If you missed it, mighty powerful Spain just got stopped, goalless, against the small, once-Portuguese territory and island of Cape Verde, one of the very few nations that shares Portuguese with Brazilians as their native tongue. On its side, several players who, while not born in the territory, are allowed to represent those nations due to the complicated history of citizenship and origin.
Steven Moreira is one of many MLS players competing in this year's World Cup. He plays for the Columbus Crew and has anchored the team's defense over the past year, making him one of the better fullbacks in the league, as seen today against the likes of Lamine Yamal. A surreal defensive ******* ignment, I'm sure Moreira could have never seen it coming, years ago, when he arrived in Columbus, Ohio. And with former MLS journeyman Jamiro Monteiro coming in as a substitute, Cape Verde did the unlikely and held the former World Champs to a 0-0 draw in the opening game.
Major League Soccer will have a record 44 active players competing at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the most players from any league in the Western Hemisphere. MLS has the second-most outside of Europe's big five leagues — English Premier League, Germany's Bundesliga, France's Ligue 1, Spain's La Liga, and Italy's Serie A.
19 players at this summer's FIFA World Cup 2026 will have spent time in MLS NEXT Pro, the league's developmental tier.
With this milestone, the US league surpasses Liga MX and becomes the league with the most players in the Western Hemisphere. This includes the Brasileirão, the Argentinian league, and any other league in the Western hemisphere.