The Philadelphia Union's Ray Gaddis in 2018. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
After a lengthy delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the MLS will finally return to action on Wednesday with the start of the MLS Is Back Tournament. It will be held without fans at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports complex at Disney World near Orlando, and it will count toward MLS’s regular season standings.
Things will almost certainly look and feel very different for the fans and the players, but a return to live soccer is welcome.
One of the teams taking the field on Thursday is the Philadelphia Union, who stood at 0-1-1 when play was suspended back on March 12. Although Ray Gaddis, a defender on the Union, hasn’t played an MLS game for a couple of months, he has been active in his efforts to push for racial change in the United States. He is even a board member of the recently formed Black Players Coalition of the MLS.
“We’re advocating to break down barriers, not only within the soccer world, but also educationally, also in the medical field, also day-to-day things that people have to go through that look like me,” Gaddis said in June during a Zoom call with reporters.
The nine-year MLS veteran, Philadelphia’s all-time leader in minutes played and a West Virginia University alumnus is vocal about his passion for the cause on social media, often citing Scripture and attesting to God’s infinite power to change people’s hearts.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CCE8Fi-Dz9t/
“Normalizing changing the way you think or the way you were taught after learning new information is okay. I promise. God has transformed me and I am undergoing change daily!”
Gaddis, who reads the Bible before every game, thanked God in his postgame press conference after setting the Philadelphia Union’s all-time minutes played record.
“Glory be to God, first and foremost,” he said. “I just thank Him for giving me the ability and I thank the coaches for thinking of me for the opportunity to play minutes.”
In 2018, the official website for the Philadelphia Union asked Gaddis why he derives so much hope from his faith in Christ.
“I relate that in a sense of no matter the obstacle, opposition or roadblock that you have in life, you know that God is for you,” Gaddis explained. “It’s just a matter of time before you complete the divine purpose that God has for your life.”
“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is — His good, pleasing and perfect will.” — Romans 12:2
Ecuador's Moises Caicedo waves to fans, June 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
For only the second time in its history, Ecuador is in the knockout stage at the FIFA World Cup, one of 32 teams vying for one of the most prestigious trophies in all of sports. The first time Ecuador reached the knockout stage was 2006, when the team bowed out to England in the round of 16.
In order to capture their first knockout-stage win, the Ecuadorians will need to defeat Mexico — No. 9 in FIFA’s latest rankings — in Mexico City at the famed Estadio Azteca. Eliminating Mexico would be a monumental victory indeed, but one that seems possible considering Ecuador defeated powerhouse Germany to advance out of the group stage in third place.
Ecuador was captained to its improbable 2-1 victory against Germany by Moises Caicedo, a 24-year-old midfielder who plays for Chelsea in England’s Premier League. Ecuador conceded a goal to the Germans in the second minute, but responded with an equalizer in the ninth minute and the game-winner in the 77th. The players, coaches and a partisan Ecuadorian crowd erupted in unadulterated joy at the final whistle.
Ecuador needed its win against Germany to salvage a World Cup appearance that had been disappointing until that point. The team entered the tournament with a lot of potential, finishing second in the South American qualification table. However, Ecuador failed to register a goal in a heartbreaking 1-0 loss to Ivory Coast and a 0-0 draw against Curaçao.
“When people argue about who wears an armband or what position they play, that doesn’t exist here,” Ecuador coach Sebastián Beccacece said Thursday via The Athletic. “We make mistakes but we have purity in our group.”
Caicedo, widely considered one of the best midfielders in the world and an icon in Ecuador, was honored by his home country’s parliament last year. His words in the ceremony, however, pointed his millions of adoring compatriots to God.
“Never forget God,” he said. “Because to succeed, God is the most important.”
Caicedo has sought to bring his faithful approach to life to this year’s World Cup as well. He dropped to his knees in prayer on the field after the win against Germany, as he does after every game. A couple minutes later, he and the rest of his team gathered at midfield for a moment of prayer.
Later, he took to social media to express his devotion and gratitude to God.
“I don’t get carried away by emotions,” he said via Metro. “I’m enjoying time with my family for now. There is pressure, but I am calm. I am waiting for whatever God decides. He will know what is best for me.”
Caicedo also clung to his faith when he ruptured ligaments in his knee in 2017, which sidelined him for 10 months.
