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Patriotism is great, but making money is better: 'Fade the public' in Team USA vs Australia in World Cup 2026
The 2026 FIFA World Cup heats up this Friday, June 19, as the United States faces Australia in a crucial Group D clash. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. ET at Lumen Stadium in Seattle, Washington, where a raucous home crowd awaits.
Both nations enter this matchup riding high after multi-goal victories in their World Cup openers. Yet, BetMGM has the Americans as -165 favorites, the Socceroos as +400 underdogs and the draw +320 with a total of 2.5 goals.
Can Team USA maintain its momentum, or will the Aussies pull off another massive shocker? Here are my main factors for the United States vs. Australia, followed by a best bet.
American attacking midfielder Christian Pulisic left after the first half of the USA’s 4-1 win over Paraguay in their 2026 World Cup opener because of a calf injury.
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According to SICscore.com, Pulisic has a history of calf issues, and he didn’t practice with the team this week. Calf problems can lead to more serious injuries, such as a torn Achilles tendon.
Meanwhile, this is the first World Cup with a 48-team field, and the knockout round now has 32 teams instead of 16.
Between more teams making the knockout round this year and Pulisic’s injury history, there is a 70/30 chance Team USA manager Mauricio Pochettino rests Pulisic on Friday.
HOW DO TEAMS ADVANCE IN THE 2026 WORLD CUP? TIEBREAKER RULES AND ROUND OF 32 FORMAT EXPLAINED
That matters.
In fact, my buddies, who bet on soccer much more often than I do, are saying there has been "load managing" in group play this year because there are more knockout-stage spots available.
Three of America’s goals against Paraguay came in the first half while Pulisic was on the pitch. I’m expecting the USA’s offense to be less explosive against Australia if Pulisic doesn’t play.
Furthermore, the United States only had 1.42 expected goals against Paraguay, and America scored off an own goal.
Also, the Aussies shut out Türkiye 2-0 in their World Cup opener. However, they only had 1.18 expected goals and possessed the ball just 28% of the game.
Since Australia was a +425 underdog against Türkiye, the Socceroos essentially stole three points in group play.
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They also had the worst betting odds to win Group D, so with that in mind, the Socceroos will be happy to earn one point by tying the United States on Friday.
Ultimately, this is an old-school "fading the recent result" handicapping angle, with Team USA looking amazing in its first game.
Per BetMGM’s John Ewing, 80% of the money is on the Over 2.5 goals at that sportsbook as of Wednesday evening.
Nonetheless, the Under is pricier at the market-making operations, such as Circa Sports in Las Vegas and the offshore oddsmaker Pinnacle Sportsbook.
Look, I want America to win as much as the next guy.
But, more importantly, I’m trying to make money.
And UNDER 2.5 goals (-115) at BetMGM is the sharper look in this game.
_____________________________
Follow me on X @Geoffery-Clark, and check out my "OutKick Bets Podcast" for more betting content and random rants.
Fitness trainer told friend she was 'scared for her life' weeks before body with matching clothing found
Weeks before a body matching her description was found, a missing South Carolina fitness trainer told her best friend she was "scared for her life."
A person fitting the description of Elena Katherine Moore, 39, was found dead on Wednesday afternoon in Lexington, South Carolina, after she went missing on June 11. She was last seen after leaving a Planet Fitness gym in Lexington.
While the body hasn't yet been identified, the Lexington Police Department said the body "fits the clothing description of our missing person."
Sondra Campbell, who was close friends with Moore, told Fox News Digital that something felt "very different" the last time she saw her on May 31.
MISSING SOUTH CAROLINA TEEN MACKENZIE DALTON FOUND SAFE AFTER MONTHLONG SEARCH LEADS TO ARREST
"She was scared for her life. She actually said those words to me," Campbell said. "Elena is one of my best friends. I've known her over probably 10 years now. We're really close like tell each other everything. She's been that person for me for a long time."
When Campbell asked what was wrong, Moore said she wanted to discuss it in private.
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"I can't talk to you right now. There's too many people around. She's like, but we've got to talk one-on-one," Campbell recalled Moore saying.
Campbell said she missed a call from Moore on June 4, and tried to call and text her back with no response. She also said it's unlike Moore to be walking alone at night.
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"Elena was such a good person and I think we're just all just trying to wrap our head around this, but my friend would not be alone walking at night time. She just wouldn't be, it's not her," Campbell said.
