In a Rock Hill, S.C., restaurant last Wednesday night, during a recruiting road trip to the Nike 100 Camp, Ashley Howard locked his eyes on a television above the bar, enthralled by the most dramatic comeback in NBA Finals history, his mind recalling a more modest rally from nine years earlier.
Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, Mikal Bridges, and the New York Knicks kept chopping into that 29-point San Antonio Spurs lead. Madison Square Garden kept getting louder. And as Game 4 slowly shifted from a series-tying rout to the surest sign that three former Villanova stars would soon bring about the end of a 53-year championship drought, Howard remembered a college basketball game from January 2017, from the season between ’Nova’s ‘16 and ‘18 national championships.
An assistant under Jay Wright then, an assistant under Kevin Willard now, Howard reminisced with the friend sitting next to him — former Villanova head coach Kyle Neptune, now an assistant with the Charlotte Hornets — about a 61-59 Wildcats victory over Virginia. Villanova had trailed that day by 12 points with less than 10 minutes to go, an imposing deficit given how Tony Bennett’s Cavaliers teams could slow a game to a crawl. But Hart and Brunson had pulled ‘Nova back from the brink, and Donte DiVincenzo had tipped in an off-target Hart layup at the buzzer, and Howard saw the residue of that win in OG Anunoby’s soaring-eagle tip-in and the Knicks’ 107-106 stunner in Game 4. In Brunson’s 45-point masterpiece Saturday night in the clinching Game 5. In the title run of a team that was smarter, tougher, and tighter than every other in the NBA playoffs.
“After winning the first national championship, every game these guys played together in ‘17 was the biggest game for whoever they played,” Howard said in a phone interview. “They have everything to lose, and their opponent doesn’t. There’s a different type of mental toughness and mental fortitude you have to have to not only play under that pressure but answer the call in those moments.
“Now they’re all back together, and it’s almost like déjà vu where that Villanova connection is back. The other pieces are different. The coaches are different. But when you look at that Knicks team, you say, ‘Yo, those dudes are playing Villanova basketball.’ It’s really all about how they play hard. They compete for the entire game. They never, never quit. They play unselfishly, and you can tell that they love each other. That just makes my chest stick out as wide as all outside.”
Josh Hart (right) won the 2016 national title with the Wildcats.Charles Fox / Staff Photographer
Howard was at the nexus of the origin of the ‘Nova Knicks, and the irony of his role in that story is that he, with such deep Philadelphia hoops roots, had left town when he made his first connections with Brunson, Hart, and Bridges. A standout guard at Monsignor Bonner and Drexel, he was climbing the college coaching ladder — first four years at La Salle, then four back at Drexel — when in 2013 he accepted the chance to assist Chris Mack at Xavier. It was a more highly regarded mid-major, a better shot to jump to a bigger program, and in that one year he spent in Cincinnati, Howard recruited that trio before reuniting with them again at Villanova.
In Hart, Howard saw a relentless and tenacious guard who pulled down as many as 25 rebounds in games at Sidwell Friends in Washington and for his AAU club, Team Takeover. He also met a low-maintenance kid who, when Howard coaxed him to Xavier for an on-campus, didn’t need a fancy dinner at an exclusive restaurant. No, when Howard offered to buy him lunch, Hart instead was desperate for a sack of double-cheese sliders from White Castle. “Shows what a freak of nature he is,” Howard said.
Bridges’ and Brunson’s recruitments were more personal for Howard, starting at Xavier and continuing after he joined Wright’s staff at ’Nova. Howard was friendly with Bridges’ cousin Bernard Tyler, who forwarded him a video of the kid’s highlights from Great Valley High School and Team Final, one clip after another of Bridges cutting to the basket and creating shots within Great Valley’s motion offense, with an enticing text: This is the next one. Make sure you get this dude. And Howard could only chuckle when Mack called him one day after attending a high school holiday tournament in Chicago and asked him, Hey, Ash, do you know Rick Brunson? His kid is really good.
“Reached out to Rick,” Howard said. “We caught up, and I jumped on Jalen from that point on.”
There’s a chicken-or-egg aspect to the greatness that Wright’s program achieved during that stretch in the mid-2010s and to the qualities that Brunson, Bridges, and Hart developed there and still carry with them. Would these players, because of their inherent strengths, have thrived in other programs? Or did they need to learn under Wright and his staff and his culture? A dash of both, of course, and the conditions and choices that led to their flourishing at Villanova — and to those two national championships — aren’t likely to be duplicated in college basketball’s current era of status seeking and coin chasing.
Mikal Bridges was on both the 2016 and 2018 Villanova championship teams.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
Bridges went to Wright and Howard and suggested that he redshirt as a freshman, that he sit out an entire season for the sake of his growth as a player and person. Hart started just three games over his freshman and sophomore seasons, could have transferred out of frustration and a search for more playing time, and didn’t. Brunson as a freshman took a secondary role alongside Ryan Arcidiacono, then ran the Wildcats’ show for two years before entering the NBA draft. Good luck being so patient in developing players and building a program now.
“It was a period of time where you could build off your failure and mistakes and learn from them collectively,” Howard said. “You could develop young people over a course of time and nurture and appreciate the process. … All these guys in their own way trusted us and allowed us to push them to limits. Parts of their experience at Villanova, man, it was tough, but they allowed us to make them uncomfortable.”
It was the perfect preparation for these playoffs, for these NBA Finals, for a remarkable run capped when Brunson took control of Game 5, when the sub-6-foot guard with the impeccable footwork, with the endless array of head fakes and midrange shots, with the glorious old man’s game was once again the coolest customer on the court.
“You could see the Spurs getting tight,” Howard said, “and you could see Jalen saying, ‘Yo, get me the ball. I’m gonna make these plays.’ Me being around J, it’s like, ‘Here he comes. It’s on.’ When the stakes get high, that dude is coming.”
It had been 53 years, long enough for any franchise and its fans to wait for that kind of ride, and all it took was something Ashley Howard and everyone at Villanova had seen a million times before. All it took was Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, and Mikal Bridges doing what they’ve always done.
MILWAUKEE — In the midst of it all, as Bernie Brewer barreled down his slide and another sold-out crowd roared, Cristopher Sánchez bowed his head.
It turns out the Phillies’ ace is fallible after all.
Who knew?
One out from escaping the fourth inning here Sunday, two days after Brewers rival Jacob Misiorowski pitched the best game in baseball this season, Sánchez gave up a backbreaking three-run homer to .113-hitting Blake Perkins on a slider, his third-best pitch.
That’s one way to beat Sánchez. Here’s another: Start a left-hander against the Phillies, held to three hits by Kyle Harrison and four overall in a rubber-game 4-0 loss to the powerhouse Brewers.
“Everything was off today, especially my energy,” Sánchez said through a team interpreter. “I’d say it wasn’t as it usually is. But not to use it as an excuse.”
Hmm. That’s odd. It was one of those measuring-stick series — for the Phillies against a National League heavyweight, and for Sánchez in the middle rounds of what’s shaping up as a Cy Young Award fight with Misiorowski, who submitted a one-hit, 15-strikeout shutout Friday night.
Why, then, the low energy?
“I didn’t have the best sleep last night,” Sánchez said. “I think it’s only that. But no excuses again.”
OK, so the Cy Young race won’t be decided in June. But after permitting a total of five runs and one homer in 59⅔ innings over his previous eight starts, Sánchez gave up four runs and two homers against the Brewers, hiking his ERA from 1.54 to 1.82.
(Misiorowski leads the majors with a 1.34 mark.)
“A little bit uncharacteristic,” interim manager Don Mattingly said. “Just velo was down a touch, and with that, it gives [the hitter] a little more time up there. Other than that, you take the homer away, just a breaking ball there, even when it doesn’t look like he has his best stuff, he’s still hanging in there.”
Oh, about that breaking pitch. Sánchez has baseball’s best changeup and a bowling-ball sinker. But Rafael Marchán called for a slider in a 1-0 count to Perkins. Marchán, who left the game in the eighth inning and was going through concussion protocol, was catching Sánchez for only the third time this season.
Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Derek Hill (49) and Edmundo Sosa, right, field a double hit by Milwaukee Brewers’ Blake Perkins during the sixth inning of a baseball game Sunday, June 14, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Kayla Wolf)Kayla Wolf / AP
“I felt good with calling that pitch at that moment,” Sánchez said. “It just stayed in the middle. I hung it. But at the moment that we called it, I felt good with it.”
Said Mattingly: “I never question what pitch he’s throwing or picking. They’re all good. It’s just a ball that he kind of left up. He tried almost like a get-me-over-breaking-ball, and the guy hit it.”
The Phillies didn’t do much hitting against the Brewers’ top starters. Misiorowski and Harrison bookended the series by allowing a total of four hits in 15 scoreless innings.
Harrison became the latest left-handed pitcher to mute the Phillies’ bats. Three of their seven shutouts this season have come against left-handed starters.
Trea Turner, in particular, continued to struggle. The star shortstop went 1-for-13 with six strikeouts in the series — 3-for-26 with 10 strikeouts overall on the road trip.
