Hey there! There's rarely a dull moment in the soccer world, and last weekend was no different. I'm Pardeep Cattry with a recap of the news on both sides of the Atlantic.
📺 Footy fix
All times U.S./Eastern
Monday, Feb. 5
🇮🇹 Serie A: Roma vs. Cagliari, 2:45 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+, CBS Sports Golazo Network
🏴 EPL: Brentford vs. Manchester City, 3 p.m. ➡️ USA Network
Tuesday, Feb. 6
🏆 Asian Cup: Jordan vs. South Korea, 10 a.m. ➡️ Paramount+
🇩🇪 DFB Pokal: Leverkusen vs. Stuttgart, 2:45 p.m. ➡️ ESPN+
⚽ The Forward Line
🗽 2026 World Cup final heads to New York
MetLife Stadium, based in the New York suburb of East Rutherford, NJ, officially won the rights to host the 2026 World Cup final yesterday, when FIFA announced the schedule and venues for the tournament. The venue beat out reported frontrunner AT&T Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, but it will host one semifinal while Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium will hold the other. Rounding out the sites for the World Cup's biggest games is Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, which will be the destination for the third place match.
The selection of MetLife Stadium, which is located in the U.S.' most populous metropolitan area, reflects FIFA's preference to stage the event in some of North America's biggest cities. The tournament's opening match will take place at Mexico City's Estadio Azteca, while Toronto's BMO Field will host Canada's opener and the U.S. men's national team's first match will be at SoFi Stadium in the Los Angeles suburb of Inglewood. The USMNT will play two group stage matches there but will play their second match at Seattle's Lumen Field, so the west coast will serve as the co-hosts' initial hub for the competition.
USMNT head coach Gregg Berhalter said he was happy with the team's opening schedule, chiefly because it limits travel time. He noted that the selection reflected the feedback that he and U.S. Soccer were able to offer FIFA before they made their picks considering the large geographic footprint of this World Cup, especially compared to the 2022 edition in Qatar.
- Berhalter: "The one piece of input was really about travel, trying to minimize travel. So for that, it's huge. Whether you're on the east coast and you don't have to travel often or on the west coast and don't have to travel often, I think it gets tricky when you talk about four or five-hour flights in between games, different time zone shifts."
The group stage schedule is one of several things that could create an ideal situation for the USMNT come June 2026. Berhalter believes the team will utilize the currently under construction national training center in Atlanta before the tournament begins, while a busy slate of top-tier competition in the next two years and the hope of home-field advantage will carry the team to, as he describes it, "change soccer in America forever … and to do something that no U.S. team has done before." The countdown starts now.
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🔗 Midfield Link Play
🏴 Arsenal shake up Premier League title race
There was another wrinkle in the Premier League title race yesterday, when Arsenal picked up a 3-1 win over Liverpool that loosened the Reds' grip on top spot. Liverpool are still two points clear of second place, but it puts the Gunners within touching distance of top spot -- and that's before Manchester City have a say.
Sunday's performance served as an example as to why Arsenal's name is tossed around in the title conversation in the first place. They were obviously the sharper and more eager team and though several players had impressive showings, James Benge notes that few stars shone as brightly as Jorginho did.
- Benge: "Every move was judged to a tee, every pass had been played before, with the stakes even greater than this 'win to revive the title push' clash. The statistics tell a pitifully insufficient tale of Jorginho's performance. He might have misplaced seven of his 52 passes but the ones that really mattered were judged with aplomb. Two tackles, two clearances, four interceptions: these are impressive numbers, but they do not capture the innumerable times a Liverpool attack went towards Jorginho and then started heading backwards."
Speaking of Manchester City, Liverpool's dropped points mean there's an opening for them to strengthen their position in the title race. They are the heavy favorites in today's clash at Brentford and can leapfrog Arsenal into second place (thanks to goal differential) with a win today -- all with a game in hand. Today's fixture could see Erling Haaland's first start in two months after recovering from a foot injury, and with City finally able to play both him and Kevin de Bruyne, it might just be a matter of time before they are truly back in the title race.
🔗 Top Stories
🇺🇸 USMNT's 2026 schedule: USMNT legend Tony Meola compares the team's 2026 group stage to the 1994 tournament, which he played in, and reacts to the final heading to his home state.
❓ Mbappe's future: Here's a look at the latest rumors around Kylian Mbappe's future and a possible departure from Paris Saint-Germain.
⏪ Weekend recap: Inter picked up a meaningful win over Juventus, Real Madrid dropped points to Atleti in dramatic fashion, Chelsea were thrashed by Wolves, and Saturday's Premier League action was full of goals.
🇰🇷 Korea advance: Heung-Min Son's stellar strike in extra time saw South Korea through to the Asian Cup semifinals, coming from behind to beat another one of the favorites, Australia.
🇳🇬 Nigeria's trophy to lose: Ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations semifinals, here's a look at why Nigeria is the team to beat after a handful of regional heavyweights were knocked out.
🟠 Hector Herrera interview: Houston Dynamo's Hector Herrera sat down with Nico Cantor to discuss the importance of the U.S. Open Cup after winning it last year and his relationship with manager Ben Olsen.
🇪🇺 UWCL power rankings: With the group stage complete, Sandra Herrera ranks the teams in the UEFA Women's Champions League and shares why reigning champions Barcelona are still the team to beat.
🦩 Boos for Miami: Lionel Messi sat out Inter Miami's 4-1 preseason win over the Hong Kong XI, inspiring boos and "refund" chants from the crowd -- and an official statement from the local government.
🇨🇱 Vidal's homecoming: Arturo Vidal returned to his boyhood club Colo Colo in spectacular fashion with an unveiling that included a helicopter, a horse and a crown.
💰 The Back Line
💵 Best bets
- Asian Cup: Jordan vs. South Korea, Tuesday, 10 a.m.
💰 THE PICK: More than 2.5 goals scored (+115) -- Tomorrow's semifinal marks a rematch from the group stage, when Jordan stunned by holding South Korea to a 2-2 draw. This one could also be full of goals, considering Jordan's goalscoring seems to be no fluke with 10 goals so far in this competition and South Korea's inability to keep a clean sheet. Jurgen Klinsmann's team also seems to have a penchant for drama, so the first of two Asian Cup semifinals feels like a must-watch that could have plenty of goals in it.
📺 What's on CBS Sports Golazo Network
☀️ Morning Footy (Weekdays 8-10 a.m.): Hosts Susannah Collins, Charlie Davies, Nico Cantor and Alexis Guerreros help fans get their day started on the network's flagship morning show with highlights, interviews and the biggest soccer storylines. Morning Footy is also available in podcast form, so you'll never have to miss an episode.
📦 Box 2 Box (Weekday afternoons): The news-driven show quickly recaps all the latest headlines from around the world with panelists previewing the top matchups of the day. Catch Box 2 Box on CBS Sports Golazo Network on the CBS Sports app, PlutoTV and Paramount+.
3️⃣ Attacking Third (Monday, Wednesday and Friday evening): The leading women's soccer podcast and social brand is now a live studio show. Just because the NWSL season is over doesn't mean that our coverage of the women's game is going anywhere. Our analysts will be breaking down the USWNT. NWSL offseason and European domestic season all winter long.
👟 Kickin' It (Tuesdays, 7 p.m.): CBS Sports Golazo Network's new unfiltered interview show returns Tuesday Hosted by Kate Abdo, Clint Dempsey, Mo Edu and Charlie Davies, the group chat candidly with the biggest names from the Beautiful Game and share their stories from on and off the pitch.
⚽ Call it What You Want (Monday night): A weekly podcast where Jimmy Conrad, Jesse Marsch and Charlie Davies cover all things USMNT and the state of the beautiful game in the United States.
🥅 Scoreline (Daily): Scoreline is the newest place for fans to catch up on all the biggest news and results impacting global football, match highlights from the top soccer competitions and all the can't-miss goals from the day's action, starting Thursday and airing seven days a week.
📺 How to watch: CBS Sports Golazo Network is a free 24/7 channel exclusively dedicated to offering unparalleled coverage of all the top soccer competitions worldwide. You can stream for free on the CBS Sports app, Pluto TV and Paramount+.