Since police found a body, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division has been tasked with determining the cause of death.
According to LPD Chief Terrence Green, authorities found the body Wednesday after getting a tip that led investigators to a new search location.
"At approximately 2:48 p.m. we found an unidentified body that fits the clothing description of our missing person. We are still waiting on the coroner to identify her," Green said.
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The body found was wearing a "similar green outfit" that matched what Moore was wearing as she was seen on security video before she went missing, Green added.
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Formal identification will be released by the coroner, he said.
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Moore was last seen walking through the Publix parking lot at 100 Old Cherokee Road in Lexington on the night of June 11.
Before she went missing, her social media was inactive for around a month, which Lauren Beasley, a friend of Moore's, said isn't normal.
"She is very active on social media so her going radio silent for the last month is out of character," she said.
Fox News Digital's Bonny Chu contributed to this report.
JD Vance reveals Trump's 'unbelievable ability' that behaves like a 'spiritual dimension'
Vice President JD Vance provided an intimate glimpse into President Donald Trump’s character, revealing a trait Americans may not know he has during an appearance on "Hang Out with Sean Hannity."
"He has the best instincts about human beings of anybody I've ever met," Vance said in a new episode of Hannity's podcast. "There's an almost like, spiritual dimension of where he understands whether somebody's telling him the truth or not."
Vance said he is consistently stunned by the president’s ability to read people and discern their genuine intentions.
"He understands whether somebody is trying to pull one over on him or not… it's fascinating to me," he said.
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The vice president said the many powerful figures who meet with Trump, including corporate CEOs and world leaders, are no match for the president’s instincts.
"He's the President of the United States, right? You have people who are constantly coming into the White House and asking for things," Vance explained.
"And he has this unbelievable ability to sniff out whether this person wants this thing because it's good for America or he wants it because it’s good for him."
Vance also opened up about a period of his life when he believed he knew everything and how experience ultimately changed his perspective.
"I became arrogant about what I knew," he explained. "My grandmother, who, again, was the smartest person I've ever met, devout Christian, but not an educated woman by any means, I sort of thought of her as a simpleton, as a bumpkin."
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"I called myself an atheist at the time, and I sort of had this arrogance about me that I knew everything and people like my grandmother didn't know things."
The vice president criticized elite organizations, including colleges and universities, for encouraging people to sport a "hyper-rational" attitude and set aside instincts and experience.
He claimed those same elites, like military and economic experts who operate on rationale, damaged the country.
"I think that so many of the things that people said about Donald Trump… it was experts who assume they knew everything about economics. It was military experts who assume they know everything about foreign policy," Vance said.
"If you look back on it, it was a bunch of people who screwed up the country but didn't learn a single lesson from it."
Hannity’s full, wide-ranging interview with Vance on "Hang Out with Sean Hannity" – covering his upbringing in Appalachia, the 2028 presidential election and more – is available on YouTube, Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
Obama center opens after years-long saga as locals warn ‘monstrosity’ could price them out
The Obama Presidential Center is opening to the public on Friday morning following an expensive and controversy-laden construction history.
Former President Barack Obama’s presidential center was initially estimated to cost $350 million; however, after a slate of setbacks and delays, the price of the project has more than doubled to a staggering $850 million. As construction was ongoing in Chicago, the center faced an array of controversies, including opposition from locals, anger over the use of tax dollars to support surrounding infrastructure, critiques of the building’s design, alleged failure to pay contractors and even a lawsuit alleging racial discrimination.
Unlike a traditional presidential library, the Obama Presidential Center is designed as a broader civic campus, with a museum, public plaza, forum, Chicago Public Library branch, recreation space, gardens and community programming.
"It’s a monstrosity. It’s over budget, it’s taking way too long to finish and it’s going to drive up prices and bring headaches and problems for everyone who lives here," one Chicago resident who grew up in the area near the campus' location told the Daily Mail. "It feels like a washing away of the neighborhood and culture that used to be here."
CHICAGO RESIDENTS CALL OBAMA PRESIDENTIAL CENTER A 'MONSTROSITY,' FEAR THEY'LL BE DISPLACED: REPORT
One of the most prominent lines of criticism levied against the new presidential center was that its construction materially harmed those it was seeking to serve.