For the season, he’s batting .219 with a .599 OPS.
“Definitely frustrated,” Turner said. “It feels like I’m just missing every pitch I could possibly miss no matter what I try, approach-wise, physically, mentally. It feels like it’s just not getting the job done.
“I feel like the last two or three weeks I’ve been getting pitched really well, and then this series, finally I felt like I got some pitches to hit in the middle of the zone and just fouled them all off. So, that’s what I’m most frustrated with.”
Philadelphia Phillies designated hitter Kyle Schwarber pops out with a broken bat during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers, Sunday, June 14, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Kayla Wolf)Kayla Wolf / AP
Would it help if the Phillies dropped Turner from the No. 2 spot in the order to relieve some pressure?
“I haven’t really thought about moving him at all,” Mattingly said. “I don’t really know what the answer to moving him down is. Somebody’s going to have to hit there. Not sure who that would be right now.”
Onward, then. The Phillies are 38-33, 29-14 under Mattingly, but only 3-9 against the Brewers, Dodgers, and Braves, the cream of the NL crop.
As measuring sticks go, the Phillies surely must have learned something from three days in Milwaukee?
“I don’t think we played our best,” Turner said. “To come out with a win, I think, is kind of a positive outlook at it. I think we all think we could’ve played a lot better in all three games, but that’s what happens if you don’t show up against these good teams. They beat you.”
LONG POND, Pa. — Almost 20 years ago, when NASCAR driver Michael McDowell was coming through the racing ranks as a young driver, he first encountered Pocono Raceway as part of the ARCA Series.
The race, which he won by passing Jeremy Clements with about a half-mile left in the 2½-mile track, helped grow McDowell’s recognition as a young driver and made him an early fan favorite when, a year later in 2008, he returned to the track as part of NASCAR’s Cup Series.
“For whatever reason — as the new guy, no one really knows who you are — but here I had sort of like a following, and I had fans, and it was my first experience having real fans, because I remember walking out for qualifying, you walk that fence line as you’re going out to the grid, and I must have stopped for like 15 or 20 minutes signing autographs,” McDowell told The Inquirer in his car hauler at Pocono on Saturday. “I was like, ‘Oh, this is cool.’
“Most of the time people don’t know who you are that first year, especially because I was really a newcomer, and [one] that nobody saw — I didn’t run the [formerly named] Xfinity series or truck series. I’ve always had a really solid fan base here, which is really interesting, because other than that ARCA win, I don’t know what would have caused that. … Pocono is one of the best ones for me, as far as fan interaction.”
Every year since 1974, NASCAR has descended on the “Tricky Triangle” tucked away in the Pocono Mountains, and though it’s no longer a biannual racetrack, fans still come in droves.
Denny Hamlin, who won the pole for the Great American Getaway 400 race during qualifying on Saturday, won his third consecutive race and eighth overall at Pocono, extending his record at the track during Sunday’s Cup Series race.
NASCAR’s Cup series Denny Hamlin comes in the pit row during qualifications on add Pocono Raceway, Saturday, June 13, 2026Steven M. Falk / For The Inquirer
For the fourth straight year, Pocono Raceway was sold out, with a record-setting 115,000 people coming through the racetrack across the three-day weekend, Gov. Josh Shapiro said Sunday. Drivers, fans, and the sport’s leadership executives laud the “family atmosphere” of the track and its grounds, which features more than 1,000 acres of land. It’s part of the reason why Pocono has been voted No. 1 by NASCAR fans for three years running, according to USA Today.
“We want everybody to feel like family, want everybody to feel welcome. We want nobody to go hungry. We want everybody to have a good time,” Pocono CEO Nick Igdalsky told The Inquirer recently. “We know people are spending hard-earned money to come here. This may be their only vacation or trip of the year.”
Added Hamlin after his win Sunday: “When I see my career highlights [on my social media algorithm] … there’s so many Pocono memories, like it’s replaying Pocono wins, or when I put somebody in the wall for a win, or something like that. It’s always been part of my highlight reel, and like it’d be so cool to, [in] my last year, whenever that is, I guess next year, win [at Pocono] my first year and win it my last year, that would be pretty cool.”
‘It’s a party’
Pete Lanzilotta, a man affectionately known around the racetrack as “Pocono Pete,” has made the trip to Long Pond annually since 1999. For the last 25 years, excluding the fan-less 2020 Pocono races due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Pocono Pete and his group of friends have camped out on the track’s infield.
They each have a specific role they play during the trip — from entertainment to food to a communication director — and they’ve returned to the same camping spot, located between turns 2 and 3 on the track.
Pocono Pete (center, sitting down) with his friends and camping neighbors at Pocono Raceway on Saturday.Devin Jackson
“It’s a party,” Lanzilotta said. “It’s the cars, it’s the racing. These are true NASCAR fans. People that do [camping like] this are dedicated … you ask somebody [on the] infield about one of the cars, and this or that, they’re going to know everything, especially about their favorite drivers, favorite teams.
“Nobody leaves here Sunday, because they’re drinking. Everybody leaves Monday. That’s always been a rule.”
Pocono Pete, in the early 2000s, would make the trip from Long Island. He now lives in North Carolina, and flew up this weekend to meet his friend, Scott. The pair have traveled to other racetracks, like Martinsville Speedway in Virginia, Darlington (S.C.) Raceway, Dover (Del.) Motor Speedway, and others — but at Pocono, “it’s very rare to see everybody doesn’t get along.”
“As much as we don’t know these people all year long, you become part of their family for that weekend, one big family for the weekend. They share food around here,” said Mike, the group of friends’ entertainment director who did not wish to share his last name.
Added Pocono Pete: “We’ve always had so much fun here. We look forward to it every year. Every year gets bigger and better, and we all believe that [Pocono Raceway president] Ben May and the whole team are doing a great job.”
Fans watch NASCAR’s O’Reilly Auto Parts series at Pocono Raceway on Saturday.Steven M. Falk / For The Inquirer
‘Lifelong memories’
Part of Pocono’s charm may be rooted in its motto, which Igdalsky says they treat like a mission statement. It includes words like “exciting experiences,” “lifelong memories,” and, perhaps most notably, “beautiful and sustainable.” And it’s for the whole family.
Since fans were welcomed back post-pandemic, the racetrack has expanded to add 1,000 camping spots, which puts the total at about 3,400. It’s also added grandstands on the infield, and amenities like a dog park and a playground for kids.
All of that comes with access to NASCAR drivers that “you wouldn’t be able to do at other places.”
“[We] highly encourage families to try Pocono for the first time with the kids free program — two adults can bring 6 to 8 kids for under 100 bucks,” said Igdalsky. “You’re not going to find that in any professional sports venue in the country. … [You have] the experiences you have at Pocono with the kids’ zones, with the autograph sessions, with being able to get on the track and sign the track and walk the track.”
And although it’s about 100 miles away from the city, you might just get an authentic Philly fan experience.
NASCAR CEO Steve O’Donnell has some personal experience there. Early in his career, when he worked in marketing for the sport in the late 1990s, he handed out hats to the winning drivers in victory lane.
O’Donnell, a New Jersey native, remembers one year in particular where fans at Pocono Raceway took exception to Jeff Gordon winning yet another race at the track. Gordon won at least one of the two yearly races from 1996-98.
“I remember there was maybe two or three floors above you. A couple die-hard fans, who maybe weren’t Jeff Gordon fans at the time, poured beer down on Jeff, wanting to see a new winner. But it just shows the passion of the fans. They were into it,” O’Donnell recalled. “It was probably the hardest victory lane I ever worked, just because it was packed, just the passion of the fans. Everyone wanted to be in there and be near the car, so I just love the track … It’s one big family atmosphere at the racetrack with people just having a ton of fun with a lot of different things you can do.”
For drivers like McDowell, who has five kids with his wife, Jami, the racetrack’s amenities, the nearby water parks and the lodging location relative to the racetrack creates a “fun experience” for his family.
“Early on in my career, I drove the motorhome to a lot of the races with my wife and I, and our son at the time, and we kind of went from track to track, and this was always a great place to come up to, and we’d make a trip out of it, and go sightseeing or hiking or fishing, and kind of make the trek around this area,” said McDowell, who finished 17th on Sunday. “ … [We have] lot of great memories here and it’s just a super nice area, lots to do, whether it’s water parks or just getting out of the South heat is always nice.”
VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Nestory Irankunda and Connor Metcalfe scored and Australia spoiled Turkey’s return to the World Cup for the first time in 24 years with a 2-0 victory on Saturday night.
Goalkeeper Patrick Beach made eight saves for the Socceroos in their group opener as FIFA President Gianni Infantino looked on. Australia was playing in its sixth straight World Cup and seventh overall.
Turkey reached the semifinals of the 2002 World Cup but then missed five straight tournaments before qualifying this year by beating Kosovo in a playoff.
Irankunda broke through for the Socceroos in the 27th minute with a low shot while pursued by three defenders. It came less than a minute after the first-half hydration break.
Irankunda celebrated by punching the corner flag in a tribute to Australian soccer legend Tim Cahill. The 20-year-old who plays for Watford is the Socceroo’s youngest-ever goal scorer at a World Cup.
