The big picture: The decision comes shortly afterRonaldo lashed out against the team in an interview with Piers Morgan and caused a new round of drama with the team's coach, Erik ten Hag.
Argentina's stunning loss to Saudi Arabia put a damper — but didn't end — fans' hopes this could be the year South America reigns at the World Cup again.
The big picture: The World Cup started this weekend in Qatar. South American teams have won it nine times since the tournament began in 1930. But no South American team has won it since 2002, when Brazil triumphed over Germany.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday criticized FIFA's decision to threaten sporting sanctions against team captains who wear rainbow "one love" armbands, calling the move "concerning."
Driving the news: Seven European teams announced on Monday that they had abandoned plans to wear the armbands — intended as a show of inclusion and anti-discrimination — following FIFA's threat of sanctions, which would include automatic yellow cards.
Olivia Pichardo, a freshman walk-on at Brown, is the first female athlete in Division I history to be named to an active varsity baseball roster.
Driving the news: Pichardo, a utility player who can play in the infield and outfield, was one of 31 players to make the roster for the upcoming spring season.
Saudi Arabia pulled off one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history with a stunning 2-1 victory over Argentina on Tuesday.
Why it matters: Argentina's loss ends its 36-match unbeaten streak and comes during what is expected to be soccer star Lionel Messi's last chance to win a World Cup.
The USMNT has the second-youngest roster in Qatar. It also has, on paper at least, perhaps the most talented squad in its history.
By the numbers: According to Transfermarkt, which tracks the market value of soccer players globally, this year's USMNT squad has a total value of $288.4 million, more than double the value of the 2010 and 2014 rosters combined.
When the 2018 World Cup kicked off, three U.S. states (Nevada, New Jersey, Delaware) had legal sports betting markets. Four years later, that number has ballooned to 31 states, plus Washington, D.C.
Why it matters: With the World Cup coinciding with the NFL and college football for the first time, the next few weeks should generate huge betting volume across the country.
Iran's players remained stone-faced as the national anthem played ahead of their opening World Cup match against England on Monday.
Why it matters: The decision to remain silent during the anthem came a day after the team captain, Ehsan Hajsafi, spoke in solidarity with the protests in Iran, which began two months ago after 22-year-old Mahsa Amini died in custody after being arrested by morality police for "improper hijab."
All 64 World Cup matches will air in the U.S. on Fox and FS1, and most days will feature four kickoff times: 5 a.m. ET, 8 a.m., 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.
The big picture: TV ratings are always a talking point during major sporting events, and Qatar 2022 being sandwiched between Thanksgiving and Christmas makes it especially intriguing.
The 2022 World Cup has been marred by controversy from the very start, and the stench of FIFA's corruption and Qatar's human rights abuses still lingers as the event gets underway.
How we got here: 100 years ago, Qatar was a sparsely populated British protectorate. Then, after discovering oil (1939) and one of Earth's largest natural gas reserves (1960), it transformed into an incredibly wealthy nation.
Seven European World Cup teams have abandoned plans to wear rainbow "one love" armbands in a show of inclusion and anti-discrimination after FIFA threatened that players who did so would face sporting sanctions, the soccer associations said in a joint statement Monday.
Driving the news: The captains of England, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Switzerland and Wales had previously voiced their intent to wear the anti-discrimination armbands during their matches at the World Cup in Qatar.
