Four years in the making. The U.S. Men’s National Team is finally ready to play its first game of the 2026 World Cup with a match on Friday against Paraguay in Los Angeles. For the 26 Americans on the squad, just making it to soccer’s most prestigious tournament and the world’s biggest sporting event is a culmination (or continuation) of a lifetime of soccer highs and lows.
Here’s what to know about each of the players on the team.
⭐⭐⭐ = main star
⭐⭐ = starter or featured substitute
⭐ = contributor off the bench
Forwards
Name: Christian Pulisic ⭐⭐⭐
Age: 27
Hometown: Hershey, Pa.
Club team: AC Milan (Serie A)
The hot spotlight of American soccer has followed Christian Pulisic for years now, and, to his credit, he’s largely lived up to the hype. He’s a key starter on one of Europe’s top clubs. He’s the top active goalscorer for the USMNT, with 33 goals in 86 career appearances with the senior team. And though a goal-scoring drought had haunted him in the first half of this year, he broke through with a goal against Senegal late last month and is heading into this World Cup free and aggressive as ever.
Name: Folarin Balogun ⭐⭐
Age: 24
Hometown: London, England
Club team: AS Monaco (Ligue 1)
Born in Brooklyn to Nigerian parents and raised in London, Balogun was eligible for all three national teams. He made the switch to represent the U.S. in 2023, when the Americans were in dire need of a striker. Since then, Balogun has been heralded as the long-term solution up front. He scored at least two goals in each of his first three games with the national team and added his first of 2026 against Senegal. And he’s headed into the World Cup in top form: At Monaco this season, he bagged 19 goals in 43 total appearances.
Name: Ricardo Pepi ⭐⭐
Age: 23
Hometown: El Paso, Texas
Club team: PSV Eindhoven (Eredivisie)
One of two Mexican-American dual-national players on the USMNT, Pepi was devastated when he was left off the 2022 World Cup squad. But the El Paso native played the best soccer of his career with PSV this season, with 19 goals in 34 appearances — and in the May match against Senegal, he showed a dangerous chemistry with Pulisic in helping to set up the first two goals of the game. “He’s grown a lot. He probably deserved to be on that last roster,” Pulisic said in May. “His time is now. He absolutely deserves to be here.”
Name: Timothy Weah ⭐
Age: 26
Hometown: Brooklyn, N.Y.
Club team: Olympique de Marseille (Ligue 1)
Soccer runs in Tim Weah’s family; he is the son of George Weah, the star footballer-turned politician who won the prestigious Ballon d’Or award in 1995, then got involved in politics in his home country of Liberia after his retirement from soccer. The younger Weah was mostly raised in New York, his mother’s home. Weah has had some high highs and low lows with the USMNT — from scoring a World Cup goal vs. Wales in 2022 to tanking the USMNT’s chances in the ’24 Copa America with a red card — and in this World Cup, he may not be a starter but is expected to play an active role, most likely off the bench on the right side.
Name: Alejandro Zendejas ⭐
Age: 28
Hometown: El Paso, Texas
Club team: Club América (Liga MX)
Zendejas is the second Mexican-American player on this squad. He was born in Ciudad Juarez and raised in El Paso. He was a regular in USMNT youth camps when he was young but moved to Mexico for a club career with Chivas de Guadalajara followed by Club America, two of Liga MX’s biggest clubs. He had his choice of national teams but committed to the U.S. in 2023. His role on the World Cup team is a bit of a wild card; he’s a talented attacker but likely won’t start a match.
Name: Haji Wright
Age: 28
Hometown: Los Angeles, Calif.
Club team: Coventry City (Premier League* just promoted)
Haji Wright scored one of the only three USMNT goals in the 2022 World Cup when he came off the bench against the Netherlands in the Round of 16. This past season, he was instrumental in getting Coventry City promoted to the top tier of English football. Able to play on the wings or as a striker, Wright could be a useful substitute for the U.S., but the USMNT has more quality at the position than it did in 2022, and he may struggle to see the field behind Balogun and Pepi.
Name: Brenden Aaronson
Age: 25
Hometown: Medford, N.J.
Club team: Leeds United (Premier League)
The “Medford Messi” hero of suburban New Jersey youth soccer is having a big summer: He’s on the U.S. World Cup roster and got married barely two weeks ago (dipping out of training camp for a single night before rejoining the team in time for its two tune-up friendlies). He had a career year in the 2024-25 season with Leeds before taking a modest step back this year; it’s likely he’ll be in a spark plug bench role at the World Cup.
Midfielders
Name: Tyler Adams ⭐⭐⭐
Age: 27
Hometown: Wappingers Falls, N.Y.
Club team: AFC Bournemouth (Premier League)
Alongside Pulisic and fellow midfielder Weston McKennie, Adams is a main character of this generation of the USMNT. Raised by a single mom in upstate New York, Adams had to rely on sheer determination to overcome plenty of obstacles — like his small stature and lack of goalscoring touch — on his path to professional soccer. At 23, the midfielder was named the captain of the 2022 World Cup team, and his toughness sets the tone for the whole team. “I see guys get kicked, I want to kick anyone,” he said after last weekend’s (less than) friendly match against Germany.
Name: Weston McKennie ⭐⭐⭐
Age: 27
Hometown: Little Elm, Texas
Club team: Juventus (Serie A)
McKennie might be the beating heart of this team. An all-American: Born on an Army base in Washington, raised in Texas, and spent some formative years at an air base in Germany where he caught the soccer bug before moving back to the U.S. He dyed a streak of hair red, white and blue for the ’22 World Cup, and he’s a lock to start — the only question is, where? Coach Mauricio Pochettino has played him in a variety of outfield positions over the past year and a half. He scored the opening goal in a March friendly against Belgium
Name: Malik Tillman ⭐⭐
Age: 24
Hometown: Furth, Germany
Club team: Bayer Leverkusen (Bundesliga)
Off the field, the soft-spoken Tillman (whose dad is American and mom is German) may be the quietest member of this team. But on the pitch, it’s a different story altogether. Tillman is an attacking midfielder whose game has matured and improved so much that former U.S. Soccer sporting director Earnie Stewart recently called him “one of the most amazing players I’ve ever seen.” As he grows more comfortable, his reserved nature disappears, Stewart added: “He’s a character that once he feels part of a group, he can show amazing special things. And he can actually control things as no one other that I know.”
Name: Sebastian Berhalter ⭐⭐
Age: 25
Hometown: Columbus, Ohio
Club team: Vancouver Whitecaps (MLS)
The compact, confident Berhalter has a big last name in U.S. Soccer: His dad, Gregg, featured prominently as a player in the U.S. quarterfinal run at the 2002 World Cup, then became USMNT coach in 2018. He never called up his son to the senior national team — the younger Berhalter’s debut came in 2025, after new coach Pochettino had taken over. “I know if I got a call from my dad, I would have to earn it double as any other player,” he said recently. “He would never call me in just to call me in. I had to earn it.” He’s known for his quality set-piece deliveries, like corner kicks, so look for him on the field in those moments.