Minutes later Beach stopped Abdulkerim Bardakcı’s blast from distance. Beach started in goal for the Socceroos rather than experienced counterpart Matthew Ryan in a surprise decision from coach Tony Popovic.
Irankunda said the Socceroos took issue with comments Turkey captain Hakan Calhanoglu made a day before the match, proclaiming that his side had “more qualities and a more talented team.”
“Yeah, it was extra motivation,” Irankunda said. “Obviously we don’t like people to talk bad about us because we’re a great team. People underestimate us.”
¡LOS 'SOCCEROOS' DEBUTAN EN PLAN DOMINANTE!
Australia superó de manera sorpresiva a Turquía, quien no pudo descifrar el cerrojo del seleccionado australiano.
— Telemundo Deportes (@TelemundoSports) June 14, 2026
Kenan Yildiz, a 21-year-old who plays for Juventus, was not in the starting lineup but subbed in for Turkey at half-time.
Turkey had a dangerous free kick in the 57th minute, but Arda Güler’s attempt was saved by Beach. Güler, a talented 21-year-old attacking midfielder who plays for Real Madrid, was not yet born the last time Turkey played in the World Cup.
Connor Metcalfe capitalized on Ismail Yüksek’s turnover in the 75th minute to double the Socceroos’ lead. The Socceroos fell to France in the opener in Qatar but then beat Tunisia and Denmark in their group before getting knocked out by eventual champion Argentina in the round of 16.
Turkey maintained 72% of possession during the match and outshot the Socceroos 30-9, but couldn’t manage to score.
Australian fans celebrate their team’s opening goal during the World Cup Group D soccer match against Turkey, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Saturday, June 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Emma Peterson)Emma Peterson
“I respect Australia very much. I was expecting that they would play in this way,” said Turkey coach Vincenzo Montella, who took the team to the quarterfinals of the European championships in 2024. “This is football. As for the critics, nobody has underestimated Australia, actually.”
It is the third World Cup appearance for the Turks, who reached the tournament for the first time in 1954.
The teams are in Group D with the United States and Paraguay. The Americans downed Paraguay 4-1 in their group opener on Friday in Los Angeles.
The U.S. is atop its group on goal difference over Australia, ahead of the teams’ matchup in Seattle (3 p.m., Fox29, Telemundo 62). The game was already widely-anticipated by U.S. fans, and now is even more so.
MILWAUKEE — Justin Crawford has started once against a non-opener lefty since Don Mattingly began managing the Phillies, so let’s not call it anything other than what it is.
“We’re pretty much platooning him,” Mattingly said.
That wasn’t the plan when the season opened, except that Crawford, a left-handed hitter, is 4-for-28 (.143) with three walks and no extra-base hits against lefties. And so, the Phillies changed their plan for the 22-year-old rookie center fielder.
But in relegating Crawford from an everyday role, a familiar chicken-or-egg question has resurfaced. What comes first for a young left-handed hitter: Producing against left-handed pitchers or facing them?
The Phillies went through this with Brandon Marsh after trading for him at the deadline in 2022. Kyle Schwarber dealt with it early in his career with the Cubs. Mattingly even sat against lefties as a rookie with the Yankees in 1983 before becoming Donnie Baseball.
For them, and other left-handed hitters who eventually solve lefties, it’s a rite of passage. For many others, it becomes a more permanent condition, especially if they don’t eventually get more at-bats against lefties.
Phillies center fielder Justin Crawford bats the Chicago White Sox on Sunday.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
And Mattingly, as much as anyone, is aware of the two edges of that particular sword.
“I kind of rely on my own history because when I first came up, I platooned, and it wasn’t a terrible thing for me,” he said. “I probably would’ve struggled with the lefties. [Crawford]’s a guy that I think is going to hit lefties. But the amount of lefties we see, we don’t see a ton. So, it’s days where he can step back and keep working on his swing.”
Besides, it’s not like Crawford is exactly teeing off on righties. He went 15-for-44 (.341) with four doubles, one triple, and an .885 OPS in his first 14 games. The league adjusted to him, and Crawford hasn’t adjusted back, going 29-for-150 (.193) with a .528 OPS in his last 50 games.
Crawford was a polarizing prospect due to his extreme tendency to hit ground balls. Sure enough, among 253 hitters with at least 150 plate appearances, he has the second-highest ground-ball rate (59.6%).
“There’s been ups and there’s been downs, but we knew that was going to happen with him,” president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said. “He has somewhat of an unusual swing. We knew that all along. Kind of sprays the ball all over the place. He’s working through it.
“He started off a little bit quickly, but lately it’s been a little bit more of a struggle. But he keeps working, and we think he’ll work his way through it.”
Justin Crawford reacts after he’s called out following an ABS challenge last month.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
Maybe. For now, though, it will have to happen against primarily right-handed starting pitchers.
“When you’re on that side of the platoon, you’re getting between 450 and 500 at-bats, so you’re playing regular,” Mattingly said. “I don’t think it’s something that sets him back. It will set him back a little bit from my standpoint of dealing with lefties.
“But this is more about him having success, giving him the best chance, and then let him grow into the lefties.”
Not out of left field
Edmundo Sosa remains a work-in-progress left fielder. But making only his seventh start of the season there Saturday night, he made a diving catch — and replaced a sizable divot — in the fifth inning.
— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) June 14, 2026
“I’d say like, in general, he’s an infielder who we’re kind of getting more and more time out there in left, and he hasn’t hurt us, right?” Mattingly said. “He’s caught everything he should have caught. He’s made some nice plays. He throws the ball where he’s supposed to throw it. So, he’s been solid for us.”
Sosa started again in left field against another lefty, the Brewers’ Kyle Harrison, in Sunday’s series finale here. In the outfield alignment against lefties, the Phillies prefer moving Marsh to right field and using newly acquired Derek Hill in center.
(Marsh plays left field, with Crawford in center against righties. Gabriel Rincones Jr., recalled from triple A on Friday, will take over in right field for injured Adolis García.)
The Phillies are expected to explore trading for a righty-hitting outfielder before the Aug. 3 deadline, especially after losing García to a torn lat muscle near his right shoulder. The Phillies are lining up additional medical opinions before García elects season-ending surgery.
“It’s an important one for him and his career,” Mattingly said. “So, everybody wants to get it right and not have to rush into anything right now.”
Phillies outfielder Adolis Garcia and teammate Edmundo Sosa celebrate in the dugout against the Washington Nationals earlier this season.Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer
Extra bases
Mattingly said the Phillies may consider using a day off Friday to separate Andrew Painter and Aaron Nola in the rotation to avoid taxing the bullpen on back-to-back days. … The Phillies return home Monday night to face the Marlins. Zack Wheeler (5-1, 2.22 ERA) is scheduled to start at 6:40 p.m. against right-hander Ryan Gusto (0-1, 6.00).
Lincoln Financial Field has been renamed “Philadelphia Stadium” for the duration of the event. In addition to five group stage games, the city will host a Round of 16 game on July 4.
On Friday night, the U.S. national team got its World Cup started with a bang: a 4-1 win over Paraguay on home soil.
// Timestamp 06/14/26 10:15pm
Philadelphia was the star in its World Cup debut
Ecuadorian fans react at a missed scoring chance against Ivory Coast during Sunday’s World Cup match. David Maialetti / Staff Photographer
It took 96 years, but the most sacred version of the beautiful game came to Philadelphia.
Both the city and the match met the moment.
Extra public transportation, hydration stations, and modest traffic framed an evening of graceful and powerful football, the kind every other nation reveres except ours.
Amid the spectacle of team jerseys, flags, and team benches covered by vibrant roofs identifying the sides in national colors, the grass was the star. The stadium’s normal turf is a ragged Bermuda thatched with 5% plastic to withstand the cleated NFL rhinoceroses who usually play there.
For the World Cup, it was transformed into a flawless pitch, golf-course quality ryegrass and bluegrass, the sort of surface you could imagine Jason Kelce lying on his back and making snow angels.
Viewed through an international lens, even a soccer game this insignificant still was the most significant sporting event in the history of the city. A town that has seen two World Series titles and a Stanley Cup won within its borders has never hosted anything that riveted folks on six of the continents.
What comes close? Maybe Rocky Marciano, when he knocked out Jersey Joe Walcott in 1952, and won the heavyweight championship. Maybe not.
Long wait at NRG Station following Philly World Cup match
Soccer fans wait to enter NRG Station outside Lincoln Financial Field following Sunday night’s World Cup match.Michelle
Hundreds of soccer fans waited outside NRG station, a bottleneck at the turnstiles not appearing to break apart anytime soon. Fans chatted in Spanish, sat on plantersm and leaned against yellow gates waiting for entry into the train station.
A SEPTA worker who asked not to be identify said there were already almost 1,500 fans in the platform, so people had to weight until it clears out.
Meanwhile, Ubers to City Hall were ranging between $70 to $78 a ride. On a normal night, they’d run about $15.
