These PSV players will be in action on Friday evening during the World Cup
1 min readThe second group stage matches of the 2026 World Cup have already gotten underway. On Thursday evening, among others, PSV goalkeeper Matej Kovar and right winger Esmir Bajraktarevic were in action for Czechia against South Africa and Bosnia and Herzegovina against Switzerland.
On Friday evening, it’s the turn of Team USA with PSV players Sergino Dest and Ricardo Pepi to play the second group match. At 9 p.m. Dutch time, both PSV players, as well as former PSV player Malik Tillman, play in Seattle against Australia.
In the first group match, Team USA impressed in Los Angeles, and the squad led by head coach Mauricio Pochettino managed to win 4-1 against Paraguay. Pepi started that match on the bench and was allowed to come on in the 72nd minute for striker Folarin Balogun, who managed to score twice for the Americans.
Australia, on the other hand, managed to surprise friend and foe in the opening match by beating the highly regarded Turkey 2-0 in Vancouver, a team that has been active at the World Cup again for the first time since 2002. It was especially in the transition play that the Socceroos, with former PSV player Aziz Behich, were deadly effective and, in the end, rewarded themselves with a victory.
In the night from Friday to Saturday, Ismael Saibari and Anass Salah-Eddine play with Morocco at 12 o'clock Dutch time the second group match against Scotland. The Scots celebrated their return to the World Cup with a 0-1 victory over Haiti and as a result they go top of Group C.
Morocco made a good impression in their first group match against Brazil (1-1) and, thanks in part to a goal by Saibari, the Atlas Lions also went 0-1 up. The Scotland - Morocco match is being played in Boston.
Comments5
"We played with courage" yeah sure, but courage without composure gets punished. Learnings are obvious: protect the build-up and the chances come. 🚀
I actually liked how we changed the match with the substitutions. Getting more direct runs at the fullback was the right idea, but we still need cleaner final balls into the box. 🔥
That quote about 'control' felt cap, because we rarely had real rhythm after the first 20 minutes. Need more movement between the lines, not just sideways passes. 💀
Bro, why do we always look shaky when the tempo spikes? Looks like the back line is one step behind. 👀
If PSV want to press higher, they better not leave the half-space open again. The midfield needs to win the second ball quicker, otherwise it turns into a transition lottery.