyEight uses its Soccer Power Index ratings to determine the likely winner. The SPI draws from a database of international matches dating back to 1905. For a full explanation of how the rankings work, click here.


Pandas predict a US win against Iran

Good news for the U.S. men's team – Qatar's psychic pandas Thuraya and Suhail have chosen the U.S. to beat Iran in today's must-win matchup.

The two pandas were gifted to Qatar from China to celebrate it as the host country of the World Cup. Every day, they are tasked with predicting which countries will win that day's matchups.

However, the pandas are not given the choice of a draw and they're not always correct.

The pandas also chose England over Wales, Senegal over Ecuador and Qatar over the Netherlands in today’s matches.


Blinken denies ‘geopolitical’ nature of World Cup

When Secretary of State Antony Blinken was asked about the unrest in Iran and China as it related to the game between the U.S. and Iran at the World Cup later today, Blinken said “let's let the athletes do their thing,” expressing his belief that there are no geopolitical implications beyond a competitive game.

“I'm certainly confident in [the athletes'] abilities to do well on the field. And I don't think there are any particular geopolitical aspects to this, other than that,” he added.

Affirming the right to protest, Blinken closed his answer, saying “protests that we're seeing in China, protests that we're seeing for different reasons, in Iraq, in other places — our position is the same everywhere, which is that we support the right of people everywhere to peacefully protest to make known their views, their concerns and their frustrations.”

-ABC News’ Noah Minnie


US coach, captain try to avoid Iran flag controversy

U.S. national team coach Gregg Berhalter tried to keep the focus on Tuesday's game at a press conference as he faced questions about why the U.S. team's Twitter account removed the Islamic emblem from Iran's flag in a post Sunday. He also insisted his team had no knowledge of the post.

The U.S. soccer federation said it removed the logo to show support for those protesting in the country against authoritarian rule and its treatment of women.

Berhalter tried to keep the focus on the uniting power of sports and the World Cup, even as Iran called for the U.S. to be kicked out of the World Cup for altering its flag.

"Sport is something that should bring people together, bring countries together," Berhalter said. "When you look at the Olympics, to see all those countries competing at the same time, is a wonderful event. The World Cup is very similar, where people come from all around the world. Fans come from all around the world, and you get to compete on the field, as brothers, so sport does have the ability to do that."

U.S. captain Tyler Adams was criticized by an Iranian reporter for mispronouncing "Iran," which he apologized for, and he was questioned about discrimination in the U.S., saying it is everywhere but there has been progress. But he also deflected attention back to the game.

"Listen, we support Iran's people and Iran's team. But that being said, you know, we're laser focused on this match as they are as well," Adams, 23, told reporters. "We know how important this is for our progress of our team and what we want to do to prove to our country, you know, how hard we've been working. And we know they want to do exactly the same."

The U.S. must defeat Iran Tuesday to advance to the knockout stage of the tournament.

-ABC News' Karyn Rhodus