Fans hurry to their cars, trains, and buses as storms move into Philly
Fans wait outside SEPTA’s NRG Station near the stadium following Ivory Coast’s victory over Ecuador Sunday night.Michelle Myers
Fans hustle to their cars in South Philly as lighting can be seen in the distance.
For subway riders trying to move closer to the station, the wait might be lengthy, as hundreds of of Ecuadorian fans await by the doors for their turn to get it.
The National Weather Service issued a severe thunderstorm watch for Philadelphia and the surrounding counties Sunday evening that will remain in effect until 1 a.m. Monday morning.
Along with lightning and rain, forecasters say wind guts up to 60 miles per hour are possible, as is quarter-sized hail and potentially a tornado.
Over at FIFA’s Fan Festival at Lemon Hill in Fairmount Park,, crowds walked along Girard Avenue and Kelly Drive up to Fairmount to access rideshare pickup zones and the Philly PHLASH.
Crowds are funneled to these roads to stay on main thoroughfares, where many impromptu street vendors awaited to sell water and snacks and merchandise. Ice cream trucks also took this as a hint to set up shop.
At Pennsylvania and Fairmount, SEPTA had additional 32 and 48 Busses waiting as additional transportation and were waiting to fill up in order to take the maximum amount of passengers. A total of 4 buses were at the intersection waiting to take passengers at one point.
Police were stationed at various exits and intersections near the festival.
Ivory Coast defeats Ecuador in first-ever Philly World Cup match
Ivory Coast’s Amad Diallo is congratulated by teammates after scoring the lone goal in a 1-0 victory over Ecuador Sunday in Philly.Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer
Amad Diallo will go down in the annals of Philadelphia sports history as the first goalscorer in a World Cup hosted in the City of Brotherly Love. More importantly, his first-time shot in the 90th minute sealed three points in Ivory Coast’s Group E opener against Ecuador on a beautiful night for soccer inside Lincoln Financial Field.
He broke the hearts of a pro-Ecuadorian crowd of 68,274 who sang, cheered and for some even cried to take part in a game that is arguably the biggest sporting event the venue has ever held.
Next up for Ivory Coast, a trip to Toronto to face Germany on Saturday (4 p.m., Fox29), before making their return to Philadelphia to take on World Cup first-timers Curacao on June 25 (4 p.m., FS1).
Ecuador is also back in action this Saturday against Curacao in Kansas City (8 p.m., FS1)
Thousands of cheering fans bathed in stadium lights at Lincoln Financial Field could been seen through a gap between stadium walls from across the street at Stateside Live!
Inside the food court a sea of yellow shirts populated the tables and bars. As Ivory Coast scored, a small but rowdy crew cheered loudly, pumped fists in the air and slapped each other as Ecuador fans sighed.
“Ivory Coast! Ivory Coast! Ivory Coast!” the crew chanted inside, through the doors and out on the patio. They passed two people dressed in green and orange, the two groups screamed excitedly at each other, and the original chanters went on their way through the patio.
Fans also celebrated Ivory Coast’s 1-0 victory outside FIFA’s Fan Festival at Lemon Hill in Fairmount Park.
With the final whistle, thousands of people – some cheering after an Ivory Coast win, others with their heads hung low after the Ecuadorian loss – walked in calm crowds to the exit.
Within half an hour, crowds walked back to their cars, rideshare pickup zones, and SEPTA and PHLASH bus stops with no issue.
As opposing teams fans walked by each other they shook hands, laughed, and went about their night. Just an hour before, Lemon Hill was shaking with horns blasting and fans screaming.
Now the neighborhood is returning to a calm quiet, before the party eventually picks up again during the next World Cup match.
A resounding “No” echoed through the stadium as Ecuadorian fans covered their faces in disbelieve as Ivory Coast took a 1-0 lead in their World Cup matchup in South Philly.
Ivory Coast fans, scattered across the stadium amid a sea of yellow, screamied with emotion after Amad Diallo’s strike.
Ecuador and Ivory Coast remain scoreless, but fans remain confident
Ahmadou Dia holds the Ivory Coast flag above him at FIFA Fan Festival on Sunday, June 14, 2026.Henry Savage
With the score still 0-0, Ecuador and Ivory Coast fans at FIFA Fan Festival were just as confident as they started the match.
“The first half was 50-50 in terms of possession. It was a great first half,” said Ivory Coast-born Philadelphian Ahmadou Dia. “But the second half, we will for sure beat them.”
At halftime, crowds at Fan Festival flocked to the bathrooms, food vendors, and interactive exhibits to pass the time as DJs on the main stage kept the remaining crowd jumping.
Martin Alfaro, who has Honduran heritage, said he’s cheering for Ecuador, as Honduras doesn’t usually qualify for the World Cup. While Ecuador didn’t seal the deal in the first half, he’s optimistic they’ll score in the second. But, if they do, he’s preparing for the entire Ecuadorian fan section to “lose their minds.”
“I love that it’s 0-0 still, and I think, we’re hoping for a goal, but I’m afraid that if Ecuador does score, everyone’s going to lose their minds celebrating,” Alfaro said.
Ecuador fans also flood famed German beer hall in Philly
Soccer fans watch Ecuador take on the Ivory Coast at Brauhaus Schmitz on South Street Sunday.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
With the score still zero-zero the Caddick family eagerly watched the screen and rang red, black and yellow cowbells at Brauhaus Schmitz on South Street when Ecuador closed in on the net.
Karina Caddick, a 56-year-old Horsham resident, was born in Ecuador, just outside Guayaquil, a port city and the country’s largest metropolis. She moved when she was only one year old, but her family instilled in her the importance of soccer to the national culture.
To watch her native country’s team compete on her home country’s soil is quite special, she said.
“It’s unbelievable that we’re able to watch here,” Caddick said. “To be in Philadelphia and see all the yellow shirts, it’s incredible.”
Seeing all the Ecuador fans on the train into the city on Sunday and exploring the tourist attractions around Center City and Old City was especially inspiring, she said.
“It’s cool. It’s like what are the odds that Ecuador is playing in the city that we live,” said 23-year-old Kayla Caddick, a recent Temple graduate and Old City resident.
Not everyone gets the hype.
“Why does everyone like soccer so much,” one young man asked his friend as he walked down South Street outside Brauhaus.
For those with familial attachments to one of the participating countries outside the U.S., the answer is obvious.
“Soccer is everything to Ecuador. It is the main sport. It’s their spirit. It’s what calls them,” said Karina Caddick.
At the World Cup, picking $20 beer over $20 chicken tenders
The price of concessions at Lincoln Financial Field for Sunday’s World Cup match.Michelle My
With fries and beer in the $20 range, fans are having to pick between eating or drinking at the stadium.
For Ecuadorian resident Sebastian Muller, 49, the idea of spending $19.49 on chicken tenders feels ridiculous, and paying almost $7 for a water that will cost him less than a dollar back home, even more.
Beer on the other hand, he couldn’t do without.
He put aside his hunger and bought a $20.85 craft beer.
“Prices are really high, but I still had to buy the beer,” Muller said. “It’s tradition, you can’t watch a match without the beer.”
The sentiment resonated with Jared Chiliquinga, 31, and his brother Rommel, 41.
They came from New Jersey and are used to the MetLife Stadium food prices, they said.
“I usually pay $10 for a can,” Jared said. “But what we can’t watch the game without beer, even if we have to pay more than $50 for two cans,” Rommel added.
The siblings opted for no water or food so they don’t miss out on the beer.
Cynthia Argueta, 29, was not into following their steps, but also didn’t want to give up on the beer.
The New Jersey resident spent nearly $40 to buy herself a hot dog, a bottle of water, and a beer.
“The hot dog tastes very basic,” Argueta said. “but I am starving so I have to eat, and they don’t let you bring water so I have to buy it here.”
Philadelphia finally gets its big World Cup moment, and looks amazing
Soccer fans cheer at Lincoln Financial Field with the Philly skyline in the background. Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer
IRVINE, Calif. – As the minutes ticked down toward kickoff, I was sitting in my hotel room while on the road covering the U.S. team. Then a moment came that I’ve been waiting years to see.
Soccer fans cheer during the national anthems before the World Cup match between Ecuador and Ivory Coast.Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer
I still remember the day 15 years ago when FIFA punched the U.S. in the gut and gave the 2022 World Cup to Qatar. Though it didn’t take long to learn how much alleged bribery and corruption there was, that specific moment is still vivid in my mind, especially for those of us who’d gathered at Tir na Nóg in Center City to watch the announcement.
It would be another eight years before the combined bid of the U.S., Canada, and Mexico finally prevailed to bring the 2026 tournament here, in 2018. And Philadelphia wasn’t picked as a host city until four years after that, in 2022.
Now, another four years later still, the culmination has finally arrived.
Ecuador takes the field ahead of their World Cup match against Ivory Coast in Philadelphia. David Maialetti / Staff Photographer
I know not everything has gone perfectly, including the last few days for residents around the Fan Fest site. But I could tell in recent months that on the whole, the city was really embracing this moment on the global stage that’s unlike any there’s been before.
