Dec. 3, 2022 coverage of the World Cup

Past and present soccer stars have been wishing Pelé well online after local media reports in Brazil that his health has worsened.

The news comes during the World Cup in Qatar, drawing the soccer world's attention to one of the sport's icons.

The 82-year-old Pelé, who is one of the greatest players of all time, was admitted to a hospital in Sao Paulo on Tuesday to re-evaluate his cancer treatment after he had a tumor removed from his colon in September 2021.

Pelé thanked fans on Instagram Thursday for the positive messages and “good vibes” he had received.

While Pelé, who helped Brazil win three World Cup titles – in 1958, 1962 and 1970 – has suffered health issues in recent years, he has remained active on social media.

FIFA also posted a video of a drone tribute to the icon Friday. The drones depicted Pelé's iconic No. 10 jersey and then spelled out "Pelé get well soon."

England captain Harry Kane sent his thoughts to Brazilian football legend Pelé amid concerns over his health.

Kane called Pelé an “inspiration amongst our game, an incredible footballer, an incredible person.”

Paris Saint-Germain and French national team forward Kylian Mbappé urged his Twitter followers on Saturday to “Pray for the King” – a reference to the Brazil great’s nickname – tagging Pelé in his tweet.

Meanwhile, Brazilian soccer star Vinicius Jr., who is playing for the national team at Qatar 2022, and former Brazil great Rivaldo also posted on social media to urge the legend to “stay strong.”

For a US team that had not allowed a goal in the run of play entering Saturday's match, a 2-0 deficit to the Dutch represents the toughest test of this tournament.

The young USA squad has controlled the ball through much of this match, but they'll need to find the net quickly in the second half. The Netherlands is in control, 2-0.

Football, or soccer, has been around for centuries with its roots dating back over 2,000 years ago, but it was not until 1863 that England’s Football Association (the FA) cemented the sport’s full name of Association Football when they established the game’s first rules.

Ebenezer Morley spearheaded the idea “that football should have a set of rules in the same way that the MCC (Marylebone Cricket Club) had them for cricket” … unifying the game under a consistent set of rules and regulations.

The addition of the word association was to prevent confusion with other popular forms of football played at that time, most notably rugby football.

By the time association football and its round ball made its way across the Atlantic, American Football was already the popular game claiming the name of football.

Unlike association football, American football is a game played mostly with one’s hands and uses an oval ball.

Fast forward to 1974 and the United States Soccer Football Association (USSFA) – the sport’s governing body in the US – distanced itself from the word football by changing its name to the United States Soccer Federation, commonly referred to as the USSF (US Soccer).

By the 1980s, the term soccer became less and less favored by the British as the word to describe the global sport and today is rarely used throughout the United Kingdom and also for much of the world.

Read more.

It's halftime in the match between the Netherlands and the USA, and the Dutch are up 2-0 after scoring a goal just before the teams headed off to the locker rooms.

While the US has been dominating possession and took two shots on goal, the team has been denied any scoring so far.

Meanwhile, the Dutch surged at both ends of the first half.

Forward Memphis Depay scored the team's first goal in the 10th minute. Then defender Daley Blind shocked the Americans with a score in the dwindling seconds of stoppage time.

The Dutch team's Daley Blind just delivered a blow to the US in the final moments before halftime, making it 2-0 against the Americans.

The Netherlands has taken an early lead, with Memphis Depay scoring in the 10th minute to move ahead of Team USA 1-0.

The skilled forward, a prolific scorer with 22 goals in 25 international appearances, took a cross from Denzel Dumfries and found the back of the net.

And we're off in the battle between the USA and the Netherlands. Let's go!

US President Joe Biden’s Twitter account posted a video of the president offering support to the US Men’s National Team ahead of the World Cup match against the Netherlands today.

The video features Tyler Adams, the captain of the US squad, kicking a soccer ball and saying, “Hey Mr. President, heads up.”

A soccer ball lands in the Rose Garden, where Biden catches it.

“It’s called soccer. Go USA,” Biden says as he’s wearing a Team USA scarf. “You guys are going to do it.”

Read more about the origins of the word soccer vs football here.

Today's match between the US Men’s National Team and the Netherlands is one of the more intriguing clashes in the first knockout round of Qatar 2022.

The two teams meet at 10 a.m. ET in Khalifa International Stadium outside Doha.

Though the bookmakers have the Netherlands as the odds-on favorite, this matchup feels closer than that, and both teams will feel confident of booking a place in the quarterfinals.

The USA:

Of course, the main concern for the US is the fitness of star man Christian Pulisic.

The forward, dubbed “Captain America” by some US fans, suffered what he called a pelvic contusion while scoring the winner in the team's crunch match against Iran. He will play today, according to the team, but fans will watch anxiously for any signs his injury is affecting his performance.

While Pulisic is undoubtedly the star of the USMNT, captain Tyler Adams has been the team’s engine and heartbeat. Watch for him to command the field Saturday.

Surrounding the talented midfielder is a strong US squad that gave England real trouble in its group stage match and earned a solid win over Iran in a high-stakes face-off. They've looked clinical and sharp at many points in Qatar.

The Netherlands:

The Netherlands side can be dangerous, but it hasn’t put it all together yet in Qatar, with its most complete performance coming against a struggling squad from the host nation.

While the Dutch mustered just eight shots on target in its three group stage matches, the team was able to score five goals, thanks largely to star youngster Cody Gakpo.

The 23-year-old has scored with his right foot, left foot and head to lead the 2022 World Cup golden boot race alongside Kylian Mbappé, Marcus Rashford, Álvaro Morata and Enner Valencia.

This team struggled against an athletic Ecuador squad, a threat the USA youngsters will also pose. The Netherlands will need Gakpo at his best – along with defender Virgil van Dijk and midfielder Frenkie de Jong – to progress past a stern test against the Americans.