MON SIX

PERTH, Australia (AP) — Taiwan defeated Vietnam 1-0 on Saturday to move into second place in Group C at theWomen's Asian Cupwith one match remaining.

Women's Asian Cup Soccer Taiwan Vietnam

Su Yu-hsuan scored the decisive goal in the 26th minute after Saki Matsunaga's shot hit the crossbar, leaving Su to nod the rebound into an empty net for the team which won the last of its three Asian Cup titles in 1981.

It was a deserved victory for Taiwan,2-0 losers to Japanon Wednesday, which created several chances to extend its lead.

Vietnam, the 2022 quarterfinalist, beat India in its opener but struggled to threaten the Taiwan defense and failed to record a shot on target. Thi Duyen Tran came closest with a first-half chance that went wide from inside the area.

Both teams now have three points from two games. Taiwan sits ahead of Vietnam and behind Japan, which faced India later Saturday. India is still seeking its first point in the tournament.

Record attendance continues

Australian organizers said Saturday that the tournament had sold 250,000 tickets. The milestone follows the tournament already breaking the all-time total attendance record, with 92,795 fans at the first 10 matches.

That surpassed the previous record of 59,910 for the 2010 edition in China.

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State of play

The top two teams in each of the three groups advance to the quarterfinals along with the two best third-place teams.

In Group A, Australia,which beat Iran 4-0on Thursday, and South Korea have already qualified. Australia and South Korea will meet in Sydney on Sunday to determine top spot in the group, where another record crowd is expected.

After back-to-back losses, Iran needs a big win over the Philippines (0-2) on Sunday to have any chance of advancing to the quarterfinals and qualifying for next year's Women's World Cup in Brazil.

In Group B, defending champions China and three-time winners North Korea are through to the quarterfinals after theirsecond consecutive winsin group matches Friday. In opening matches on Tuesday, Myong Yu Jong had a first-half hat trick inNorth Korea's 3-0 win over Uzbekistanand China beat Bangladesh 2-0.

Group B play concludes Monday in Sydney when North Korea plays China in a match that will decide first place in the group, and Bangladesh takes on Uzbekistan.

AP soccer:https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Get excited—there's another New York Times game to add to your daily routine! Those of us word game addicts who already playWordle,Connections,Strandsand theMini Crosswordnow haveConnections Sports Editionto add to the mix.So, if you're looking for some hints and answers for today's Connections Sports Edition onSaturday, March 7, 2026, you've come to the right place.

🎬SIGN UP for Parade's Daily newsletter to get the latest pop culture news & celebrity interviews delivered right to your inbox

What Is Connections Sports Edition?

Connections Sports Edition is just like the regular Connections word puzzle, in that it's a game that resets at 12 a.m. EST each day and has 16 different words listed. It's up to you to figure out each group of four words that belong to a certain category, with four categories in total.

This new version is sports-specific, however, as a partnership between The New York Times and The Athletic.

As the NYT site instructs, for Connections Sports Edition, you "group sports terms that share a common thread."

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Related:The 26 Funniest NYT Connections Game Memes You'll Appreciate if You Do This Daily Word Puzzle

Hints for Today's Connections Sports Edition Categories on March 7, 2026

Here are some hints about the four categories to help you figure out the word groupings.

• Yellow: The Grand Canyon State.

• Green: Take me out to the ballgame.

• Blue: Alma mater.

• Purple: Football monikers.

Here Are Today's Connections Sports Edition Categories

OK, time for a second hint…we'll give you the actual categories now. Spoilers below!

• Yellow: ARIZONA TEAMS

• Green: BASEBALL STATS, ABBREVIATED

• Blue: MID-MAJOR COLLEGE CONFERENCES

• Purple: NFL WR NICKNAMES

If you're looking for the answers, no worries—we've got them below. So, don't scroll any further if you don't want to see the solutions!The answers to today'sConnections Sports Edition #530are coming up next.Related:15 Fun Games Like Connections to Play Every Day

What Are the Answers to Connections Sports Edition Today?