I could tell that despite all the challenges posed by brutal visa rules for visitors and exorbitant ticket prices for everyone, Philadelphians were ready to open their arms and welcome the world to town.
Now the world is finally here, and the party is only just beginning.
Referee Francois Letexier gives Ivory Coast’s Seko Fofana (6) a yellow card during Sunday’s game against Ecuador. Matt Rourke
The referee for this game, François Letexier of France, is one of the sport’s top officials. He has done lots of big games in his career, including in the French league, the Champions League, the Olympics, last year’s Club World Cup, and the 2024 European Champions League final.
But he wasn’t supposed to be doing this game.
It was originally signed to England’s Michael Oliver, who would also know plenty of Ecuador and Ivory Coast’s players from his years in the Premier League. But FIFA announced on Friday that Oliver is injured.
The announcement said it’s a minor injury, and Oliver won’t be sidelined for long. But it’s still a reminder that the referee has to run just as much in the heat and humidity as the players do.
Letexier has a notable side job away from soccer: he’s a court officer in the French city of Rennes, where he lives. (Maybe he’ll find South Philadelphia a little familiar in a certain way.)
FIFA selected 52 referees, 88 assistant referees, and 30 video officials from around the world for this World Cup. Eight are from the U.S., with Philadelphia’s Kathryn Nesbitt among the assistants.
And as you may have heard, Somalia’s Omar Artan had to withdraw from the tournament after the U.S. government barred him from entering the country. Though FIFA notably did not reassign him to games in Canada or Mexico, it announced Sunday that he’ll get his full tournament pay.
At the FIFA Fan Festival, an Ecuadorian singer and good vibes
Ecuadorian fans watch Sunday night’s World Cup match at the FIFA Fan Festival at Lemon Hill Park.Henry Savage / Staff
Ecuadorian singer Johann Vera commanded center stage at FIFA Fan Festival on Sunday, performing directly before the 7 p.m. kick off between Ecuador and Côte d’Ivoire at Lincoln Financial Field in South Philadelphia.
In Lemon Hill, Vera roared to the crowd, “¿Listos?” and received resounding cheers of joy in return from the crowd. Fans blared horns across the sea of thousands of yellow jerseys, showing an exceptional turnout for Ecuadorian fans. Small pockets of bright orange jerseys signaling Côte d’Ivoire fans made their presence known among the crowd.
“I thought there were more Ivorians in Philadelphia but I guess not,” said Swann Nemin, a Temple University student from Côte d’Ivoire, visiting Fan Festival with her two Ivorian friends Ornella Kouame and Naïke M. and their friend, Phoebe Mattes, who they joke isn’t from Côte d’Ivoire but is “Ivorian by preference.”
The World Cup brought the friend group together to dance and celebrate in a festival of people from all over the world. “I feel like it’s not only people from Ecuador but also people from South America that are cheering for Ecuador, in the same way that people from all over Africa are repping Côte d’Ivoire,” Nemin said.
“We’re just really happy to be out here celebrating,” Kouame said. “Even if we don’t win, honestly, we’re just here to dance.”
Aleyda Alvarado, a Fishtown resident originally from Mexico, said that while Mexico isn’t playing tonight and she admits she isn’t the biggest soccer fan, the World Cup gets her and her friends out to celebrate the heart of soccer.
“Everyone is here from different countries, but during the World Cup, we’re all just fans,” Alvarado said before kick-off. “That’s how soccer bring people together, and what makes me love it.”
After the 5 p.m. SEPTA Orange Line express was taken out of service at Race-Vine because a door wouldn’t close, the 5:15 local train was inundated with Ecuador enthusiasts when it hit the City Hall.
The cars were full to bursting by the time they hit Walnut-Locust, yellow jerseys shoulder to shoulder and chest to chest, men and women alike. As the train pulled out a song arose, full throat and deafening in the hot, cramped subway car:
“¡Vamos, vamos ecuatorianos, esta noche tenemos que ganar!”
Or:
“Let’s go, let’s go Ecuadorians, tonight we have to win!”
As the throng exited up the stairs of NRG Station, their hearts and voices swelled again.
Giant Lincoln Financial Field signs on stadium’s roof also covered
Normally there are two giant Lincoln Financial Field signs facing skyward on the roof of the Linc. As Fox's cameras show, they had to be covered for the World Cup, along with everything else. pic.twitter.com/eNCitublcd
At the Linc, issues with expensive tickets purchased on resale websites
Jayden Quezada, 17, and his parents came to Philadelphia from Bensalem hoping for an Ecuadorian victory. But they were turned away at the door.
“They said there were problems with our tickets because they weren’t on the FIFA app,” Quezada said. “We have been trying to fix it for the last four hours.”
Last night, the trio spend $4,350 to get three tickets through the TickPick app. But, by the time they arrived to the stadium at 1 p.m., the tickets were yet to be transferred to their FIFA app.
As his mom passed on the phone, trying to reach a TickPick representative, Quezada fears his parents won’t be able to see their national team.
“They have been the biggest fans since before I was born and they don’t get to go back often because of work,” Quezada said. “We are probably going to try to get a refund but missing the game would be really sad because we were looking forward to feeling the Ecuadorian pride.”
The Quezada’s weren’t the only ones struggling. In a line of over 50 people, fans waited for help with their failed tickets.
Spanish speakers Monica Rojas, 22, and her friend Jose Avil, were concussed on what to do after the ticket office explained the problem with their ticket in English.
The pair drove two hours from New York, after buying a pair of tickets on Stubhub for $2,000 including parking.
After a FIFA volunteer interpreter intervine, the pair found out their tickets had been refunded, despite having a fifa confirmation email.
“I don’t know what we are doing to do,” Avil said. “It feels defeating, now all we have is the tickets and the desire to watch them.”
‘I’m actually an Eagles fan’: World Cup fans hit the tailgating lots in Philly
Three months from now, the South Philadelphia Sports Complex will be covered in Eagles green as fans hit the tailgating lots to prepare for their home opener in September. But, for now, the lots surrounding the temporarily renamed Philadelphia Stadium were engulfed with fans from Ecuador getting ready for Philly’s first World Cup match.
Although the environment looked a little different from Philly’s typical football Sundays, the tailgating culture was still alive and well on a more international level.
“I’m actually an Eagles fan,” said 18-year-old Ecuador native Natalia Vegas. “I’ve been here a couple times to watch the football games. I’ve tailgated once. It’s also crazy. Everybody is so prideful to be Eagles fans. So it’s kind of the same thing, being prideful as an Ecuador fan.”
With Ecuador facing off against the Ivory Coast for the first of six matches in Philly, both international and local soccer fans came in hordes to witness the historic sporting event making its way to the city.
“It’s been amazing,” said Ivory Coast native Abdoul Ouattra. “Everybody has been really nice to me. I’ve seen a bunch of Ecuadorians. I thought I was going to be intimidated but they were quite welcoming and said whatever happens, we’re friends. So, I love that.”
There is no length Ecuadorian native Pacho Flores wouldn’t go for his national team.
Despite living in New York City, Flores, 62, and his family of eight paid $650 dollars each to watch “La tri” play in Philly.
“It’s the most beautiful thing in the world,” Flores said. “We have to follow the team to every game. It’s a blessing to have them play so close.”
Despite the 90 degree weather, Flores and his son, Alex, danced wearing a thickly knit Diablo Uma masks — an indigenous protective spiritual figure from the highlands of Ecuador— to represent his native town of Cañar.
“It’s not that hot inside the mask, and it’s worth it because we have to win, at least 3 to 0,” Alex said wiping sweat of his for head. “Either way, we will still live the team,” Flores added.
No matter the score, the family won’t have too much time to celebrate. They leave New York City tomorrow morning to pack for the next Ecuadorian game in Kansas City Saturday against Curaçao.
Out front of Stateside Live, a group of Ecuador fans dressed in regional traditional clothing held their own mini flash mob ahead of the first World Cup match in Philly.
Among the dancers was 22-year-old Juliana Padilla, who stepped in last minute to join the flash mob from New York. After days of practicing, Padilla was excited to finally show off Ecuador’s culture ahead of the team’s World Cup match.
“We wanted to represent Latin America,” Padilla said. “We’re wearing the regional, traditional gear. We wanted to bring it to the people here to feel connected with their roots.”
Four hours ahead of tonight’s Ivory Coast vs. Ecuador match at a rebranded Linc, Ecuadorian fans arrive at NRG station chanting: “Let’s go Ecuadorians for we must win tonight.”
Four hours ahead of the Ivory Coast vs. Ecuador match, Ecuadorian fans arrive at NRG station chanting: “Let's go Ecuadorians for we must win tonight.” Via @PhillyInquirerpic.twitter.com/ls3vuiKdKs
Thunderstorms in Philly could interrupt tonight’s World Cup match
Ecuadorian fans flood Lincoln Financial Field Sunday night for the city’s first-ever World Cup match. David Maialetti / Staff Photographer
Severe thunderstorms could make their way through the Philadelphia region later this evening, potentially catching the tail end of tonight’s World Cup match between Ivory Coast and Ecuador.
