PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The Portland Timbers announced Monday that they have mutually parted ways with coach Phil Neville after two-plus seasons.
The move comes following Portland's 3-1 loss at home to the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday night. The Timbers are 4-8-2 this season and sitting in 13th place in Major League Soccer's Western Conference.
Neville finished with a 27-31-24 record at the helm of the Timbers after joining the team ahead of the 2024 season. In a statement, Neville thanked the Timbers' front office, players and supporters.
“I realize we are in a results business, and the results haven’t been to the expectation of this football club. To the Timbers Army — you are the reason I felt inspired to try and bring success to this club,” Neville said. "Keep getting behind the players and the club in this wonderful city. I will miss you all.”
Before he was hired by the Timbers, the former Manchester United defender was coach at Inter Miami, where he finished 35-42-13. Neville also coached the England women's national team at the 2019 Women's World Cup.
With the Timbers, Neville replaced Giovanni Savarese, who led the team to the MLS playoffs in four of his five-plus seasons in Portland.
“In my nearly two decades of owning and operating the Portland Timbers, there are very few people I have enjoyed working with more than Phil Neville,” owner Merritt Paulson said. “Phil has outstanding leadership qualities and a boundless sense of positivity even in the face of adversity. I cannot thank Phil enough for his tireless dedication to this club and the Portland community, which he and his family truly embraced.”
The search for a replacement is underway. Portland did not immediately name an interim coach because MLS currently is on hiatus for an international break and the men's World Cup starting June 11.
In addition to his lengthy playing career in the Premier League with Manchester United and Everton, Neville also appeared in 59 matches for England’s national team, playing in three European championships.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Portland Timbers head coach Phil Neville gestures on the sideline during the first half of an MLS soccer match against Inter Miami, Sunday, May 17, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Monday that she has “no issue” with her country hosting Iran's World Cup team after its training base was moved from the United States to Mexico for the summer soccer competition.
The team will still play its group stage matches in the U.S. but its base has been moved to Tijuana, Mexico, just south of San Diego, California, a move that Iran's soccer federation announced recently and that was formally confirmed by FIFA, the sport's governing body, on Monday.
Moving the training base comes against the backdrop of the war in Iran, which the U.S. and Israel launched on Feb. 28.
Sheinbaum said at a news conference Monday that she was told by a FIFA representative the U.S. was reluctant to have the Iranian soccer team spend time outside the games on U.S. territory.
“The United States doesn’t want the Iranian national team to stay overnight in the United States,” Sheinbaum told reporters. She said a FIFA representative had then asked, “Can they stay overnight in Mexico?”
“And we said, ‘Yes, no problem. We have no issue with that',” she said.
Iran's soccer team is slated to play matches in Inglewood, California, against New Zealand on June 15 and against Belgium six days later, before facing Egypt on June 26 in Seattle.
Before the war broke out, the team was originally planned to set up its base in Tucson, Arizona. But with tensions simmering, Iran's team moved its base to Tijuana in Mexico, Sheinbaum said, confirming an announcement by the Iranian federation over the weekend. The federation said the Iranians had received approval from FIFA, which made the move official on Monday when it released the lists of all 48 base camp sites.
Teams use base camps to train before and after matches. This year’s World Cup runs from June 11 to July 19 and will be co-hosted by the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
The possibility of a move had simmered for months in the uncertainty surrounding the war in the Middle East and security concerns. U.S. sanctions on Iran were likely to only make the team’s stay in the U.S. more complex.
The U.S. State Department said in a statement on Monday that President Donald Trump had made it clear the Iranian team was welcome to participate in the tournament.
The department’s statement did not address where the team might stay, or Sheinbaum's comments.
Sheinbaum said that her government was working with FIFA to hash out all the details before the competition.
AP Sports Writer Tim Reynolds in Miami contributed to this report.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup
Iran's national soccer team players stand onstage as they are greeted by a crowd during a pro-government gathering before their departure for training and friendly matches in Turkey ahead of the World Cup at Islamic Revolution Square in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, May 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