“Sometimes I cried,” he said about the recovery process in a radio interview via The Athletic. “Nobody knew. I would go to my room and just start crying out of frustration, out of sadness. It was very hard, but I didn’t stop believing. I trusted in God and prayed a lot.”
Now, Caicedo is an anchor in the Ecuadorian midfield. The team will need him at his absolute best to take down a Mexico squad that hasn’t yet allowed a goal in the World Cup. But win or loss, Caicedo will be found glorifying his Father in Heaven at the end.
USMNT defender Mark Mckenzie, May 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Scott Kinser)
You probably haven’t heard Mark McKenzie’s name much during broadcasts of the U.S. men’s national team’s (USMNT) first two World Cup games, as the 27-year-old backup defender hasn’t seen any playing time yet.
But make no mistake, he has a clear role for a team looking to sweep group stage play for the first time in history. The Americans would accomplish the feat with a win over Turkiye on Thursday.
Anyone who continued watching following the USMNT’s 2-0 win over Australia on Friday witnessed a powerful public display of faith. Just as it did after the 4-1 win against Paraguay on June 12, the entire team gathered in a circle at midfield, arms locked together. In the middle was McKenzie. He knelt, lifted his hands and prayed.
Team USA’s players and staff come from various walks of life with different religious backgrounds. But McKenzie and this team have united around his post-match routine.
“Although it starts out as a moment of prayer, it invites people into what this team is about,” McKenzie told The Athletic this week. “It’s about love, it’s about togetherness, it’s about welcoming people. It doesn’t matter what your background is, we are family.”
You wouldn’t guess it by his leadership at the World Cup, but McKenzie wasn’t always great at sharing his faith. He credits his father, a Jamaican immigrant who came to the U.S. with almost nothing, with instilling in him an understanding that he has a higher purpose than soccer.
“I had been kind of preparing myself for any way, shape or form I could contribute, any way that I could step into a bigger role,” McKenzie told The Athletic. “I’ve taken steps to try to be somebody who is glue for those around me, somebody who people can lean on, confide in and trust, and look to.”
McKenzie is joined on the team by a core group of players who also profess faith in Christ, including star Christian Pulisic, Chris Richards, Matt Freese and others. That core group has participated in Bible studies together, and eventually, began gathering in a circle on the field after games. Although his prayers are now known across the country, McKenzie wants the spotlight fixed squarely on his Father in Heaven.
“I may be in the center of [the circle], but at the end of the day, the Lord is at the center of it all,” he said. “He’s the main purpose. He’s the main character. He is the protagonist, and I’m just trying to bring people into His light in some way.”
McKenzie fell in love with basketball growing up in Delaware, but it became clear that his future was in soccer when he joined the Philadelphia Union youth academy. His college career took him to Wake Forest, yet despite his talent, he didn’t see the field much and left after a year to sign with the Union.
After three years in Philly, he took his game overseas, signing with Genk in Belgium and playing five seasons there. His last two seasons have been with Toulouse in France’s top league. He isn’t worried about wherever his career takes him next; He’s in God’s hands, and God is good to him.
“You have moments where you go through periods that you’re not playing well or injured or people are saying you’re such a bad player or whatever it may be,” he said on the Sports Spectrum Podcast earlier this month. “And it’s like, ‘Oh Lord, Lord,’ right? But getting to that point where you’re now in that steady state of ‘I’m not too high, I’m not too low, but I’m relying on the Lord to kind of get me through those seasons.’
“When I am doing well, it’s not because of me, it’s because the Lord is seeing me through this. And when I am in a valley, it’s not because I’m such a bad player or person, but it’s because the Lord is trying to get something out of me in this season.”
McKenzie has shared his testimony of faith in a few videos released earlier this month, in the midst of the excitement of the World Cup.
“There is nowhere we can go where our Good Shepherd won’t follow us,” he said in a video by Alpha Youth, “as long as we keep our hearts open to Him.”
In a video from Victory Beyond The Cup, McKenzie added that “The love He has for me is what spurs me on each and every day. I wouldn’t be here without Him. His forgiveness, His mercy — which I don’t deserve — His grace — which I don’t deserve. He has put me here for a reason, and I will stand on that till the day I die.
