USA Overview

Somali match official Omar Artan will miss the upcoming World Cup after being sensationally denied entry into the United States. The referee was turned away by immigration authorities at Miami International Airport, completely ruining his historic opportunity to become the first representative from his country to officiate at the global showpiece.

There really is nothing like the World Cup. Even just qualifying generates a level of nationwide excitement that the club game simply cannot match, which is why we witnessed truly joyous scenes all across the globe as one country after another secured a spot at this summer's festival of football in North America. The final six participants were confirmed in March, with Sweden, Turkiye, Czechia and Bosnia & Herzegovina taking the four remaining slots in Europe, while Iraq and DR Congo came out of the inter-confederation play-offs.

GOAL takes a look at the big storylines and takeaways in the latest installment of the USMNT notebook.

The U.S. responded well to going 1-0 down against Germany, but settled for little more than a hard-working loss against a better opponent - an eerily familiar outcome.