After being the Phillies’ most consistent hitter for the first three months, Brandon Marsh has hit his first real slump of the season in July. In a small sample size of 12 games in the month, Marsh has a .163 batting average and .483 OPS, compared to his .297 average and .819 OPS over the whole season.
He entered Saturday hitless in his last 12 plate appearances.
“Obviously, everybody’s not going to just keep rolling the whole year. You’re always going to have spots,” he said. “I mean, the last trip in general, we had a few guys that struggled on the road and hit a stretch like that as a team, and it obviously didn’t look as good, but in general, Marsh is fine.”
Mattingly added that he believes Marsh might be adjusting to the higher workload that comes with the everyday role. Now that Marsh has worked his way into starting against lefties — with a .242 average — he is not getting as many days off. Mattingly said he tries to give Marsh a day off his feet whenever he can.
Brandon Marsh played in his first All-Star Game on Tuesday.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
In the first half of 2025, a platooning Marsh started 56 games, though he also missed two weeks in that stretch with a hamstring strain. This year, he started 87 games before the All-Star break.
“For the most part, I think he’s doing fine,” Mattingly said.
Marsh said earlier this season that going through the slump he had in April 2025 — when his batting average dropped as low as .095 to start the year before he turned things around — gives him the confidence that he can navigate another skid.
“I’ve never been hitting .090 in my life since I picked up a bat,” Marsh said earlier this year. “So seeing that was very humbling, and just seeing where I ended last year, I have that confidence and belief in myself if I go through it again, or go through a bad little stretch, that I can come out of it. And thankfully, last year was at the beginning, not the end, but definitely I learned a lot about myself in that time and leaned a lot on the guys around me.”
But Mattingly is not viewing things as anywhere near that dire.
“I don’t necessarily look at just the numbers,” he said. “I look at it, kind of see the quality of it. I can tell when guys are having good at-bats or bad at-bats or looking like they’re a little bit tired. But you’re basically looking at if they’re controlling the zone.
“In my mind, it’s like you swing at bad stuff, bad results are coming, right? It’s like you keep eating bad food, you’re going to end up in trouble. So it’s kind of that with me. It’s getting good pitches to hit, guys having good game plans, so that’s not really a number. But you can see when guys are having quality at-bats or not.”
The Phillies’ game against the Mets started one hour earlier due to anticipated inclement weather.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
Phillies start time pushed forward
Due to anticipated inclement weather in the area, Saturday’s Phillies game against the Mets was moved up an hour to a 3:05 p.m. first pitch.
This marked the second consecutive Phillies game to be moved earlier following the All-Star break. Thursday’s series opener against the Mets was moved up an hour due to poor air quality, and the Phillies ultimately dropped the game, 4-1, to New York.
Extra bases
Alan Rangel (0-2, 4.19 ERA) is scheduled to start Sunday’s series finale against Mets right-hander Nolan McLean (6-6, 3.52).
Steve Gansey was playing with his son a few weeks ago, as ESPN hummed in the background, when he heard something unusual. It was Kendrick Perkins, talking to his NBA Today cohosts, about a photo that recently went viral.
It was taken in 2000, and was on the front page of the Cleveland Plain Dealer’s sports section. Ten high school basketball players from Northeast Ohio stood side by side, in their respective jerseys.
The group had been voted by coaches and athletics directors as the best players in the region. There was Maverick Carter and Chester Mason (“Chet the Jet”) toward the left. Brian Swift was closer to the middle, alongside Mike Patrick.
But what caught the commentators’ attention was to the far right: future Sixers president of basketball operations Mike Gansey, of Olmsted Falls High School, alongside future Hall of Famer LeBron James, of St. Vincent-St. Mary.
Gansey was a junior at the time; James was a freshman. Steve Gansey, Mike’s younger brother, posted the photo on X on July 1, with an eyeball emoji, promptly setting the Sixers fan base ablaze with speculation.
Before long, it received hundreds of retweets. Sixers fans sent Gansey direct messages asking if he had any information on whether James would consider coming to Philadelphia.
“I’m getting DMs like ‘Hey if you make this happen, free cheesesteaks,’” Steve said. “And I’m like, ‘OK, alright, cool!’”
The post eventually reached the NBA Today crew. As the younger Gansey held a Sheriff Woody doll in one hand, and a Buzz Lightyear doll in the other, he overheard the panel referring to him.
“Perk goes, ‘Gansey’s little brother posted this picture,’” Gansey said. “And I’m like, ‘Uh oh. Mike’s going to be [ticked].’”
Mike was not upset. The younger Gansey, who coached for 14 years (seven as head coach) in the NBA G League, asked if his brother wanted him to delete the photo. The Sixers executive said, “No dude, it’s cool.” But he certainly wasn’t as enthusiastic as Sixers fans.
“Mike is a very humble person,” Steve said. “He doesn’t like attention and all that. I just think it’s one of the coolest pictures, and it’s not just Mike and LeBron.
“There are some unbelievable basketball players in that Cleveland, Akron, northeast Ohio area. I’m glad they’re getting some love, too.”
Sixers president Mike Gansey (left) and NBA star LeBron James both played high school basketball in Ohio, where James beat out Gansey for Mr. Basketball Ohio in 2001.Tom Gralish and Charles Fox / Staff Photographers
Steve has long teased his brother about his run-in with the future Hall of Famer. When Mike was working in the Cleveland Cavaliers’ front office, his brother would joke that he’d make T-shirts with the photo printed on the front.
Mike’s response: “No. Do not do that.”
Steve also sent the photo to Koby Altman, Cleveland’s president of basketball operations, who worked closely with Gansey in the Cavaliers’ front office.
“Koby loved it,” Steve said. “He laughed. He said, ‘Oh I know, we’ve talked about it a couple times.’”
The truth is that James and Gansey never competed against each other on their high school teams. Olmsted Falls and St. Vincent-St. Mary were in different regions.
Olmsted Falls, which is on the west side of Cleveland, was grouped with schools in northwest Ohio, closer to Toledo. St. Vincent-St. Mary’s is south of Cleveland, and often played schools in the Akron-Canton area.
It is possible they overlapped playing AAU ball, but if they did, Steve didn’t hear about it. Coincidentally, the elder Gansey also played AAU ball against former Eagles and current Green Bay defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon, who is also from the Cleveland area.