“I will continue to spread His love, to spread His Gospel, to spread His truth. When He calls me up, I pray He looks at me and says, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.'”
The United States and Turkiye will kick off from SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, at 10 p.m. ET.
Kenji Gorré with Curaçao, June 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)
Imagine Wyoming, the least populous state in America, fielding a team that could compete at the World Cup. Crazy, right?
Now imagine a country with one-third of Wyoming’s population not only competing but earning a point in the standings. It’s almost unthinkable. But that’s just what happened on Saturday night in Kansas City in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, when Curaçao earned a 0-0 draw against Ecuador.
Curaçao — a tiny island in the southern Caribbean Sea with a population of a little more than 185,000 people according to Worldometer — got off to a rough start in its first-ever World Cup match last week, when it lost to powerhouse Germany, 7-1. But on Saturday, the Blue Wave made history by holding Ecuador without a goal to earn a point, the smallest nation ever to do so. The match featured a World Cup record-breaking 15 saves in a 90-minute match from Curaçao’s goalkeeper, Eloy Room.
All of Eloy Room’s FIFTEEN saves in his historic performance against Ecuador! 🇨🇼🤯 pic.twitter.com/JTEjVRdKqs
Ecuador dominated possession on Saturday (74.6%), but Curaçao still had its share of chances. In an effort to inject some offense into its already-incredible defensive performance, the Blue Wave brought on fresh legs in the 75th minute in the form of 31-year-old former English Premier League forward, Kenji Gorré.
Gorré, whose mother is from Curaçao, was born in the Netherlands and raised in England. He made one Premier League appearance with Swansea City in May 2015. He’s been with the Curaçao national team since 2016 and was involved in a team-high six goals (three goals and three assists) during qualifying. His father, Dean, is a former pro soccer player from Suriname and currently an assistant coach for Curaçao.
Ahead of Curaçao’s first-ever World Cup appearance in the expanded 48-team field, Gorré made time to appear on Sports Spectrum’s “What’s Up” podcast to talk about his soccer career and his faith in Christ.
“One thing that God’s really taught me is that we have to have an audience of One, and that is playing for Jesus,” he said on the podcast. “That is playing not for your name to be glorified, but for His name to be glorified and understanding that it’s actually not about me.”
Gorré has sought to help infuse the Blue Wave with a faith-filled mindset in his team’s approach to the World Cup.
“This can only be God that has led us to this point. One thing that’s so beautiful is that He’s the real foundation of what we have built on as well,” he said on the podcast. “We pray every morning, we pray before the games, and that’s just something that has become a tradition of ours. We give glory to Jesus in everything that we do.”
Gorré is very vocal about his faith in Christ on Instagram, where he declares in his bio that he’s “living in victory” and includes a cross emoji.
Gorré admitted on the podcast that, for much of his life, his identity was wrapped up in excelling as a soccer player. It wasn’t until six years ago that the Gospel was shared with him, God gave him ears to hear, and He began to move in powerful ways in Gorré’s heart.
“There was something supernatural in that moment that God was doing in me that I realize, ‘Wow, I am a sinner and I need saving,’ because I felt like I was going to Heaven based on being a good person,” Gorré remembered. “Because [previously] everything was in my power.”
“God doesn’t always give you what you want, but He gives you what you need.” @KenjiGorre from the @TheBlueWaveFFK shares what the Lord has been teaching him!
Curaçao continues to capture the heart of the soccer world as it makes its improbable run through the World Cup, but Gorré said his ultimate mission extends far beyond inspiring people with a soccer ball.
“[It’s] for Him to be glorified and lifted high in the world of football, and may He use me the way that He desires to,” Gorré said on the podcast. “Less of me, more of Him. May I decrease and may He increase.”
The smallest nation ever to appear in the World Cup is still alive in Group E and would advance if it could beat the Ivory Coast (1-0-1) on Thursday. The match will be played in Philadelphia at 4 p.m. ET.
U.S. goalkeeper Matt Freese, Oct. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Team USA got off to a strong start in the 2026 World Cup with a 4-1 win over Paraguay in the opening game of group-stage play Friday. And in the process, U.S. goalkeeper Matt Freese did something no one had ever done before — becoming the first active Major League Soccer goalie to make a World Cup start for the U.S.
It was the latest attribute in what’s been a gradual climb to the top levels of his profession for the New York City FC goalkeeper.