• ARIZONA TEAMS: CARDINALS, MERCURY, SUN DEVILS, SUNS

• BASEBALL STATS, ABBREVIATED: ERA, IP, OPS, WAR

• MID-MAJOR COLLEGE CONFERENCES: HORIZON, OHIO VALLEY, SUMMIT, SUN BELT

• NFL WR NICKNAMES: HOLLYWOOD, JSN, NUK, SUN GOD

Don't worry if you didn't get them this time—we've all been there.

Up next,catch up on the answers to recent Wordle puzzles.

Related: Chick-fil-A Quietly Makes Long-Awaited Change to Waffle Fries and Fans Couldn't Be Happier

This story was originally published byParadeon Mar 7, 2026, where it first appeared in theLifesection. Add Parade as aPreferred Source by clicking here.

Chappell Roan, known for her drag-queen and camp fashion style, drew attention with a new, unique outfit:a muted purple high slit skirt and sheer topcombination. She wore this dress and shared snaps onInstagramfrom the Rick Owens Online Show, where attendees and models wore varying, stunning outfits. Upon seeing her new outfit, Roan's followers flocked to the comments to shower her with praise and compliments.

Chappell Roan stuns in new pictures

Take a look at Chappell Roan's stunning high slit skirt and sheer top in the Instagram post below:

As seen in the photos, Roan's skirt has two thigh-high slits. Meanwhile, her sheer purple top has a slight ruched look, with a matching shawl draped around her chest, midriff, and upper arms.

The "Pink Pony Club" songstress topped off her look with beige strappy heels with gold circular wedges that had a slight lustre. Further, she accessorized with a bunch of thin beige wristbands and red hoop earrings.

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Typical of her fashion style, the 28-year-old went all heavy on her makeup. She donned white face paint, brown lipstick, and purple eyeshadow that complemented her predominantly purple look. Meanwhile, she styled her red hair in a high, voluminous ponytail, adding a dramatic twist to her overall appearance.

Roan's look received positive reactions, with some comparing her appearance to Megara from Disney's animated movie, Hercules. "GORGEOUUUSSS," one user wrote. "You look amazing!" Another added. "Serving megara realness," yet another commented.

Originally reported by Abdul Azim Naushad onMandatory

The postChappell Roan Rocks a Skirt With High Slits on Both Sides in Parisappeared first onReality Tea.

As the United States and Israel prepared for war and later launched strikes against Iran, traders on online prediction markets wagered over $1 billion on every aspect of the conflict, drawing a wave of scrutiny.

One week after the attacks began, traders are still betting millions of dollars onwhowill be the next supreme leader, how long Iran willshut downthe Strait of Hormuz, whether US ground troopsenterIran, whichcountriesIran will strike, whether the son of the late shah willreturn, and dozens of other Iran-related questions.

And before the attacks, so-called "death markets" emerged around whether Iran's supreme leader,Ayatollah Ali Khamenei,would be ousted, potentially through assassination – which ultimately happened on Feb. 28.

Other sizable and well-timed bets, placed mere hours before airstrikes began, correctly predicted that strikes would soon occur, raising questions from critics about whether there was insider trading by government officials or others who knew the war plans ahead of time.

It's now routine for questions like these to arise after major geopolitical events, with the rapid growth of prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket, where users bet on everything from elections, sports, business, entertainment, or even the daily high temperature in various US cities.

But the Iran trades sparked broader outrage: Lawmakers expressed alarm about a lack of regulation, traders vented about unclear market rules, government watchdogs worried about possible corruption, and academics wondered aloud about the morality of wagering money on people's lives.

Federalregulationsalready prohibit futures contracts based on assassinations, war or terrorism. But the trades that paid out upon Khamenei's death occurred on the largely unregulated international version of Polymarket, which some Americans still access through virtual private networks. (The Trump administration approved a US version of Polymarket last year, but it isn't fully operational yet.)

One user named"Magamyman"made $553,000 from Iran bets placed on the eve of war. In one of their many bets, they wagered $32,000 early morning on Feb. 28, hours before the strikes began, and correctly predicted there would be strikes that day, when the Polymarket odds said there was only a 17% chance.

Polymarket did not respond to CNN's multiple inquiries about the controversial trades on its platform.

