Sports
Son Heung-Min's brace leads MLS to All-Star win over Liga MX
Jul 29, 2026; Charlotte, NC, USA; MLS All Stars defender Steven Moreira of Columbus Crew (23) and Liga MX All Stars defender Jesus Gallardo of Toluca FC (23) attempt to get to a loose ball in the first half during the All-Star Match at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images CHARLOTTE — Son Heung-Min scored back-to-back goals in the first half as the MLS All-Stars defeated the Liga MX All-Stars 4-3 on Wednesday.
Son, a Los Angeles FC forward in his first All-Star Game, posted his goals in the 20th and 23rd minutes.
Philip Zinckernagel and Evander also scored for the MLS team, which was coached by Charlotte FC’s Dean Smith. Carles Gil notched two assists.
Luis Gabriel Rey, Salomon Rondon and Jose Paradela scored for the Liga MX All-Stars, who represented Mexico’s top professional league. Paradela’s goal came in second-half stoppage time, leaving some suspense.
Maxime Crepeau made six saves for the MLS All-Stars — the highest total recorded by any of the match’s five goalkeepers.
The MLS side has won four of five All-Star matchups against Liga MX since 2021.
While the showcase involved standouts from both leagues, the match was devoid of some star power as several players backed out in the aftermath of the World Cup that ended earlier this month.
Gabriel scored in the ninth minute off Juan Brunetta’s assist.
Zinckernagel of the Chicago Fire tallied in the 42nd minute. Gil of the New England Revolution was the playmaker.
Rondon closed the gap to 3-2 in the 55th minute, but Evander’s tally in the 58th restored the two-game advantage.
The event was held at Bank of America Stadium, home of Charlotte FC and the NFL’s Carolina Panthers.
–Bob Sutton, Field Level Media
Sports
Esports Nations Cup unveils 64 EA Sports FC direct invites
Sixty-four direct invites have been announced for the EA Sports FC tournament at the Esports Nations Cup 2026. Sixty-four direct invites were announced for the EA Sports FC tournament at the Esports Nations Cup 2026 that will take place this November in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The announcement was made by the Esports Foundation, and the EA Sports FC competition will feature a total of 128 players. The 64 direct invites include one player each from 64 countries and territories, determined “through official citizenship.”
One direct invited was allocated to the highest-ranked player from each country or territory.
DIRECT INVITES*
1. DENMARK – Vejrgang
2. ARGENTINA – nicolas99fc
3. THE NETHERLANDS – Emre Yilmaz
4. ROMANIA – RvPLegend
5. BRAZIL – Paulo Neto
6. ITALY – Bonnano
7. SAUDI ARABIA – AbuMakkah
8. MOROCCO – Nassada
9. GERMANY – Levyfinn
10. PORTUGAL – Jafonso
11. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA – GuiBarros
12. BULGARIA – Alihanlion
13. GREAT BRITAIN – Tekkz
14. FRANCE – Brice
15. AUSTRALIA – Mark11
16. EGYPT – K1John
17. ISRAEL – Yuval
18. MEXICO – Happy
19. SOUTH AFRICA – Kaylan
20. ALGERIA – Ilian
21. SPAIN – Neat
22. CHILE – depeedcl
23. JAPAN – Web Nasri
24. CANADA – AgitPower
25. MALAYSIA – AkmalJHD
26. INDONESIA – Javiero
27. LITHUANIA – Domasas
28. TÜRKIYE – KTzn
29. INDIA – Charanjot
30. QATAR – RXSHIID
31. COLOMBIA – Gercrack30
32. IRELAND – JP Sleator
33. JORDAN – sabo
34. KUWAIT – aliKwtx
35. SENEGAL – KingCJ0
36. BELGIUM – Bradley
37. KAZAKHSTAN – Dan1k
38. REPUBLIC OF KOREA – Serry7
39. AZERBAIJAN – YuLite42
40. GEORGIA – Bero
41. PAKISTAN – SalmanAhmad19
42. UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – iALAWE
43. SWITZERLAND – Gianluca
44. FINLAND – Kossu72
45. SOMALIA – NHaych
46. NEW ZEALAND – NoahJA
47. MALTA – brandsha
48. PERU – Dome
49. SWEDEN – Ollelito
50. LEBANON – YagoFawaz
51. VENEZUELA – Jorgezxa
52. YEMEN – Toobi
53. HONDURAS – ThiagoCapo
54. CZECHIA – Matejs
55. NORWAY – Cooler
56. SINGAPORE – Operation-Eses
57. OMAN – BBA_BILAL21
58. DJIBOUTI – Ama2zerr
59. IRAQ – hussienwaleed73
60. BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA – HekTic JukeZ
61. HONG KONG, CHINA – psycho__xx__
62. DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO – Griffeyfc
63. SYRIA – Momenx969
64. DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF TIMOR-LESTE – MarcusGomes
*Invitations subject to change pending acceptance by each player.
