The Gold Cup is Concacaf’s Euros and Copa America equivalent. Sunday’s final against Mexico is the United States’ last competitive match before the World Cup, which explains the sense of urgency going into it.
Pochettino’s side have experienced a promising campaign despite missing some key players. Their presence in the final reflects that progress.
It has been a bonding experience for the players involved, but it’s likely the XI that starts their first World Cup game in Inglewood next June will look significantly different.
Due to a combination of injury, the Club World Cup and fatigue, this current squad is without familiar names such as Fulham’s Antonee Robinson, Juventus pair Weston McKennie and Timothy Weah, AC Milan duo Yunus Musah and Christian Pulisic and Monaco striker Folarin Balogun.
Star man Pulisic’s decision to rest this summer rather than take part in the Gold Cup was particularly controversial given the context of building for next year’s home World Cup.
The players Pochettino has been able to call upon have developed into a useful unit as the tournament has progressed and it’s the most together and determined a US group has looked since he took over.
He might wish this togetherness could have been created with his first-choice group but, on the other hand, it has given him a good chance to test fringe players in a competitive, high-pressure environment with a trophy on the line.
Some of this contingent have made a good case for inclusion in next summer’s 26-man squad.
Diego Luna has long been touted as a player with the potential to offer the United States something they’ve been missing. The 21-year-old energetic playmaker, who plays his club football for Real Salt Lake in MLS, has come into his own in the Gold Cup as one of this team’s star players.
In goal, Matt Freese, of Manchester City’s US relative New York City, has been given the nod ahead of Nottingham Forest’s Matt Turner all tournament and, bar one mistake against Haiti, has pushed for inclusion at the World Cup.
Freese’s penalty shootout heroics in the quarter-final against Costa Rica gave him a tournament highlight, doing his chances of a 2026 call-up no harm at all.
Elsewhere, midfielder Jack McGlynn, who was also eligible to represent the Republic of Ireland, has showcased his talent on the international stage, Bayer Leverkusen-linked Malik Tillman has impressed in a role just off the striker, and Crystal Palace defender Chris Richards has strengthened his claim for a starting centre-back role.
Regardless of what happens against Mexico, this Gold Cup has been a useful experience and a productive exercise – but there’s an argument it needed to be more.
Sooner rather than later, Pochettino needs to turn this work in progress into a fully prepared first-choice team.
The U.S. Secret Service put on leave an agent who expressed negative opinions on social media about slain conservative influencer Charlie Kirk and revoked his security clearance, two U.S. officials said.
Anthony Pough wrote in a Facebook post Wednesday that Kirk had “spewed hate and racism on his show … at the end of the day, you answer to GOD, and speak things into existence. You can only circumvent karma, she doesnt leave.”
In a memo to staff that was shared with CBS News, Secret Service Director Sean Curran said politically motivated attacks in the United States are on the rise, and staff shouldn’t exacerbate the problem.
“Let me be clear, politically motivated attacks in our nation are increasing — seemingly every day,” Curran wrote. “The men and women of the Secret Service must be focused on being the solution, not adding to the problem.”
Real Clear Politics first reported on Pough’s social media post on Kirk. Pough has not yet responded to a request for comment.
A U.S. Secret Service spokesperson said in a statement, “The U.S. Secret Service will not tolerate behavior that violates our code of conduct. This employee was immediately put on administrative leave, and an investigation has begun.”
Curran’s memo, sent Thursday night and addressed to “the Men and Women of the Secret Service,” said he was reminding employees “we swear an oath to those we protect to conduct ourselves with the highest standards of conduct on and off duty.”
“When our actions draw public attention for the wrong reasons, we fall short of that duty and compromise the trust essential to fulfill our mission,” Curran continued.
He concluded, “We must operate every day without bias towards political affiliation. We owe it to ourselves and those we are sworn to protect. Any distractions, otherwise, will not be tolerated.”
A person targeted during an Immigration and Customs Enforcement traffic stop dragged an ICE officer with a vehicle while resisting arrest in a Chicago suburb Friday morning, prompting the officer to fatally shoot the person and leaving the officer with injuries, the Department of Homeland Security said.
The slain target of the stop, Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez, was an undocumented immigrant with a history of reckless driving, according to DHS. The officer, whose name was not immediately released, suffered severe injuries but is in stable condition, a DHS official told CNN.
The traffic stop happened in Franklin Park, a community about 15 miles west of downtown Chicago, the DHS official said.
“We are praying for the speedy recovery of our law enforcement officer. He followed his training, used appropriate force, and properly enforced the law to protect the public and law enforcement,” Tricia McLaughlin, Homeland Security assistant secretary, said in a release. “Viral social media videos and activists encouraging illegal aliens to resist law enforcement not only spread misinformation, but also undermine public safety, as well as the safety of our officers and those being apprehended.”
During the stop, Villegas-Gonzalez “drove his car at law enforcement officers,” DHS said in the release.