The National Weather Service issued a severe thunderstorm watch for Philadelphia and the surrounding counties Sunday evening that will remain in effect until 1 a.m. Monday morning.
The most organized swath of thunderstorms are expected to move through the area between 9 p.m. and midnight, potentially bringing severe gusty winds and heavy rain, according to Jessica Storm, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s Mt. Holly office.
A tornado is also possible, as it isolated hail up to the size of a quarter.
FIFA will pause play if there is a lightning strike within eight miles of the stadium. The match will remain paused for 30 minutes, with any subsequent lightning strikes resetting the clock.
The FIFA Fan Fest at Lemon Hill Park in Fairmount would also be forced to close if lightning is detected within an eight-mile radius. Fans would need to exit the grounds and move to a safe location, FIFA said in a statement, and could re-enter after 30 minutes if no additional lightning is detected.
IRVINE, Calif. — Since the game ended at 2 in the morning Philadelphia time, you might have been asleep when Australia’s win over Turkey ended.
Then again, if you’re enough of a soccer diehard, you might well have stayed up to be sure you watched all four of Saturday’s games live.
Regardless, the Socceroos’ 2-0 upset in Vancouver blows the United States’ group wide open. Now those two teams have three points each, with the U.S. in first place on goal difference by +3 to +2. (That’s what made Gio Reyna’s late strike in the 4-1 win over Paraguay actually important, not just a cherry on top.)
It also makes Friday’s U.S.-Australia game in Seattle an even bigger deal than it already was. American fans have been waiting ever since the draw to watch their team in one of the nation’s best soccer cities, and now the game has huge stakes.
The winner will be in the driver’s seat to take first place. And if the U.S. prevails, it will only need a draw against Turkey in the June 25 finale back in Los Angeles to win the group.
Curacao players celebrate after scoring during the World Cup Group E soccer match between Germany and Curacao in Houston, Sunday, June 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)Eric Gay / AP
If you just saw Curaçao score a tying goal against Germany, you need to understand just how wild it was.
CURAÇAO SCORES ITS FIRST-EVER FIFA WORLD CUP GOAL 🇨🇼
The island nation, a former Netherlands territory, is the smallest country ever to qualify for a World Cup by both population (just over 150,000 people) and land mass (171 square miles).
Germany, by contrast, is a four-time World Cup champion and three-time European champion.
Curaçao’s squad is built mainly of players in global diasporas who have family roots on the island. None of the 26 men play in the world’s five best domestic leagues: the top divisions in England, Spain, Germany, Italy, and France. They pulled off an upset in qualifying too, with a scoreless tie at Jamaica (including Union goalkeeper Andre Blake) on the last day that clinched their World Cup ticket.
Germany, by contrast, has 25 of its 26 players in those circuits — and the other one plays for a bit team in Turkey after many years in the League and Bundesliga.
As I was writing this post, watching the game on TV while on the road covering the U.S. team, Germany just retook the lead. But I promise, those big sections of Blue Sharks fans at the stadium in Houston are having the time of their lives. And everyone around North and Central America who appreciates Curaçao’s underdog story is rooting for them.
What to know if you’re going to the FIFA Fan Festival
Soccer fans gather to watch Mexico play South Africa on a giant screen during the opening day of the FIFA Fan Festival at Lemon Hill on Thursday, June 11, 2026, in Philadelphia.Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer
A crowd packed with thousands of cheering fans, the 60-foot-wide screen playing the latest fiery matchup, and dozens upon dozens of food vendors await the FIFA Fan Festival, the cheapest and most immersive way to enjoy the 2026 World Cup in Philadelphia.
The Fan Festival is open daily to 15,000 fans, for free, to roam the million square feet of festival grounds that have transformed quaint Lemon Hill into an almost unrecognizable extravaganza of global soccer.
The main spectacle is the 60-foot screen that takes over the main stage in Lemon Hill, where the majority of fans will congregate to watch the match. But, throughout the festival are multiple smaller screens playing the game, so fans don’t miss a moment when they roam for food, fun, or the bathroom.
“Even if you’re not a soccer fan, you can still come out and have a great time,” said Michael DelBene, executive producer of FIFA Fan Festival for Philadelphia Soccer 2026. “You can come and listen to music or eat delicious food, or shop.”
The festival is intended for fans of all ages and promises to be kid and family friendly.
An active Union player finally played in a World Cup game
Scotland’s Lawrence Shankland (20), and Haiti’s Danley Jean Jacques (17) battle for the ball during the World Cup Group C soccer match between Haiti and Scotland in Foxborough, Mass., near Boston, Saturday, June 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)Martin Meissner
Halfway through the Union’s 17th season, midfielder Danley Jean Jacques became the first active player from the club to play in a World Cup.
Jean Jacques started for Haiti on Saturday night against Scotland in Foxborough, Mass., in what was also Haiti’s first men’s World Cup game since 1974 and Scotland’s first since 1998.
Haiti lost the game, 1-0, but played well, outshooting Scotland 15-9 and holding a majority of the possession. Jean Jacques was often at the center of the action, with four tackles, two clearances, one interception, eight duels won in 12 contested, and 44-of-53 passing.
The 26-year-old from the small coastal town of Petit-Goâve is in his third season with the Union. He has been a regular with Les Grenadiers since 2023, earning his 31st cap for the country in this game.
Jean Jacques is the third active Union player to be on a World Cup team. The first was right back Olivier Mbaizo, who made Cameroon’s squad four years ago but did not play.
Members of the Ivory Coast national football team react while watching the Sixers Stixers drum line perform following their practice at Subaru Park in Chester, Pa. on Friday, June 12, 2026Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
The waterfronts of Chester and Wilmington are roughly 5,000 miles across the Atlantic Ocean from Abidjan, the Ivory Coast’s largest city. But, for at least three weeks during the FIFA World Cup, the Ivorian men’s national team will call the banks of the Delaware River home.
Les Éléphants hosted an open training session at Subaru Park on Friday evening, two days before they begins their World Cup campaign with a match against Ecuador at Philadelphia Stadium (aka Lincoln Financial Field) on Sunday (7 p.m., FS1).
Ivory Coast is the only nation scheduled to play at the Linc twice during the World Cup’s group stage, and it is the only team that will stay and train in the Delaware Valley during the tournament.
The team has set up its base camp at Hotel Du Pont in Wilmington and will train at Subaru Park in Chester.
Ivory Coast’s open training session Friday evening was the second free event it has staged for the Philadelphia community. Les Éléphants beat Union II, 2-0, in a tuneup friendly on Monday that was open to the public.
Ecuador fans take over the Art Museum steps before World Cup kickoff
Ecuadorian soccer fans show support for their national team ahead of Sunday’s game against Ivory Coast.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
After decades living in New Jersey, Ecuadorian native Magaly Moreira, 60, said she had never seen such a display of her country’s people.
“It fills me with happiness, pride, and so much joy,” Moreira said, Ecuadorian flags painted on her face. “It’s our opportunity for us and the players to represent Ecuador.”
She was one of thousands of Ecuadorians attending “El banderazo Ecuatoriano” outside the Art Museum. An event organized by group +593 (the country’s international calling code) that made fans put aside the traditional “Ecuadorian hour” to show up more than on time to support their team.
“Ecuador, Ecuador, Ecuador, vamos Ecuador,” resounded through the Rocky steps as the fans chanted, many sporting the Ecuadorian soccer jersey.
Defeating the heat, a crowd of all ages — from newborns to seniors — cheered and danced to the traditional highland dance “Zapateando Juyayay,” showcasing pride for their country, waving flags, and hugging each other with hope.
With a broken leg and dragging a wheelchair, Darío Galarza and his friend Marco Gallardo flew in from Ecuador two days ago to support their home team. They did not expect to see such an outpouring for their national team.
“The U.S. is accessible for us because we share the same currency and it isn’t far, but we didn’t expect to see so many people,” Gallardo said.
For Galarza, skipping the World Cup wasn’t an option. After undergoing surgery for his leg last month, he made it a point to be as recovered as possible to fly to Philadelphia.
“I guess it’s true, you will always find an Ecuadorian in every corner of the world,” Galarza said. “At least I knew it was going to be me because I wasn’t missing this for the world.”
As a man inside a guinea pig costume began a conga line around the Rocky statue, 77-year-old Ecuadorian Francisco Castellanos couldn’t help but reflect on the wonder of seeing so many Ecuadorians together and the weight of representation.
“There are so many of us here that now we must win,” Castellanos said. “Whatever it takes,” he added, as the crowd erupted chanting the Ecuadorian national anthem.
Everything you need to know about the World Cup in Philly
The first World Cup game in Philadelphia is Sunday night.
Nine nations will compete in five group stage matches over the next two weeks, plus two more in a knockout game on July 4. Here’s what you need to know about those countries — and what those fans need to know about Philly …
Former Union announcer JP Dellacamera will call Philadelphia’s first World Cup game.Fox Sports
The first of six World Cup matches will take place Sunday night in Philadelphia, with Ivory Coast taking on Ecuador (7 pm., FS1) in Group E action.
