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This is Defector, a new sports blog and media company. We made this place together, we own it together, we run it together. Without access, without favor, without discretion, and without interference.

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Leander Schaerlaeckens is a long-time soccer writer, currently contributing to The Guardian and elsewhere. He is the author of <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/722130/the-long-game-by-leander-schaerlaeckens/">The Long Game: U.S. Men&#8217;s Soccer and its Savage, Four-Decade Journey to the Top, or Thereabouts</a>. He teaches journalism and sports communication at Marist University. He will cover his fourth World Cup in 2026.

A photo of the author Leander Schaerlaeckens taken by Asha Fuller.

Leander Schaerlaeckens

USA COACH VELIBOR MILUTINOVIC SALUTES THE CROWD AFTER THEIR 2-1 VICTORY OVER COLOMBIA.

Book Excerpts That Don't Suck

When Team USA Needed To Get World Cup Ready, It Needed Boraball

The Long Game