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2026 FIFA World Cup
9JUN

Adams returns; Robinson hurt; Pepi scores

2 min read
09:45UTC

Tyler Adams came through the West Ham draw and the Arsenal win for Bournemouth on 11 April. Antonee Robinson added an ankle injury to a knee problem; Ricardo Pepi returned from a broken arm and scored for PSV.

SportDeveloping
Key takeaway

Adams cleared and Pepi scoring; Robinson's ankle is the new problem before the 26 May squad.

Tyler Adams returned from a medial collateral ligament injury for Bournemouth, playing in the 0-0 draw against West Ham and coming on in the 2-1 win at Arsenal on 11 April 2026. Antonee Robinson, the USMNT left-back, picked up a new ankle injury alongside earlier knee problems, leaving his status for the 26 May squad announcement uncertain. Ricardo Pepi returned from a broken arm and scored in PSV's 3-1 win, putting him back in USMNT contention after nine missed games. Adams's return resolves one of the five selection problems ESPN identified for Mauricio Pochettino ; Robinson's ankle adds a sixth, and Pepi's depth at striker partly offsets Christian Pulisic's continuing drought . The 26 May squad date sits inside a four-week window in which the head coach's choices narrow rather than widen.

Deep Analysis

In plain English

Tyler Adams is the captain of the US men's national team and its most important midfielder, the player who does the defensive work that lets the rest of the team attack. He had been out injured, but came back for his club Bournemouth in mid-April, which is good news ahead of the World Cup. The bad news is that left-back Antonee Robinson has picked up yet another injury. Striker Ricardo Pepi, who had broken his arm, has come back and scored a goal for his Dutch club PSV. With Mauricio Pochettino naming his World Cup squad on 26 May, the injury picture is changing week by week.

First Reported In

Update #9 · Iran's Pearson test

Al Jazeera· 1 May 2026
Read original
Different Perspectives
Norwegian Football Federation
Norwegian Football Federation
NFF president Lise Klaveness sent a letter of support backing FairSquare's Article 15 ethics complaint against Infantino, explicitly noting Norway was acting alone as a deliberate signal. The filing converted an external NGO campaign into the first internal federation action against the FIFA president, arriving in the same fortnight as Platini's Paris criminal complaint.
US Customs and Border Protection
US Customs and Border Protection
CBP barred FIFA-appointed referee Artan at Miami on 7 June and detained Iraq striker Hussein for seven hours at O'Hare on 8 June, citing vetting concerns in both cases without disclosing specific grounds. Neither a valid visa nor FIFA accreditation constrained the port-of-entry determination under 8 USC 1182.
Canada Soccer
Canada Soccer
Canada reached the 11 June squad lock with two unresolved slots: Flores's ACL rupture confirmed and Bombito's tibia fracture publicly disputed by coach Jesse Marsch against TSN reporting. The co-host's inability to finalise 26 players two days before its own opener against Bosnia underlines the medical attrition compressing the whole pre-tournament window.
FFIRI / Iran
FFIRI / Iran
Iran's federation flew its 26-player squad to Tijuana without visas for 14 support staff, running World Cup preparation by remote coordination across a border rather than withdraw and forfeit $10.5m in prize money. The Tijuana arrangement reflects a calculated decision to participate under degraded conditions while building a post-tournament legal record through a pending Article 4 complaint.
FIFA
FIFA
FIFA invoked its standard host-agreement disclaimer on each access denial, stating it is not involved in host-country immigration processes and that the host government ultimately determines entry. Infantino's 'no Plan B' confirmation on Iran means FIFA has formally accepted the Tijuana split-delegation as the operational baseline, with no contractual remedy in play.
Andrea Abodi / Italian Sports Ministry
Andrea Abodi / Italian Sports Ministry
Abodi's ANAC referral on Malagò's FIGC eligibility set a 15 June deadline, meaning Italy's federation leadership crisis peaks at the midpoint of the group stage. Malagò holds more than 50 percent of the assembly bloc but cannot take office while the pantouflage cooling-off challenge is formally live.