Name: Gio Reyna ⭐⭐
Age: 23
Hometown: Bedford, N.Y.
Club team: Borussia Mönchengladbach (Bundesliga)
To say Reyna is mercurial is putting it mildly: As a 17-year-old, he broke Pulisic’s record as the youngest American to play in the Bundesliga and quickly made a name for himself as a gifted attacking creator — but then he dramatically fell off in form after a series of injuries. Reyna was also a breakout figure for the USMNT in 2022, but not for his performance in the World Cup; Instead, the long story involves complaints over his lack of playing time and criticism by then-coach Gregg Berhalter, whose long relationship with Reyna’s parents (former teammates and college friends) became fodder for a leaked story that prompted a swirl of drama and Berhalter’s eventual firing after the World Cup. Still only 23, Reyna has tried to move past all that, but his inconsistency on the field makes it hard to know what to expect from him this summer.
Name: Cristian Roldan
Age: 31
Hometown: Pico Rivera, Calif.
Club team: Seattle Sounders (MLS)
Roldan is another modern American story, born in California to a Guatemalan dad and Salvadoran mother who immigrated after their home countries were gripped by violence in the 1980s. Roldan grew up with two brothers in an eastside Los Angeles suburb, kicking the ball into a goal their dad had made of PVC pipe. Now, Roldan and his brother Alex are teammates on the Seattle Sounders. Roldan is a mature, calming locker-room presence and will likely play only a small role on the field, if he plays at all.
Defenders
Name: Chris Richards ⭐⭐⭐
Age: 26
Hometown: Birmingham, Ala.
Club team: Crystal Palace (Premier League)
As an athletic kid growing up in Alabama, Chris Richards could easily have ended up with a career in a different sport altogether — at 6-foot-2 and 200 pounds, he shares a frame with plenty of point guards and wide receivers. But the young Richards caught the soccer bug early on and pushed through culture shock as a teenager on a professional contract in Germany to blossom into a talented defender. He’s the best defender on the USMNT, but he hurt his ankle in a game with his club Crystal Palace in May and hasn’t played since. The U.S. defense has looked porous without him, but on Wednesday he said he was “ready.” (He may also have the best game-day fits)
Name: Antonee “Jedi” Robinson ⭐⭐⭐
Age: 28
Hometown: Liverpool, England
Club team: Fulham FC (Premier League)
Robinson grew up in England and developed as a player through the youth system at Everton. But the English national team never called him up — so when the U.S. offered him an opportunity, because his dad had grown up in the U.S. (and played soccer at Duke), Robinson seized the opportunity. Since then, the left-back has developed into one of the USMNT’s most talented players. But a major injury set him back for more than a year, and he only just returned to the field for the U.S. in March. “There was no certainty on my end that I was going to be fit and available and make it, because it just seemed like there was no light at the end of the tunnel,” he said earlier this year. A few weeks ago, he bleached his hair for the World Cup, then scored an absolute rocket of a goal in the friendly against Germany. Auspicious!
Name: Tim Ream ⭐⭐
Age: 38
Hometown: St. Louis, Mo.
Club team: Charlotte FC (MLS)
Ream is the oldest player on this squad, and his steady leadership has earned him the team captain armband. At 38 years old, he’s no longer the fastest guy on the pitch, but those decades of experience — one of them spent in England at the Premier League club Fulham — mean he rarely finds himself out of position, and his passes are still well-placed. He wasn’t chosen for the World Cup squad in 2014 and then the U.S. failed to qualify in 2018. But he played every minute of the U.S. run in 2022. “Tim is an amazing American story of perseverance,” ’22 USMNT coach Berhalter said last week. Expect to see Ream start at least some of these games, if not all of them.
Name: Sergiño Dest ⭐⭐
Age: 25
Hometown: Almere, Netherlands
Club team: PSV Eindhoven (Eredivisie)
Dest grew up in the Netherlands, but his father immigrated to the U.S. from Suriname, then a Dutch colony, when he was a child. Eventually, the elder Dest played college soccer in New York, served in the Vietnam War and became a U.S. citizen, retiring from the Army just a few years before having a son, Sergiño. The youngest Dest came up through the Ajax academy system in the Netherlands, and the U.S. began recruiting him a decade ago. He started all four games at the 2022 World Cup and is likely to be a starter once again.
Name: Alex Freeman ⭐⭐
Age: 21
Hometown: Plantation, Fla.
Club team: Villarreal CF (La Liga)
The Baltimore-born son of the Green Bay Packers wide receiver Antonio Freeman, Alex has quickly established himself as one of the USMNT’s more versatile players. His ability to attack and defend as a wingback shone while playing for MLS side Orlando City SC, for whom he scored six goals while playing as a defender last year. That performance earned him a move to the Spanish club Villarreal and call-ups to the USMNT earlier this year. His athleticism and rapidly growing understanding of the game have allowed him to quickly earn a starting spot on the back line, most likely on the right side next to Richards.
Name: Mark McKenzie ⭐
Age: 27
Hometown: New York, N.Y.
Club team: Toulouse FC (Ligue 1)
McKenzie has been around the USMNT for years now but he’s finally found his footing with Pochettino at the helm, making 15 of his 29 career appearances since Pochettino took over. There’s been a battle for playing time at center back since Richards has been out with his ankle injury, and McKenzie may be Pochettino’s favored backup option. Expect to see him as a substitute, especially as Pochettino manages Richards’ playing time coming out of his injury.
Name: Miles Robinson ⭐
Age: 29
Hometown: Arlington, Mass.
Club team: FC Cincinnati (MLS)
Robinson is savoring this World Cup. He’d scored the game-winning goal in extra time against Mexico in the CONCACAF Gold Cup in 2021. He was a lock to make the 2022 squad as a top defender prospect, but he ruptured his Achilles tendon and had to watch the tournament on television at home. Robinson was drafted #2 into the MLS by Atlanta United in 2017. He starred collegiately at Syracuse and found a passion for soccer watching his older sister play the game. Robinson, who has 40 appearances with the senior national team, is sure to make an impact in this World Cup, even if he comes off the bench.
Name: Auston Trusty
Age: 27
Hometown: Media, Penn.
Club team: Celtic FC (Scottish Premiership)
Trusty has gotten this far betting on himself, he says — his tryout for the Philadelphia Union Academy, his choice to forgo college for a professional career, his decision to make the jump to Europe after earning an extension with the Colorado Rapids. That’s all paid off for Trusty. He attributes that belief in himself to being the youngest of six kids, the rest of whom all eventually played collegiate soccer. “If I wanted to have a relationship with them, if I wanted to help myself in the games I played with them, I had to be confident,” he said. Trusty has shown some promise in his limited minutes in 2026, but it’s unclear how big a role he’ll play this summer.
