Who replaces Sergiño Dest on the US roster?
Sergiño Dest’s World Cup is at risk. The 25-year-old limped off with a hamstring injury during PSV’s Eredivisie win over AZ Alkmaar on Saturday, immediately starting a countdown clock in the minds of US men’s national team supporters who now fear Mauricio Pochettino’s first-choice right back could miss this summer’s tournament. Dest said on social media he hopes to be back by the end of the season, but nobody truly knows when he’ll return.
Whether or not Dest is actually a right back in Pochettino’s system is open to interpretation. While he started the USA’s last two friendlies against Paraguay and Uruguay in November, he did so as a ‘flex-back,’ playing on the right side of the midfield in the 4-4-2 out-of-possession shape and staying high and wide in attacking phases. Dest was the player who allowed the US to oscillate between a back three on the ball and a back four without it.
Such a specialist role requires a specialist set of skills, which Dest has. He can dribble, has a good passing range and doesn’t panic in tight spaces. Tim Weah might offer greater vertical threat in the position, but there’s no doubt the US is stronger when Dest is involved. There are years of evidence to support this.
If Dest isn’t fit enough to feature at the World Cup, Pochettino has a difficult task to find a suitable replacement. Alex Freeman could perform the role, but that would mean shifting the 21-year-old Villarreal defender from the right-sided centre back position Pochettino used him in several times last year.
Nonetheless, the inclusion of someone like Noahkai Banks or Joe Scally on the roster could see Freeman pushed further forward into the role he caught the eye in for Orlando City. Pochettino could compensate for the loss of Dest in the aggregate because trying to directly replace the PSV right back may be impossible. He might have no other choice.
How can Christian Pulisic and Milan win Serie A?
The Scudetto race is still barely alive. It wouldn’tbe had Inter won Sunday’s Derby della Madonnina to open up a 13-point gap over Milan at the top of Serie A. Instead, Christian Pulisic and Co managed a narrow 1-0 victory that gives the Rossoneri hope that they might still catch their San Siro rivals, who sit just seven points ahead.
Pulisic didn’t contribute much to the derby triumph. He played 84 minutes and conducted one or two dangerous counter-attacks, but generally struggled to get involved, having the second-fewest touches of any player to start the match. This has become the norm for the American winger in 2026.
Indeed, Pulisic has still to score his first goal of the new year, going 10 games without finding the back of the net as minor injuries have lingered. This is in stark contrast to his form of the first half of the season when he’d tallied up 10 goals by early December. An in-form Pulisic would supercharge Milan’s Scudetto challenge more than anything else.
Meanwhile, Max Allegri’s team are struggling for firepower. While Inter have netted 64 times in 28 league games this season, Milan have scored just 44. Their defensive record might be the best in Serie A, but the likes of Rafael Leão, Christopher Nkunku and Niclas Füllkrug must step up. Allegri-ball can only take the derby winners so far.
Inter, meanwhile, must be careful Sunday’s defeat doesn’t lead to anything more concerning with Cristian Chivu’s team set to face Atalanta, Roma and high-flying Como within the next month. If there are any further slip-ups, Milan must be in a position to capitalise. Far from being over, Serie A’s title race might just be getting good.
What can be done to stop crowd violence like we saw at the Old Firm?
Even by the Old Firm Derby’s standards, Sunday’s scenes at Ibrox were ugly. Supporters of both Celtic and Rangers invaded the pitch after the away team’s Scottish Cup penalty shootout victory, attacking stewards, police and even coaching staff as a full-scale riot appeared to be on the brink of breaking out.
Thankfully police were able to keep rival fans apart by forming a line across the pitch, eventually forcing them back into the stands, but the violence raised fresh questions about the safety of big matches in Scotland. What can be done to stop scenes like Sunday’s ever being witnessed again?
For starters, it’s unlikely, according to Police Scotland, that an away allocation as large as the one Celtic were handed for Sunday’s match will be repeated. About 7,500 away supporters filled Ibrox’s Broomloan Stand in what was the largest away allocation for an Old Firm derby since 2018.
Just one week before, the same fixture had taken place at the same venue, but with only 2,500 away fans in attendance. While the temperature of the match was hot, it passed without major incident.
This isn’t to say Celtic fans were solely to blame for what happened on Sunday. In fact, much of the violence on the pitch seemed to come from the other end of the stadium. Nonetheless, the most fascinating Scottish soccer season in recent memory could have done without such a disgraceful episode souring it.
