MIAMI BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Tobin Heath might know something about what makes soccer resonate within the U.S.
Her resume, in part: She won NCAA titles in college at North Carolina, then went on to win two Olympic gold medals with the U.S. women's national team and two World Cup titles as well, all of that coming after she was inspired by the 1999 Women's World Cup.
And so far, she thinks the Club World Cup could have a similar effect.
Heath — who is working as part of FIFA's technical study group for the tournament, alongside the likes of former Arsenal coach Arsène Wenger, former German star and U.S. men's national coach Jurgen Klinsmann and others — said Saturday that a match she attended earlier this month between Bayern Munich and Boca Juniors, with a full and jammed stadium in South Florida playing host to that matchup, shows what could be possible in this country.
“As an American, it was one of the coolest experiences of my life to witness that passion and energy,” Heath — during a FIFA briefing with the technical group — said. “It's something I never believed I could see in my own country. And the stadium was literally shaking. You could feel it, and the fans were absolutely incredible. So, I know the power of these home competitions. ... I know the power of these games in our country, to change the landscape of this game in our country.”
The attendance for the games in the Club World Cup has varied widely; some stadiums are jammed, some pretty much empty. With the tournament entering the knockout round and some strong matchups ahead — including Lionel Messi and Inter Miami taking on his former team, Paris Saint-Germain, on Sunday in Atlanta — there should be plenty of good crowds throughout the remainder of the event, as FIFA looks to build momentum toward the World Cup that's coming to North America next year.
“This is a fantastic dress rehearsal for us,” Heath said.
Only one U.S.-based team made the knockout stage: Messi's Inter Miami, though some wonder if that's a club that will have a true pronounced effect on soccer in this country. Messi is the biggest name in the sport and has an enormous following everywhere, one that obviously existed long before he came to Miami two years ago.
“Messi has not the best data of this tournament, but he’s certainly the most influential player of this tournament — because without him Inter Miami would never qualify," Wenger said.
The job of the technical study group is simple: watch all the matches, either live or on television (with the benefit of many screens and angles), assess style of play and determine what is making teams successful. The level of data collected from these matches is beyond deep; reports are more than 50 pages thick and measure everything from time it takes a team to recover possession after a giveaway to how hard players are sprinting at key times of a match.
“This tournament has blown me away,” Heath said. “It’s made me even more excited for the summer to come, and I couldn’t be more proud of this country. It shows that football is deeply embedded and deeply personal to our country. I can’t wait to see the growth.”
FIFA is promising that fields for next year's World Cup will be in better condition than some used in this tournament.
There have been comments — and in some cases, complaints — about conditions from European clubs, particularly about fields in Charlotte and Orlando, Wenger said.
“I’ve been personally on the pitch at Orlando,” Wenger said. “It’s not at the level that the European clubs are used to because it’s not perfect, but that will be rectified for the World Cup next year.”
Even the field at MetLife Stadium, which will play host to the Club World Cup final in two weeks, has been the source of discussion.
“The pitch is different turf, different grass than in Europe. In my opinion, the pitch was a little bit soft and not dry, but the ball was not traveling as fast as we are used to. This is my impression, my feeling," Borussia Dortmund coach Niko Kovac said after his team played a scoreless draw there earlier in the tournament against Fluminense.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Inter Miami's Lionel Messi controls the ball chased by Palmeiras' Richard Rios during the Club World Cup Group A soccer match between Inter Miami and Palmeiras in Miami Gardens, Fla., Monday, June 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Palmeiras' Emiliano Martinez, right, and Botafogo's Rwan Cruz compete for the ball during the Club World Cup round of 16 soccer match between Palmeiras and Botafogo in Philadelphia, Sunday, June 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior celebrates with teammate Gonzalo Garcia, left, after scoring his team's first goal during the Club World Cup Group H soccer match between Salzburg and Real Madrid in Philadelphia, Thursday, June 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
ST. LOUIS (AP) — World champions Ilia Malinin and the ice dance duo of Madison Chock and Evan Bates will anchor one of the strongest U.S. Figure Skating teams in history when they head to Italy for the Milan Cortina Olympics in less than a month.