“He went to St. Ignatius,” Steve said. “Mike battled him.”
Despite their lack of competitive overlap, James and Mike Gansey shared a mutual respect. Over the years, Gansey frequently referred to the future Hall of Famer as the “greatest of all time.”
And James thought highly of the future executive, too. One time, when Gansey was playing in Europe, and James was in the midst of his first stint with the Cavaliers, the two brothers went to a game at Quicken Loans Arena (now Rocket Arena).
Gansey knew some of Cleveland’s players, from training with them during the summer, and went down to the tunnel to say hello.
“And we were probably 100 feet from where LeBron and his people were talking,” Steve recalled. “Someone said, ‘Ganz is over there.’ And LeBron totally walked the opposite way of where he was going, and went to dap up Mike, to say, ‘What’s up, hey man, how you doing?’ Just a quick hello.
“It just shows you the respect. And I was like, ‘Man, Mike, he really walked 100 feet over here, and just dapped you, and walked directly right back. That’s pretty cool.’ And Mike’s like, ‘Yeah, yeah, he’s a great guy,’ and that was it. I’ll always remember that.”
Steve Gansey (left center) is the younger brother of Sixers executive Mike Gansey (right center).Courtesy of Steve Gansey
The Sixers president of basketball operations isn’t the type to brag about any of this, or even mention it. He has never been one for the limelight. His high school coach, Pat Donahue, described him as a team player, almost to a “fault.”
If anything, he was the opposite. There were times when Donahue would have to talk to Gansey, midgame, to encourage him to take more shots. Even in AAU, competing with players who were trying to get the attention of college schools, he was very much team-first.
“He very rarely came out and said, ‘OK, I’m gonna hit five threes in this game to try to get the coach from Duke to pay attention to me,’” said Donahue. “He was more, ‘Hey, I’ll pass to this guy,’ or ‘I’ll do this, I’ll get some rebounds and help the team win.’ And he’s always been that way.”
Despite the future executive’s selfless style of play, he finished his high school career with 1,909 points, which is still the boys’ basketball all-time record at Olmsted Falls. Donahue felt bad that his pupil wasn’t able to reach 2,000, and mentioned this to him after his senior season.
“I walked up to him and I said, ‘Mike, I’m sorry, 90 more points, or whatever it was,’” Donahue said. “‘I could have gotten you that by doing stuff for you.’ And he goes, ‘Coach. I don’t care. That doesn’t mean anything.’ And that’s just the way he is. It didn’t mean anything to him.”
Gansey’s professional basketball career was short-lived. He had a short stint in the D-League (now the G League) and played in Germany, Italy, and Spain for a few years. But that experience was not for naught.
Those who know Gansey best say he was quietly studying the players around him, through an entirely different lens. As his teammates thought about how to attack opponents, the future executive was pondering roster construction and player makeup.
Mike Gansey was hired as the Sixers’ president of basketball operations last month.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
When he reached the Cavaliers’ front office, he was well acquainted with the NBA. But that didn’t keep Gansey from his meticulous preparation. He would attend Summer League games with Donahue in Las Vegas, bringing a big notepad to scribble down thoughts during games.
“He’d be at every Summer League game, and he would sit there,” Donahue said, “and this is before he was the [general manager] of the Canton [G League] team. He would watch every summer league game. Every one.
“And he would sit there with his notebook, and he would just take notes about the players. I don’t even know how much say he had in what the Cavs did. He just wanted to be prepared.”
His little brother and the former Olmsted Falls coach say that in Gansey, the Sixers are getting a hardworking executive who keeps his head down but is aggressive, just like he was as a player.
And so far, his Philadelphia tenure is off to a promising start (with the exception of a Phillies mishap in June).
“Oh, he loves it,” Steve said. “He loves it. He loves the city, loves everyone embracing him. Mike felt really bad about that no-hitter he jinxed, but I joked with him, ‘I think you made up for it a little bit.’
“I mean, time will tell, but you got them off your back at least. So, that’s pretty impressive, even though you haven’t played any games yet.”
The World Cup, the PGA Championship, and the Major League Baseball All-Star Game, the most daunting events in this Summer of Sports Celebration, are finished here.
Philly is undefeated.
“This summer proved what we have always known: Philadelphia is built to host world-class events,” said Mayor Cherelle L. Parker. “Our city shined on the national and international stage.”
It was hot, and it was rainy, but hey, that’s Philly in July. At least the big three events didn’t have to deal with the current wildfire smog.
Think about it. So many things could have gone wrong.
There could have been embarrassing incidents involving the Department of Homeland Security, ICE, and other complications involving our suddenly inhospitable visitation policies in the United States.
“Worry number one was, with the influx of all of these people from all over the world into the city, making sure it was a peaceful experience for them,” said Dan Hilferty, the Flyers’ governor and CEO of Comcast Spectacor, who also served as co-chair of Philadelphia Soccer 2026 and is a Philly-area native.
Chairman & CEO of Comcast Spectacor and Governor of the Flyers Dan Hilferty said this summer’s local events gave him “real hope” in troubled times. Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
It was peaceful, Hilferty said, relieved.
“We live in troubled times, not only in America but around the world. Sports can be a soft diplomacy effort,” he said. “To see people come to our city and us, as Philadelphians, welcome them with open arms — people of different faiths, different races, different nationalities — commingling in a peaceful and exciting environment … I witnessed that. It gave me a real hope for a more friendly future.”
There could have been incidents on the streets of Philadelphia — crime or intimidation or boorishness — that would further entrench stereotypes about American cities, especially East Coast cities, and especially Philly. Nope.
There could have been incidents in the golf crowds, the soccer crowds, and the baseball crowds. Nope. Local cops, state police, and private security kept cool and kept everyone in line.
There could have been massive traffic problems, vociferous price gouging, public transportation disasters. On the whole, however, there was none of it. Hotels and short-term rental agencies offered reasonable options, some of them including public transportation vouchers in the rental price. Smart routing and parking rules kept cars at the sites flowing. And Philly subway rides stayed at $2.90 a pop while New York and New Jersey charged almost 10 times their normal fares. It might have taken a while to get onto the Broad Street Line after matches, but fans were patient, and the trains ran on time.
