Good morning from a New York City in thrall to its Knickerbockers, who pulled off the biggest comeback in N.B.A. finals history last night to take a 3-1 lead on the Spurs. See game highlights. Today we’re going all in on sports.
Goooooal!The FIFA Men’s World Cup gets underway today, as Mexico takes on South Africa in Mexico City and South Korea meets the Czech Republic in Guadalajara. A record 48 countries are competing in Mexico, the United States and Canada to reach the final game in New Jersey on July 19. (The United States enters the fray tomorrow, playing Paraguay in Los Angeles.) There’ll be more than 100 games. It is a lot of soccer. Even if you’re a fan, that could prove to be overwhelming. The Morning turned to colleagues here at The Times and The Athletic to understand what we should know about this massive competition. First, we had questions for Tariq Panja, our global sports correspondent. This is his seventh World Cup! How does this tournament work? It seems as though there are a lot of countries. Tariq: This is the biggest World Cup in history on a number of fronts. For the first time, we will have three host nations. The tournament also features more teams than ever before, having expanded from the 32 teams organizers settled upon in 1998, to 48. That means 72 games will be played in the group stage alone, which is more than the entirety of the last tournament. The expansion has given us the risk of lopsided games and the potential for the tournament to drag, but it has also given opportunity to first-time qualifiers like Cape Verde, Uzbekistan, Jordan and Curaçao — a Caribbean island nation with a population of around 160,000, just under twice the capacity of the Mexico City stadium where the tournament kicks off. After that marathon group stage, the top 32 teams move onto the knockout rounds, which follow the model of a classic tournament bracket, and that’s where the drama will peak: a kill or be killed situation in every game, where the winner makes it through to the next stage until there will be only two left standing at the final.
Who are the favorites to advance? It is hard to look beyond the heavyweights of European soccer, notably Spain and France, who come into the tournament with stacked rosters. Behind them is a group of teams that could go deep, including Portugal, England and the Netherlands. Outside of those, there are the South American heavyweights: Brazil, the team that has won the World Cup more times than any other, and Argentina. Brazil has not quite been its old self, but it is Brazil, at a World Cup, so they have the pedigree to progress. Argentina, which features Lionel Messi, now 38, arrives with much of the same roster that won the tournament four years ago. But I worry it could be one tournament too many for an aging team. I’m also excited about Morocco, which last tournament became the first African team to reach the semifinals; Norway, which is returning for the first time since 1998, but with Erling Haaland, one of the world’s best strikers; Ecuador, which could prove to be a sleeper; and Japan, which comes into this tournament stronger than ever. Is it possible that the U.S. could play … Iran? Yes! This is very possible. Should Iran and the U.S. each finish second in their groups, the teams will meet in a tantalizing matchup in Dallas on July 3, a day before the United States’ 250th birthday. Tariq was on “The Daily” recently, to tell listeners everything they need to know about the World Cup. Listen to him here. The home team
The United States men’s national soccer team is about to have a moment. And you should know who you’re rooting for. We asked Henry Bushnell, who covers U.S. soccer for The Athletic, to tell us a bit about this year’s squad. What’s one reason American fans should be hopeful about our team’s chances? Henry: This, top to bottom, is the most talented U.S. men’s World Cup team ever. Players like Christian Pulisic and Weston McKennie have done things for prestigious European clubs that none of their American predecessors ever did. How about a reason we should be worried? Goalkeeping, long a position of strength for the U.S., has become a weakness. Toss in shaky central defenders, plus an aggressive style, and this team might concede some goals. Henry wrote a beginner’s guide to the team, which you can read here. More on the tournament
Early in the third quarter, with the Knicks facing a 29-point deficit, Madison Square Garden was morose. But the San Antonio Spurs’ lead began to shrink, shot by shot, and the crowd began to rouse. Finally, with 1.2 seconds left, a tip-in by OG Anunoby put the Knicks up for good. The biggest comeback in N.B.A. finals history was complete. Spike Lee danced on the hardwood. Taylor Swift waved her Knicks rally towel. Timothée Chalamet appeared to fight back tears. Outside, the streets were bedlam. Revelers climbed atop cars, halal carts and scaffolding. Chants of “Knicks in five!” rang out. Passing garbage trucks and buses blared their horns. “It’s been a long time coming,” said one fan. “This is what New York dreamed of.”
Talks to end the war in Iran have stalled. The Strait of Hormuz remains throttled. Energy prices are high, and consumers have to pay. The Consumer Price Index was up 4.2 percent in May compared with a year earlier. That’s its fastest growth since April 2023. Energy costs drove the bulk of the increase — and they’ve been spilling into categories like airline fares and some food (but not eggs!). There are some other factors. The data center boom has supercharged demand for chips, reversing a long slide in the cost of technology. And over previous months a persistent drought has thinned production of some crops and livestock. More on the war
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Ezra Klein talked to Matt Duss, who has advised progressive politicians, about what the left’s foreign policy looks like. Click above to watch. Frank Bruni and Bret Stephens discuss whether there’s anything a candidate can do to turn off voters. Human made. Human played. 75% off. Subscribe to New York Times Games for 75% off your first year. Our best offer is only available for a limited time. Relax and recharge with our full portfolio of games, including Wordle, Spelling Bee, Connections, the Crossword and more — all mindfully made by humans.
Do the math: Mathematicians build their careers by developing proofs and solving complicated theorems. Now A.I. is getting there first. Free lunch: A Minneapolis restaurant stopped charging for food. Profits are up. Your pick: The most clicked link in The Morning yesterday was a video about how Trump’s advisers handled the Epstein files.
100— That’s how many guitars, and ideally guitarists, Reg Bloor needs to bring to David Geffen Hall in New York on Friday night, when she’ll conduct her late husband Glenn Branca’s “Symphony No. 13 (Hallucination City) for 100 Guitars.”
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