Henry Bushnell
@HenryBushnell
Senior ⚽ writer, @TheAthletic.
Now at...
Email: hbushnell@theathletic.com
Signal: henrybushnell.03
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Christian Pulisic, after 12 long years, has found his European soccer home.
With about one week left in the effort to rescind the D1 men’s soccer model, please read my updated statement below.
Men's college soccer celebrated its move to a fall-spring season. But behind the scenes, there's a strong push to block it.
~150 schools have submitted rescission votes. The NCAA D-1 board will discuss today.
News + explainer, free to read @TheAthletic:
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Two years ago today, Philadelphia Union’s goalkeeper Holden Trent suddenly died. Now, for the first time, his extraordinary family speak not only about the tragedy, but also how he defied all medical odds to reach the professional game.
Free to read.
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On St. Louis City's first-ever trophy, in a competition the city has rich history in.
The traveling support showed up in a big way for the big moment.
“The fans were amazing,” Yoann Damet said. “Memories I’ll keep with me for the rest of my life.”
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Three months ago, the Philadelphia Union were the worst team in MLS.
Now, they're the hottest over 13 games *in league history*
Huh? How?
On the ☕️ café meeting when captain Ale Bedoya knew a turnaround was coming — and the 🪒 thin margins of MLS:
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Steve Cherundolo speaks w/ @TheAthleticFC about:
🥇 the U.S. Olympic team project, aiming for gold
🗒️ plans for Copa América, Olympic rosters that are "balanced"
⚽️ broader ambitions at U.S. Soccer
🇩🇪 his months away from coaching
and more, free to read:
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🇺🇸 Mauricio Pochettino's youthful USMNT squad saw 13 players make their debut this window.
Which players are ready to stay in the senior USMNT group, which are on the bubble and who needs some more time to develop?
w/ @HenryBushnell
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USMNT and Mexico take the field… one to cheers and camera phones, the other to mostly boos.
“Me-xi-co, Me-xi-co” chants in the concourse
The making of Adri Mehmeti:
⚽️ Literal millions of touches in his backyard, dubbed Mini-Maracanã by his father, Van
🧠 "He is one of the most intellegent midfield players I've ever seen," said RBNY academy director
👀 "This boy is different."
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Somehow, a 6-foot-7, 18-year-old centerback has flown under the radar in the #USMNT# pool. If his recent trajectory continues, that won't be true for long.
On Neil Pierre, the U.S.'s potential solution at a position of need.
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ORLANDO — The USMNT beats Peru 4-1 in their first game of a new World Cup cycle.
New tradition of the crowd singing Country Roads after a win continues here in Orlando
Takeaways with @HenryBushnell
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Noahkai Banks has picked Germany over the USMNT.
He's filed for a one-time switch. It hasn't yet been confirmed by FIFA, but if/when approved, he'll play for Germany's U-21s this month, and will no longer be eligible to represent the U.S.
w/ @SebSB:
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How much did it cost to attend the 2026 World Cup?
Seven fans shared itemized expenses from their trips!
story w/ @yuriko_a_s
Not much love for MetLife Stadium during this tournament, so here’s the whole backstory on why FIFA chose New York (and New Jersey) for final ahead of Dallas, LA and Mexico City. It’s a long story which includes a video voiced over by Robert De Niro.
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New today at @TheAthletic is a project I've wanted to do as long as I've been watching sports on television.
It's a collection of the full spectrum of raw emotion on display at the World Cup, told only through fan reactions in the stands.
Here's anxiety, via "hands on head:"
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This was my seven-year-old son’s first World Cup. And it warped his reality of what’s possible in the game he loves.
At the behest of editors, I watched the World Cup through his eyes and didn’t want to stop seeing what he did.
Unlocked at @TheAthleticFC
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Lionel Messi had made relatively little impact on the game. There were moments of skill and invention — there are always those moments — but England’s defenders had contained his threat.
And then, as against Egypt last week, Messi took control.
He didn’t score either goal, but he made them both, drawing defenders too him and picking out an unmarked Enzo Fernandez to score from distance for the equaliser and then producing a wonderful cross — with his right foot, no less — to pick out Lautaro Martinez for the winner.
People used to say of Messi that he couldn’t deliver for Argentina when the pressure was on. What a joke that sounds like now.
📝 @OliverKay
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Argentina vs. England is a rivalry built around emotions, tensions, controversies and bitter feuds.
On the pitch, it revolves around the World Cup quarter-finals in 1986 in which Diego Maradona scored perhaps the most controversial and then the most beautiful goal in the competition’s history in the space of four minutes.
But the enmity dates back to 1966 — Argentina players described as “animals” by England manager Alf Ramsey after a bad-tempered World Cup quarter-final.
There was no fewer than 56 fouls in 90 minutes.
📝 @OliverKay, @JamesHorncastle & @AdamCrafton_
🔗
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📍Jerry World
But, here’s a fun gameday story: Jerry Jones has been displaced from his personal suite at AT&T Stadium.
He always watches games from his favorite perch. But for the month of the World Cup, FIFA’s “VVIPs” get whatever they want.
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