“One of the ICE officers was hit by the car and dragged a significant distance. Fearing his own life, the officer fired his weapon,” the release reads.
A suspect has been arrested in the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk in Utah, officials said Friday morning. Utah Governor Spencer Cox said the suspect had been identified as Tyler Robinson, 22.
Cox said Robinson resides in Southern Utah and confessed to his father.
Two federal law enforcement sources told CBS News that Robinson’s father saw the photos released by authorities and confronted his son. Robinson admitted to being the person in the photos and his father encouraged him to turn himself in, the sources said. Robinson responded to his father, saying he would rather die by suicide than turn himself in, prompting his father to call a youth pastor close to the family, the sources said. The pastor and Robinson’s father tried to calm him, according to the sources.
The pastor, who is also a court security officer, also called the U.S. Marshals Service, which arrived and detained Robinson, the sources said.
The sources said the Marshals called the Federal Bureau of Investigation, who took Robinson into custody. Robinson was taken into custody late Thursday night, FBI Director Kash Patel said Friday.
Cox said he believed Robinson acted alone, and that there is no information at this time “that would lead to any additional arrests.”
Cox thanked the family members of the suspected shooter, who he said “did the right thing” in bringing him to law enforcement.
A mugshot of Tyler Robinson.
Utah Governor’s Office
President Trump was the first to announce the suspect was in custody during an appearance on “Fox and Friends” Friday morning.
Cox said a family member told investigators that Robinson had become more political in recent years, and referenced an incident where Robinson had come to dinner and mentioned Kirk’s upcoming appearance.
Kirk shot while engaging in campus debate
Kirk, who was 31, was engaging in one of his signature “Prove Me Wrong” debates at Utah Valley University when he was shot and killed on Wednesday afternoon. The event was part of Turning Point USA’s “The American Comeback Tour,” and there were over 3,000 people in attendance when Kirk was shot, police said.
Kirk’s next event had been set for Utah State University. The university confirmed that Robinson had attended the school as a pre-engineering major for one semester in 2021 before taking a leave of absence.
Kirk had just begun to debate someone in the audience about gun violence when he was shot, witnesses said. Just one shot was fired, Utah Department of Public Safety Commissioner Beau Mason said on Wednesday night. Kirk was struck in the neck.
A university spokeswoman said the single shot is believed to have been fired from the Losee Center for Student Success, which houses a number of services and resources. A law enforcement source told CBS News the gunman appeared to have fired from the building’s roof.
Details on evidence emerge
After the shooting, the shooter jumped off the building and fled into a neighborhood off campus, Mason said. Photos released by law enforcement showed a person wearing a dark baseball cap, black glasses, a long-sleeved dark shirt that appeared to feature an American flag and an eagle, and dark-colored pants.
The FBI asked for the public’s help in identifying this person of interest in connection with the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University.
FBI
Investigators recovered a high-powered, bolt-action rifle that they believe was used in the assassination, Robert Bohls, the FBI special agent in charge of the bureau’s Salt Lake City field office, said Thursday. The gun was found wrapped in a dark towel in a wooded area where the shooter fled, Bohls said.
Cox also said investigators reviewed messages on the messaging platform Discord from a person named “Tyler” that referenced a rifle wrapped in a towel that was left in the woods and engravings on bullets.
Cox said that there were inscriptions on the casings of the fired bullet and three unfired ones. The fired bullet casing contained the inscription, “Notices bulges OwO what’s this?” An unfired bullet casing read, “Hey fascist, catch!” And a second unfired casing read, “oh bella ciao, bella cio, bella ciao, ciao, ciao.” A third unfired casing said, “If you read this, you are gay.”
Cox declined to speculate on the meaning of the inscriptions.
“I will leave that up to you to interpret what those engravings mean,” Cox said. He added that the “Hey fascist, catch!” inscription “speaks for itself.”
The arrest comes after two people were briefly taken into custody, then released, on Wednesday. Neither individual had ties to the shooting, the Utah Department of Public Safety said on Wednesday night. The second person taken into custody was charged with obstruction of justice, the department said.
Kirk was a close ally of Mr. Trump and a friend of Donald Trump Jr.
The president, who ordered flags be flown at half-staff until Sunday evening, announced plans to honor Kirk with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, calling him “a giant of his generation, a champion of liberty, and an inspiration to millions and millions of people.” He also released a video statement blaming the “radical left” for the killing. Politicians and figures on both sides of the aisle have condemned Kirk’s killing.
Kirk is survived by his wife, Erika, and their two young children. Vice President JD Vance accompanied Kirk’s casket as it was transported Thursday aboard Air Force Two to Arizona, where the family lives.
Kerry Breen is a news editor at CBSNews.com. A graduate of New York University’s Arthur L. Carter School of Journalism, she previously worked at NBC News’ TODAY Digital. She covers current events, breaking news and issues including substance use.