Though the identities of these traders are not public, Democratic lawmakers condemned the war profiteering, speculating — without providing evidence — about possible insider trading by people in President Donald Trump's orbit, calling for a congressional inquiry.

Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphysaid, "It's insane this is legal" andcalledpotential insider trading a "disgusting form of corruption." California Rep. Mike Levinsaid, "Who had that information? … The American people deserve to know if advance knowledge of military action is being used for financial gain."

A pair of Democratic senatorsproposeda bill Thursday to ban the president, vice president, top federal officials, lawmakers and their families from trading on prediction markets.

Some Democrats also pointed out that the president's son, Donald Trump Jr.,joinedPolymarket's advisory board last year and his conservative venture capital fund, 1789 Capital, invested an undisclosed amount in the company. Trump Jr. alsoservesas an adviser to Kalshi.

A spokesperson for Trump Jr. told CNN he does not trade on prediction markets and that he only advises Kalshi and Polymarket about marketing strategies.

Asked by CNN about concerns of potential insider trading by Trump allies, White House spokesman Davis Ingle said, "The only special interest guiding the Trump administration's decision-making is the best interest of the American people."

Kalshi, which is federally regulated in the US, issued full refunds for its market titled "Ali Khamenei out as Supreme Leader?" after confusion over how his death would influence the outcome. A source familiar with the matter said Kalshi lost $2.2 million refunding all fees and net losses from this market, making everyone whole.

"Kalshi doesn't allow markets directly tied to death," Kalshi spokesperson Elisabeth Diana said in a statement, adding that the Khamenei market was offered "because leadership changes in Iran have major impact on the world order, including geopolitical, economic, and national security consequences."

CNN has a partnership with Kalshi and uses its data to cover major events. Editorial employees are prohibited from participating in prediction markets.

Michael Selig, the Trump-appointed head of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which regulates prediction markets, has been supportive of companies in this emerging space. HesaidTuesday the Trump administration will soon issue new rules and guidance for these companies.

Betting on Khamenei's death?

People wagered more than $194 million in multiple markets on Polymarket's offshore site over whether Khamenei would be "out as Supreme Leader of Iran" byvariousdates.

The market resolved on Feb. 28 when Khamenei was killed by an Israeli airstrike. Unfettered from US regulations against death markets, Polymarket paid traders who correctly bet that Khamenei would be "out" by March.

The trend of these markets brushing up against death events is growing.

Polymarketremoveda market last week where people could bet on the likelihood of a nuclear bomb being detonated. And after public scrutiny, Polymarketadjustedthe phrasing of a bet about whether Artemis II, the planned space launch to bring American and Canadian astronauts to the moon's orbit, would "explode" during its mission.

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"This is where the people running the markets have a responsibility," said Richard Warr, a finance professor at North Carolina State University's Poole School of Management. "Not everything should be a market. And right now, there are no legal requirements preventing this kind of stuff, as far as I'm aware."

Warr added, "there are huge ethical considerations."

After the Iran strikes began last weekend, Polymarket added a note to the top of some pages containing Iran-related bets, stating that the company hoped its markets would provide "accurate, unbiased forecasts" about the Middle East conflict, as a public service to people "directly affected by the attacks."

"That ability is particularly invaluable in gut-wrenching times like today," the statement on the website said, adding, "we realized that prediction markets could give them the answers they needed in ways TV news and X could not," referring to the social media site.

Kalshi issues big refunds

Kalshi, which operates in the US with regulatory oversight, stipulated in the rules for itsKhamenei marketthat his death wouldn't count as a win for anyone who predicted his ouster. Instead, if the ayatollah died, the market would resolve based on the last traded price prior to his confirmed death.

So, Kalshi followed its rules, complying with federal rules, and possibly allaying ethical concerns. But this angered bettors who put money on Khamenei's ouster and were surprised by the lack of payouts –- and theyrushedto social media to air theirfrustrations.

"A lot of people clearly didn't read the fine print," said Dustin Gouker, an independent journalist who writes anewsletterabout prediction markets. "There was a mismatch between title of the market and what the rules said."

Kalshi co-founder and CEO Tarek Mansour explained the situation in anX poston Feb. 28, several hours after Khamenei's death, arguing that the company doesn't offer "markets directly tied to death" and that it tailored the Khamenei market to comply with federal regulations.