Name: Joe Scally
Age: 23
Hometown: Lake Grove, N.Y.
Club team: Borussia Mönchengladbach (Bundesliga)
Despite only being 23, Scally’s a veteran of the USMNT setup. He made his debut for the national team in 2022 and went to that year’s World Cup in Qatar. He’s an attack-minded fullback who’s been a mainstay for Gladbach since moving there in 2021, and he’ll look to be an outlet for build-up play. Scally never appeared in a game in the ’22 Cup, and this year could be the same.
Name: Max Arfsten
Age: 25
Hometown: Fresno, Calif.
Club team: Columbus Crew (MLS)
The 6-foot-1 winger made his USMNT debut in January 2025, playing in 16 of 18 matches that year. He was drafted by the Columbus Crew in 2023 after playing collegiately at UC Davis and Cal State Fullerton. At UC Davis, he attended as a walk-on, earning a scholarship and being named to the Big West All-Freshman team. The Fresno native returns home to train, saying, “his Fresno upbringing fuels his motor and competitiveness on the pitch.” Equally comfortable playing with his right and left foot, he’s been featured in many USMNT matches in the lead-up to the 2026 World Cup and is expected to see playing time.
Goaltenders
Name: Matt Freese ⭐⭐
Age: 27
Hometown: Wayne, Pa.
Club team: New York City FC (MLS)
There are big shoes for any USMNT goaltender to fill. The position has long been a strength for the U.S., from Kasey Keller to Brad Friedel to Tim Howard. Now, it’s a question mark — a choice that’s come down to two guys, Matt Freese and Matt Turner, both MLS starters who haven’t been able to find a regular job in Europe. Last year, Freese, who played college ball at Harvard before finding a spot with the Philadelphia Union, surpassed Turner as the most frequent starter in goal for the national team. In last year’s Gold Cup, he recorded two clean sheets and three penalty saves over six games. But that doesn’t mean his spot is a lock.
Name: Matt Turner ⭐
Age: 31
Hometown: Park Ridge, N.J.
Club team: New England Revolution (MLS)
Turner’s story is another scrappy prove-yourself saga. He came to goaltending relatively late in life, donning the gloves for the first time as a teenager to stay in shape for other sports. No colleges offered him a scholarship at first, so he walked on at Fairfield University in Connecticut, where he eventually earned conference honors. But even that couldn’t find him a foothold in the pros, and it took some serious luck to eventually find regular playing time with the New England Revolution. His skills continued to grow, and eventually he earned a call-up to the USMNT and became the regular starter in 2021 through the 2022 World Cup, where he recorded a pair of clean sheets. “There’s a healthy mutual respect between us,” Turner said in May about Freese. “We both want to play, we both have played, we both will respect whatever the final decision is from the coaches. And then from there, our roles will change to be supportive of each other.”
Name: Chris Brady
Age: 22
Hometown: Naperville, Ill.
Club team: Chicago Fire FC (MLS)
Brady, the Chicagoland native who plays now for his hometown club, has arguably been the best MLS goalkeeper over the past couple years, but he’s still a firm No. 3 behind Freese and Turner when it comes to the national team. Brady earned his first senior team call-up last year, then made his debut in May in the second half against Senegal. “Whenever you get included in a camp or any type of squad, you got to be ready to play,” he said. “If you’re not playing, your goal then is to push the other guys who are.”

The government said more than two dozen people lost their homes and 12 police officers were injured in what Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn on Thursday called “racist thuggery.”
Here are some things to know about the attack and its aftermath:
A video captured the stabbing
Hadi Alodid used a kitchen knife to blind Stephen Ogilvie in the left eye and carved deep wounds on his head, face and back, police said. Graphic footage of the stabbing, and the response of passersby who subdued the attacker, spread quickly on social media.
As Alodid was being treated for a hand wound, he threatened to kill a radiologist.
“I’ve killed someone, I don’t know if they are dead,” Alodid told medical staff, according to a detective who spoke in court.
Police have not revealed a motive for the attack but said it’s not believed to be terrorism.
Alodid did not enter a plea during a court appearance Wednesday and was ordered held until his next hearing.
Arrest leads to protests and violence
Officials aghast at the crime urged protesters to maintain order and civility, but groups dressed in black hoods and masks threw bricks, rocks and stones at police, set fire to trash bins, and burned vehicles and homes.
“When the attack happened on Monday night, we knew this would be coming,” Twasul Mohammed, a Sudanese refugee who helped families forced from their homes Tuesday, told the BBC. “Everyone is terrified, we are keeping our kids at home.”
Violence flared again Wednesday, though on a smaller scale. Police blasted water cannons at protesters outside Belfast who hurled bricks, hunks of stone at them that they had torn from garden walls and patios. Two officers in Carrickfergus were injured by fire bombs, police said.
Politicians from both parts of Northern Ireland’s power-sharing government condemned the violence.
Riots have followed other stabbings in the UK
The violence was reminiscent of riots that swept England and parts of Northern Ireland two years ago after a teen killed three girls and seriously wounded 10 other people in a stabbing rampage at a dance class near Liverpool.
The Belfast violence broke out a week after protesters clashed with police in the southern England city of Southampton over the sentencing of a man for the fatal stabbing of a university student.
All three crimes featured Black or Asian suspects and victims who were white.
READ MORE: Third child dies after UK stabbing attack at Taylor Swift-themed dance class
The families of the victims all called for peace in the wake of the attacks and said they didn’t want violence waged on behalf of their loved ones.
Other factors were also at play in whipping up anger.
In the case of the girls killed in Southport in 2024, the suspect was wrongly identified on social media as a Muslim asylum seeker. Even after police said he was a British citizen born in Wales (later revealed to be raised by Christian parents from Rwanda), protests were mostly aimed at migrants and Muslims.
Outrage over the Southampton stabbing focused on the fact that police who arrived at what had been reported as a racist assault mistook the victim, Henry Nowak, for the perpetrator. They initially dismissed Nowak’s pleas that he had been stabbed and couldn’t breathe and handcuffed him as he was dying.
Vickrum Digwa, who was carrying a ceremonial knife worn by Sikhs but used a longer dagger to stab Nowak, lied to police when he said Nowak attacked him, Judge William Mousley said in sentencing him to life in prison.
Nigel Farage, leader of the anti-immigration Reform UK party, said Nowak’s killing was an example of so-called two-tier policing — a popular far-right talking point that suggests ethnic minorities are better treated than white people.
Government officials and police have denied such a bias exists and many experts say policing in Britain favors white people. A report three years ago found the Metropolitan Police, the largest force in the U.K., was riven with institutional racism.
