United States' Christian Pulisic (10) dribbles past Paraguay's Juan Jose Caceres during the World Cup Group D soccer match in Inglewood, Calif., near Los Angeles, Friday, June 12, 2026.
Jayne Kamin-Oncea / AP
The U.S. Men’s National Soccer Team will face off against Australia in Seattle tomorrow for its second match of the World Cup. Excitement and expectations abound for Team USA after its thrilling 4-1 victory over Paraguay in its opener last Friday.
While this isn’t the first time the U.S. has hosted the World Cup, it’s the first time our nation is co-hosting it with venues in the Pacific Northwest. Portland-based sports writer Tyson Alger is covering three of those games in our region, including Friday’s match at Lumen Field.
It’s the first time that Alger is covering the World Cup after more than a decade’s experience of writing about college football. Alger writes about the Portland Timbers in his Substack publication, “The I-5 Corridor,” while also reporting on University of Oregon athletics for Lookout Eugene-Springfield. He joins us to talk about making the leap from covering college football to World Cup soccer, and the storylines he’s pursuing on the sport’s biggest stage.
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