American star Christian Pulisic, limited by a calf injury since the national team’s World Cup opener, is in the starting lineup for Wednesday’s round of 32 match against Bosnia and Herzegovina in Santa Clara, Calif.

It marks Pulisic’s first start since the 4-1 victory over Paraguay in the USMNT’s group-stage opener on June 12, when he injured his left calf and did not play in the second half. He missed the 2-0 victory over Australia before returning to play 33 minutes as a reserve against Turkey on June 25.

“I felt great in the last game against Turkey,” Pulisic told reporters on Tuesday. “I’m feeling good this week, and I’m definitely ready to go for tomorrow.”

With 33 international goals and 21 assists in 88 matches, the 27-year-old Pulisic is the USMNT’s active scoring leader and one of their most important players. He led the USMNT with his playmaking skills as they opened a 3-0 halftime lead against Paraguay.

The United States won their first two World Cup matches before falling 3-2 against Turkey in their final Group D contest. Now comes a test against Bosnia and Herzegovina, who went 1-1-1 in Group B play and advanced as a third-place team.

The winner will advance to the round of 16 to meet Belgium — which edged Senegal 3-2 on Wednesday — on July 6 in Seattle.

The U.S. lineup for Wednesday also includes four players who didn’t play against Turkey — midfielder Tyler Adams, forward Folarin Balogun, center back Chris Richards and left back Antonee Robinson. Each had a yellow card earlier in the tournament and a second would have led to a suspension.

Midfielder Cristian Roldan (quad) and defender Mark McKenzie (foot) are the only U.S. players sidelined by injury.

–Field Level Media

It’s probably a good thing the Atlanta Dream and Washington Mystics had a few days off. They both needed the recovery time.

They’ll be back in action when they meet Thursday night in Washington.

The Dream (12-7) are looking for a turnaround. They hadn’t lost back-to-back games this season until dropping three straight on their West Coast — with Saturday’s 105-90 loss at Seattle the most recent setback.

“It’s still early in the season, so these are the types of things you want to experience early so you can learn from them so when it gets to playoff time, it’s not too late,” said Dream guard Allisha Gray.

The Mystics (9-9) lost two in a row before Sunday’s 124-123 four-overtime survival against visiting Portland, which tied the WNBA record for most overtimes in a game.

“I’ve never experienced this,” Mystics coach Sydney Johnson said. “Love the resiliency. … I thought our Mystics were outstanding just in terms of never quitting. It’s easy to get discouraged. They didn’t.”

Four Washington players logged 47 or more minutes in the Portland game.

Despite the grueling nature of the Mystics’ most recent game, Johnson believes there will be long-term benefits for his players.

“You can put a lot in the memory bank and add to the experience that they’re having,” Johnson said. “That’s going to add to the film work and court sessions.”

Part of the growth for the Mystics might have been seen in Michaela Onyenwere, who has played 14 games in her first season with Washington. She scored 30 points in 49 minutes against Portland.

The Mystics might be short-handed after starting guard Georgia Amoore left Sunday’s game with a right knee ailment. She played only 12 minutes and is listed as questionable for Thursday’s game. Top scorer Sonia Citron (18.6 ppg), who poured in 32 points in 53 minutes against the Fire, also is questionable with a sore right knee.

Atlanta’s Rhyne Howard is coming off a 27-point outburst versus Seattle. Gray eclipsed the 4,500-point mark for her career in that game.

The Dream defeated visiting Washington 109-77 on June 6 with five players — led by Howard’s 19 points — scoring in double figures. The visit from the Dream marks the second game in a four-game homestand for Washington.

–Field Level Media

For the first time since Edmonton tabbed him with the seventh overall pick in the 2013 NHL draft, defenseman Darnell Nurse no longer belongs to the Oilers organization.

Edmonton moved the 12-year veteran to the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday in exchange for defensemen Shakir Mukhamadullin and Zack Sharp.

Nurse, 31, piled up 88 goals, 236 assists and a plus-66 rating in 798 regular-season games for the Oilers from 2014-26. The Hamilton, Ontario, native also delivered seven goals and 22 assists in 100 Stanley Cup playoff games. He ranks first on the Oilers in career blocked shots (1,466) and hits (1,692), second in games and fifth in points (324).

Nurse brings with him a $9.25 million cap hit on an eight-year contract that doesn’t expire until after the 2029-30 season. The Sharks capitalized on their expansive cap room in comparison to the Oilers.

Mukhamadullin, 24, was selected by the New Jersey Devils in the first round of the 2020 draft. He posted five goals and seven assists in 50 games for the Sharks this season, which boosted his career totals to seven goals and 15 assists in 83 games.

Sharp, 21, has yet to play professional hockey since the Sharks selected him in the fourth round of the 2025 draft. He has posted 10 goals and 18 assists in two seasons at Western Michigan, which he helped win the 2025 NCAA championship.

In other moves on Wednesday, the Oilers signed free agent defenseman Ryan Shea to a five-year, $20 million contract, and traded a 2028 third-round draft pick to the Buffalo Sabres for goaltender Devon Levi and a seventh-rounder in 2028. Shea, 29, had 35 points (six goals, 29 assists) in 80 regular-season games for the Pittsburgh Penguins last season.

Levi, 24, was 2-7-0 with a 4.12 goals-against average and .872 save percentage in nine games (eight starts) last season for the Sabres.

–Field Level Media