“SEPTA really stepped up big,” Hilferty said.
Philadelphia and its surrounding area, on the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, was glorious.
Aaron Rai’s PGA Championship triumph at Aronimink was worthy of celebration, as was the success of the event itself. Carolyn Kaster
Aronimink Golf Club stood strong as a major-championship venue, and, just as critically, Philly golf fans made the obnoxious New Yorkers at Shinnecock and Bethpage Black look bestial by comparison. Actually, there was no comparison: Philly golf fans once again proved to be the best in the country.
“The crowd had great energy.” That was from Scottie Scheffler, Texas native and Cowboys fan, who had been heckled mercilessly in his opening round. “It was all in good fun.”
The World Cup, the biggest event in Philly since the Sesquicentennial Exposition held 100 years ago, in which 10 teams played six games in a span of 21 days — including Iraq, a country with which the U.S. has a recent war history — held the largest possibility of calamity. There was none.
Philadelphia, its law enforcement, its public transport, its politicians, and, more than anything else, its businesses and residents, literally could not have acquitted themselves better. From the specially installed pitch at Lincoln Financial Field (renamed Philadelphia Stadium for the World Cup), to the neighborhood restaurants and bars, to the sites at the South Philly sports complex that accommodated visitors, to the Lemon Hill Fan Festival that sometimes had crowds of 50,000, all you heard were stories of camaraderie and welcome.
And, finally, this past week, MLB and the Phillies collaborated on five days of celebration capped by two nights of baseball magic that not only went off without a hitch but, really, incorporating the pomp and pageantry, were without compare. The key moment: The Sandlot interlude.
For five minutes after the fourth inning Tuesday, 10 kids joined 10 players on the field as fireworks exploded and Ray Charles sang “America the Beautiful” from the scoreboard screen, a tribute to a scene from the 1993 kids’ baseball movie The Sandlot. It even got to me, and I don’t like the movie or fireworks.
The game itself wasn’t great, but the Home Run Derby on Monday was superb. It was almost everything the Phillies could have wished for.
“Together, these were not simply successful events,” said Phillies CEO John Middleton, also a Philly-area native. “They were defining moments that elevated both Major League Baseball and the City of Philadelphia, leaving a legacy that will endure for years to come.”
The MLB All-Star Game was a culmination of the city’s summer of big events. Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
David Montgomery, the late Phillies CEO who dreamed of having Citizens Bank Park host the midsummer classic in the middle of this special summer, surely is smiling down from above.
It’s hard to overstate how unlikely it was that all of these events went off without an appreciable glitch. I’ve worked with the PGA of America, with FIFA, and with MLB. They are not particularly streamlined, seamless organizations. Combine the balkiness of those organizations and the history of glitches and missteps in Philadelphia’s past, there always was a chance that things might go haywire here this summer.
But between Pennsylvania’s state government, local municipalities and city governments — more than 40 entities in all — and the golf course, the baseball team, and the guy who runs the Flyers, anyone who watched or attended the big three events should know that the efforts on a local level cannot be credited too much.
“People came from across Philadelphia, our region, the nation, and the world, and, by every measure, they experienced the very best our city has to offer,” Mayor Parker said.
Now, as the World Cup final in North Jersey closes down these 10 weeks of spotlight — there will be one more watch party at Lemon Hill in Fairmount Park, 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday for the Spain-Argentina final — the folks in charge and the folks they represent can breathe sighs of relief and stick their chests out, proud of the concept, the planning, and the execution of a summertime run such as the region has never seen.
To be fair, incidents and accidents at other World Cup sites in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico were virtually nonexistent. But few venues faced the unique logistical and cultural challenges you get in Philadelphia.
The bigwigs made sure to monitor the situation.
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle L. Parker celebrated the city’s big events along with their constituents and visitors from all over the world. Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
Mayor Parker went to Lemon Hill and commingled with Mexico soccer fans. She, Gov. Josh Shapiro (a Montco native), and the owners kept running into each other at the various events, their attendance less choreographed appearances than invested fandom and stewardship. They wanted to make sure everything was OK.
Before the first World Cup match in Philadelphia, Hilferty and his wife, Joan, walked across the parking lot from his office at the Xfinity Mobile Arena to the Stateside Live! open-air bar. There, they saw Ecuador fans in yellow jerseys exchanging partisan chants with orange-clad Ivory Coast supporters — then exchanging cellphones so they could take pictures for each other.
Ivory Coast won the match. The fans shared drinks in the parking lot and subway rides home.
“After the first match,” Hilferty said, “I felt really good.”
NEW YORK — When Spain played France in the World Cup semifinals on Tuesday, there were 32 players on the field and 20 more across the respective benches.
At the final whistle, the reigning European champions had reminded the world that soccer is a team game. Spain didn’t just win 2-0; it delivered the most comprehensive performance of the tournament against the most prolific attacking team in the tournament field.
But before the game, the hype was about individuals, and for good reason: It was the first World Cup meeting of France’s Kylian Mbappé and Spain’s Lamine Yamal. For as many stars play in World Cups, there hadn’t been a semifinal matchup with that much individual sizzle in decades.
The framing was justified. And in a country that loves star power, it was a sign of how far this World Cup has broken through in America.
Lamine Yamal (left) battles France’s Kylian Mbappé in the FIFA World Cup semifinal match between the two teams on Wednesday.Tom Weller
Before Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo became the sport’s standard-bearers, the only men’s soccer players who’d really made it here were Pelé in the 1970s and David Beckham in the 2000s — the latter more for reasons off the field than on it.
Now Messi and Ronaldo aren’t the only household names. At least five more from beyond American shores have reached that level of notoriety before any American player: France’s Mbappé, Spain’s Yamal, England’s Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham, and Norway’s Erling Haaland.
As Messi gets set to face Yamal for the title on Sunday in the Meadowlands (3 p.m., Fox29, Telemundo 62), it’s worth taking a moment to step back and realize how that’s another sign of soccer’s growth here.
Falling for France
Mbappé was the closest to being a household name in the U.S. of the quintet. Thanks to his back-to-back World Cup final runs with France (including the 2018 title) and a big stage in the Champions League, both his national team and Paris Saint-Germain jerseys became big sellers in the U.S. At almost any youth soccer clinic you’d come across, even around Philadelphia, you’d almost certainly see a few kids with his shirt.