Beyond its museum exhibits and planned displays of presidential records and artifacts, the Obama Presidential Center features prominent exhibits on slavery, racism, the civil rights movement and African American history. Additionally, the Obama Foundation wanted the center to be a boon for the local community, billing it as an "economic engine for South Side residents."
To accomplish this, the center prioritized locals for contracting and staffing while also promising to provide workforce development services to surrounding communities.
These moves, however, were not enough to assuage the concerns of some residents that the racial justice-infused center would ultimately displace many predominantly Black American locals by increasing the value of nearby lots, thereby raising rents and driving up property taxes.
OBAMA’S LEGACY PROJECT OFFERS LITTLE HOPE FOR CHICAGO’S SOUTH SIDE RESIDENTS
"What we got was a lease saying you have to pay $2,450 a month to stay in your home," a lifelong resident of a neighborhood near the center told the Chicago Sun-Times, recounting how his rent had gone up after construction began. "My home that they had let fall into disrepair, my home that they had decided wasn’t worth caring for. So we had to move … our beautiful Black beach neighborhood was no longer ours to enjoy."
Numerous residents have shared similar stories with the press, prompting Chicago to set aside $6 million to develop affordable housing in the area and providing residents with property tax relief.
Further complicating the Obama Presidential Center’s mission of racial justice was a lawsuit filed by a local subcontractor against one of the firms managing its construction in early 2025.
One African American-owned concrete and rebar company working on the project alleged that the company overseeing structural engineering and design on the Obama Presidential Center unfairly singled out black-owned firms for errors.
The lawsuit alleged that those in charge of the presidential library’s construction "directly undermined the Obama Foundation's DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) goals and commitments and mission to bring transformative change to the construction industry and local community," a claim that was strongly denied by management.
Management argued that many of the subcontractors were "questionably qualified" and that they regularly underperformed or displayed inexperience, factors that contributed to the presidential library’s ballooning costs. The Obama Foundation emphasized hiring black-owned businesses when seeking out subcontractors for its center.
PROTESTERS RAGED, CRITICS MOCKED — NOW OBAMA SAYS HIS LIBRARY’S ACTUALLY OPENING
In yet another snag, many subcontractors who worked on the center are claiming that they have yet to be paid for their work on the Obama Presidential Center.
A Fox News Digital investigation previously identified multiple firms that say they haven’t received payments, with outstanding invoices ranging from hundreds of thousands of dollars to tens of millions.
"I haven't had eight hours or six hours sleep in over a year," one African American subcontractor told Fox News Digital. "I'm cooked emotionally. I feel like an aluminum can that's been thrown in front of a steamroller. We're crushed. And I have to fight for my company and for my people."
When pressed by Fox News Digital, the Obama Foundation passed the blame onto Lakeside Alliance, its primary contractor, stating that it was responsible for handling payments to subcontractors. Lakeside Alliance, meanwhile, said projects of this size are complex matters and that it is working to resolve all loose ends.
"That's a bad signal to put out the fact that seven to eight to maybe 10 of our contractors in our community are going to be eliminated from doing business because of the debt that they incurred on this particular project," Omar Shareef, the president of the African American Contractors Association, previously told Fox News Digital. "If they would have known it was a Trojan horse or a Pandora’s box, I don't know if they would have raced as much as they did to be a part of it."
Fox News Digital could not independently verify claims that firms had been forced to shutter due to their work on the Obama Presidential Center.
While most of the Obama Presidential Center’s rocky history was privately funded, taxpayers were on the hook for the infrastructure surrounding it.
Illinois has so far spent over $120 million on infrastructure improvements in South Chicago to accommodate the presidential center, with the total public cost estimated to reach around $200 million.
Even with roughly $1 billion spent on its construction and design, the appearance of the Obama Presidential Center has proven controversial, drawing comparisons to everything from a maximum security prison to a garbage can.
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"The building has an ominous presence, its mostly windowless heft recalling a menacing sci-fi headquarters," The Guardian’s architecture critic wrote of the structure.
One person dubbed it the "Obamalisk."
Some, however, have pushed back on these critiques.
"Today’s punchline may become tomorrow’s civic treasure," Justin Kaufmann, writing for Axios Chicago, said. He pointed to the center’s blending of modern architecture with the design language of classic civic buildings.
The Obama Presidential Center did not respond to a request for comment when reached by Fox News Digital on Thursday.
