The United States opened their World Cup campaign with a fine win – but not before a sequence of events that left everyone inside SoFi Stadium scratching their heads as the video assistant referee (VAR) made history.
The co-hosts were comfortably leading Paraguay 3-0 when confusion reigned in the Group D game.
Veteran defender Tim Ream, 38, conceded a free-kick and was shown a yellow card for his ‘challenge’ on Miguel Almiron.
After the free-kick was taken, Dutch referee Danny Makkelie was sent to the screen by the VAR and overturned his decision – something officials have not previously been allowed to do.
After rescinding Ream’s caution, Makkelie instead booked former Newcastle United forward Almiron, who had clearly dived.
It is the first VAR intervention for mistaken identity at the World Cup, even if it perhaps was not used in the way most expected it to be.
Fifa has introduced of a number of rule changes for the tournament, with Pierluigi Collina, the head of referees, requesting one specifically for mistaken identity.
The rule states that if a player is booked or sent off – but the foul was actually committed by the opposition team – the decision can be changed.
Another new law is second yellow cards leading to a red card can be reviewed, but not first yellow cards. The only reason referee Makkelie was able to rescind the decision was by using the mistaken identity law.
The officials allowed the game to restart before stopping, which also confused fans as normally once the game resumes it cannot be pulled back.
Former Everton and Wales defender Ashley Williams, speaking to BBC Sport, added: “They let them take the free-kick, which was bizarre but clearly the right decision.
“It’s the first time we have seen it but fair play.”
Former England midfielder Danny Murphy, who was co-commentating for BBC Sport, added: “Any adaptation of the rules which means diving gets more punishment is good.”
The United States, managed by former Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino, won the match 4-1 to get their campaign off to a winning start in front of a jubilant home crowd.
Following an own goal by Damian Bobadilla, the US led 3-0 at half-time after Folarin Balogun scored twice.
In doing so he became just the second US player to score more than once in a World Cup match.
Paraguay pulled one back through Brazilian-born Mauricio before the goal of the night from substitute Giovanni Reyna, who curled a 20-yard shot home with the outside of his right foot with the final kick of the game.
The Celtics star said he was not rooting for either team in the NBA Finals. Getty Images
Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum on watching the Knicks in the NBA Finals:
“I’m not rooting for anybody, I’m also not rooting against anybody. I think it does help that I’ve won a championships already, so helps me sleep a little better at night.” pic.twitter.com/7l0A2VnMRK
— Front Office Sports News (@FOS_News_) June 11, 2026
“I’m not rooting for anybody, I’m also not rooting against anybody,” Tatum told Front Office Sports Thursday about the series, which the Knicks now lead 3-1.
After trailing by 29 points on Wednesday, New York staged a historic rally to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, capped off by OG Anunoby’s tip-in with one second left in regulation.
The Knicks have been a thorn in Tatum’s side recently, as New York eliminated his Celtics in a thrilling six-game Eastern Conference Semifinals last season.
The series also carried heartbreak for the six-time All-Star, who suffered a torn right Achilles tendon in Game 4, ending his season and keeping him out for a significant portion of the 2025-26 campaign.
Tatum played in 16 regular-season games this season after rehabbing from a torn right Achillies tendon. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
Tatum helped lead the Celtics to the franchise’s NBA record 18th championship against the Mavericks in 2024.
“I think it does help that I’ve won a championship already,” Tatum added. “So it helps me sleep a little better at night. I just enjoy watching good basketball games.”
A calf injury kept Tatum out of the Celtics’ Game 7 matchup against the Sixers, which Boston lost 109-100 – which denied him an opportunity for an Eastern Conference Semifinals rematch against New York.
Surrounded by a raucous crowd at Rate Field, and struggling to find his recently improved command, Sasaki and the Dodgers came unglued in a seven-run fifth inning, letting the game get away from them in an 8-2 loss.
“As a staff, we’ve done a pretty good job of not allowing the huge inning,” manager Dave Roberts said. “Last couple times, in the last four or five games, we’ve given up big numbers. Unfortunately, that happens.”
On Friday night, Dodgers right-hander Roki Sasaki found himself on the wrong side of it. AP Photo/Melissa Tamez
Even before first pitch, the Dodgers’ night hadn’t started well.
Shohei Ohtani was out of the lineup after suffering a knee inflammation injury on Thursday. The makeshift batting order the team was left with included Alex Call in the leadoff spot and Santiago Espinal at DH.
Despite that, the Dodgers had an early 2-1 lead –– bouncing back from a solo home run by Andrew Benintendi in the bottom of the first with a two-run single from Espinal in the second.
By the time the fifth inning was over, however, everything had changed.
Shohei Ohtani was out of the lineup after suffering a knee inflammation injury on Thursday. AP Photo/Melissa Tamez
The meltdown started with a walk, one of three Sasaki would issue in the inning as his old command problems reared their ugly head. The young flamethrower wasn’t helped by his defense after that, with Freddie Freeman letting a potential double-play grounder get past him to score the inning’s first run.
With that, the score was tied 2-2. The crowd was whipped into an October-like frenzy. And after former Dodgers prospect Miguel Vargas laced an RBI double off the wall, there was no stopping the shift in momentum.
A pair of two-out walks –– the latter with the bases loaded –– chased Sasaki from the game. Blake Treinen replaced him but yielded a two-run single and a two-run triple.
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And even if the Dodgers (44-26) had Ohtani’s bat at that point, the resulting six-run deficit likely still would’ve felt too great.
“I remember a few years back, it was empty, and there was a lot of dismay here on the South Side,” Roberts said of the White Sox. “And now there’s a lot of energy, excitement, they’re in first place. It’s a young, kind of a tough, athletic team.”
The meltdown started with a walk, one of three Sasaki would issue in the inning as his old command problems reared their ugly head. AP Photo/Melissa Tamez
What it means
After making significant strides over the last month, Sasaki still very much remains a work in progress.
On Friday, he struggled to command his breaking pitches, couldn’t get ahead in counts and ultimately couldn’t stop the bleeding once the White Sox (37-31) finally got to him.
His final line: 4 ⅓ innings, seven runs, three walks, four strikeouts –– raising his ERA back to 4.76.
“My offspeed pitch wasn’t really good today,” Sasaki said through an interpreter. “So the third time through the order, I wasn’t able to get ahead in the count, I fell behind. So I couldn’t get those outs easily.”
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About the only reliable performer for the Dodgers on Friday was second baseman Miguel Rojas, who finally seemed to be snapping out of a recent slump.
Rojas went 2-for-4 at the plate, including a double in the second. He also recovered from a slip on the edge of the infield in the bottom of the inning to throw out a runner off balance from his knees.
Who’s not
The Dodgers’ situational offense, especially in the second inning.
Before the White Sox broke it open, the Dodgers had the chance to do the same. Twice, they had the bases loaded against left-handed starter Anthony Kay. But outside of Espinal’s single, they couldn’t take advantage, with Andy Pages (strikeout) and Freeman (flyout) coming up empty for the final two outs of the inning.
After that, a third-inning single from Rojas would be the only other time the Dodgers got a runner on base.
Up next
Yoshinobu Yamamoto (6-4, 2.68 ERA) will be on the mound Saturday against right-hander Sean Burke (3-3, 3.88 ERA). Whether or not Ohtani also returns remains to be seen.
“He just got treated [today],” Roberts said. “So talking to the training staff just right now, I’m optimistic. But I want to get him through tonight, get him here, go through some semblance of a workout, getting his body ready, and then we’ll go from there.”
Ilia Topuria shoved Justin Gaethje in front of the Lincoln Memorial in the final news conference before the UFC’s unprecedented show at the White House on Sunday.
After both fighters predicted victory in their unification fight, lightweight champion Topuria, 29, pushed interim title holder Gaethje, who responded by laughing off the incident.
As UFC president Dana White separated the fighters with a wry smile on his face, American Gaethje could be heard saying to Topuria: “Look where we’re at, look at this beautiful view and you want to act like an animal?”
Earlier, Georgian-Spaniard Topuria had told 37-year-old Gaethje he was “going to knock his lights out in the first round”.
“I know I’m best in the world, in two days we’re going to share the same place. I know I’m the best, just prove me wrong if you can,” said Topuria.
The news conference was hosted in Washington DC, two days before the event on the White House’s South Lawn.
The one-of-a-kind show, called UFC Freedom 250, is taking place on US President Donald Trump’s 80th birthday as part of celebrations to mark 250 years of American independence.
The Lincoln Memorial provided an eye-catching backdrop for the fighters, who were provided a guard of honour by the U.S. Army Herald Trumpets before they took their seats.
While there were spiky moments between Topuria and Gaethje, there was little said between France’s Ciryl Gane and Brazil’s Alex Pereira, who will fight for the interim heavyweight title in the co-main event.
Should Pereira win, he will become the first fighter in UFC history to win belts in three divisions after formerly holding the middleweight and light-heavyweight titles.
Earlier Topuria described Pereira as a GOAT (greatest of all time) for his achievements inside the octagon.
“He’s the goat already. One of the goats already, because we have many in this sport. He’s going to join that list without any doubt,” he said.
The news conference was also interrupted numerous times by American heavyweight Josh Hokit, with Topuria at one point asking the UFC to turn his microphone off.
It’s time for some remedial education for California’s public school system. Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
This is one of the most elite public universities in the world.
And some students there can’t read more than five (5) pages a day per course.
You read that right.
Multiple professors told the media they’ve had to scale back reading expectations — with one instructor assigning just 35 pages a week, down from 100.
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“We are now reaching a crisis point where if the number (of pages) goes down further, it’s unclear to me whether my discipline of history can really be taught,” Carlos Noreña told student media.
Good grief and indeed: How can students genuinely learn history if they barely read about it?
Granted, California college students have long stepped on campus ill-prepared and in need of remedial coursework. That much is not new.
What’s alarming is the acceleration of the trend — and its reach into the most elite centers of learning in California.
Good grief and indeed: How can students genuinely learn history if they barely read about it? Getty Images
Talk about off-brand for Berkeley.
For decades, the university’s been renowned not just for its free-speech legacy and protest politics (before the latter was everywhere), but for its academic rigor.
UCB turned away nearly 90% of its undergraduate applicants last fall. And those admitted had straight A’s in high school, or very close to it.
So why the struggle to read more than a pamphlet?
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Grade inflation is part of it, along with shrinking student attention spans in a digital, social media, bite-sized-content world.
Other causes are more political. These include K-12 standards lowered in the name of buzzwords like equity, fairness and social justice, and political advocacy that soaks up class time and distracts from student focus on reading, writing, arithmetic and other foundational learning.
All this matters because students at Berkeley and other top universities are expected to engage with complex ideas — and that can require reams of reading.
So why the struggle to read more than a pamphlet? Getty Images
Consider: How can students become effective doctors if they can’t read science textbooks? Or lawyers, if they can’t digest hundreds of pages of court documents? Or Researchers if they can’t, well, read research?
And next question: How does California turn the page on this sorry chapter?
To start, by restoring higher academic standards, recalibrating testing and grading systems to reflect true learning, scrapping ideological lesson plans in favor of critical thinking — and reading — and reinstating the Scholastic Aptitude Test for all college admissions statewide.
In recent weeks, hundreds of UC faculty members have supported the reinstatement of the SAT to better screen students for college readiness. Turns out the test, scrapped by UC in 2020 on grounds of “equity,” was a good predictor of college success after all.
Setting merit aside and then coddling students with lighter workloads is not the answer.
Better student learning is.
It might be time to send California’s entire K-12 apparatus back to school.
Knicks fans were heaving half-court shots to reach San Antonio ahead of New York’s potentially championship-clinching showdown with the Spurs after stormy weather canceled flights Friday.
Orange and blue-clad New Yorkers were ready to invade the second-rate Texas city for Saturday night’s Game 5 of the NBA Finals, but travel plans were thrown into chaos thanks to a raging thunderstorm that swept through the tristate area.
Brooklyn resident Toby Hyde was supposed to board a 5:33 p.m. flight to San Antonio from JFK Airport with a layover in Dallas until the plane was grounded, sending him scrambling for a backup plan.
NY Knicks fans made it to NBA Finals games at the start of the series. NBAE via Getty Images
“If the Knicks can come back from 29 down, an American can figure out how to get into Texas,” Hyde, 44, said in reference to the Knicks’ shocking Game 4 comeback at Madison Square Garden to take a commanding 3-1 series lead.
“It’s a big state, I’ll be able to fly somewhere,” he added while decked out in a Marcus Camby jersey. “I’ll probably be driving from somewhere, hopefully through Austin but I’m willing to do Houston if it will get me there in time.”
He was eventually able to book a flight to Miami that is supposed to depart late Friday, then take off from the Sunshine State and reach Dallas by the morning and finally jet into San Antonio by early afternoon.
Another crew of Knicks supporters were set to fly from LaGuardia Airport to Dallas before their plans were rejected like a Mitchell Robinson block.
Now, five fans who bonded over the travel heartbreak were boarding a plane to Miami, which will connect to Austin before they drive the 80 miles to San Antonio.
“Now you see what Knicks fans endure,” one of the newly united fans, Eric Kwiatkowski, 40, told the Post.
Kwiatkowski’s friend, Ramy Fakhr, 44, will only have the clothes on his back after he checked his luggage for the canceled plane.
He didn’t have time to retrieve the suitcase before hurrying to the new flight.
“Now I have to spend the whole weekend without any clothes. This is all I’m wearing. Well, I’m gonna borrow some of Eric’s clothes,” said Fakhr.
Fans were ready to invade San Antonio for Game 5. NBAE via Getty Images
But a chuckling Kwiatkowski cut in, “He’s not getting any of my clothes.”
Queens resident Joe P. and his pal also saw their travel plans run afoul after they were planning to fly into Dallas, then take a plane to Austin before driving the rest of the way.
The two friends bought tickets Thursday, but were still trying to figure out new travel arrangements.
“I have not been able to afford any of the tickets for the NBA finals in the Garden, because I think, it’s $10,000, $12,000 for nosebleeds now, so that’s a little bit out of my budget,” Joe said.
“It’s cheaper to go to San Antonio, and fly back then to go to the game in NY.”
The Jalen Brunson-led Knickerbockers could clinch the team’s first championship in more than 50 years as they take on the most hated man – or alien – in New York, Victor Wembanyama, and the Spurs.
IShowSpeed’s presence at Friday’s USA World Cup match caused quite the headache for fans and several security guards at SoFi Stadium.
During halftime of America’s clash with Paraguay in Inglewood, Speed popped his head out of a luxury box suite in the arena’s lower bowl, and dozens of fans quickly gathered around to catch a glimpse of the famed internet personality.
IShowSpeed took some time at halftime to greet fans.The interaction turned into a logistical nightmare for fans trying to navigate the stadium. Edward Lewis/CA Post
Speed was loving the attention — he shook hands with several of his screaming supporters and he even snapped a few selfies too — but the scene drew the ire of plenty of staffers who had been tasked with keeping aisle walkways clear.
As Speed was entertaining the crowd, guards pleaded with spectators to move over and over again.
But none left immediately, creating quite the traffic jam.
Security guards tried to move people along. Edward Lewis/CA PostSpeed appeared to be streaming the entire event. Edward Lewis/CA Post
After several minutes of chaos, a member of Speed’s team finally told the gathering to disperse — much to the delight of the stadium workers.
And, when he wasn’t attracting masses to his area, he was seen hobnobbing with multiple celebrities, including NFL stars Jaxson Dart, Jared Goff and Jayden Daniels.
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Taylor Swift’s ex-boyfriend of six and a half years was spotted stepping out with “Love Story” star Sarah Pidgeon in New York City.
Pidgeon — who played style icon Carolyn Bessette Kennedy in the recent hit FX series — was “allegedly spotted in Fort Greene [Brooklyn] last night [Wednesday]” with the “Hamnet” actor, according to Deuxmoi.
However, the gossip blog’s post noted, “When Sarah was spotted with Jake Gyllenhaal it was later learned they were about to film a project together 👀.”
Reps for Alwyn and Pidgeon did not immediately respond to Page Six’s request for comment Friday evening.
Joe Alwyn, seen above in March, was reportedly spotted on a date with Sarah Pidgeon on Wednesday in New York. WireImagePer Deux Moi, the pair was “allegedly spotted in Fort Greene” together. Pidgeon is pictured above earlier this month. Melanie Miller / BACKGRID
Fans couldn’t help but sound off in the comments section, where one person quipped, “We about to get an album from Taylor.”
Another wrote that Alwyn and Pidgeon would “be gorgeous together 😍,” while a third chimed in, “Obsessed with Taylor. But this works. Good for them.”
The report comes as anticipation builds for the “Opalite” hitmaker’s wedding to Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce — which sources recently dished to Page Six will be held at Madison Square Garden over the July 3 weekend.
Alwyn, 35, and Swift, 36, dated from the fall of 2016 until their split in the spring of 2023, amid the launch of the pop star’s epic Eras Tour. An insider told Page Six at the time the breakup “wasn’t dramatic” and said the romance “just ran its course.”
One person suggested in the comments section that they’d “be gorgeous together.” Pidgeon is seen here in New York earlier this month. AFP via Getty Images“Obsessed with Taylor. But this works,” another person wrote of Alwyn, seen here in May at the Met Gala. WireImage
“I would hope that anyone and everyone can empathise and understand the difficulties that come with the end of a long, loving, fully committed relationship of over six and a half years. That is a hard thing to navigate,” he explained to the outlet.
The actor shared that the split was “unusual and abnormal” because it landed “suddenly in the public domain and the outside world is able to weigh in.”
Alwyn and Taylor Swift, spotted here in 2019, broke up in 2023 after six and a half years together. GC ImagesAlwyn later called the split “unusual and abnormal” because of its high profile nature. He’s seen here with the Grammy-winning singer in 2020. NBCU Photo Bank
“So you have something very real suddenly thrown into a very unreal space: tabloids, social media, press, where it is then dissected, speculated on, pulled out of shape beyond recognition,” he shared.
He added: “And the truth is, to that last point, there is always going to be a gap between what is known and what is said. I have made my peace with that.”
Pidgeon, 29, has never confirmed a relationship and fiercely protects her private life, though she was previously linked to Spacey Jane frontman Caleb Harper after starring alongside Harper in the band’s “It’s Been a Long Day” music video in 2022.
Her onscreen and red carpet chemistry with “Love Story” co-star Paul Anthony Kelly also raised dating speculation among fans, but he’s been married to wife Syd Widziszewski since 2023.
Though she sparked rumors of a potential romance with Jake Gyllenhaal, 45, after being spotted grabbing coffee in New York earlier this year, it turned out the pair are co-starring in upcoming dramedy film “Honeymoon with Harry” together.
A North Carolina-bound flight was forced into a U-turn just 30 minutes into its journey after multiple lightning bolts struck the plane in UK airspace, according to a report.
American Airlines flight AA735 was flying over Manchester, England on Wednesday when the plane was hit and pilots decided to reverse course, reports the London Evening Standard.
The plane, a 777-300ER passenger jet, will undergo inspections from the FAA and the UK Civil Aviation Authority before it is permitted to fly again. Carlos Yudica – stock.adobe.com
Air traffic control received the pilot’s squawk 7700, a general emergency code, around 3:30 p.m. and the plane was cleared for a priority return to London.
The flight landed at London Heathrow around 4:35 p.m. and crews inspected the aircraft on the runway.
A large majority of large passenger aircraft can withstand lightning, however, the planes must undergo “expensive” damage inspections when they are struck, so airlines “avoid thunderstorms as much as possible,” explains the National Weather Service.
The flight landed at London Heathrow around 4:35 p.m. and crews inspected the aircraft on the runway. Getty Images
There hasn’t been a lightning-caused commercial airline crash in decades, however, small and experimental aircraft are more vulnerable, according to the NWS.
The plane, a 777-300ER passenger jet, will undergo inspections from the FAA and the UK Civil Aviation Authority before it is permitted to fly again, the Standard reports.