Malinin, fresh off his fourth straight national title, will be the prohibitive favorite to follow in the footsteps of Nathan Chen by delivering another men's gold medal for the American squad when he steps on the ice at the Milano Ice Skating Arena.
Chock and Bates, who won their record-setting seventh U.S. title Saturday night, also will be among the Olympic favorites, as will world champion Alysa Liu and women's teammate Amber Glenn, fresh off her third consecutive national title.
U.S. Figure Skating announced its full squad of 16 athletes for the Winter Games during a made-for-TV celebration Sunday.
"I'm just so excited for the Olympic spirit, the Olympic environment," Malinin said. “Hopefully go for that Olympic gold.”
Malinin will be joined on the men's side by Andrew Torgashev, the all-or-nothing 24-year-old from Coral Springs, Florida, and Maxim Naumov, the 24-year-old from Simsbury, Connecticut, who fulfilled the hopes of his late parents by making the Olympic team.
Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova were returning from a talent camp in Kansas when their American Airlines flight collided with a military helicopter and crashed into the icy Potomac River in January 2025. One of the last conversations they had with their son was about what it would take for him to follow in their footsteps by becoming an Olympian.
“We absolutely did it,” Naumov said. “Every day, year after year, we talked about the Olympics. It means so much in our family. It's what I've been thinking about since I was 5 years old, before I even know what to think. I can't put this into words.”
Chock and Bates helped the Americans win team gold at the Beijing Games four years ago, but they finished fourth — one spot out of the medals — in the ice dance competition. They have hardly finished anywhere but first in the years since, winning three consecutive world championships and the gold medal at three straight Grand Prix Finals.
U.S. silver medalists Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik also made the dance team, as did the Canadian-born Christina Carreira, who became eligible for the Olympics in November when her American citizenship came through, and Anthony Ponomarenko.
Liu was picked for her second Olympic team after briefly retiring following the Beijing Games. She had been burned out by years of practice and competing, but stepping away seemed to rejuvenate the 20-year-old from Clovis, California, and she returned to win the first world title by an American since Kimmie Meissner stood atop the podium two decades ago.
Now, the avant-garde Liu will be trying to help the U.S. win its first women's medal since Sasha Cohen in Turin in 2006, and perhaps the first gold medal since Sarah Hughes triumphed four years earlier at the Salt Lake City Games.
Her biggest competition, besides a powerful Japanese contingent, could come from her own teammates: Glenn, a first-time Olympian, has been nearly unbeatable the past two years, while 18-year-old Isabeau Levito is a former world silver medalist.
"This was my goal and my dream and it just feels so special that it came true,” said Levito, whose mother is originally from Milan.
The two pairs spots went to Ellie Kam and Danny O'Shea, the U.S. silver medalists, and the team of Emily Chan and Spencer Howe.
The top American pairs team, two-time reigning U.S. champions Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov, were hoping that the Finnish-born Efimova would get her citizenship approved in time to compete in Italy. But despite efforts by the Skating Club of Boston, where they train, and the help of their U.S. senators, she did not receive her passport by the selection deadline.
“The importance and magnitude of selecting an Olympic team is one of the most important milestones in an athlete's life,” U.S. Figure Skating CEO Matt Farrell said, "and it has such an impact, and while there are sometimes rules, there is also a human element to this that we really have to take into account as we make decisions and what's best going forward from a selection process.
“Sometimes these aren't easy," Farrell said, “and this is not the fun part.”
The fun is just beginning, though, for the 16 athletes picked for the powerful American team.
AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
Amber Glenn competes during the women's free skating competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Alysa Liu skates during the "Making Team USA" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Maxim Naumov skates during the "Making Team USA" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Madison Chock and Evan Bates skate during the "Making the Team" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Gold medalist Ilia Malinin arrives for the metal ceremony after the men's free skate competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