There are other ways for "a ruler to step down or transition power without death, even in autocracies," he noted, pointing to the recent US military operation thatcapturedVenezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.

Still, Mansour said Kalshi would reimburse all fees from this market and give refunds to anyone who bet and lost after Khamenei had already died. And as backlash grew, he went further Sunday andsaidKalshi would reimburse all net losses for everyone who bet on the Khamenei market.

Another top Kalshi executive latersaidthe company would learn from this situation and "do a better job explaining our rules." The company notified the CFTC in afilingMonday about updates it was adding to its rulebook to clarify how it settles markets when they're affected by deaths.

Experts agreed that the debacle was largely one of Kalshi's own making.

"Kalshi promoted this as a featured market all day. The strike already happened. There were unconfirmed reports of Khamenei's death," Gouker said. "Kalshi knew the whole time that the rules said this bet would not resolve based on his death. This is why Kalshi got in a mess."

Two traders who bet on Khamenei's ouster filed a proposed class-actionlawsuitThursday against Kalshi, claiming it ran "a predatory scheme" and used "deceptive conduct" to deprive them of winnings. Responding to the new litigation, MansoursaidKalshi "didn't deviate from its market rules."

Risks of insider trading

At least a half-dozen traders on Polymarket made $1.2 million betting that the US would strike Iran, according toBubblemaps, which investigates blockchain transactions like those on prediction websites.

They said most of these anonymous traders uploaded their funds on the same day as their bets, which camehoursbefore the US and Israeli strikes began.

There's now a well-established pattern of controversial trades on these websites whenever major geopolitical events occur. Someoneearneda quick $400,000 when the US captured Maduro in January – prompting a wave of criticism from Democraticlawmakersand good-governmentgroups.

One House bill,proposedafter the Maduro raid, would ban federal employees and congressional staffers from using non-public information to place bets in online prediction markets. The bill now has 40 Democratic co-sponsors.

The legal definition of insider trading is narrow, forcing companies to do some self-regulation. It is prohibited on Kalshi, which last weekissuedits first major bans against two bettors over insider trading concerns. But other firms have boasted about being the preferred site for in-the-loop insiders.

Asked about insider trading risks, Polymarket's CEOtold Axiosin November it was "super cool" that his platform "creates this financial incentive for people to go and divulge the information to the market," including insiders.

There is a debate within the prediction market community over the role of insiders. Some experts see these markets as a vehicle for information to flow more freely from insiders to the general public.

"If there's going to be graft and corruption in the government, at least it happens this way, where it produces a public good," said Alex Nowrasteh, the senior vice president for policy at the libertarian-leaning Cato Institute. "The bigger these markets are, and the more insider information they have, the more accurate information we get. And that's what good for the public."

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KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — At least seven people were killed and 10 others, including three children, were wounded on Saturday by a Russian missile that hit a five-story residential building in Ukraine's second-largest city, Kharkiv, officials said.

Russia Ukraine War

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the attack and called for an international response. He said that Russia struck Ukraine overnight with 29 missiles and 480 drones, targeting energy facilities in Kyiv and other central regions and with damage reported in at least seven other locations across the country.

According to preliminary data, air defense systems downed 19 missiles and 453 drones with hits from 9 missiles and 26 strike drones recorded at 22 locations.

In Kharkiv, in Ukraine's northeast, emergency workers were combing the rubble, looking for survivors.

In the Kyiv region, damage from debris was reported in three districts, according to local authorities. In the southern Odesa region, 80 firefighters were called in to help battle massive fires at infrastructure facilities following an attack with multiple drones. Ukraine's state rail operator Ukrzaliznytsia said damage to the rail infrastructure forced changes to a number of routes in the center-west of the country.

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"There must be a response from partners to these savage strikes against life," Zelenskyy said in a post on X. "Russia has not abandoned its attempts to destroy Ukraine's residential and critical infrastructure, and therefore support must continue. We count on active work with the European Union to guarantee greater protection for our people. I am grateful to everyone who helps strengthen our protection."