Group E also includes Germany, which most experts predict will make it out of the group stage. So tonight’s match could be an early look at who finishes in second place (no offense to Curacao, the smallest country to ever qualify for the World Cup, edging out Iceland).
It seems like Ivory Coast will be the natural team for fans in the Delaware Valley to root for, outside the U.S. It’s the only country scheduled to play two matches in Philadelphia (they’ll take on Curacao on June 25), has made Hotel Du Pont in Wilmington it’s home away from home, and is training at Subaru Park in Chester.
Only a few days into the World Cup, residents of Brewerytown and Fairmount, trapped inside the blast zone of the fan festival in their backyards, are seeing their fears realized.
Drivers are clogging up roads, rerouting, and sometimes speeding through neighborhood side streets due to road closures. Uber and Lyft services are offline for residents directly next to the festival during operating hours. Many residents are forced to navigate parking nightmares, turning everyday life into an exhausting headache.
It’s all for the sake of the FIFA Fan Festival, a 39-day, million-square-foot party taking over Lemon Hill and inviting 15,000 daily visitors to its picturesque fields. While city officials and event organizers roll out the red carpet and spend millions on World Cup fans, residents who for years have been pleading for Lemon Hill improvements say the festival will use their neighborhood and park at their expense.
“The sentiment right now is just the complete disrespect for the residents and that this is all being done for tourists,” said Nissa Eisenberg, Fairmount resident and co-organizer of the Lemon Hill Neighbors Association, the organization disseminating festival information and communicating with the city. “Everybody’s feeling pretty resentful, maybe cautiously optimistic, but also just not feeling respected as residents.”
Soccer fans gather to watch Mexico play South Africa on a giant screen during the opening day of the FIFA Fan Festival at Lemon Hill on Thursday, June 11, 2026, in Philadelphia.Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer
The FIFA Fan Festival opened its gates to thousands of fans Thursday as not only the cheapest way to experience the revelry of a World Cup game (admission is free, though it requires registration),but also the melting pot of Philly’s best food and shopping. It is also the only fan festival across the 11 U.S. host cities that is open daily for the entire 39-day tournament, culminating on July 19.
If these changes weren’t tough to navigate already, city officials gave residents a little more than three weeks to prepare.
Temporary Residential Permit Parking sign on pole along N. 30th Street and Oxford Street, Thursday, June 11, 2026. Philadelphia Parking Authority is in the area ticketing and enforcing during FIFA Fan Festival at Lemon Hill.Alejandro A. Alvarez / Staff Photographer
“We’ve been talking with them for two years to engage neighbors with a plan, and they waited to communicate their plan until after people made their summer plans, after parents made driving schedules for their kids’ summer camps every week, and after people planned daily commutes,” Eisenberg said.
Charlotte Burns, a Fairmount resident and veterinarian, fears for other residents who work in hospitals and are often on call for medical emergencies. “For months we’ve known this was going to happen, but there has been nothing from the city,” Burns said, referring to the fact that door-knocking, flyers, and posters did not begin in earnest until weeks before the tournament.
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On May 18, the city unveiled its plan for how it would manage the festival for residents. Officials informed neighbors that thousands of them would need to swiftly apply for parking permits to allow them to park near their homes for two months, something many residents are still unclear on, said Shaun Cerborino of Lemon Hill Neighbors.
Additionally, no rideshare services like Lyft and Uber will work at Lemon Hill and around six blocks of the surrounding residential areas during festival operating hours, sometimes spanning all day, in a practice called geofencing.Those without cars will have to walk blocks from their home to hail a ride, or use SEPTA, which is still operating in the neighborhood.
City officials told residents last month that rideshare services will not be disabled for riders who require a wheelchair-accessible vehicle (WAV). However, after The Inquirer asked for clarification on how this exemption works in practice, the Philadelphia Office of Transportation and Infrastructure Systems (OTIS) found that a miscommunication between rideshare services occurred.
The city was supposed to designate where WAVs can operate within the geofence, while the city was under the impression that rideshare services handled it.
Philadelphia Parking Authority, Zone 17, a temporary no park zone except for residents with special permit during FIFA Fan Festival at Lemon Hill, Thursday, June 11, 2026.Alejandro A. Alvarez / Staff Photographer
“Now that we have that clarity, we’re going to evaluate some changes to the perimeter that is enclosed in the geofence area. We’ll try to act as quickly as we can to adjust the geofence,” said OTIS Deputy Managing Director Mike Carroll.
City officials said they could not specify what these geofence adjustments will look like until they have finished talks with Uber and Lyft. But what was initially promised, that WAVs will pick up and drop off disabled riders at their homes, might not be possible. Instead, there is a chance WAV-only drop-off zones will be created in that geofenced area.
“That challenge is too difficult for us to work through for any resident who needs it,” Carroll said. “It’s too bad that there’s not a more general way to have these vehicles come in, but we can’t really haggle with [rideshare services] at this point. We’ll just try to make it work as best we can.”
A makeshift sign created by local neighbors, pictured on Wednesday, June 10, 2026, advises drivers not to use side streets for through traffic on Ogden Street, a narrow residential side street one block from the festival, which drivers have been racing down to avoid road closures and traffic.Henry Savage / Staff
The work to calm neighborhood traffic
Dustin Dove, president of the Fairmount Civic Association, points to the 2900 block of Ogden Street, a mere block from the festival, as a microcosm of the neighborhood’s concerns.
Due to road closures on 30th and Poplar Streets, agitated drivers, stuck in traffic, are choosing to speed down narrow one-way Ogden Street to get around lines of cars, residents said. Neighbors have seen at least two incidents where a car rocketed down the street while young children were playing.
Dove said residents have called every relevant city department and elected official who represents the area, including Councilmember Jeffery Young, requesting additional signage and traffic-control measures at 29th Street to dissuade drivers from using side streets.
“We’re going to be welcoming a lot more people than usual, and we need Council members to come and look at this situation,” Dove said. “There are issues that need some sort of leadership at the top to get them fixed.”
Dustin Dove, a Fairmount resident and president of the Fairmount Civic Association, poses for a photo near one of the busiest intersections near the FIFA Fan Festival in Lemon Hill, at Girard Avenue and Poplar Drive, on Wednesday, June 10, 2026. The FIFA Fan Festival is forcing the local neighborhood to navigate parking restrictions, road closures, and the sacrifice of their summer green space in exchange for the once-in-a-generation World Cup in their backyards.Henry Savage / Staff
Young said he and his office have heard from residents who are “understandably frustrated” by traffic being redirected onto neighborhood streets and confusing or insufficient signage.
“When these concerns were brought to our attention, we immediately notified the appropriate city departments and event organizers and have already seen some additional signage and traffic-control measures put in place. However, more work remains to be done,” Young said.
A city spokesperson said police officers will be stationed at 30th and Poplar Streets throughout the duration of the festival and will make adjustments as needed. The city also committed to installing additional signage where appropriate, the spokesperson said.
Still, as the first day of the World Cup rolled around, neighbors near Ogden Street reported heavy traffic on side streets, Fairmount resident Nicole Ross said, with many residents saying they received parking tickets despite having registered temporary permits. Ross said the Philadelphia Parking Authority later told residents who were ticketed that it was a system error and would be resolved.
Crew members make final preparations, including work on a 60-foot-wide screen, for a FIFA Fan Fest at Lemon Hill in Philadelphia on Tuesday, June 10, 2026.Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer
The legacy of Lemon Hill Park
Besides the short-term, everyday nuisances of the FIFA Fan Festival, there are deeper-rooted issues about care and longevity of the park. Park stewards, like Cerborino and Eisenberg, are volunteer workers who care for and maintain much of Lemon Hill.
Across the city’s parks, stewards understand that Philadelphia Parks and Recreation is unable to perform some needed upgrades due to staffing and budgetary constraints. That’s where stewards spend their free time and money to try to keep the city’s nationally ranked parks in an idyllic state. But that often comes with yearslong discussions about proper park funding and upgrades, as recently reported by The Inquirer, where stewards are again pleading with City Council for more funding as they are tired of operating off “love and duct tape.”
When pitching the festival to the city and residents, Philadelphia Soccer 2026 said it would be leaving lasting legacy improvements to the park in exchange for residents giving up their summer green space.
“We will see this through during organizational wind-down following the tournament,” a festival spokesperson said.
Crew members make final preparations, including work on a 60-foot-wide screen, for a FIFA Fan Fest at Lemon Hill in Philadelphia on Tuesday, June 10, 2026.Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Soccer 2026 is committing $4 million to install a new ADA-accessible sidewalk path, a new playground, and new lighting, as well as to rebuild the picnic pavilion, organizers said. Residents have begged the city for some of these improvements for years, Cerborino and Eisenberg said.
“Residents deserve a clear understanding of what lasting benefits will remain after the crowds leave. I will continue advocating for transparency, accountability, and a concrete plan for legacy investments that benefit the Lemon Hill area and the city as a whole,” Young said.
The city said it will work alongside Philadelphia Soccer 2026 to see these legacy commitments come to fruition, as well as have Philadelphia Parks and Recreation staff monitor the grasslands and trees to address any issues that appear during the festival, a spokesperson said.