Politicians and far right seize on crimes to drive their agenda
Reaction to the stabbings reflects a broader rise in anti-immigrant sentiment in parts of the U.K. and Europe, fueled by political debate over asylum seekers, small-boat crossings and pressure on public services and heightened by often extreme online debate.
Protesters have been called to action on social media by U.K. far-right activists, including Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, also known as Tommy Robinson, and rallied by influential international figures including tech mogul Elon Musk.
Musk tweeted more than 100 times about British politics with a strong focus on Nowak’s killing around the time of Digwa’s trial and offered to bankroll a private prosecution of the local police force.
READ MORE: Ireland’s prime minister condemns anti-immigrant rioters after Dublin rampage
U.S. Vice President JD Vance, in a post on X, blamed Nowak’s killing on “the mass invasion of migrants, many of whom despise the West and the people who love it.”
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer snapped back at Musk and Vance, criticizing people “trying to interfere in our democracy and seeking to stir up division on our streets.”
Mark Rowley, the head of London’s Metropolitan Police, said online misinformation and disinformation is “right at the center of the challenges for us with public disorder.”
Some blame the open border between Ireland and Northern Ireland
Some political figures pointed to the largely open border between Northern Ireland, which is part of the U.K., and the Republic of Ireland, where the suspect arrived in Dublin from Paris before heading north.
The border is a sensitive political issue. Allowing the free flow of people is a major pillar of the peace process that largely ended decades of violence known as “The Troubles.” The conflict involving Irish Republican and British Loyalist militants and U.K. security forces left almost 3,600 people dead before a 1998 peace accord.
Associated Press writer Jill Lawless in London contributed to this report.

With Mexico pressing late in the first half up 1-0, Raúl Jiménez was stopped by South Africa goalkeeper Ronwen Williams.
Moments later, Julián Quiñones, who scored the first goal, clanked his shot off the right post.
The first game at the World Cup paused 25 minutes in so players from Mexico and South Africa could get a hydration break.
This is new for the event, with a 3-minute hydration break each half. The breaks are especially important given some of the hot temperatures expected throughout the tournament in North America.
Daniel Maldonado, 40, his sister and friend cheered as jets shot over the stadium before kickoff. But they weren’t inside.
They were among groups of Mexicans gathered outside Azteca Stadium who couldn’t afford sky-high World Cup ticket prices but still wanted to feel like they were part of the event.
Donning Mexico jerseys, they waved their flags and cheered along with the masses of fans they could hear inside.
“It’s sad that now it’s just for the rich. It is out of reach for most people. The cost of a ticket is what a worker in Mexico earns in a year.”
Just outside the stadium, people have hung posters in the style of the World Cup panini cards. But rather than players, they feature the faces of Mexican politicians reading “narcopolitica identificado,” Spanish for “linked to narco-politics.”
Among them was Rubén Rocha Moya, governor of Sinaloa, a powerful member of Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum’s party who was recently charged by the United States with narcotics importation conspiracy and possession of machine guns. He denies the accusations.
The posters were put up by the National Association of Transportation Companies, known as ANTAC, a prominent industry group known for its ability to mobilize and exert political pressure.
South Africa’s first starting lineup at a World Cup since hosting the tournament in 2010 will feature a large contingent from the reigning African club champions Mamelodi Sundowns.
Team South Africa pose before the start of the World Cup Group A soccer match between Mexico and South Africa in Mexico City, Thursday, June 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)
Jayden Adams, Ronwen Williams, Iqraam Rayners, Aubrey Modiba, Teboho Mokoena and Khuliso Mudau will bring the “Shoeshine and Piano” style of play to the global stage.
Mamelodi Sundowns spent time in North America last summer, when they competed at the FIFA Club World Cup in the United States.
The Sundowns were eliminated on goal difference in that tournament, but are remembered fondly by fans for their thrilling 4-3 defeat to German club Borussia Dortmund in Ohio.
Unlike at previous World Cups, the full squads of both teams will come out on the field for the national anthems.
Usually only the players in the starting lineup are on the field when the anthems are played.
FIFA has changed things around this time so that the substitutes can take part as well.
The players will be standing around the center circle facing each other during the anthems.
FIFA says it will “create a moment of unity, pride and emotion” for both the teams and the fans in the stadium.
Mexico’s Brian Gutiérrez celebrates scoring his side’s opening goal against Ghana during an international friendly soccer match in Puebla, Mexico, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Midfielder Brian Gutierrez will become the first Mexican American player to start in a World Cup for Mexico’s national team.
The 22-year-old, who was born in Berwyn, Illinois, played for the United States but did not have to apply for a country switch because he had only played friendlies for the U.S. against Venezuela and Costa Rica in January 2025.
Gutierrez and midfielder Obed Vargas are the two Mexican American players on Mexico´s World Cup roster.
The last time that Mexico selected two Mexican American players was at Brazil 2014, when Miguel Ponce and Isaac Brizuela were chosen, but neither saw playing time.
Danny Ocean has performed live “Partidazo,” his collaboration on the “Official FIFA World Cup 2026 Album.”
Ocean was surrounded by dancers wearing a modern version of the traditional dress from the Mexican state of Jalisco modified to have hoodies on the top.
The Venezuelan singer, songwriter, and producer became known internationally for his hit “Me rehuso,” which became an anthem of the Venezuelan diaspora.
Since then, he has released songs such as “Dembow,” “Imagínate,” “Mónaco” and “Fuera del mercado. He has also collaborated with artists such as Alejandro Sanz, Karol G, Sech, Camilo and Justin Quiles.
Colombian singer J Balvin performs before the start of the World Cup Group A soccer match between Mexico and South Africa in Mexico City, Thursday, June 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
J Balvin put on a dynamic performance during the opening ceremony in Mexico City.
He started driving a cardboard car with “Que calor” and then was joined by Ryan Castro for “Una A La Vez”, then finished with “I Like It” one of his hits, originally released with Cardi B and Bad Bunny.
José Álvaro Osorio Balvín, from Colombia, is one of the biggest stars of reggaeton and has experience in a world stage. In 2020 he participated in the Super Bowl halftime show as a guest of Shakira and Jennifer Lopez.
He has been awarded five Latin Grammys and nominated for a Grammy. He also received the Billboard Spirit of Hope Award at the Billboard Latin Music Awards and 11 Billboard Latin Music Awards.
Singer Shakira performs on the pitch during the opening ceremony before the start of the World Cup Group A soccer match between Mexico and South Africa in Mexico City, Thursday, June 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)
One of Mexico’s biggest home-field advantages in its World Cup opener may be that it will be played at an exceptionally high altitude that South Africa’s players might struggle to adjust to.
