Apex

​Mexico national team manager Javier Aguirre has revealed his 55-man preliminary roster for the 2026 World Cup, with San Diego FC winger Hirving "Chucky" Lozano arguably being the most notable omission from the list. Headlined by Fulham’s Raul Jimenez, Fenerbahçe’s Edson Alvarez, and veteran goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa, who is attempting to appear in his sixth World Cup, Mexico’s roster will be narrowed down to 26 players by June 1, the official FIFA deadline. Mexico is set to kick off the tournament on home soil on June 11 against South Africa at the Estadio Banorte. Locker room issues in San Diego Lozano’s exclusion follows a period of inactivity and reported disciplinary tension with San Diego FC. Aguirre previously stated that consistent playing time was a requirement for selection, a condition Lozano was unable to meet after falling out of favor with his club's coaching staff earlier this year. Lozano enjoyed a promising start to the club's debut MLS season, but internal friction became public in October following reports of a locker room altercation with head coach Mikey Varas. His final appearance to date for the club came as a substitute during San Diego's 3-1 playoff loss to the Vancouver Whitecaps. Roster depth and injury concerns Rodrigo Huescas, a rising star in the Danish Superliga, will miss the tournament as he continues his recovery from an ACL tear suffered during a Champions League match in late 2025. Other injury-related absences from Mexico’s preliminary list include Cruz Azul defender Jesús ‘Chiquete’ Orozco and Club América goalkeeper Luis Ángel Malagón. In contrast, Aguirre has included several players recently returning from injury layoffs, such as Dynamo Moscow's Luis Chávez, R.S.C. Anderlecht's César Huerta, and Celtic's Julián Araujo. The manager also opted to bolster his goalkeeping depth, calling up six keepers in total, including José Antonio Rodríguez and Carlos Moreno. Rise in naturalized players and dual-nationals Continuing the trend of naturalized players and dual-nationals in the squad, the roster features Inter Miami's Germán Berterame, Al-Qadsiah’s Julián Quiñones, and Real Betis' Álvaro Fidalgo. This trio represents a core of talent that has exported abroad after largely dominating Liga MX over the past several seasons, with Fidalgo in particular expected to take on an attacking role in the midfield. They are joined by several Mexican-American prospects, including Chivas' Brian Gutiérrez and Richard Ledezma, as well as Atlético Madrid's Obed Vargas. Issues between Liga MX and the Mexican Football Federation While 12 Liga MX players were previously confirmed as "locks" for the squad in an agreement with domestic clubs, players like Tigres' Diego Lainez, Toluca's Marcel Ruiz, and Club América's Érick Sánchez were added to the preliminary list, likely as contingency options should injuries occur before the final submission in June. Last week, the Mexican Football Federation threatened to exclude any Liga MX-based player from the World Cup roster if they fail to report for national team duty. This came after Aguirre revealed a 20-player squad for a pre-World Cup training camp, when Toluca stars Jesús Gallardo and Alexis Vega remained with their club ahead of a Concacaf Champions Cup semifinal against LAFC rather than reporting to camp. This led to the Mexican Football Federation releasing a statement and calling for a press conference on May 6 to deliver an ultimatum. "As instructed by the coaching staff, any player who does not attend the training camp today will be left off the World Cup roster," the statement read. Aguirre also spoke to media during a press conference the same day. "Whoever doesn't come will be out of the World Cup. That is something we cannot be flexible about, not in the least," Aguirre said. By nightfall on May 6, all 20 players Aguirre called into camp were present. Final preparations Before kicking off the World Cup, Aguirre and his men will take part in exhibitions against Ghana on May 22, Australia on May 30 and Serbia on June 4. Mexico will begin the group stage of the World Cup against South Africa on June 11, they'll then face South Korea on June 18 and Czechia on June 24. Read More

​CITI FIELD (New York) – Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns sat in front of the microphone on Tuesday before the team opened a six-game homestand, and there were two moments that stood out from his scheduled news conference with reporters. One was about the Mets manager, and the other was regarding his front office’s assessment on injury-prone players. The Mets entered the day with the worst record (15-25) in Major League Baseball. On Tuesday, they promoted No. 2 overall prospect A.J. Ewing in an attempt to fill a need in the outfield and, it went without saying in their official press release, to shake things up. Stearns has fielded questions from reporters once every homestand since he took the job in October 2023. Typically, the longtime baseball executive is composed — perhaps even unflappable — when addressing the team’s poor performance. It’s clear to see he prides himself on being unemotional in front of the cameras. But, on Tuesday, Stearns got a little snippy in response to a question about manager Carlos Mendoza’s job security. "I'll let my