While stewards understand that park upkeep is not at the forefront of city budgetary concerns, it does hurt when it seems improvements to Lemon Hill Park will come only after an international or major sponsored event takes place there, Cerborino said.
“Especially when the parks are primarily supported by public dollars, it doesn’t feel right for FIFA or Live Nation, or whatever company, to come in, have their way with our parks, make all the money on it — and the taxpayers foot part of that bill and get very little out of it,” Cerborino said. “The tradeoff is FIFA makes a few billion dollars, and we got a sidewalk.”
SAN ANTONIO — Jalen Brunson and the Comeback Knicks did it again. And now they’re the Champion Knicks.
For the first time in 53 years, New York rules the NBA. Brunson scored 45 points, including 13 straight for New York in the fourth quarter, and the Knicks beat the San Antonio Spurs 94-90 in Game 5 of the NBA Finals on Saturday night.
The Knicks won the series 4-1, rallying from double-digit deficits in all four of those victories. The deficit was 16 on Saturday night. Brunson and the Knicks were never fazed.
Brunson, fittingly, closed with a flourish. He set a Knicks record for points in a finals game; it had been 38 by Willis Reed against the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 3 of the 1970 series. It now belongs to the left-handed point guard who changed the franchise’s fortunes when he arrived four years ago.
Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart — the other two parts of the “Nova Knicks” trio that also includes Brunson, three players who were NCAA champions at Villanova and teamed up in New York to try to do the same — combined to score 27 points. Bridges had 14, Hart 13.
Brunson won NCAA crowns twice with Villanova — both in Texas, the 2016 one in Houston and the 2018 one in San Antonio, just a few miles away from the arena that the Spurs call home.
A Texas three-step of titles, and this one was surely the sweetest of all.
Dylan Harper scored 25 for the Spurs, who got 19 points, 14 rebounds and five blocked shots from Victor Wembanyama.
The Knicks improved to 4-0 in closeout opportunities this season, winning them all on the road. It didn’t feel like the road, though — not with thousands of New York faithful having made the trip to Texas to see a moment 53 years in the making.
New York got to the brink of this title by rallying from 29 points down in Game 4 to win 107-106 on OG Anunoby’s tip-in with 1.2 seconds left on Wednesday night. It was the largest comeback in NBA Finals history and the biggest comeback in any game this season, regular season or playoffs.
By comparison, then, a 16-point rally in this one seemed easy.
MILWAUKEE — No offense to Shane Drohan, but after what they faced here Friday night, the Phillies were sure offense would be easier to come by Saturday.
Call it “The Miz” effect.
Because although Drohan has a respectable fastball, nobody throws more premium octane than his Brewers teammate, Jacob Misiorowski, whose 104-mph rocket fuel makes everything else looks like regular gasoline.
And sure enough, after getting held to one hit and striking out 15 times against Misiorowski, the Phillies blasted off for a season-high 17 hits, then staved off a late charge in a series-tying 9-8 cuticle-chomper over a National League heavyweight.
“The first [pitch] I saw today, I think it was 94, and I was pretty far out in front of it,” said J.T. Realmuto, who interrupted a 2-for-33 slump with three hits, including a three-run homer. “It almost slows the game down for you a little bit after seeing 104 all night.”
And now, the Phillies (38-32) will give the ball to their ace, Cristopher Sánchez, with a chance Sunday to win the series over the Brewers (42-26) and clinch a winning road trip. Sánchez will also be able to rebut Misiorowski in the still-early Cy Young Award debate.
Before that, though, let’s get to the best part for the Phillies in their biggest offensive outburst of the season: The bottom of the order did the heaviest lifting.
Bryson Stott lined two RBI doubles, one of which broke a 3-3 tie in the sixth inning; Realmuto collected four RBIs; Brandon Marsh and Edmundo Sosa had three hits apiece; the Nos. 5-9 spots in the order went 12-for-24 with eight RBIs.
How’s that for shaking off a Misiorowski hangover?
“Obviously we weren’t bothered by what happened [Friday] night,” interim manager Don Mattingly said after the Phillies won for the eighth time in 11 games. “I didn’t think we would be, honestly. Any time you face that and he’s throwing the ball like he did, it’s kind of easy to flush it when a guy’s doing that.
“And then anybody you see after that is just not the same.”
But it wasn’t stress-free for the Phillies either. Not after Brad Keller loaded the bases with nobody out in the eighth inning. He wild-pitched in one run and gave up a sacrifice fly to Christian Yelich and an RBI single to Jackson Chourio to slice a four-run lead to one run.
Interim manager Don Mattingly said he was “close” to taking Keller out. Realmuto wasn’t sure the Phillies would emerge with the lead intact.
“Hopefully, I was thinking, best-case scenario, we get out with a tie with the at-bats they were putting up,” Realmuto said. “He made the pitches when he needed to, you know? I’m sure he’s not going to be happy with that outing, but the way he was able to finish it was big for us.”
Indeed, with Jonathan Bowlan warming, Keller struck out Brice Turang on a low-and-away slider and got William Contreras to foul out to leave the tying run on second base.
“Once he gets the sac fly, I’m like, ‘OK, he’s settled,’” Mattingly said. “It’s almost like the sac fly got us an out, settled him down, and he made some pitches. But yeah, a little hectic before that.”
Said Realmuto: “If that 3-1 pitch [to Yelich] is a walk or something positive doesn’t happen on that pitch, it might have spiraled pretty quickly. I think that kind of gave him the confidence to get through it.“
The Phillies staked Aaron Nola to a 3-0 lead. And after he fumbled it away on a pair of homers to straightaway center field — Garrett Mitchell crushed a two-run shot in the fourth inning; Chourio went deep in the fifth — the Phillies answered with five runs in the sixth inning.
Here’s how it went: Marsh single, Sosa single, Stott RBI double, Realmuto three-run homer, Derek Hill single, Kyle Schwarber single, Trea Turner strikeout, Bryce Harper sacrifice fly.
Realmuto’s part in the rally, which came after his RBI single in the third inning, was particularly cathartic given the slump he has been dragging. It got so bad — or maybe Misiorowski is so good — that Mattingly considered it a “small victory” for Realmuto to line out on a fastball Friday night.
“Obviously I haven’t been myself this year,” Realmuto said. “It’s something that I can continue to work on to to try to get better, and tonight felt good. I felt like I got good pitches to hit and was on time for them and put good swings on them.”
Said Mattingly: “It was good to see.”
Better still was not having to see Misiorowski again, at least until the Brewers come to Philadelphia at the end of September.
Halfway through the Union’s 17th season, midfielder Danley Jean Jacques became the first active player from the club to play in a World Cup.
Jean Jacques started for Haiti on Saturday night against Scotland in Foxborough, Mass., in what was also Haiti’s first men’s World Cup game since 1974 and Scotland’s first since 1998.
Haiti lost the game, 1-0, but played well, outshooting Scotland 15-9 and holding a majority of the possession. Jean Jacques was often at the center of the action, with four tackles, two clearances, one interception, eight duels won in 12 contested, and 44-of-53 passing.
The 26-year-old from the small coastal town of Petit-Goâve is in his third season with the Union. He has been a regular with Les Grenadiers since 2023, earning his 31st cap for the country in this game.
Jean Jacques is the third active Union player to be on a World Cup team. The first was right back Olivier Mbaizo, who made Cameroon’s squad four years ago but did not play.
Haiti's national anthem is played at the FIFA World Cup for the first time since 1974 🇭🇹 pic.twitter.com/NM6ZvwHh7p
In 2014, centerback Carlos Valdés played in the tournament while on a series of loans away from the Union. While he returned to Chester later, the loan meant he didn’t qualify for this piece of history.
This year, centerback Olwethu Makhanya made South Africa’s team. He could have beaten Jean Jacques to the history books since South Africa played co-host Mexico in the tournament’s opening game.
Alas, Makhanya was on the bench, though that wasn’t too surprising. He had never played for Bafana Bafana’s senior team before the tournament, and hadn’t come close until finally earning a training camp invitation from manager Hugo Broos this past March.
The odds of Makhanya playing in South Africa’s next game, Thursday in Atlanta vs. Czechia (noon, Fox29, Telemundo62), might have gone up when two of his teammates were sent off in the 2-0 loss at Mexico City’s fabled Estadio Azteca. Then again, neither of those players was a centerback.
Haiti fans in the stands at Saturday’s game.Charlie Krupa
Haiti’s next game will be a homecoming for Jean Jacques, as the team plays mighty Brazil in Philadelphia on Friday (8:30 p.m., Fox29, Telemundo 62). One of his teammates, Penn alum Duke Lacroix — a native of New Egypt, N.J., in Ocean County — will also return to town, and will get to train on his old college field on the eve of the game.
Lacroix was an unused substitute against Scotland.
Haiti’s group finale is June 24 against Morocco in Atlanta. Morocco and Brazil tied, 1-1, earlier Saturday in East Rutherford, N.J., with spectacular goals by Ismael Saibari and Vinícius Junior.
South Africa’s group finale is June 24 against South Korea in Monterrey, Mexico.