Trump's $300B Iran investment fund may be 'close to impossible' due to IRGC sanctions law, expert warns
A proposed $300 billion investment fund for Iran included in the U.S.–Iran memorandum of understanding may face major legal obstacles under existing U.S. sanctions law, raising questions about whether the plan is workable even if both sides move toward a final agreement.
The memorandum, digitally signed Wednesday by President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, is aimed at ending the war and restoring traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. As part of the 14-point plan, the U.S. agreed to lift sanctions on Iran, allow Tehran to increase its oil revenue and regain access to parts of the international banking system, among other measures.
But one of the most ambitious parts of the framework — a proposed $300 billion private investment fund for Iran’s reconstruction and development — may collide with a longstanding U.S. determination that Iran’s construction sector is controlled directly or indirectly by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The issue is not just technical. It goes to whether one of the central economic promises of the Trump-Iran framework can realistically be executed under current U.S. law. If the $300 billion fund depends on investment in sectors Washington has already identified as IRGC-controlled, experts say the administration may be forced to rely on temporary waivers or new licenses — a legal structure that could make long-term investors wary and complicate any final deal.
The State Department formally determined in 2020, and again in May 2025, that Iran’s construction sector was controlled directly or indirectly by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Under the Iran Freedom and Counter-Proliferation Act, known as IFCA, that finding creates sanctions risks for people or companies doing business in the sector.
Miad Maleki, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and a former Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control executive, told Fox News Digital that the legal and sanctions-related problems surrounding the fund are more complicated than simply asking whether Congress would have to approve it.
"I think Congress is unavoidable for a durable version of that investment," Maleki said. "If we have a final deal and now as part of this commitment, the U.S. government and allies are going to have to go in and help Iran to set up this fund or get access to such a fund."
Maleki said the president has meaningful unilateral authority to begin easing restrictions. Trump could revoke relevant executive orders, direct the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control to issue general licenses and waive some congressional sanctions laws.
But he said that does not mean the fund would be durable enough to attract serious investors.
"Technically, the fund could be switched on through some kind of an executive action plan alone, but it would be on paper and it would have to be renewed every 180 days," Maleki said, referring to waivers for mandatory sanctions tied to Iran’s construction sector.
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"If you’re anyone who is in an investment-type business, it’s hard to find someone who would be investing in construction-type projects that take time," he added. "These projects are not like 180-day projects."
The concern, Maleki said, is especially acute in Iran, where investors would face sanctions uncertainty, political risk and an unreliable partner.
"It’s hard to find someone who would be investing ... based on something that could not just be renewed if Iran, especially in the context of Iran, where you don’t really have a reliable partner, where things can blow up any minute," he said.
TRUMP'S IRAN DEAL 'GIVING A LOT MORE TO GET A LOT LESS' THAN OBAMA'S, SENATOR SAYS
That structure raises a broader question about whether negotiators were truly expecting the memorandum to mature into a final, durable agreement.
"The more I’ve been digging into this memorandum of understanding, sanctions paragraphs of this memorandum, the more I have come to this kind of doubt that the negotiators really were counting on a final deal to be reached," Maleki said.
"If you do get to a final agreement and you’re looking into actually meeting the commitments that you made, this $300 billion investment fund, it’s not something you can really set up," he added. "I think it would be almost close to impossible to get something that would materialize."
READ IT: THE FULL TEXT OF THE US-IRAN MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING:
Maleki said one possible explanation is that the U.S. side may view its role as limited to providing sanctions relief, while leaving Iran and potential investors to sort out whether the fund can actually be built.
"We’re going to give them the waivers that they need. If they can’t find investors to invest in this, that’s their problem," he said, describing one possible view of the negotiators’ approach.
The Treasury Department and the Iranian mission to the U.N. did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
The issue could become a congressional flashpoint. Because IFCA waivers are limited to 180 days and require justification to Congress, any long-term investment framework for Iran could force the administration to repeatedly defend why sanctions tied to an IRGC-controlled sector should be suspended.
The legal obstacles also come as critics warn the pact gives Iran major economic benefits while leaving some of the most difficult nuclear and security questions for future negotiations. Maleki said the U.S. had already built significant leverage over Iran through sanctions, military pressure and the blockade, but may now be trading that leverage for the reopening of Hormuz.
"We reached a point that we had leverage that no U.S. president has ever had with Iran," Maleki said. "Yet we gave that away for this, for the opening of the Strait of Hormuz."