“It was a great night for sure,” Freese told MLSsoccer.com postgame in Los Angeles. “I had a great view for what was happening in front of me. The guys up top and in the midfield, everyone was vibing well and connecting really well. I think it was super evident everyone was on the same page, just the flicks and the one-touch, two-touch passing was crisp and really good. So a great first step.”
Not only was it his first World Cup start, but with the U.S. serving as a tournament co-host, he got to do it in front of American fans — a sold out crowd of 70,492 at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.
“I always try to keep my eyes down, so that I don’t get amazed too much and out of my own focus, thinking about a crowd and stuff like that,” he told MLSsoccer.com. “But today, walking out onto the field — I had gotten some texts from a few mentors that said, ‘Make sure you take a moment to take it in,’ because they know I otherwise I wouldn’t. And so I did. Just looked up, and it was a breathtaking sight.”
The 27-year-old Freese studied economics and computer science at Harvard before turning pro following his sophomore season to sign with the Philadelphia Union — his hometown team — ahead of the 2019 MLS season. There, he started 13 matches over four years before being traded to NYCFC ahead of the 2023 season. He won the starting job a year later and emerged as one of the league’s rising goalkeeping stars.
He earned his first invitation to a national team camp in January 2025, where he was behind Matt Turner, the 2022 World Cup starter, as well as others. Manager Mauricio Pochettino selected Freese for the 2025 Gold Cup, and over the past year he’s started 15 of 18 matches, with Turner handling the other three.
Freese was only tested with two shots on goal the whole game against Paraguay, and allowed just the one second-half goal. He’ll look to keep the momentum heading into the U.S. men’s national team’s second group-stage game, Friday against Australia, which defeated Turkiye 2-0 on Saturday.
“I like to take everything very steady, and never get too high, never get too low,” Freese told MLSsoccer.com. “But from a group perspective, I think a focus is on cohesion and the chemistry that we’re building, and I think you could see that on the field tonight.”
A big part of what helps keep Freese grounded is his faith in God.
“I always remind myself God’s got me,” he said recently on Sports Spectrum’s “What’s Up” podcast. “God’s looking over me and watching over me. … And I think this is a very big way faith has motivated me as well as guided my career and my soccer journey — is the fact that God’s given me so many opportunities in general. But to focus on soccer, God’s given me so many opportunities within this game and within my career.”
Faith has been a part of his life as long as he can remember. As a child, he attended Catholic mass in his youth soccer team’s jersey because he had games right afterward. As an adult, that rhythm of going to mass and doing Bible studies never really stopped.
But he can look back to earlier in his career to see where his faith began to blossom and become as strong as it is now.
He didn’t see the field much during his first season with the Philadelphia Union in 2019, then the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the entire 2020 season. He used that time as an opportunity to rediscover his love for soccer and made a plan to come out of the pandemic a better player.
“I’ve learned so much about failure, so much about success, so much about teamwork and selflessness, and a will to compete and a will to suffer,” Freese told Sports Spectrum. “And I think all the failures, successes — everything I just mentioned — that’s been created by God. And so in that way, it’s indirectly teaching me about so many things off the field and I’m super grateful for that.”
Others have seen the growth as well, including Andy Young, who serves as the team chaplain for both the Union and the USMNT.
“I’ve seen his identity become more deeply rooted in who he is as a son of God rather than simply as a soccer player,” Young told Sports Spectrum for a Summer 2026 magazine feature on Freese. “Out of that, he’s developed a genuine desire to bless others, to be a light, and to share the message of Jesus with the people around him.”
Freese participates in Bible studies with both his club and national teammates and said despite being a busy athlete, he knows how important it is to prioritize his time in Scripture. This year, he’s been going through the Bible in a Year plan with Father Mike Schmitz.
“There’s just this kind of automatic connection that you make when you talk about deep subjects like faith and the Bible on a weekly basis with a teammate,” Freese told Sports Spectrum. “You’re going to trust him a little bit more on the field, or at the very least you’re going to care more about them. You’re going to be very invested in their success.
“I’m invested in all of my teammates’ success, but there’s a little bit that just kind of happens subconsciously when you make that deeper connection through faith.”
The U.S. and Australia kick off at 3 p.m. ET Friday in Seattle on FOX.