words speak for themselves," Stearns said in a measured and tight tone. "I've been very clear and consistent that I think Mendy does a really good job. I believe Mendy does a really good job. I like coming to work with him every day. I'm not going to address this every two weeks when I talk to you guys. I'll leave it at that." As long as the Mets continue to lose, questions about those who are in charge and whether their baseball operations processes are working will persist. On some level, the Mets P.O.B.O. understands that. After all, he grew up a Mets fan on the Upper East Side. He knows the heat comes with the territory. But, behind Stearns’ sly grin, his sharp answer revealed how much the pressure of the team’s current situation is getting to him. The Mets have represented the worst offense in baseball for a quarter of the season. They entered the day tied with the San Francisco Giants for the fewest runs scored (139) in MLB. It’s no longer early, as both Stearns and Mendoza said. But Mets leadership believes there is too much talent on the team, as well as enough season left, for the club to turn things around. Stop me if you’ve heard this answer before, as in last year, when the Mets were unable to turn things around en route to missing the playoffs. "We have a lot of players with really good track records in this league," Stearns said when I asked what he specifically believes in about this team. "We are counting on those track records, not only on the field, but how they prepare for games, how they go about their business, how hard they're working right now. And we believe that ultimately that's going to show." As the Mets turn, their top prospect, Ewing, is the latest player whom the team hopes will jump-start its lifeless offense and save the season. The 21-year-old started the year in Double-A and played just 12 games at the Triple-A level before joining the Mets at Citi Field on Tuesday. Ewing, praised for his speed, hit .326/.392/.435 with five stolen bases, five walks and four RBI in those dozen games. Mets officials said they would not have called up Ewing unless they truly believed he was ready for the big-league jump. Unfortunately, it smells of desperation. Ewing did impress in Tuesday's outing – an RBI triple in the seventh for his first career hit, and then becoming the first Mets player with a triple in his big league debut. He also walked three times, scored twice, and stole a base. It was apparent when the Mets took the field on Opening Day that the lineup was built to be overly reliant on players who have a history of getting injured. Luis Robert Jr., who is currently sidelined with a herniated disk in his lumbar spine, was one of those injury-prone players the Mets acquired over the offseason. The Mets gave up Luisangel Acuña for Robert when they had a logjam in the infield anyway after trading Brandon Nimmo for Marcus Semien. Robert, at his best, is an All-Star center fielder who is just a few years removed from winning the Silver Slugger award at his position. But, all along, the Mets’ grand plan to keep him on the field was a delayed ramp-up during spring training, followed by regularly scheduled off days once the season began. It didn’t work. Despite their best precautionary measures, Robert's injury has significantly weakened the Mets lineup and created a revolving door in center field. The team’s situation at first base has been a disaster, too. After passing on free agent Pete Alonso, who is currently the Mets’ franchise leader in home runs, Stearns signed veteran infielder Jorge Polanco to play first base. Polanco played two games at first this season before going down with an Achilles injury and a wrist contusion. Robert and Polanco are earning a combined $40 million this year, an exorbitant amount that only seemed reasonable if both players stayed on the field for the majority of the season. As of this moment, there is no timetable for their returns. While Stearns said, "I don't think sitting here in the middle of May that I'm going to do a postmortem on our season," it stood out that he admitted he may need to rethink some of his models and systems on injury-prone players. "I think we absolutely have to look at our risk assessment on injured players, or players who get injured once they're here," Stearns said. "Certainly we know we're taking a level of risk when we bring players in with injury histories. We're feeling that risk right now. And it certainly doesn't help that a number of our players have gotten hurt at the exact same time. It's not something that we necessarily anticipated. But I think that's a fair question and something we need to look at." Stearns & Co. may not have anticipated that several players would get hurt at the same time, but anyone who has followed the Mets for the past few decades was looking out for it. Even if Stearns was wearing rose-colored glasses when he constructed the roster over the winter, it’s hard to imagine that he believed the team’s strategy in building more off days for Robert would be the solution. Mets brass had to know their depth would be tested eventually. As it turned out, 38-year-old outfielder Tommy Pham was not the answer; he recorded two hits in 31 plate appearances before the team designated him for assignment. Then, the Mets signed journeyman right fielder