He argued that Iran is likely to use the process to delay rather than rush toward a final agreement.
"Iran is going to go back to its playbook of dragging, buying time with the sanctions relief-type incentives that I’m seeing in this package," Maleki said. "I do not think that the Iranian regime is going to rush to get to a deal."
John Hannah, a senior fellow at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America and a former national security adviser to Vice President Dick Cheney, warned that any economic windfall from the agreement could help the IRGC rebuild.
"It’s almost certain that the IRGC will use any economic windfall granted by this MOU to reconstitute as much of their conventional military as possible as fast as possible — especially the vast missile and drone arsenal that the IRGC believes proved critical to the strategic successes they achieved during the war," Hannah told Fox News Digital.
Fox News Digital's News Quiz: June 19, 2026
Test your news knowledge with this week's Fox News Digital News Quiz, featuring San Francisco Giants pitcher Landen Roupp wearing a Bible Verse on his cap, and a Florida couple making an announcement after an alleged baby mix-up.
Looking for another challenge?
Dirty sodas sparking health concerns and a Texas mom's Facebook arrest claim were featured in last week's News Quiz.
Test your knowledge of revolutionary recipes, celebrity challenges and more in this week's American Culture Quiz.
If you're looking to play even more, you can find all of our quizzes by clicking here.
Check back next week for the latest News Quiz from Fox News Digital. Thanks for playing!
Red Lobster's 37-year-old CEO betting on nostalgia, AI to fuel chain's comeback after bankruptcy
Red Lobster closed dozens of locations nationwide in May 2024 before filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Now, the seafood chain's 37-year-old chief executive officer says he's planning "the greatest comeback in the history of the restaurant industry."
Damola Adamolekun, former CEO of P.F. Chang's, became Red Lobster's new CEO in September 2024. Before that, he worked with Fortress Investment Group as it prepared to acquire the Florida-based restaurant chain.
Prior to filing for bankruptcy, Red Lobster reportedly went through five CEOs in five years.
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While at Fortress, Adamolekun visited a variety of Red Lobster restaurants in secret to assess them.
"It's very easy for staff to disengage and check out," he told Vanity Fair in an interview this month. "But they hadn't. I saw people that'd been there 10, 20, 30, 40 years. There was a lot of love for the brand. What they needed was a north star."
He reportedly told 30,000 employees at a town hall that the company was "going to execute the greatest comeback in the history of the restaurant industry," setting the tone for an aggressive turnaround effort.
Many analysts and media reports have cited the company's decision to make its endless shrimp promotion a permanent offering as one factor behind its financial troubles. Endless shrimp did return to select Red Lobster locations earlier this year, but Adamolekun made it clear in a statement to Fox 13 in Florida that it would be for a limited time only.
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Prior to its bankruptcy filing, Red Lobster was also dealing with "the fallout from a 2014 move that sold off ownership of the chain's real estate and saddled the company with lease payments," FOX Business reported.
In May, a Red Lobster restaurant touted as the chain's oldest continuously operating location shut down in Florida after 56 years.
"As part of the normal course of business, Red Lobster continuously evaluates restaurant performance and lease terms and may, from time to time, choose to close or relocate select restaurants," Red Lobster told Fox News Digital at the time.
In addition to streamlining operations and closing underperforming restaurants, Adamolekun and Red Lobster are engaging with customers and indulging their nostalgia. As a high-profile figure, the CEO also often appears on podcasts, in magazines, on television and social media.
Under Adamolekun's leadership, P.F. Chang's began generating revenues of approximately $1 billion a year, according to Goldman Sachs.
"The biggest lesson I learned was the importance of adaptability," he told the investment firm.
Consumers' emotional connection to the brand has become a central part of Red Lobster's turnaround strategy, Adamolekun said.
"I underestimated the impact of these emotional connections, which became a guiding principle in our decision-making, from menu changes to ambiance redesigns."
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Red Lobster has reintroduced popcorn shrimp and hush puppies, seafood boils, $19.99 shrimp deals and $20 lobster rolls, as Fox News Digital previously reported.
The young CEO has also promoted happy hour and appetizer deals. "One thing that won't be changing," he said in an advertisement, "these Cheddar Bay biscuits. We got that right the first time. Welcome back."
On the "Black Money Tree" podcast, Adamolekun said he wants Red Lobster to become "the most AI-forward restaurant company that exists."