Kylian Mbappé celebrates scoring what proved to be France’s winning goal against Paraguay on July 4 in Philadelphia.David Maialetti / Staff Photographer
His status rose further when he moved to Spanish superpower Real Madrid in 2024. And when he arrived at the World Cup to captain the tournament’s most star-studded team, he was immediately a marquee attraction. Philadelphia saw that up close: He scored in both of France’s games here, including one of the tournament’s best goals against Iraq.
You could see that without even watching the France-Spain game itself. (And given how badly it went for him, Mbappé might prefer you didn’t.) All it took was being in the seating bowl when the video board showed him getting off France’s bus at the stadium. A massive roar went up from a crowd that had only just started to make its way in.
French journalists weren’t surprised, especially those who know American sports culture. A conversation on Radio France’s pregame show was an example: One of the analysts said Mbappé “isn’t just the symbol of the French team to America, he’s the symbol of all of France.”
Or take the scene a day earlier at France’s practice, in the lush surroundings of Southern Methodist University’s sports complex. Though the field was surrounded by covered fences, a cluster of kids still shouted Mbappé’s name in hope he’d stop by.
Alas, they couldn’t see how far away he was. But as he spoke about in Philadelphia before the France-Iraq game, he knows how big a deal he is here, and he likes it.
“The United States is a country that has a different culture from ours in Europe,” he said. “It’s true that I’ve always liked its culture, where ambition is limitless and where no one is afraid to say what they want to do and what they can do. It’s not like that everywhere, but it is here.”
So was his manager. Didier Deschamps saw often how popular Les Bleus are in the land of red, white, and blue.
“When we went out when we could, yes, I heard it, that we’re an enjoyable team,” he said that day in Dallas. “We’re enjoyable because we’ve won games, too. But even if the most important thing is results, with the attitudes, we’ve seen a lot of photos of the moments we’ve left camp, videos shared of the group interacting, and so on.”
And when French fans didn’t travel here in huge numbers, Americans packed the stands instead. Deschamps understood the bigger picture.
“It’s something that we appreciate, and all the better if it helps the development of soccer in the United States,” said Deschamps, one of only three men’s players to win the World Cup as a player (1998) and coach (2018). “We gain from the support of the public, which we obviously have in France, but to have it here in the United States too is something that we very much appreciate.”
France fans, whether from there or from here, in the stands for Les Bleus’ group game against Iraq in Philadelphia.Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer
He even drew a smile from the American media when he said: “I know that there are five major sports here, and soccer today hasn’t quite made it — apart from women’s soccer.”
Deschamps meant it in terms of trophies won, referring to a U.S. women’s team that won its last World Cup in France in 2019. But just as he was in the stands when the Americans beat the hosts in an all-time game, he has had a front-row seat to soccer’s wins in this summer’s sports popularity contest.
All but one of France’s games so far have drawn TV audiences of over 10 million viewers combined between Fox and Telemundo, led by just under 23 million for each of the semifinal and the July 4 quarterfinal in Philadelphia. Fox’s audience alone for the semifinal was just over 13 million — far bigger than the 8.8 million who watched the same channel’s broadcast of baseball’s All-Star Game a few hours later.
‘Well-known in Chattanooga’
Yamal entered this summer as the sport’s top young phenom, already a three-time La Liga winner with Barcelona and a European champion with Spain in 2024. Soccer fans knew about him when the World Cup kicked off, especially younger ones who play the sport’s video games — a huge entry point for kids — and follow him on Instagram.
Lamine Yamal signing autographs for kids at Spain’s World Cup base camp in Chattanooga, Tenn.Mike Stewart
A big sponsorship deal with Adidas meant Yamal was all over the company’s pretournament marketing, just as much as Messi, a longtime client of the apparel giant. A few days after Yamal scored his first World Cup goal, on June 21 vs. Saudi Arabia, Adidas constructed a huge cutout of him celebrating, and sent it parading on a barge in New York’s East River.
And was it Yamal’s idea or someone else’s that he wore a Yankees cap as he left the stadium on Tuesday? Whoever it was, you can be sure he knew where he was headed: to the Big Apple for Sunday’s title clash in the Meadowlands.
But he isn’t just known in New York. Or in Atlanta, where Adidas put up big billboards as Spain played two of its group games there.
“Soccer has given me the opportunity to be well-known in Chattanooga, for example, which is something very beautiful,” Yamal said of the Tennessee city where La Roja had its base camp. “I never could have imagined that I’d go out for a walk in a town in the United States and be recognized. So I value it a lot. I know where I come from, and each day I’m proud of what I’ve achieved.”
A few days after Lamine Yamal scored his first World Cup goal, Adidas stuck a huge cutout of him celebrating on a barge in New York’s East River.adidas
Kane and Bellingham’s status here is helped by being English. The former gained from the Premier League’s huge commercial presence here, as a legend of Tottenham Hotspur before moving to Germany’s Bayern Munich in 2023. He’s also a big NFL fan, which opened more American doors for him as the league grew its presence in London.
Bellingham took a different path. He played just one professional season in his home country before moving abroad, and it was at second-tier Birmingham City. Then he spent three years at Germany’s Borussia Dortmund, and Real Madrid bought him from there in 2023 for over $110 million.
You don’t go to the world’s most famous club for that kind of money unless you’re already a star or soon to become one. But for a long time, you couldn’t get the full status in England unless you played in the Premier League. As a result, Bellingham has sometimes been seen as a kind of outsider in his home country.
Over here, he is simply a star. Though the Premier League is the most popular European circuit in the U.S., Real Madrid is the most popular club team — as Philadelphia saw firsthand last summer. When Real played here last summer in the Club World Cup, there were a lot of Bellingham’s jerseys in the sellout crowd. Now, this summer has made him even bigger.
Harry Kane (left) and Jude Bellingham celebrate teaming up for one of England’s goals against Mexico, in a game that drew over 46 million TV viewers in the United States.Natacha Pisarenko
Haaland’s popularity, meanwhile, is mostly a product of the Premier League’s power. Not entirely, to be sure: His first spotlight came at Dortmund, including when the Bundesliga returned to action before other leagues amid the pandemic.