The stadium — named Mexico City Stadium for the World Cup but known far and wide as Estadio Azteca or Azteca Stadium — is 7,200 feet (2,195 meters) above sea level, which is more than a mile high.
Mexico also faces the Czech Republic there on June 24. There is a round of 32 game set to take place there on June 30 and a round of 16 game there on July 5.
Far from the stadium where Mexico will take on South Africa, and from the fan fest in Mexico City’s central plaza, World Cup fever is palpable in the sprawling capital’s humblest neighborhoods.
In Tacuba, a community soccer court tucked beneath a bridge has been transformed into an impromptu public area to watch the World Cup on a large TV screen.
Hours before the opening ceremony, a cumbia band played, its rhythm mingling with the sound of cars speeding across the bridge.
Alma Rosa Elizalde, 60-year-old teacher who had arrived at 7 a.m., was dancing dressed in Mexico’s national colors and wearing a headband featuring two cacti embracing a soccer ball. Her prediction for the opening match? A Mexico win, of course, by a 3-0 score.
Mexico’s goalkeeper Raúl Rangel, celebrates after his side’s third goal against Serbia during an international friendly soccer match in Toluca, Mexico, Thursday, June 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
One of the great mysteries for the Mexican national team ahead of the World Cup was whether coach Javier Aguirre was going to use veteran goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa in the opener.
He went with Raul Rangel instead.
The 26-year-old Rangel has been the starter the past eight matches, but he will be playing his first official match for the team on Thursday.
The 2026 World Cup is the sixth for Ochoa, but he played in just three: those in Brazil, Russia and Qatar.
Veteran South Korea captain Son Heung-min has a chance to become his nation’s top goal scorer at the World Cup. He can also become the Asian player with the most goals in the tournament.
Son, 33, enters Thursday’s Group A game against the Czech Republic in Guadalajara having scored a total of three goals in the three prior World Cups. The former Tottenham star is tied on goals with former players Ahn Jung-hwan and Park Ji-sung.
If Son scores, he will tie Japan’s Keisuke Honda for the most goals scored by an Asian player at the World Cup, according to FIFA.
The Los Angeles FC player said ahead of Thursday’s game that he feels “like a boy again” entering his fourth World Cup.
Thousands of people wearing the national team jerseys of Mexico, Colombia, and other countries have gathered on the esplanade of the Zócalo, the Mexican capital’s main square, to take part in one of Mexico City’s 18 “Fan Fest” events.
People are enjoying the pop and reggaeton music while awaiting the start of the opening ceremony at the Zócalo, which President Claudia Sheinbaum plans to attend.
She decided to watch the game in the city center alongside the fans rather than going to the stadium.
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Police officers block a street to the stadium ahead of the opening match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup between Mexico and South Africa in Mexico City, Thursday, June 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Ginnette Riquelme)
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Relatives of Mexico’s disappeared march before the opening match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Mexico City, Thursday, June 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Alejandro Cegarra)
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Relatives of Mexico’s disappeared march before the opening match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Mexico City, Thursday, June 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Alejandro Cegarra)
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Police officers block a street to the stadium ahead of the opening match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup between Mexico and South Africa in Mexico City, Thursday, June 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Ginnette Riquelme)
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Police officers block a street to the stadium ahead of the opening match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup between Mexico and South Africa in Mexico City, Thursday, June 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Ginnette Riquelme)
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Police officers block a street to the stadium ahead of the opening match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup between Mexico and South Africa in Mexico City, Thursday, June 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Ginnette Riquelme)
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Relatives of Mexico’s disappeared march before the opening match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Mexico City, Thursday, June 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Alejandro Cegarra)
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Relatives of Mexico’s disappeared march before the opening match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Mexico City, Thursday, June 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Alejandro Cegarra)
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Relatives of Mexico’s disappeared march before the opening match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Mexico City, Thursday, June 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Alejandro Cegarra)
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Relatives of Mexico’s disappeared march before the opening match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Mexico City, Thursday, June 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Alejandro Cegarra)
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Police officers block a street to the stadium ahead of the opening match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup between Mexico and South Africa in Mexico City, Thursday, June 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Ginnette Riquelme)
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Police officers block a street to the stadium ahead of the opening match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup between Mexico and South Africa in Mexico City, Thursday, June 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Ginnette Riquelme)
Dozens of police officers have formed a blockade, as protesters hoping to shed light on the plight of Mexico’s 130,000 missing people arrived at the secured area outside of Azteca Stadium.
Some of the protesters are throwing flower petals at the police. One had attached a photo of her missing child to her green Mexico team jersey.
Family are hoping to use the World Cup to call attention to their situation.
In recent weeks, images of the disappeared have been seen at demonstrations and on street posters. They have also featured in a virtual World Cup album that, instead of highlighting soccer players, shows the smiling faces of missing men and women wearing the Mexican national team’s green jersey, along with their names and when and where they were last seen.
“The main goal is for the world to see that a crisis of impunity persists,” said Jorge Verástegui, who has been searching for his brother for 17 years. “To show the other side of Mexico that it is not a party, but a tragedy.”
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Brazilian legend Ronaldinho just entered the Estadio Azteca for the opening match of the World Cup.
Ronaldinho appeared in two World Cups for Brazil and scored a stunning free-kick against England en route to winning the tournament in 2002.
The Brazilian icon was shepherded into the stadium through the media entrance and was immediately swarmed by fans when they caught a glimpse of him.
Ronaldinho scored 33 goals for the national team during his career. He is now a FIFA ambassador for the 2026 tournament.
Osito, a 7-year-old poodle, accompanies his owner to Mexico City Stadium on Thursday, June 11, 2026
Out of all the pets in the world, very few can compete with Osito for the title of “Best fan of the Mexican National Team.” The 7-year-old poodle rolled up to the Azteca Stadium completely decked out in a green jersey, a Mexico cap and glasses in the colors of the tricolor flag. He even had a plush team mascot strapped to his back.
His owner, Jorge Luis Rangel, pushed him in a cart that proudly displayed a message promoting his business, “Cheer up! Today is a good day to smile.”
Houston resident Santiago Albarrán, 24, traveled to Thursday’s opening match between Mexico and South Africa with friends.
He wore a white mariachi uniform while his companions dressed as Aztec soldiers, noting that as Chicanos, being present to back Mexico’s team means the world to them.
Other Mexico fans dressed up in luchador masks or traditional Mayan dresses. And some took a culinary approach and sported taco and lime costumes.
Among the foreigner visitors was Jeff Mathabatha, 52, who traveled from South Africa to support his team at the inaugural game. He celebrated with cheering friends outside the stadium, trading enthusiastic waves with FIFA volunteers who shouted, “Welcome to Mexico!!!” as they walked through the gates.
While the vast majority of jerseys seen at the stadium were Mexican and South African, the open ceremony saw representation from across the world. People from China to Colombia filed into the stadium draped in their countries’ flags.