Russia has fired tens of thousands of Iranian-designed Shahed drones at Ukraine since itinvaded its neighborjust over four years. It has launched a large-scale domestic production of them and battered Ukraine with hundreds of drones in a single night — more than were used during some entire months in 2024.

Iran has responded to joint U.S.-Israeli strikes by launching the same type of drones at countries in the Middle East.

Zelenskyy said he had received a U.S. request for support to defend against the Iranian drones in the Middle East and had given the order for equipment to be provided along with Ukrainian experts.

The war in the Middle East has drawn international attention away from Europe's biggest conflict since World War II, and forced the postponement of a new round ofU. S.-brokered talksbetween Russia and Ukraine planned for this week.

Inside the Oval Office this week, after a crowd of jostling reporters departed into the Rose Garden, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz tried to get an answer fromPresident Donald Trump: how, exactly, did he envision thewar with Iranending?

Despite some pressing by the chancellor, the answer from the president — as it has been since the conflict began a week ago — wasn't quite clear, according to a person familiar.

As the US military operation against Iran shifts into a new phase following last Saturday's opening salvo, how the war ends remainsthe top questionfor many officials, lawmakers and US allies.

In briefings with lawmakers and congressional staff in recent days, Pentagon officials have leaned into the US military mission being narrowly focused on destroying Iran's ballistic missile launchers, people who attended the briefings said, rather than on targeting Iranian nuclear facilities or taking out regime figures or military personnel. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has spoken dismissively of repeating the "nation building" exercises of past administrations.

At the same time, Trump has offered far more expansive goals that appear to extend beyond the military's stated remit. On Friday, he lumped in the "UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER" of Iran's current regime as an additional requirement for the war to conclude.

The apparent disconnect has only fueled questions about where the conflict, which is alreadybroadly unpopularamong Americans, is headed. In conversations with their US counterparts, Arab and European officials say they haven't detected what exactly Trump's endgame looks like, or if it exists at all.

Emerging from briefings with senior administration officials this week, lawmakers similarly professed little understanding of how Trump will know he has achieved all his goals in Iran, or whether he has a plan for what comes afterward. Some lawmakers also appeared unnerved by the fact that Hegseth would not rule out putting US troops on the ground in Iran.

Who will take over?

The US has so far rejected Iranian overtures to begin talks that could suss out ways to end the conflict. Iranian intelligence sent word this week to the US it could be prepared to open talks on how to endthe war, according to people familiar with the indirect messages, but US officials say there were no negotiations underway and that potential "off-ramps" are unlikely to materialize in the near term.

"Since this thing went kinetic, we've had a number of reach-outs," a senior Trump administration official said this week, putting the number of nations at nearly a dozen. "It's not dissimilar to what we had before, people wanting to see if they can help solve it, and we've talked to them."

To date, that has not resulted in any robust exchange of messages between the United States and Iran. "We're not using anyone as an interlocutor. This is a military action, and it's got to run its course," the official said.

Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said Trump alone would determine when Iran was in a state of "unconditional surrender."

"What the president means is that when he, as commander in chief of the US Armed Forces, determines that Iran no longer poses a threat to the United States of America and the goals of Operation Epic Fury has been fully realized, then Iran will essentially be in a place of unconditional surrender, whether they say it themselves or not," she told reporters on Friday in the White House driveway.

"Frankly," she went on, "they don't have a lot of people to say that for them, because the United States and the state of Israel have completely wiped out near more than 50 leaders of the former terrorist regime, including the supreme leader himself."

Trump said he expects to be heavily involved in choosing Iran's next leader. But US intelligence agencies have long warned it is difficult to assess the outcome of a regime change scenario, and some US and European officials do not see a clear option for replacing the current regime.

Multiple sources said Trump appears content with allowing an Iranian government led by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps — a similar model to what the administration used in Venezuela in replacing Nicolás Maduro with his Vice President Delcy Rodríguez.

"It's gonna work very easily. It's going to work like did in Venezuela," Trumptold CNN's Dana Bashin a brief phone interview on Friday.

But that option risks installing a potentially more extreme power center — something Trump suggested earlier this week would amount to the "worst case scenario." US and foreign officials have also cast doubt on the viability of establishing some kind of coalition government, believing that option could quickly turn Iran into a failed state akin to Iraq in the early 2000s, sources said.