His fame skyrocketed after moving to Manchester City, where he has piled up 112 goals in 132 games and won two Premier League titles and a Champions League trophy. Combine that with the club being the Premier League’s dominant force for nearly a decade, and the odds are if you know someone with a City jersey, it has Haaland’s name on the back.
Until this summer, his resumé lacked one big line: playing at the World Cup. It is now filled in with style: seven goals in six games, leading Norway fans’ ‘Viking Row’ chant, and a love of American culture. He went to a western goods store in Dallas, posed for photos in a cowboy hat and boots, and left with a stuffed raccoon.
Finally, there’s Messi. Major League Soccer has made piles of money from his presence here, and stands to make piles more from his playing a World Cup final in America’s biggest market. Any remaining belief that Miami was a retirement destination vanished when he led Argentina’s stunning 2-1 comeback win over England in Atlanta.
“To see him reach a final like this, at his age, 39, is incredible,” Scaloni said. “He is history and legend, along with this entire group of players who have given us such wonderful years. Even though we might always believe an Argentine futbolista is capable of achieving greatness, actually doing it is incredibly difficult.”
There are days when it feels like MLS’s marketing team focuses on Messi too much. But a lot of people think the league actually hasn’t done enough to spotlight his presence (and Argentina and Inter Miami teammate Rodrigo de Paul) this summer.
That is for getting into later. For now, Messi will play a World Cup final in the country he has come to call home on Sunday, and he will face a player he has known for a long time.
How long? When Yamal was a baby, Messi played for Barcelona, as he did for many years. In 2007, the Yamal family won a raffle to have a photo shoot with Messi, organized by a local newspaper and UNICEF. Thus was Messi pictured holding a baby Yamal, and washing him in a bathtub.
One of the famous photos of Lionel Messi holding a baby Lamine Yamal in 2007.Joan Monfort
Sure, they couldn’t really have known each otherback then. But fans the world over hoped they’d someday see a Messi vs. Yamal game with real stakes.
Many fans hoped for it here in America, too, even as others hoped for England or France to make the final instead. Now it’s here, and the marquee at the Meadowlands is ready for a show.
The final game of what has been a World Cup to remember — particularly on the pitch — pits Spain against Argentina for arguably the greatest prize in all of sports.
But it will once again create a new chapter in the longstanding argument that South American soccer is on par, if not better than, European. Europe is widely regarded as the continent that is the class of the sport, despite Argentina’s dominance on the world stage, with many of its players being stars on the world’s best clubs.
When the two converge on the Meadowlands for Sunday’s finale (3 p.m., Fox29), it will mark the first time a European champion has played a South American champion in a World Cup final. Spain, winner of the 2024 European championships, hasn’t lost a match in any competition since June 2025, and features one of the world’s best players in 19-year-old sensation Lamine Yamal.
Lionel Messi (top, center) celebrates with his Argentine teammates at the end of the World Cup semifinal against England on Wednesday.Rebecca Blackwell
On the other side, you have an improbable run to the final led by 39-year-old Lionel Messi, the catalyst in three consecutive late winners to thrust Argentina, the reigning world champions, back into soccer’s biggest spotlight.
Oddsmakers have given the slight edge to Spain, which has been near-flawless down the stretch, highlighted by the absolute clinic they conveyed in their 2-0 win over France in Wednesday’s semifinal. But Argentina has shown fight to lift themselves to late victories against Cape Verde, Egypt, and England, the latter a pair of matches in which they trailed until the game’s final moments.
Analyzing both, The Inquirer’s team of soccer writers offer their predictions of which nation will be raising the FIFA World Cup Trophy after 90 minutes (or 120 minutes, plus penalties) ahead of Sunday’s final.
You can frame Argentina’s semifinal win over England in two ways. Either it was an all-time choke job by the Three Lions, or more proof of how Argentina’s mental force is like nothing else in the sport right now.
But there’s only one way to frame Spain’s win over France: total domination. While I don’t expect this game to go quite like that, I do expect La Roja to be ready for what Argentina will throw at them. And because of that, I expect the better team to prevail.
Prediction: Spain 2, Argentina 1
The Spanish national team hasn’t lost a match since June 2025, winning 17 matches in international competition since.Eric Gay
What a treat. The first 48-team World Cup may have lacked knockout-stage upsets, but it managed to produce the highest-quality semifinal round imaginable, which set up a meeting of two global giants in the final.
Spain has looked like a complete force of nature all tournament, aside from a draw in the group stage against Cape Verde. Its ability to move the ball and build through possession allowed it to smother France in the semifinal. If the Spanish can repeat that performance against Argentina, it may be too much for La Albiceleste to overcome.
But let’s not count out Messi’s magic quite yet. Argentina has rarely looked like a perfect side in this tournament, but in three of their four knockout stage games, the Argentines have managed to defy logic and reason to find a win when they need it most.
I think Spain is the better team, but who am I to pick against a team of destiny?
Prediction: Argentina 2, Spain 1 (after extra time)
Argentina’s Enzo Fernandez celebrates after scoring his side’s first goal during the World Cup semifinal against England. Fernandez was also the hero in the team’s quarterfinal win against Egypt. Rebecca Blackwell
Any way you choose to pore over this matchup, one thing continues to come back to the forefront: You can’t count out Argentina. One of the things Spain does exceptionally well is keep its shape defensively, forcing attacking teams to thread the needle in La Roja’s final third every time.
Even the best players in the world can’t sustain that type of perfection in their offensive play consistently to give Spain fits. That’s why it was so shocking that of all the teams that were able to crack the code, it was tiny Cape Verde in its first World Cup ever, as it kept Spain’s backline on its toes in addition to exhibiting one of the greatest defensive displays we’ve seen in the World Cup.
Coincidentally, Argentina just so happens to have the best player in the world at age 39 in Messi, who is surrounded by a supporting cast that has been equally solid. Argentina comes in waves, and it comes down to whether Spain can weather that storm defensively. We know Spain can since it did so against a high-powered French side that bullied its way to the semifinals.
The real question is: Can Argentina do it again?
Prediction: Spain 2, Argentina 2 (Spain wins in penalties, 5-3).