Anders “Vejrgang” Vejrgang continues to lead the world rankings despite being eliminated in the quarterfinals at the FC Pro World Championship at EWC 2026. Romania’s Razvan “RvPLegend” Puiu went on to win the trophy, who advanced his way through from the play-ins.
Online qualifiers for the Esports Nations Cup tournament will be held through the in-game FC Pro Live Events mode and the Battlefy tournament platform.
Phase 1 will see players compete in a ladder-based format from Wednesday through Sunday, with matches available 24 hours a day. At the conclusion of the ladder stage, the top players from each region, based on their peak “Skill Rating” during the ladder period, will advance to the playoff stage hosted on Battlefy.
The Esports Nations Cup tournament in Riyadh will begin Nov. 22 and conclude with the Grand Final on Nov. 22.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Sky see second half as 'new season,' need wins starting with visit from Sun
Jul 17, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Sky guard Sydney Taylor (12) flexes during the second half against the Los Angeles Sparks at Wintrust Arena. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-Imagn Images The second half of the WNBA season provides an opportunity to reset and refocus.
That even applies to the Chicago Sky, who still hold onto playoff hopes despite being one of three teams with single-digit wins entering Thursday’s game against the Connecticut Sun.
Chicago (9-18) stands six games out of the eighth and final postseason spot with 17 to play.
Thursday’s meeting with the Sun (7-21) kicks off a five-game homestand for the Sky, who won two straight at Wintrust Arena before dropping two road contests.
“We have a long home stretch coming. We want to be present,” Sky coach Tyler Marsh said. “We want to take advantage of what’s in front of us and treat this second part of the season as a new season.”
One notable area for improvement on Chicago’s proverbial performance review: Executing in crunch time. Eleven of the team’s losses have come by eight points or less.
Chicago closed the second half with road losses at Atlanta and New York by three points combined.
“Staying disciplined,” said rookie guard Sydney Taylor, who has scored in double figures in seven straight games. “Most of (the losses) were due to foul calls and bad fouls on our part.”
Connecticut had a shorter All-Star break than the Sky, returning to action on Tuesday. Despite scoring 33 points in the first quarter — a team best for any quarter this season — the Sun were unable to maintain the momentum in a 92-84 loss at Washington.
Aneesah Morrow (21 points) and Olivia Nelson-Ododa (16 points, six rebounds) kept Connecticut afloat. Washington aimed to force the Sun to the outside while limiting their paint touches. Connecticut met the challenge, shooting 11-for-25 from deep.
“Tough loss, but we have to learn from that and be ready to play against the same kind of game plan against Chicago,” Sun coach Rachid Meziane said.
Thursday’s winner will earn at least a split of the season series. The home team prevailed in the previous two meetings, including an 85-80 Sky victory on June 5. Connecticut is set to host Chicago on Aug. 25.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Reports: Panthers rookie WR Chris Brazzell (knee) out up to 8 weeks
Jun 9, 2026; Charlotte, NC, USA; Rookie Carolina Panthers wide receiver Chris Brazzell III (19) during the first day of mini camp at Bank of America Stadium practice facility. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images Carolina Panthers rookie wide receiver Chris Brazzell II is expected to miss up to eight weeks with a partially torn LCL in his left knee which he sustained during Wednesday’s practice, according to multiple media reports.
The third-round draft pick was seen holding his left knee after going down during seven-on-seven drills before he was carted off the field. He was transported inside the practice facility on a cart after appearing to have difficulty standing.
“He felt weird on it, sat down. We took him in,” Carolina coach Dave Canales told reporters after Wednesday’s practice. “We’ll get a full evaluation and get a picture of that, and we’ll give you guys more information there.”
It was also reported that Brazzell is expected to get a second opinion.
Brazzell, 22, had returned to practice Wednesday morning after missing the previous few training camp sessions with a knee injury.
“It was just something that kind of started to get sore after the first couple of days, and then we just, he mentioned it to us,” Canales said of the initial injury. “We started to look at it and we put him through some good recovery stuff and de-loaded him for a couple of days, got him back out there, and he couldn’t finish the day.”
The 6-foot-4, 198-pound wideout caught 62 passes for 1,017 yards and tied for the SEC lead with nine touchdowns last season at Tennessee.
–Field Level Media
Esports Nations Cup unveils 64 EA Sports FC direct invites
Sky see second half as 'new season,' need wins starting with visit from Sun