The games begin as Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum walks a political tightrope, navigating adeteriorating relationship with the U.S. ahead of July trade negotiations, along withpolitical scandals andsecurity concerns following a burst of violence in a World Cup host city in February.
If all goes off without a hitch, it will be a feather in Sheinbaum’s cap, “showing the world that Mexico is “modern and capable of organizing high impact events,” said Carlos Pérez Ricart, a political analyst at the Mexican Center for Research and Economic Education.
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Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to Los Angeles for Friday’s U.S. opening World Cup ceremony and team USA’s first match against Paraguay, the U.S. State Department said.
Rubio will lead the U.S. delegation to the opening and be accompanied by Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, the department said in a statement.
In addition to attending the World Cup events, Rubio will also meet with Paraguayan President Santiago Peña in Los Angeles.
Mexico City has raced to finish a cosmetic facelift ahead of the World Cup’s opening ceremony.
Renovations have ranged from plastering cartoon axolotls — the mole salamander that has become a city mascot — across the capital to installing a chandelier in the city’s busiest metro station.
The makeover have also fueled a cascade of memes that underscores wider criticisms ahead of the tournament.
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The World Health Organization’s European branch says the risk of Ebola transmission remains low ahead of the World Cup.
None of the host countries, nor any European country, currently has an Ebola case, and the WHO’s Europe office expects the overall risk to stay low because most cases are in remote areas of Congo.
“There is no reason to change your plans. Travel as normal, stay informed and enjoy the tournament,” said Dr. Hans Kluge, director of the World Health Organization’s Europe office, in a statement Thursday.
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As Mexico prepares to host World Cup matches, excitement among fans and residents is being accompanied by questions about security and whether the country is ready for the influx of visitors. (AP video shot by Diana de la Mora and Martín Silva Rey)
Protests have rocked Mexico City over the past few weeks, as social movements seek to use the World Cup to bring attention to their causes and to pressure the government.
Mexico’s teachers union has blockaded streets, knocked down World Cup statues and demanded the government improve member benefits.
The families of Mexico’s 130,000 missing people have criticized the government of prioritizing the sporting event over the country’s forced disappearance crisis.
Category three seats, the lowest-priced category, remained for just three matches. Two of those were high-priced to begin with.
Those lower-priced tickets for the U.S. opener against Paraguay on Thursday at Inglewood, California, could be bought for $1,120 — but just two remained. Other available prices for the game were $4,105, $2,735, $2,330 and $1,645. More than 100 tickets were listed as available.
Category three also was available for Canada’s opener against Bosnia-Herzegovina on Thursday at Toronto for $980 along with seats at $2,240 and $1,645.
Category three seats priced at $180 remained for just one match, Egypt vs. Iran at Seattle on June 26, and more than 370 were on sale. Several hundred tickets also were available at $1,000, $875 and $550.
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FIFA President Gianni Infantino speaks during a news conference at the stadium in Mexico City, Wednesday, June 10, 2026, a day before the opening FIFA World Cup match between Mexico and South Africa. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)
FIFA President Gianni Infantino defended World Cup ticket prices on Wednesday, saying “if we do something wrong, then probably everyone selling tickets in North America is doing something wrong.”
FIFA priced tickets starting at $140 for group-stage games, but regular seats for the July 19 final outside New York were listed at up to $8,680 and hospitality seats at up to $73,200. It raised prices for the final to $10,990 and then $32,970.
After much criticism, FIFA offered $60 tickets to national federations for their regular supporters. Infantino said 130,000 tickets were offered in that category.
Four years ago at the tournament in Qatar, prices ranged from $69 to $1,607.
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South Africa is marking its men’s national team’s return to the World Cup exactly 16 years after the country became the Africa’s first to host the tournament.
Bafana Bafana, as the national team is known, play co-host Mexico on Thursday in a repeat of the opening match of the 2010 World Cup, which was also played on June 11 and ended in a 1-1 draw.
Public watch parties are planned in South Africa’s major cities of Johannesburg, Cape Town and the capital, Pretoria. The Mexican Embassy in Pretoria is also hosting a watch party with South Africa diplomatic officials.
Thursday is also the start of “Bafana Fridays”, a popular practice of wearing national team colors to work, school and elsewhere during major sporting events
South Africa is one of the 10 African nations competing at this year’s tournament.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup will kick off with three opening ceremonies in all three countries hosting this year’s competition: Mexico, Canada and the United States. Check out the full lineups below.
The first opening ceremony kicks off in Mexico City on Thursday. The lineup includes: Andrea Bocelli, Alejandro Fernández, Belinda, Danny Ocean, J Balvin, Lila Downs, Los Angeles Azules with Belinda, Maná, Tyla and Elena Rose.
Toronto follows on Friday with Alanis Morissette, Alessia Cara, Elyanna, Jessie Reyez, Michael Bublé, William Prince, The Beaches, Bryan Adams, Nora Fatehi featuring Sanjoy and Vegedream as well as a collaboration between AHI and Wyclef Jean.
Last and certainly not least is Los Angeles Friday evening with Katy Perry, Future, Anitta, LISA, Rema, Tyla, Diplo’s Major Lazer, Davido, Ava Max and BIA.
Hours before Mexico’s opening match against South Africa kicks off, thousands of fans are lined up waiting to get into storied Azteca Stadium.
Traffic has been mostly normal in Mexico City, despite protests by the teachers unions and others that are expected to happen throughout the World Cup’s opening day.
Authorities have closed some roads in the capital ahead of the World Cup’s first set of opening ceremonies — co-hosts Canada and the U.S. will hold their own. They also established a security perimeter around Azteca, a storied venue that has hosted two World Cup finals.
Fans piled into buses in the Mexican capital hours before the World Cup kicks off and headed to Azteca Stadium to watch their beloved national team take on South Africa.
Elsewhere downtown, fans waited along the metal barriers surrounding the city’s iconic Zócalo to enter the soccer festival organized by FIFA in the country’s main square.
The downtown event had been in doubt due to protests by teachers unions that are expected continue throughout the World Cup’s opening day. Teachers are demanding better working conditions.
Police officers block a street to the stadium ahead of the opening match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup between Mexico and South Africa in Mexico City, Thursday, June 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Ginnette Riquelme)
Mexico says it is prepared for any contingency during the World Cup, having deployed more than 100,000 soldiers, marines, National Guard and police officers to provide security in its three host cities — Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey — and major tourist destinations.
Anti-drone teams, surveillance-camera networks, special crowd management units and military and police patrols will operate at Mexican stadiums, fan fests, airports, national-team camps and other strategic facilities in coordination with FIFA.
Cartel violence may be less of an issue than street protests because, experts say, any disruption to the World Cup could trigger a strong response against criminal groups.