DraftKings, one of the nation’s biggest sports betting companies, is suing the city of Philadelphia in an effort to stop an investigation into the company.
The city is investigating whether DraftKings has violated the Philadelphia Consumer Protection Ordinance, a 2024 law designed to protect Philadelphians from deceptive business practices, according to the lawsuit and accompanying documents.
In response, DraftKings contends a state law, the Pennsylvania Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law, preempts the city‘s ordinance. The Boston-based company argues in the suit filed Thursday in federal court in Philadelphia that the city is trying to usurp the state’s authority through its investigation.
“DraftKings filed a lawsuit against the City of Philadelphia because we believe the City has acted beyond the scope of its authority on matters governed by state law and regulated by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board,” the company said in a statement. “DraftKings remains committed to operating responsibly and in full compliance with Pennsylvania law, and we look forward to addressing this issue through the legal process.”
The city declined to comment due to litigation being ongoing.
The legal sparring match comes as sports betting companies have come under fire locally in recent weeks due to tactics they’ve used to entice bettors to keep wagering money on their sites.
Last week, The Inquirer reported on a personalized video that FanDuel, another sports betting company, sent to a bettor featuring Phillies star Bryce Harper. A lawsuit filed by the nonprofit Public Health Advocacy Institute on behalf of that bettor and another alleges the Harper video is only one of a series of incentives sports betting companies offer to patrons to keep them hooked.
A subpoena attached to the DraftKings case shows the city requested a host of documentation from the company by May 24. That included requests for details on how much money Philadelphians have wagered in the past three years, how many Philadelphians have placed bets on DraftKings in the past three years, and what kinds of marketing materials have been used with Philadelphians.
It’s unclear what, if any, of the documentation DraftKings provided the city.
The city had no right to request such documents due to the state law superseding the city’s version, DraftKings said in its lawsuit. It’s now asking the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania to rule that the city overstepped and let DraftKings off the hook for complying with the subpoena.
On Friday, during a live taping of LeBron James’ The Shop talk show at Fanatics Fest, the four-time champion used some choice words while describing what team he would like to join next.
“I want to compete at a high level,” James said on stage at the Javits Center in New York City. “I want to join a franchise that kind of shares the same, you know, model as myself. And that’s like practicing championship habits every day, but trusting the process more than anything. I think you actually trust the process of actually getting to that point.”
Cheers from the festival’s crowd interrupted James’ thought after he said “trust the process” a second time — for good reason. The phrase, popularized by former 76ers general manager Sam Hinkie and later adopted by Sixers star Joel Embiid, has since become synonymous with the team. James, noticing what he said, quickly clarified his comments.
“I’ve been saying ‘to trust the process’ since I was drafted in like 2003,” James said. “I don’t even know if Embiid was even born yet.”
It seems that James’ “trust the process” comment was just a coincidence and not a hint toward his next team. Or was it?
On Thursday, during a live recording of James’ podcast Mind the Game, his co-host and Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton also seemed to not-so-subtly drop the Sixers in conversation. Haliburton asked James, “What are you going on, what is this … Year 76?”
James has not otherwise spoken about his free agency — and shut Haliburton down when he tried to broach the subject.
The idea of James joining the Sixers a few months ago seemed near-impossible. Today, a few weeks after the team’s blockbuster trade for former Celtics star Jaylen Brown, it is a genuine possibility that the all-time great wraps up his career in Philadelphia.
James’ agent and Klutch Sports head Rich Paul has already confirmed that the Sixers are a possible landing spot for his longtime client, and even had Bob Myers on his podcast, where the Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment president made his pitch. The Sixers front office has also made their interest public, with team president of basketball operations Mike Gansey telling The Inquirer on Tuesday that he would “love to have [James] in Philly.” Additionally, Embiid, Brown, and Tyrese Maxey, who has been pointed to as one of the main things attracting James to Philly, have already been in contact with the future Hall of Famer, per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.
With James’ “trust the process” comment, Sixers fans have gone full conspiracy mode on social media. Some are even celebrating as if it is confirmation James is headed to Philadelphia.
Friday marks 18 days since NBA free agency began. And James said on CNBC’s Boardroom on Thursday that “that he “won’t hold you guys up too much longer.” But some Sixers and NBA fans are fed up with James for taking so long to make a decision:
— Bracco | Social Sportsbook (@PlayBracco) July 17, 2026
Respect to Lebron for his career and legacy as a baller but it's obvious he is going to drag out this attention-fest as long as possible so I've just completely checked out mentally until the announcement is actually made. https://t.co/Bbdw7TqEqO
After posting a career-best season, the 24-year-old blueliner signed a four-year, $26 million extension on Friday with a $6.5 million average annual value to stay with the Flyers. According to a team source, the contract comes with very limited trade protections in the final two years, and per Puckpedia, it is a six-team no-trade list in Year 3 and a four-team no-trade list in Year 4.
Drysdale became a restricted free agent on July 1 and filed for salary arbitration July 5, two days after the Flyers tendered a five-year, $90 million offer sheet to Leo Carlsson that the Anaheim Ducks matched. Drysdale’s arbitration hearing was scheduled for Monday.
The signing comes two days after the Flyers inked Trevor Zegras to a four-year, $36.5 million contract. Drysdale is now the highest-paid defenseman on the Flyers in AAV. The core of Drysdale, Cam York, and Travis Sanheim is locked up for several seasons, with Sanheim signed through 2030-31 and York’s contract expiring at the same time as Drysdale’s, after the 2029-30 season. The final member of the top-four blueliners, Rasmus Ristolainen, is in the final year of his contract.
“I love it here,” Drysdale said on locker cleanout day. “I’ve made that very clear, kind of the second that I got here. Everyone’s treated me amazingly since I’ve gotten here.”
Acquired for Cutter Gauthier from the Anaheim Ducks in January 2024, alongside a second-round pick that the Flyers eventually used to select forward Jack Murtagh, Drysdale struggled early on to find his footing in Philadelphia. But there’s a reason why his teammates awarded the defenseman the Pelle Lindbergh Memorial Trophy in April as the team’s most improved player.
“We’re excited to have Jamie remain a key part of our organization for years to come,” Flyers general manager Danny Brière said in the team’s press release.