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"We've heard…mixed messages about what the strategy is here, what the endgame is here, and how we're going to get out of Iran," Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said this week. "No one in the free world misses the ayatollah," the New Hampshire Democrat said. "But what is not clear is how long this is going to go on, the extent to which it's escalating."

And across the board, the Trump administration has not clearly articulated an end game or an off-ramp, according to four sources from allied countries.

"We have no idea what they actually want to accomplish when this war is over. It doesn't seem like Trump even knows," said one European diplomat.

That has fed concerns the war could drag on for weeks or months — a timeline the president, in many telephone calls to news outlets this week, hasn't explicitly shrugged off.

Instead, Trump has focused on the immediate successes, including degrading Iran's missile capabilities, sinking its ships and taking out its senior leaders.

Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters on Wednesday that as the war enters a new phase, the US will begin "striking progressively deeper into Iranian territory and (create) additional freedom of maneuver for US forces."

Caine also claimed that Iran's ballistic missile launches have plummeted by 86% since the operation began, and that their one-way attack drone launches are down 73%. One person familiar with the matter, however, said those drops can largely be attributed to the US' destruction of Iranian command and control centers in the opening hours of the war.

But while the US military is narrowly focused, there is also an increasing recognition among military planners that destroying Iran's enriched uranium stockpile, which Iran would need to produce a nuclear weapon, would require US forces on the ground to find, exfiltrate and destroy it since it is buried so deeply underground — out of reach even of US bunker-buster bombs, sources said.

There are no plans for that right now, so sources said the administration has steered clear of discussing it.

Kurdish involvement

At the same time, the Trump administration has quietly tried to enlist the help of Iranian and Iraqi Kurdish opposition groups. For months, the CIA has been in discussions with multiple Iranian Kurdish groups about carrying out a potential ground offensive intended to help foment a popular uprising inside the country, multiple sources told CNN.

The CIA is working to arm some of those groups and the US has discussed providing air-support for Kurdish ground forces if they were to launch an offensive,CNN previously reported.

Discussions between the CIA and Iranian Kurdish groups have also included political proposals for if the regime ultimately does collapse, according to Amir Karimi, co-chair of the PJAK, which is one of the Kurdish groups in talks with the US.

PJAK is supportive of the US-Israeli operations but has reinforced to the CIA that overthrowing the regime can't be done by military force alone, Karimi told CNN in an interview this week. The group has also told the CIA it wants a political relationship with the US and Trump administration — which includes having a say in who would ultimately become Iran's next leader.

"We believe it is a legitimate war, however we want support for forces on the ground who are fighting for democracy in Iran. This is not something that can be done by bombardment alone," Karimi said, adding that the US could help unite Kurdish groups so they can fight the regime together.

Trump appears to be working to do that, holding multiple calls with the leaders of Iraqi and Iranian Kurdish groups in recent days. But during at least two recent calls, he's grown frustrated with the Iraqi Kurdish leaders — who are keenly aware that participating in a US-backed offensive carries significant risks — telling them to "pick a side," according to a source familiar with the discussions.

Karimi also said his group has made clear to the Trump administration they do not believe anyone from outside Iran should be "helicoptered in to lead this fight," and voiced strong opposition to any efforts that involve backing exiled Iranian activist Reza Pahlavi, the son of the last shah, in the short or long term.

Trump himself downplayed him as an option earlier this week, saying, "It would seem to me that somebody from within maybe would be more appropriate."

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HOUSTON — Baseball is rarely easy to predict, and so Lucas Ramirez has made a habit of the next best thing.

In the months leading up to hisWorld Baseball Classicdebut forTeam Brazil against Team USA, the outfielder ritually practiced affirmations and visualizations to prepare for his entry onto baseball's international scene.

"Ever since the (WBC) qualifiers, I was envisioning that first at-bat bomb," Ramirez said. "And it's crazy that it actually happened. For five months, I've been – every time before I go to bed after I pray, I visualize it. And it happened."