Playes of South Africa visit the stadium in Mexico City, Wednesday, June 10, 2026, a day before their opening FIFA World Cup match against Mexico. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)
South Africa is back in the World Cup for the first time since hosting the tournament in 2010.
Despite an upset 2-1 win against France, it became the first host nation to be eliminated in the group stage. South Africa’s only other appearances had been in 1998 and 2002, when it also failed to reach the knockout rounds.
The South Africans made it to the World Cup this year by edging African powerhouse Nigeria in their qualifying group. The team will be coached by Belgian Hugo Broos, who has been in charge of the Bafana Bafana since 2021. The squad is mostly made up of players from local clubs.
Mexico’s Gilberto Mora look son during a friendly soccer match between Mexico and Serbia in Toluca, Mexico, Thursday, June 4, 2026.(AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Hosting the World Cup for the first time in 40 years, Mexico will hope to rebound from a group-stage elimination four years ago in Qatar. Before that, it was eliminated in the round of 16 seven consecutive times between 1994 and 2018.
The only times Mexico made it to the last eight was when it hosted the tournament, in 1970 and 1986.
Much of the team’s hopes will rest on 17-year-old Gilberto Mora, who last year became the youngest ever to play for Mexico’s senior squad at 16.
The team will be coached by veteran Javier Aguirre, who took over the squad in 2024 for his third stint with the national team.
“I count myself lucky,” Aguirre, a former Mexico player, was quoted as saying by FIFA.com. “Every day I’m grateful to be here, doing what I’m doing, because I’m Mexican… and because the best moment in my coaching career is on the horizon. As a player, nothing could top playing at a home World Cup.”
Boosted by a home crowd and a star-studded opening ceremony with performances that include Andrea Bocelli and homegrown talent like Alejandro Fernández and Maná, Mexico hopes to play better in this World Cup than in 2022, when it failed to advance out of the group stage for the first time since 1978. El Tri will be led by veteran Raúl Jiménez and 17-year-old midfielder Gilberto Mora. Goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa will be competing in the World Cup for a record sixth time. South Africa is playing in its fourth World Cup and first since it hosted the tournament in 2010.
The games in Mexico will be played at high elevation. The Azteca stadium in Mexico City is at roughly 7,300 feet while Guadalajara sits at 5,138 feet, meaning visiting teams will have to make a significant adjustment to the altitude.
FILE – The stands of the Azteca stadium are seen empty of fans prior a World Cup Qatar 2022 qualifying soccer match between Mexico and Jamaica, in Mexico City, Thursday, Sept. 2, 2021. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo, File)
Fox is the exclusive U.S. broadcaster of the World Cup with all 104 matches in English on Fox or FS1. All matches are also available on the Fox One app. Telemundo and Universo will broadcast all of the matches in Spanish. Peacock is the streaming home for Spanish language broadcasts while Telemundo also has an app that includes all the matches.
Mexico’s opening ceremony, 1:30 p.m. ET in Mexico City (FOX/Telemundo/Peacock)
Mexico vs. South Africa, 3 p.m. ET in Mexico City (FOX/Telemundo/Peacock)
South Korea vs. Czechia, 10 p.m. ET in Guadalajara, Mexico (FS1, Telemundo/Peacock)

Democrat Xavier Becerra enters the general election for California governor with a commanding lead over Republican Steve Hilton, according to a new poll.
The former Health and Human Services secretary led Hilton 52 percent to 31 percent among registered voters in a head-to-head matchup, according to a UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll co-sponsored by the Los Angeles Times. The remainder were undecided.
“It looks very much like a traditional, partisan-based general election, with most of the Democrats, over 80 percent, behind Becerra as the campaign starts,” IGS Poll Director Mark DiCamillo said. “Even though Hilton has over 80 percent of the Republicans, the Democrats outnumber Republicans by 20 points in the state, and that gives the Democratic candidates a huge advantage.”
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The survey was conducted online among 8,578 registered California voters from May 19 to 24, with a margin of error of 2 percentage points.
What the Poll Shows
The results reflect near-total partisan loyalty on both sides. Among Democrats, 82 percent said they would support Becerra in the general election, while 84 percent of Republicans said the same about Hilton.
The critical battleground is voters registered as no party preference or with other parties, who make up almost a third of the state electorate. Among those voters, 43 percent backed Becerra, 28 percent supported Hilton, and 29 percent were undecided.
Becerra led across nearly every demographic and geographic subgroup. He held a 65-to-21 advantage in the San Francisco Bay Area and a 54-to-21 lead in Los Angeles County. The only region where Hilton led was the North Coast and Sierra Nevada area, which accounts for roughly 2 percent of the state electorate.
President Donald Trump’s endorsement of Hilton, which helped him consolidate Republican support in the primary, is expected to become a liability in the general. The poll found that 69 percent of California voters disapprove of Trump’s performance, while 29 percent approve.
“A majority of Californians have a very strong negative view of the president, so Hilton’s backing by the president will not be nearly as beneficial to him in the general as it was in the primary,” DiCamillo said.
The poll also found that Becerra was the only major candidate to end the primary with a net-positive favorability rating among the overall electorate. Just before the June 2 primary, 44 percent of likely voters viewed him favorably compared to 38 percent unfavorably. Hilton was underwater at 31 percent favorable to 38 percent unfavorable.
How the Race Got Here
Becerra’s position at the top of the November ballot caps a remarkable three-month rise. He was polling at 5 percent in a March IGS survey, too low to be invited to a candidate debate.
His fortunes turned when former Representative Eric Swalwell, one of the Democratic frontrunners, dropped out of the race in April after he was accused of sexual assault and misconduct, which he has denied. Democratic voters and interest groups quickly consolidated behind Becerra, who pitched himself as an experienced hand with a record of fighting the Trump administration, having filed 122 lawsuits against the Trump White House during his tenure as California attorney general.
“Really gave Becerra an opening and he capitalized on it,” DiCamillo said of Swalwell’s exit.
With 91 percent of ballots tallied, Becerra finished first in the primary with 27.9 percent of the vote. Hilton finished second with 25 percent. Billionaire Tom Steyer, a Democrat who self-funded his campaign to the tune of $216 million, finished third with 22.5 percent and conceded Tuesday night.
Though Steyer had aggressively courted progressive voters and secured endorsements from California Representative Ro Khanna and Our Revolution, a group founded by Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Becerra outperformed him among that constituency. Among voters who self-identified as progressive, 39 percent backed Becerra compared to 29 percent for Steyer, the pre-primary IGS poll found.
Can a Republican Flip California?
Registered Democrats outnumber Republicans in California by nearly two to one. No Republican has won a statewide office since Arnold Schwarzenegger was reelected governor in 2006. Prediction markets price Hilton’s general election chances at roughly 9 percent.