“Since we acquired him, Jamie has worked extremely hard and taken big steps in his development, and has established himself as a reliable piece on our back end with the ability to impact the game in all situations. We believe his best hockey is still ahead of him, and he’s going to play an important role in strengthening our blue line as we continue to build.”
After several injury-plagued seasons, Drysdale skated in 78 games this past season, missing three games due to an upper-body injury from a blindside hit in January and the last game of the regular season to rest. It was the most he’s played since skating in 81 during his second NHL season of 2021-22.
He averaged a career-high 21 minutes, 33 seconds per game, set a new mark in goals (eight), and tied his previous best in points (32). According to Natural Stat Trick, the Flyers had a 50.5% goal share with Drysdale on the ice.
“I think I took a few steps this year,” he said. “The biggest step, I think, was just confidence level. That might not be like an actual hockey thing, but I think just coming to the rink and believing that I was a good player and could make an impact. That was probably the biggest kind of shift for me. And I guess that kind of carries all over the ice.”
Maybe that confidence played a role in his biggest improvement: his plus-minus. It still isn’t in the positives, but it jumped from minus-32 in 2024-25 to minus-3 this season.
The Flyers believe defenseman Jamie Drysdale is just scratching the surface of his potential.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
“I saw some guys take a big step, Jamie, especially in the way that he defends,” Sanheim said at locker cleanout day. “It was awesome to see from my point of view, and the way that he may continue to get better and better with more minutes and harder competition. I’m excited to see where his game gets to as we move this thing along.”
In the first postseason action of his career, Drysdale posted two goals, tying him for the team lead with several players, and two assists. His goal in Game 1 against the Pittsburgh Penguins was the first playoff goal by a Flyer since Ivan Provorov’s overtime winner against the New York Islanders in Game 6 of the second round of the 2020 bubble.
But the blueliner knows that last season was just one chapter in his hockey story. He’s heading off for the summer to work on his game because, while happy with his season, he thinks he can bring a lot more to the table.
“I think just puck play, to be honest with you, that’s kind of the biggest thing,” he said when asked what he wants to improve on. “With that, obviously, shot, shooting it, things like that.
“And then, just hanging onto pucks, making more plays in the offensive zone. And I think that’s just something that I can work on, something that I will work on. Just taking guys on, maybe more one-on-one, things like that, just making more plays overall is the thing that I’ll focus on and lean into.”
So, thinking about going to MetLife Stadium for the World Cup final?
It’s easier coming from Philly than you might think. I know because I’ve taken the trip to New York/New Jersey Stadium (or MetLife Stadium as it’s customarily called) three times for matches between Brazil and Morocco, France against Senegal, and Norway’s quarterfinal win against Brazil.
Certainly learned a lot along the way. Each time felt very different from the first.
I took the public transit route to save some dough and avoid traffic: SEPTA’s Trenton line on Regional Rail from William H. Gray 30th Street Station, and thenthe NJ Transit Northeast Corridor line to Secaucus Junction.
Based on the gridlock I saw on the highways while riding the train — not to mention the cost of gas — this is the cheapest and most efficient way to travel from Philly to MetLife Stadium.
Just make sure you’re ready to get your steps in.
You’ll never know who you might run into once you’re at New York/New Jersey Stadium, kind of like when we stumbled upon soccer great Ronaldinho outside the main gates during the June 13 Brazil-Morocco match.Kerith Gabriel / Staff
Buy your tickets online
Purchasing your trip ahead of time is the way to go, and you can lock that in right now. I bought my train tickets 12 days before through the SEPTA and NJ Transit websites.
A round-trip ticket on SEPTA’s Trenton line on Regional Rail from Jefferson, Suburban, or 30th Street Station is $20. It’s $26 if you purchase on the train. Not only is it cheaper, but buying online allows you to skip the lines at the station.
NJ Transit round-trip tickets to Secaucus Junction are just $40.70 and available for purchase on the NJ Transit website. (It almost makes you feel fortunate you’re coming from Philly and not Penn Station, where tickets are upward of $100.)
The total cost for a trip to MetLife Stadium and back to Center City? Right around $60. For comparison, parking a car in Philly for World Cup games cost between $115-180, and reached $700 for an oversized vehicle.
Getting there
The beauty of taking the train out of the city is that Trenton is the last stop on the line, so no need to ask the conductor when it’s your stop; you’ll know, given that the whole train clears out.
Once you step off the train at Trenton, you’ll need to switch trains. Find the escalators that only go up to the main floor, and according to an NJ Transit ambassador at the station, Northeast Corridor local and express trains have left from a combination of either Track 1 or Track 2, which are located on the same platform.
When in doubt? Look at the big board, which will read New York-SEC (SEC for Secaucus). Secaucus Junction is one of the final station stops before New York Penn Station, so yes, you’re on the right train.
From there, it’s a straight shot to Secaucus. Getting on at Trenton means you’re the first stop on the line, so you’re sure to find a good seat.
Every stop was announced, and conductors shouted instructions to fans on how to navigate Secaucus upon arrival.
New Jersey is going to great lengths to get people over to matches at MetLife Stadium. If you do it by regional rail, Secaucus is going to be your final stop. Kerith Gabriel / Staff
You’ve arrived in Secaucus …
FIFA volunteers and NJ Transit ambassadors were stationed on the platform to answer questions and direct fans to the ground floor, where NJ Transit buses are ready to shuttle people to the stadium.
The shuttle fare? It’s included in your train ticket, and ambassadors will ask to see both your ticket to the match and your train ticket.
Also, with the snaking line to get to the shuttle, have that ticket ready to show so you’re not holding up the line. You’ll receive a wristband that allows you to board there and come back when the game is over. Don’t lose it.
Technically, you don’t have to worry about losing it, it’s one of those that will require something sharp or really skinny wrists to remove.
If you’re headed to the World Cup final, consider the train, but make sure ambassadors give you a bracelet so you can get back on the train.Kerith Gabriel / Staff
Shuttles run continuously up to an hour before the match. After that, there’s a final courtesy train that makes a run over to MetLife for any remaining passengers. There’s no parking at MetLife, so if you miss that, a ride share is your best bet.
