As a team, the magic starts [when the US open the World Cup] on 11 June, and everything can be very different. The US will certainly hope Martinez, and his US counterpart, Mauricio Pochettino, are right.
Crystal Palace's dreary Premier League season still holds hope of a title as the Eagles learned their draw for the Conference League knockout rounds on Friday. The Eagles will meet Cypriot side AEK Larnaca in the Round of 16 and could have to take down Fiorentina, AZ Alkmaar, Shakhtar Donetsk, or Sparta Prague if they want to reach the May 27 final in Leipzig.
The draw for the rest of the competition will be held on Friday, February 27 2026 in Nyon, Switzerland. The ceremony will start at 13:00 GMT (08:00 ET / 05:00 PT). The draw will be shown live on UEFA's website, UEFA.tv and the official Conference League app.
Crystal Palace will discover who they will face in the knockout phase of the Conference League at the draw on Friday, 16 November at 12:00 GMT. After missing out on qualifying directly for the round of 16 by finishing 10th in the league phase, the Eagles will be seeded for the play-off round. It means Palace will be guaranteed to play the second-leg at their Selhurst Park home.