Earlier in the cycle, the prospect of an all-Republican November ballot was real: With a crowded Democratic field and two consolidated Republican candidates, analysts warned that vote-splitting could lock Democrats out entirely. Trump’s endorsement of Hilton ended that scenario, stranding Bianco and narrowing the Republican threat to a single lane.
Hilton argues that voter frustration with 16 years of uninterrupted Democratic governance is enough to rewrite the map.
“I think it’s just obvious that these 16 years of Democrat progressive governance have been an unmitigated disaster, and a very expensive one,” he told Newsweek in a past interview.
Most analysts, however, remain skeptical.
When Was the Last Time a Republican Won a California Governor Race?
Arnold Schwarzenegger was the last Republican to win the California gubernatorial election, when he was reelected in 2006.
At the time, Republicans were on a much more even playing ground when it came to registered voters. At the time of Schwarzenegger’s reelection, there were 5.4 million registered Republicans and 6.7 million registered Democrats.
Now, there are over 10 million registered Democrats and only about 5 million registered Republicans in the state.
What Do California Governor Race Odds Show?
Prediction markets are pricing Becerra as a heavy favorite to win in November.

When President Trump named Bill Pulte to serve as acting director of national intelligence last week, it threw a grenade into the middle of delicate congressional negotiations around one of the nation’s key spy powers.
Pulte, the 38 year-old director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, is best known for his role as a partisan attack dog for the president. He was a prominent advocate for Trump’s push to fire then-Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and used his sizable social media following to push for mortgage fraud investigations into Trump’s perceived enemies.
As director of national intelligence, Pulte would oversee the entire U.S. intelligence apparatus. That includes the collection of hundreds of thousands of foreigners’ electronic communications under section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, one of the nation’s most important surveillance tools.
On Capitol Hill, where months-long negotiations over the renewal of the FISA 702 program appeared close to an end, Pulte’s appointment came as a surprise to the lawmakers involved in the deliberations.
The Senate was moving toward a robust three-year extension ahead of the law’s Friday expiration after two prior short-term extensions. Then Trump’s Truth Social post dramatically changed the context of the talks.
“I am appointing the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, and Chairman of Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac, William J. Pulte, to serve as Acting Director of National Intelligence,” Trump wrote. “William has deep experience managing the most sensitive matters in America.”
The announcement was met with confusion and dismay on Capitol Hill. Many Democrats, concerned that Pulte has no national security sector experience and a history of weaponizing his role, made clear they would not support extending FISA section 702 with him in the role.
“Inventor of Twitter Philanthropy”
The scion of a homebuilding fortune built by his grandfather, he attended Northwestern University and graduated with a degree in broadcast journalism. He started a private equity firm that invests in home services-related business and ran a non-profit which worked with Detroit and surrounding cities to clear blighted lots.
During Trump’s first term, Pulte turned his philanthropic attention online and quickly rose to prominence by giving away money to people on Twitter. He often offered bounties for retweets by prominent accounts.
“If @realDonaldTrump retweets this, I will give $30,000 to a Veteran on Twitter,” reads a characteristic 2019 post. It was shared by the president with the caption “THANK YOU BILL!”
Pulte, who often claimed to be the “Inventor of Twitter Philanthropy” in local media interviews, regularly sent funds to folks looking to pay down debt, seek medical care or simply buy dinner. He told the Detroit Free Press in August 2019 that he employed a team of more than 10 people to “field and vet” thousands of requests.
His following on the platform ballooned to nearly 3 million people. In December 2021, as his Twitter philanthropy push continued, the future Trump confidante was still reluctant to talk about politics.
“I tell people, don’t bait me into politics,” he told the Detroit Free Press. “I stay apolitical.”
Behind the scenes though, Pulte and his wife Diana were quickly becoming Republican mega-donors. Less than two months prior, the Pultes made a $500,000 contribution to the Trump-aligned “Make America Great Again, Again!” super PAC.
By the end of the 2024 election cycle, the family had given roughly a million dollars to Republican candidates and party-aligned groups.
Housing chief to intel chief
After Pulte helped boost Trump’s presidential return, the president-elect named Pulte to run the Federal Housing Finance Agency.
The agency was created after the 2008 recession to bolster the health of U.S housing finance markets, ensuring the safety and accessibility of mortgage loans. In his perch as the agency’s director, he’s gained a reputation for making abrupt policy announcements on X and has drawn scrutiny from industry leaders and investors over his muddled promises about the future of the federally controlled mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
More than policy, Pulte’s tenure has been marked by how he has leveraged the role to go after people the president dislikes. Pulte leveraged his broad social media following to broadcast accusations that several of the president’s perceived enemies had committed mortgage fraud, including Fed official Lisa Cook, New York’s Democratic Attorney General Letitia James and Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif. Each has denied wrongdoing.
Pulte did not respond to multiple interview requests placed through the administration and FHFA staff.
FISA hand grenade
By statute, the director of national intelligence is meant to ensure impartial intelligence assessments are presented to the president, to avoid the failures that occurred ahead of the Sept. 11 attacks and Iraq war — a job description that Pulte’s critics say is temperamentally at odds with his reputation as a partisan attack dog.
Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate intelligence committee, had been working alongside the committee’s chairman, Sen. Tom Cotton, to adapt an extension of FISA 702 passed by the House last month into something that could secure the 60 votes needed to clear the Senate when Trump made his appointment announcement.
In an interview with NPR’s Morning Edition the following day, Warner expressed that putting a man who weaponized confidential mortgage information in charge of all U.S. intelligence agencies made it impossible to convince Democrats and some Republicans to back the tool, given the existing concerns among a bipartisan group of lawmakers that the tool enables warrantless domestic surveillance.
“He’s extraordinarily unqualified, but the timing could also not be more of a mistake,” Warner said. Hakeem Jeffries, the top House Democrat, described Pulte as a “political hack” and “malignant clown” in a press conference this week.
Even Republican leaders expressed worries. “We don’t need a weaponized DNI,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told reporters last week. “We need professionals there.”
Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton, the Republican chairman of the Senate intelligence committee, said “I have no observations on the matter” when asked whether Pulte had the right experience to lead the intelligence agencies.
Democratic congressional staff familiar with the negotiations told NPR that unless the president reversed course on Pulte’s nomination ahead of Friday’s nominal deadline — intelligence collection could continue under grandfathered authority for many months — there would likely not be enough Democrat support to renew FISA authority.
Trump has said he is interviewing candidates to take the job on a permanent basis, but does not seem inclined to reverse course on Pulte before Friday’s FISA deadline. He is instead encouraging Congress to pass another short-term extension.
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Trump said that as an acting director, not beholden to Senate confirmation, Pulte can quickly shake up the agency and continue to reduce its headcount.
“You’re less shackled,” he said. “It sort of gives you more power, you know, for a somewhat limited period of time.”