Austin Slater at the end of April, and he has one extra base hit in 16 at-bats. So, no, that hasn’t been the spark the offense is looking for. Outfielder/designated hitter MJ Melendez has made the most of his opportunity with an .852 OPS in 20 games since getting called up last month. But the rest of the Mets offense has performed so poorly that Melendez’s at-bats haven’t helped. Now, the club is hoping Ewing is the answer. If he is part of the solution, the Mets can still go on a run and compete for a spot in the playoffs. And if he's not, they're inching closer and closer to being sellers at the trade deadline. Stearns was asked at what point this season he would pivot to the future and decide that this year's club, the one he tore down and built in his own vision, is just not good enough. "We're not close to that point right now," Stearns said. There were no more questions, not even the ones he won't address every two weeks. Deesha Thosar covers Major League Baseball as a reporter and columnist for FOX Sports. She previously covered the Mets as a beat reporter for the New York Daily News. The daughter of Indian immigrants, Deesha grew up on Long Island and now lives in Queens. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar. Read More

​If you were to create an ideal World Cup starting lineup for the U.S. men's national team, who would you pick? Which players would get the nod and which ones would be left? Here's how FOX Sports soccer analyst Alexi Lalas made his list on the latest episode of "Alexi Lalas' State of the Union" podcast, explaining why he made some tough choices – including leaving notable players such as Clint Dempsey, Tim Howard and DaMarcus Beasley off the starters. Let's break it all down by each position: Goalkeeper: Tony MeolaWorld Cup appearances: 1990, 1994 Alexi's Take: "People are going to disagree with me, but I am going to have Tony Meola because, especially in the modern game, a goalkeeper that can play with his feet. Tony was a man out of time in that he was incredible with his feet and gave us a sense of security back there. That was, again, ahead of its time, because we didn't often play, but when Tony would spray the ball, it was amazing about his accuracy and his confidence with his feet. By just a nose over Tim Howard, I'm going with Meola." Right back: Tony SannehWorld Cup appearances: 2002 Alexi's Take: "For those that don't remember right back in the 2002 World Cup and that wonderful summer, Tony Sanneh  was everything and anything that you would want from a right back. Getting up and down and just eating up grass and attacking and causing all sorts of problems going forward, but also with the defensive responsibilities." Center backs: Eddie Pope, Carlos Bocanegra  World Cup appearances: Pope - 1998, 2002; Bocanegra - 2006, 2010 Alexi's Take: "Eddie Pope was a legend and wonderful player in the air, on the ground. He was smart, just great on the left-hand side. And Carlos Bocanegra, as the longtime captain for the U.S. team, I think it's a good balance there with Pope." Left back: Antonee "Jedi" RobinsonWorld Cup appearances: 2022, 2026 (expected) Alexi's Take: "I think he's going to go down as arguably the best left back in U.S. men's national team history, and I already have him there on that left-hand side." Defensive Midfielders: Michael Bradley, Weston McKennieWorld Cup appearances: Bradley - 2010, 2014; McKennie - 2022, 2026 (expected) Alexi's Take: "I have two defensive midfielders in front of that back four, but certainly with opportunities and responsibilities in the attack too, and that's going to be Michael Bradley and Weston McKennie there. "Bradley, a living legend when it comes to the U.S. team just gives us a solid foundation, a predictability in the most positive sense there. And then McKennie — we've talked so much about and how important he is to this national team, and how his personality, both on and off the field, is important to a team. And so I'm gonna have him next to Bradley." Forwards: Tab Ramos, Landon Donovan, Christian PulisicWorld Cup appearances: Ramos - 1990, 1994, 1998; Donovan - 2002, 2006, 2010; Pulisic - 2022, 2026 (expected) Alexi's Take: "These three are completely interchangeable. And as a matter of fact, all three of these players played multiple positions in the attack and showed up all sorts of different places: Tab Ramos, Landon, Donovan and Christian Pulisic." "People ask me: Who was the best player you ever played with on the U.S. team? It was Tab Ramos. Talk about a man out of time. It. He was slumming it, playing with us. And I felt bad at times because he was so far, technically and mentally ahead of us in terms of the way he thought about the game. Must have been incredibly frustrating to play with us. "Landon Donovan, you know, kind of underneath, but able to move out wide where he does a lot of damage, and yes, at times going in the middle, but again, carte blanche for all three. Christian Pulisic, who we know shows up out wide left, but certainly can come in.  We've seen him in different places, so that that threesome in the middle there can go wherever they want." Striker: Brian McBrideWorld Cup appearances: 2002, 2006 Alexi's Take: "My country, my kingdom, for a Brian McBride — with all due respect to Folarin Balogun and Ricardo Pepi right now." Read More