Heading back
Outside MetLife, there are giant purple signs that direct fans looking for shuttle buses. If you get turned around after exiting the stadium, walk toward American Dream, the concert venue adjacent to the stadium. You’ll see the massive bus terminal that shuttles fans back to Secaucus Junction.
You’ll need to show your NJ Transit wristband to ambassadors and some police. Then you’ll board a bus back to Secaucus. The ride will take about 15 minutes, depending on traffic. Then you’re on your way back to Philly, where you’ll have earned bragging rights for your cheap and efficient travel to the world’s grandest sporting event. Enjoy.
The Union don’t often pull off surprises, but Kai Wagner’s return to the club definitely counts as one.
Why did the left back want to come back here, after finally getting the move to Europe he’d dreamed of for years? And why did a Union organization that defines itself on the development of young prospects want to pay a $4 million transfer fee to re-sign a 29-year-old who had those wandering eyes in multiple offseasons?
The answer, according to multiple sources, is that both sides had stayed in touch after his departure — and they had some things to admit.
On the player’s side, Wagner’s family started missing life off the field here, and notably hadn’t sold their home in South Jersey. On the team’s side, being in last place in Major League Soccer when the World Cup break arrived (1-10-4, 7 points) set some alarms ringing.
Welcome back, Kai 💙💛
Philadelphia Union acquire defender Kai Wagner via transfer from Birmingham City F.C.
“Through our conversations with Kai, we know what his motivations are, and what he wants to achieve with us,” sporting director Jon Scheer told The Inquirer. “That’s given us a lot of confidence that this is the right decision.”
Now the race is on to save the season, which is doable with 19 games left.
“I would say we need more at that position, in terms of some positional characteristics,” Scheer said. “This is not against any one individual, but I think if you look at the way our attacks are coming, there are limitations if you’re not naturally left-footed, particularly at this position.”
As sincere as he was about “any one individual,” it was still about a few of them. Philippe Ndinga, whom the Union signed as Wagner’s replacement, and Frankie Westfield are both right-footed. Ndinga hasn’t delivered as hoped, and Westfield has had some injuries. That led now-former manager Bradley Carnell to shoehorn attacking midfielder Ben Bender in a few times.
Philippe Ndinga (right) was signed to be the Union’s new left back, but hasn’t earned the starting job.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
The Union have also missed Wagner’s set-piece deliveries, though the unusually bad execution this season has been a teamwide problem.
‘A club that wants to win’
But the most striking thing was where Scheer went next.
“I would also say that for our group in general, I think we need character, we need mentality,” he said. “And I would say, having kept in touch with Kai, you could tell how much he wants this club to be successful and win. That was something to me that was the most important, more than anything in terms of what he can produce on the field.”
Those words were different from Scheer’s usual ones. He’s the face of a front office that wants the Union to be a “development club,” as he has said many times since taking the helm — first as interim when Ernst Tanner was suspended, then full-time when the suspension ended and Tanner didn’t get the job back.
Union sporting director Jon Scheer.Alejandro A. Alvarez / Staff Photographer
There’s a promising left back prospect in 17-year-old Jordan Griffin, for example. He has played a lot for the Union’s reserves this season. Would a purely developmental club have promoted him instead of bringing back someone from the past at a considerable cost?
This was put to Scheer, and he was not surprised.
“We are a club that wants to win,” he said. “We are a development club, and that’s our vehicle, we feel, to win — and that’s not just homegrowns, but that’s any player that we sign. So, yes, while this is a move that is not always ‘on brand’ for us, I would say that the starting point is what will give us the best chance to be successful and to win.”
“We feel like our young players can learn a lot from veteran players that still have the ability to improve and get better by seeing their habits, by seeing their quality,” Scheer continued. “I think right now, with where our club is, we knew going into this window what those ingredients were that we needed to look for in terms of positions, but also in terms of some of the intangibles that we’ve been talking about.”
Jon Scheer (right) with Union principal owner Jay Sugarman at the news conference where Scheer was confirmed as the full-time sporting director.Alejandro A. Alvarez / Staff Photographer
How will the Union look now?
The $4 million transfer fee isn’t much by MLS standards, but it’s among the bigger ones the Union have stumped up. It’s also more than the $2.5 million they got from Birmingham City in the first place.
That’s another odd look. Wagner wanting out should have given the Union some leverage on the price tag. But Birmingham didn’t want to give him up, having signed him there until the summer of 2028. So the Blues held firm, and the Union were ready for that.
The size of the fee means Wagner is a Designated Player for the rest of this year. His salary won’t make him one, and he might not be one next year, but transfer fees count toward the status. So he is for now. He also got a new contract that’s guaranteed until the summer of 2029, with a team option for the 2029-30 season.
We’ll see if he jumps straight into the starting lineup when the season resumes Wednesday with Red Bull New York’s visit to Subaru Park (7:30 p.m., Apple TV). That game will also give us a first glimpse of how interim manager Ryan Richter wants to play, and how different it is from Carnell’s 4-2-2-2.
Ryan Richter is the Union’s interim manager in the wake of Bradley Carnell’s dismissal.Jonathan Tannenwald / Staff
Scheer said Richter has latitude to be flexible.
“I would say that what formation and shape we play is not as important and significant as the game model itself, and our principles,” he said. “We want to be aggressive, we want to be ball-oriented, we want to be forward-first in our approach in all phases. The shape in which we play more than likely at times will still look like a 4-2-2-2, but Ryan has flexibility, as does the staff, to press out of a different shape, to attack out of a different shape.”
He added that there is an expectation to stick with two strikers, “because this is something that we’ve scouted and recruited for over a period of time now for quite a few years.”
Milan Iloski and the Union entered MLS’s World Cup break with the league’s worst record.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
That means there still won’t be traditional wingers, a philosophy Tanner first implemented. It makes the outside backs especially important, even though the 4-2-2-2 lets the attacking midfielders move wider than the previous diamond-shaped 4-4-2’s central midfielders could.
“Finding Cavan [Sullivan], Quinn [Sullivan], Agustín [Anello], these types of players in 1-v-1 situations a little bit wider, is a little bit more apparent in a 4-2-2-2,” Scheer said. “But yes, we don’t play with pure wingers, and I don’t see that changing in the near future.”
