When Chicago hosts New York on Saturday, it will be a reunion of former U.S. men’s national team members Gregg Berhalter, now the coach of the Fire, and Michael Bradley, who is in his first season guiding the Red Bulls.

In 2019, which was the final season of Bradley’s 14-year playing career on the USMNT, Berhalter was the head coach of the Stars and Stripes.

Seven years later, their respective MLS teams are going in opposite directions. While Chicago (5-3-2, 17 points) has collected 13 points in its last six games, New York (3-5-3, 12 points) is winless over its last five MLS matches.

After opening with wins in his first two games as an MLS coach, it has been a struggle for Bradley.

“He probably doesn’t need my advice, but you know coaching is a journey and he’s a smart guy,” Berhalter said. “And for him, it’s just a continual journey to keep learning and keep improving.”

The journey has been filled with success for Berhalter. In five seasons with the Columbus Crew, he guided them to four playoff berths. Last year, in his first season with the Fire, Berhalter helped them end an eight-year postseason drought.

“The way he sees the game, the way he sets up training sessions, the tone that he has with the group, his way of leading — you take little bits of that and you try to use it in a way that can help you,” Bradley said.

The Red Bulls have failed to score in their last two MLS matches, including a 2-0 loss at home last Saturday to FC Dallas.

Getting on the scoreboard won’t be easy against Chicago keeper Chris Brady who has recorded five clean sheets, including four at home.

Eighteen-year-old forward Julian Hall (six goals, two assists) has emerged as the top threat for New York, while Chicago is paced by forward Hugo Cuypers, who is tied for the league lead with 10 goals after scoring a brace in each of the Fire’s last three MLS matches.

“They have speed. They’re a quite big, physical team. We’re not gonna shy away from that,” Red Bulls keeper Ethan Horvath said. “We’re gonna go out. We’re gonna attack the game head on and try to give Chicago a really tough time.”

–Field Level Media

Count Argentina and Inter Miami superstar Lionel Messi among those who thinks that Neymar should compete for his native Brazil in the upcoming World Cup.

Messi, who played with Neymar for four seasons at Barcelona and another two at Paris Saint-Germain before both moved on in 2023, admitted he does not consider himself objective about the 34-year-old player he calls a friend.

“We want the best players to be there (at the World Cup) and Neymar, no matter his form, will always be one of them,” Messi told Pollo Álvarez on his Lo del Pollo show.

Argentina and Brazil might be South American rivals, but this goes beyond rivalries for Messi.

“It would be wonderful to see him at the World Cup because of what he means to Brazil and to football. I hope he can be there, but I can’t be objective, because he always has to be there,” Messi told Alvarez.

“Obviously, I’d love for him to be at the World Cup, for good things to happen to him because he deserves it for the kind of person he is. And I hope he can be there.”

Currently under contract at his boyhood club Santos, the captain of the club in Brazil’s Serie A has been limited to eight matches in 2026 due to a knee injury that warranted minor knee surgery in late December and another knee procedure in March. He has three goals and two assists this season.

“He has a very special charisma,” Messi said. “He doesn’t put on an act, he lives his life as it is, according to what he feels without worrying about the repercussions. He lives his life, he’s happy, and he’s very natural.”

Neymar has rejoined Santos, where he began his professional career from 2009-13.

An ankle injury slowed Neymar before his departure from Paris Saint-Germain. At Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia, a torn anterior cruciate ligament ended a brief stay.

A fixture on the Brazil national team starting in 2013, Neymar hasn’t played for his country since 2023 due to injuries and issues with form. He has played in the World Cup three times with his national team.

–Field Level Media

In a rematch of last season’s WNBA Finals, the reigning champion Las Vegas Aces play host to the Phoenix Mercury in a matinee Saturday to open the season for both teams.

Las Vegas heads into the 2026 campaign fresh off its third WNBA championship in four seasons led by A’ja Wilson, who is coming off her fourth Most Valuable Player campaign.

Wilson surpassed Lisa Leslie, Sheryl Swoopes and Lauren Jackson for the most MVPs in league history with last season’s selection. In 2026, Wilson can become the first player ever to win the award in three consecutive seasons.

In a league flush with new, young stars, Wilson enters her ninth campaign aiming to remain the WNBA’s standard-bearer, as she told the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

“I like proving people wrong,” Wilson said. “I like to let people just burn because me and my team are doing great, or they never could have imagined it could have been me in this situation or my team in this situation.”

Wilson averaged 23.4 points, 10.2 rebounds and matched her career-best with 3.1 assists in 2025. She claimed WNBA Finals MVP at the culmination of a postseason run when she averaged 26.8 points — her most in seven career postseason appearances — 10 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 2.5 blocks and 2.1 steals.

Wilson closed out the Aces’ four-game Finals sweep of Phoenix with consecutive games of 34 and 31 points, ending the surprise playoff run of the Mercury, who will lean into its veteran roster this season.

Phoenix reached the Finals as the No. 4 seed in the playoffs, taking down the No.1-seed Minnesota Lynx in a 3-1 semifinal series. Kahleah Copper, a 10-year veteran, averaged 17.8 points through the playoffs.

DeWanna Bonner, who is entering her 18th year in the league, posted a pair of double-doubles in the Finals, and 12-year veteran Alyssa Thomas delivered three double-doubles in the Finals and a triple-double in the title-clinching game.

While the returning trio helped guide Phoenix’s run to the Finals, Thomas said at the Mercury’s media day on Wednesday that the playoffs provided the team’s younger players with invaluable lessons.

“We had a lot of people on our team who were … first time going through playoffs,” Thomas said. “I don’t think you can prepare people enough for how hard playoffs is.”

Among its young contributors, Phoenix welcomes back Monique Akoa Makani, a season-long starter as a rookie last year.

Makani is part of a Mercury backcourt tasked Saturday with slowing Las Vegas’ perimeter group of Jackie Young, Chelsea Gray, Jewell Loyd and offseason addition Chennedy Carter.

–Field Level Media