He added, "One of the advantages of being young is that I understand the technology pretty well," noting that he uses AI regularly in his own work.
Red Lobster has long been popular among Black consumers. By 2015, about one in six diners were Black, a higher share than any other major casual chain, according to Vanity Fair. The chain also became a springboard for Black managers and culinary talent, many coming through historically Black colleges and universities.
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Red Lobster is projecting positive net income by the end of the fiscal year under Adamolekun's leadership, according to the Vanity Fair profile.
"We're growing mid-single digits to low-double digits on certain weeks, which is good," he told the publication.
"More people are ordering delivery than they [did] in the past. We're growing, [but] we still have work to do to reclaim where we were."
Fox News Digital reached out to Red Lobster for comment; it declined to offer any additional insights at this time.
How to watch USA vs Australia: Live stream the 2026 FIFA World Cup
The United States men’s national team made a statement to open its 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign, routing Paraguay 4-1 last week behind two goals from Folarin Balogun.
The U.S. struck less than seven minutes in, taking a 1-0 lead when Paraguay’s Damian Bobadilla redirected the ball into his own net. Fans inside the packed stadium in Inglewood, California, roared as the USMNT seized an early advantage.
The result gave the United States its largest World Cup victory margin since 1930, when the Americans won twice by 3–0 scores in the tournament’s inaugural edition.
After opening the tournament in Southern California, the USMNT will stay on the West Coast, shifting north to Seattle for their next group-stage match against Australia at 3 p.m. ET.
WATCH USA VS AUSTRALIA ON FOX ONE
Australia opened its World Cup campaign last week with a 2-0 win over Türkiye.
Under head coach Mauricio Pochettino, the USMNT entered the tournament as the No. 17 team in the FIFA World Rankings. FIFA determines its world rankings using the Elo rating system, which rewards teams for wins and penalizes them for losses while also factoring in the strength of the competition.
Team USA's star midfielder Christian Pulisic's availability remains a question after he was substituted out of last week’s win over Paraguay with a left calf issue. Pulisic said the move was precautionary after he took a kick to the calf, adding that he was "really hoping that it’s nothing."
Pochettino said he will consult the medical staff before deciding whether Pulisic can play in a pivotal Group D matchup. The result of the match could go a long way toward determining which team sits atop the group next week.
"Tonight – the day before the game – we have a meeting with our medical area and we will assess the whole group, the players and tomorrow we will communicate on the things that we cannot agree [on] tonight," Pochettino told reporters on Thursday. "He's involv[ed], he's much better from Friday. We'll see."
This year's World Cup features an expanded field of 48 teams.
Here's how to watch the game, including start time, TV information and streaming options.
When: Friday, June 19, 2026, at 3 p.m. ET
Where: Lumen Field, Seattle, Washington
TV: FOX
Stream: Watch three days free on FOX One, Watch free on Tubi, FOX Sports.
Gov Sanders reveals 'major breakthrough' on education as red state positions itself as 'blueprint' for nation
EXCLUSIVE: As Democrats across the country criticize education programs in red states, Arkansas Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders is touting a major achievement in her state she hopes will serve as an education blueprint for all states, regardless of politics, nationwide.
"The thing we're most excited about is the fact that so many Arkansas students are doing better now than they would have been doing pre-LEARNS legislation," Sanders told Fox News Digital on the day her office announced a "major breakthrough" on education following implementation of a 2023 Republican backed statewide education overhaul, known as the LEARNS Act.
The law also raised the minimum teacher salary from $36,000 to $50,000, created performance-based teacher bonuses, boosted literacy support, funded school safety initiatives, and banned critical race theory and classroom teachings related to critical race theory, gender identity, sexual orientation, and sexually explicit materials.
Arkansas public school students are seeing sharp gains on a new statewide exam, with proficiency rates rising more than 7% across all grades and subjects in just three years under the state’s conservative education reforms. Since 2024, student proficiency has increased by more than 7% and by more than 5% since 2025, according to the governor’s office.
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"We want our kids to do well," Sanders said. "We love the fact that kids in Arkansas are learning, that they're moving up. The growth and achievement that we're seeing from our kids is exactly what we want to happen."
In 2026, 42.2% of students met proficiency standards, up from 36.9% in 2025. Mathematics proficiency increased from 36.4% in 2024 to 44.2% in 2026, science proficiency rose from 35.6% to 44.0%, and English language arts proficiency climbed from 33.8% to 39.5%.
