
US men will play Ecuador and Australia in October friendlies to prepare for the World Cup
The No. 15 Americans will meet No. 25 Ecuador on Oct. 10 at Austin, Texas, and No. 24 Australia four days later at Commerce City, Colorado, the U.S. Soccer Federation said Monday.
Coming off its 2-1 loss to Mexico in the CONCACAF Gold Cup final, the U.S. plays No. 23 South Korea on Sept. 6 at Harrison, New Jersey, then faces No. 17 Japan three days later at Columbus, Ohio.
Following the October friendlies, the U.S. will have a pair of exhibitions in both November and March.
After coach Mauricio Pochettino selects his roster ahead of the World Cup being held at stadiums in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, the Americans will have a pair of send-off matches in June.
___

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
38 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Former Braves players Freddie Freeman and Max Fried are making their return to Atlanta as All-Stars
New York Yankees pitcher Max Fried (54) throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs, Saturday, July 12, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura) Los Angeles Dodgers' Freddie Freeman hits an RBI double against the San Francisco Giants during the fourth inning of a baseball game in San Francisco, Sunday, July 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu) Los Angeles Dodgers' Freddie Freeman hits an RBI double against the San Francisco Giants during the fourth inning of a baseball game in San Francisco, Sunday, July 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu) New York Yankees pitcher Max Fried (54) throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs, Saturday, July 12, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura) Los Angeles Dodgers' Freddie Freeman hits an RBI double against the San Francisco Giants during the fourth inning of a baseball game in San Francisco, Sunday, July 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu) ATLANTA (AP) — Four years of return visits to Atlanta has prepared Freddie Freeman for another Tuesday night, this time as the starting first baseman for the National League in the All-Star Game. Freeman, now in his fourth season with the Los Angeles Dodgers, played his first 12 seasons in Atlanta. He makes no effort to hide his emotions when he returns and says he won't be surprised if another warm reception from Atlanta fans creates another emotional response. Advertisement 'Now that I'm here, I think it's going to be special,' Freeman said before Monday night's Home Run Derby. "For the last four years, every time I come back, the fans, they've given me such great big, standing ovations, so I don't expect anything. 'I'm just happy to be back and play in front of these fans again. So if they give me one, believe me, I'll take it all in. I think you guys know, whatever I feel on the field, I let it come out. So we'll see what happens tomorrow.' Freeman won't be the only former Atlanta star making his return. Max Fried, who leads the American League and is tied for the MLB lead with 11 wins in his first season with the New York Yankees, returns following eight seasons with the Braves. Both players still have homes in Atlanta and get to sleep in their own beds this week. Fried won't be able to participate in the game due to a blister on his left index finger. Advertisement Fried left Atlanta to sign an eight-year, $218 million contract with the Yankees in December. Freeman said he was 'so happy' Fried landed the big contract. 'I think we all know Max and how wonderful a person he is,' Freeman said. 'And to see him get that contract rightfully, he deserves. He's, you know, a big-game pitcher pitching on the biggest stage. ... And it's really hard in your first year of a new contract, new team. ... And for him to go out there and have (success), it's awesome. Especially in pinstripes in the Bronx, when there's a lot of pressure on you.' Fried was replaced on the All-Star roster by Yankees teammate Carlos Rodón but is still attending the festivities in Atlanta. The Yankees may start Fried in a three-game series at AL East-leading Toronto on July 21-23 after opening the second half by visiting the Braves. Advertisement Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said it was clear how much it meant to Freeman to return to Atlanta as an All-Star. 'It's something that I know once they announced that it was going to be held here, it was marked on his calendar,' Roberts said. 'And then that was kind of his goal, was to get back here and get in front of the Braves' faithful that cheered him on for, what, 11, 12 years. So he's sleeping in his own bed for a couple nights.' Freeman said he has visited with Braves manager Brian Snitker and some former teammates but spent more time relishing his relationship with the Atlanta fans. "It's special,' he said. 'I think every time I come back, I try to portray what Atlanta means to me. Oh, it's special every time I come back and the receptions they've given me the last four years. So I spent a lot of wonderful years here. ... I'm excited to be back.' ___ AP MLB:


Hamilton Spectator
44 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Cal Raleigh to play for US in World Baseball Classic, joining Judge, Skenes and Witt
ATLANTA (AP) — Seattle catcher Cal Raleigh agreed to play for the U.S. team at next year's World Baseball Classic, joining captain Aaron Judge, Paul Skenes and Bobby Witt Jr. USA Baseball announced the decision Monday before Raleigh participated in the All-Star Home Run Derby. The 28-year-old entered the All-Star break leading the major leagues with 38 homers and 82 RBIs. The 20-nation WBC will be played from March 5-17. Japan is defending champion. Also Monday, the World Baseball Softball Confederation said the baseball tournament at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics will be played from July 15-20 at Dodger Stadium. MLB is considering whether it can interrupt its 2028 season to allow major leagues to participate. There will be two groups of three teams during a preliminary round over three days, with two games per day. The group winners advance to the semifinals, while the other teams compete in a pair of quarterfinals. Semifinals will be played July 19, and gold and bronze medal games the next day. The softball tournament will be played from July 23-29 at OKC Softball Park in Oklahoma City. A five-day round-robin will be played on July 28 followed by the gold medal game the next day. ___ AP MLB:


Hamilton Spectator
44 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Robot umpires to make All-Star Game debut, another step toward possible regular-season use in 2026
ATLANTA (AP) — Tarik Skubal views the strike zone differently than robot umpires. 'I have this thing where I think everything is a strike until the umpire calls it a ball,' Detroit's AL Cy Young Award winner said ahead of his start for the American League in Tuesday night's All-Star Game. MLB has been experimenting with the automated ball-strike system in the minor leagues since 2019 and will use it in an All-Star Game for the first time this summer. Each team gets two challenges and retains the challenge if it is successful. 'Pitchers think everything is a strike. Then you go back and look at it, and it's two, three balls off,' Pittsburgh's Paul Skenes, starting his second straight All-Star Game for the National League, said Monday. 'We should not be the ones that are challenging it.' MLB sets the top of the automated strike zone at 53.5% of a batter's height and the bottom at 27%, basing the decision on the midpoint of the plate, 8 1/2 inches from the front and 8 1/2 inches from the back. That contrasts with the rule book zone called by umpires, which says the zone is a cube. 'I did a few rehabs starts with it. I'm OK with it. I think it works,' said three-time Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers. 'Aaron Judge and Jose Altuve should have different sized boxes. They've obviously thought about that. As long as that gets figured out, I think it'll be fine.' Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred anticipates the system will be considered by the sport's 11-man competition committee, which includes six management representatives. Many pitchers have gravitated to letting their catchers and managers trigger ball/strike appeals. Teams won 52.2% of their challenges during the spring training test. Batters won exactly 50% of their 596 challenges and the defense 54%, with catchers successful 56% of the time and pitchers 41%. Hall of Famer Joe Torre, an honorary AL coach, favors the system. After his managing career, he worked for MLB and helped supervised expanded video review in 2014 . 'You couldn't ignore it with all the technology out there,' he said. 'You couldn't sit and make an excuse for, 'Look at what really happened' the next day.' Now 84, Torre recalled how his Yankees teams benefitted at least twice from blown calls in the postseason, including one involving the strike zone. With the 1998 World Series opener tied and the bases loaded with two outs in the seventh inning, Tino Martinez took a 2-2 pitch from San Diego's Mark Langston that appeared to be a strike but was called a ball by Richie Garcia. Martinez hit a grand slam on the next pitch for a 9-5 lead, and the Yankees went on to a four-game sweep. Asked whether he was happy there was no robot umpire then, Torre grinned and said: 'Possibly.' Then he added without a prompt: 'Well, not to mention the home run that Jeter hit.' His reference was to Derek Jeter's home run in the 1996 AL Championship Series opener, when 12-year-old fan Jeffrey Maier reached over the wall to snatch the ball above the glove over Baltimore right fielder Tony Tarasco. ___ AP MLB: Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .