FIFA news: “Am I supposed to lie?” - Pochettino defends USA emails

World Cup 2026 Weekly news. We will bring you the latest from around the world as we countdown to the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Ever been dumped via text message? Hurts right?

Imagine being told you had missed World Cup selection via email.

Four years of working hard and putting your all towards getting the biggest honour of your life and the coach decides to send you an electronic message to inform you you'll be home for the summer.

Brutal but that's exactly what's happened to team USA's non-selection players.

US head coach Mauricio Pochettino has copped a fair amount of criticism for his approach to informing players of their fate but defended his decision.

“What am I going to tell a player?” Pochettino said. “Am I supposed to lie? I am going to say that another player is on the roster because today, in this period, he is a better option. I am not going to say that he is a better player or that you cannot make the roster in the future.

"There are 55 players on the provisional roster – and now I need to call all of the players who didn’t make it? Do I need to do that in March? In January camp? That is not the way.”

Landon Donovan - the USA's joint all-time leading scorer - back the approach.

“I can understand where he’s coming from,” Donovan told the Guardian. “To some extent, I was thinking about it this morning – not hearing from him directly might actually be a good thing.

"It’s a shitty situation, it’s not gonna change anything. Yes, if I was a part of the team for a long time, I would’ve wanted a phone call. If I’d not been part of the team for a long time, I wouldn’t have cared. Every player is different, though.”

Socceroos World Cup over

Heartbreak for Australia's Riley McGree who has officially been ruled out of the World Cup with a hamstring injury.

Days out from Tony Popovic naming his final squad for the tournament which gets under way on June 12 (AEST), the Middleborough attacker's hopes of travelling were cruelly dashed.

McGree was seen limping off in his final appearance for his club at Wembley on Saturday.

The 27-year-old was not called into the Socceroos camp which is gathering ahead of the final warm-up matches against Mexico on May 31 and Switzerland on June 7.

His absence will no doubt totally reshape Australia's attacking options.

Popovic and his players are currently in Florida and will travel to California at the end of the week to continue their preparations.

The final 26-man squad will be released on June 1.

Iran kicked out of USA

Mexico has stepped in to host the Iranian football team between their World Cup matches after US authorities refused to let them stay on American soil due to ongoing hostilities between the countries.

“The US doesn’t want the Iranian national team to stay overnight there, so they asked us if they could stay here,” Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said. “We have no problem with that; we have no reason to deny them that possibility.”

Iran is scheduled to play New Zealand and Belgium in California before meting Egypt in Seattle.

The team will also move its training base to Mexico.

“Following the requests we submitted and the meetings we held with FIFA and World Cup officials in Istanbul, as well as the webinar meeting we had yesterday in Tehran, our request to change the team’s base from the US to Mexico was approved,” according to a federation statement.

Messi injury fears weeks out from World Cup

Just 18 days from the opening match of the FIFA World Cup, Lionel Messi has limped off the field with an apparent injury.

The Inter Miami and Argentine superstar requested to be subbed out with an apparent leg issue.

Messi was seen grabbing the back of his leg as he walked off in the 73rd minute against Philadelphia Union.

Inter Miami head coach Guillermo Hoyos provided an update on Messi's injury.

"We don't have a report on that yet... but he is really fatigued," Hoyos told ESPN.

"When in doubt, one always tries to avoid taking risks."

Messi is gearing up for a sixth World Cup appearance with Argentina as the nation looks to defend its 2022 title.

Argentina open their campaign June 16 against Algeria as part of Group J.

USA v Socceroos - it's ON

Battle lines between the USA and the Socceroos have officially been drawn with one American pundit saying "if you can't bet Australia in a football match, stay home."

Australia will play the World Cup hosts second in the Group matches on June 20 (AEST).

The USA (16th) are ranked 16 spots higher than the Socceroos (27th) in the FIFA standings, but anything could happen in their clash.

When first asked about the Socceroos, CBS Sports expert Mike Grella said: Take nothing away from the Socceroos, they’ve always been competitive. But they stumbled a little during qualifying and weren’t that impressive.

“This is an amazing first team to have for the US. “You guys (Australia) probably thought we were the easiest pot in the group, and we thought you were the easiest. We’re probably both the weakest teams.”

Sat alongside ex-Socceroos stopper Mark Schwarzer, Grella then added: “If we cant beat them, we shouldn’t go to the World Cup. If USA can’t beat Australia in a football match, stay home.”