Students performing at the lowest levels also fell across all subjects, dropping from an average of 27.3% in 2025 to 23.1% in 2026. Reading performance among third-graders improved as well, with proficiency rising from 36% in 2024 to 43% in 2026.
Students in kindergarten through second grade, the first to learn under the state's education reforms, exceeded 50% proficiency in nearly every subject and grade level, while maintaining upward momentum.
Sanders said transformational reform is driven by better teaching and a unified focus on student needs, saying "a comprehensive aligned approach" makes a difference.
"Not any one thing, but it's the collective process of really transforming the way that we approach education," Sanders said. "Realizing that every single kid can learn when given the right environment, when given the right tools, and letting failure not be an option."
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Democrats in recent years, including former Vice President Kamala Harris and prominent teachers' union officials, have targeted red-state education policies, but Sanders told Fox News Digital she hopes the education program sends a message across the country.
"I'm hopeful absolutely that red states will use what we're doing here as a blueprint, but I also hope that blue states will look at the success that you're seeing in places like Arkansas, Mississippi and others and try to follow suit because we want all kids to do well," Sanders said.
"Seeing kids achieve and do better and be successful, that's not a red state or blue state issue. That's something everybody should care about."
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Sanders said the results are "showing what works," adding there is no need to "reinvent the wheel."
"We know that raising the bar, providing those resources and support for our students, for our teachers, for our superintendents makes a difference," Sanders said. "We've got a recipe here that's working and absolutely hope it not only changes the conversation but frankly changes the system, changes the culture and education."
"The LEARNS Act was a bold, innovative, and comprehensive approach to improve education," Jacob Oliva, secretary of the Arkansas Department of Education, said in a press release. "It was built on research, urgency, and the desperate need for change. These scores prove that listening to teachers, administrators, and parents wasn’t just valuable but also essential. The plan is working. Arkansas students are reading, learning, and benefitting."
ICE urges New York not to release Salvadoran national accused of raping 16-year-old girl on Long Island
Federal immigration officials are urging New York authorities not to release a 59-year-old Salvadoran national accused of raping a 16-year-old girl on Long Island, warning that he should be turned over to ICE if released from local custody.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said on Thursday that it lodged an immigration detainer against Aureliano Antonio Melendez Reyes, who is charged in Suffolk County with rape, sexual abuse and endangering the welfare of a child.
According to prosecutors and DHS, the alleged assault occurred on June 6 as the girl was walking home in Huntington.
Authorities said Reyes repeatedly approached the girl and asked for her phone number. After she refused, he allegedly forced her into an alley and sexually assaulted her.
NY PROSECUTOR SIDESTEPS SANCTUARY LAW AND COORDINATES ICE ARREST OF GUATEMALAN CHILD RAPE SUSPECT
The girl was eventually able to break free and call 911 while running from Reyes, who was allegedly chasing her, according to DHS.
Responding officers took Reyes into custody.
"The allegations in this case are deeply disturbing," Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney said in a statement.
ILLEGAL MIGRANT BABYSITTER ACCUSED IN 5-YEAR-OLD ATTACK NOW FACES MAJOR CHARGES
"A 16-year-old girl should be able to walk safely without being targeted, pursued, and brutally assaulted. My office will continue to vigorously prosecute defendants who pose serious threats to our community’s safety, especially our children."
According to DHS, Reyes entered the United States illegally at an unknown date and location and was issued a final order of removal by an immigration judge in 1998.
"This sexual predator NEVER should have been in our country and able to prey on this innocent girl," DHS acting assistant secretary Lauren Bis said in a statement.
DHS DEMANDS LETITIA JAMES TAKE ACTION OVER NEW YORK'S REFUSAL TO HONOR ICE DETAINERS
"DHS is calling on Governor Kathy Hochul and her fellow sanctuary politicians in New York to commit to not releasing this criminal illegal alien from jail and to turn him over to ICE," Bis continued.
"New York sanctuary politicians must not release criminals from jail into New York communities," she added.
DHS said New York jurisdictions have released nearly 7,000 criminal illegal immigrants since Jan. 20, 2025.
Many of those individuals were accused of violent crimes, including homicide, assault, burglary and drug offenses, according to the agency.
DHS also said more than 7,000 individuals currently in New York custody are the subject of active federal immigration detainers.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Hochul's office and the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office for comment.