So when Ramirez rounded the bases at Daikin Park on Friday night after he delivered a leadoff home run in Brazil's first at-bat of the tournament – one of two solo home runs he hit in the game – he screamed, "I told you!"

"I say go out there with confidence (and) you can do anything you speak," Ramirez said later. "If you say it out loud, it'll happen. I'm telling you. It will happen."

Although Team USA broke the game open in the late innings for a 15-5 win over Brazil, two of Brazil's youngest players provided the team's brightest moments.

At 20 years and 49 days old, Ramirez is the youngest player in WBC history with a multi-homer game. His teammate, Brazil pitcher Joseph Contreras, the youngest player in the tournament at 17 years and 291 days old, got USA captain Aaron Judge toground into an inning-ending double playwith the bases loaded.

All the electric moments from USA-Brazil World Baseball Classic game

When asked how that moment ranked in his career, Contreras, a senior at Blessed Trinity Catholic High School in the Atlanta suburbs, said, "That has to be up there. That's definitely like a top two moment. I would say the first one obviously was winning the state championship back home. There's nothing better than winning it all."

Both players represent Brazil because of their mothers' heritage and are the sons of MLB legends. Ramirez's father Manny won two World Series titles with the Red Sox and was a 12-time All-Star. Contreras' father José was a World Series champion with the White Sox in 2005 and an All-Star in 2006.

Both fathers were in the stands at Daikin Park on Friday to watch their sons' WBC debuts. The performances the sons delivered were proof that they can create their own legacies.

"Having Manny Ramirez as my father is obviously a good thing and a bad thing," Lucas Ramirez said. "It's a little hard. Everybody expects so much. That's why, maybe, I visualize and say things, I guess – because I got to paint my own picture. I got to be Lucas Ramirez, and I got my own path."

He wasted little time. Judge's two-run shot in the top of the first inning gave the USA an early 2-0 lead that was halved a short time later.

Leading off the game for Brazil against San Francisco Giants ace Logan Webb, Ramirez deposited a low inside-corner fastball over the wall in right-center field. Feet from where the ball landed, the Brazilian contingent in the home bullpen went berserk, with one reliever even hanging over the fence.

Besides thinking about hitting a bomb, Ramirez said another thought crossed his mind right before he went up to the plate.

"I'm gonna go out there and give it my all, and I'm just gonna have fun," he said. "Too many people work on the field and they make baseball their whole life. They have a bad game, and they're going to have a bad attitude the whole rest of their day. Like, this is temporary. We're here temporarily, and we're gonna go out there and have fun and be in life."

In the top of the second inning, Contreras took over for Brazil starter Bo Takahashi and exacted revenge against Judge, but not before getting into a jam.

After retiring the first batter he faced, Contreras gave up a hard-hit double to Brice Turang and surrendered back-to-back walks to Bobby Witt Jr. and Bryce Harper to load the bases for Team USA's captain.

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Contreras got to a 1-1 count against Judge and threw a two-seamer on the inside of the plate. Judge grounded into a 5-4-3 double play to end the inning. Osvaldo Carvalho, Brazil's first baseman, pumped his fist wildly while Contreras walked to the dugout and collected high-fives and pats on the back.

"It was just a surreal experience," Contreras said. "I tried to visualize on that and make sure keep breathing, but as soon as the lights came on and I was on the mound, it was like 'Alright, now you got to face Byron Buxton. OK, now it's real.' Game sped up on me a little bit but now I know for the next time."

Following his scoreless frame, Contreras allowed two of the next three batters he faced to reach base before Kyle Schwarber scored on a wild pitch and knocked the teenager out of the game with Brazil trailing 3-1. Still, Team USA came away impressed by Contreras' outing.

"Impressive. I know I wasn't doing that at that age, that's for sure," Judge said. "Just great stuff. I know he had some poise on the mound. He's throwing up to 100 miles an hour. He's facing Team USA, a lot of guys he has seen on TV or different things like that. It was just impressive seeing him control himself out there and get out of a big jam."

In the eighth inning, Ramirez blasted another home run on a one-out pitch from USA reliever Gabe Speier, making the score 8-5.

When Ramirez and Team Brazil manager Yuichi Matsumoto exited the interview room after the game, a Team USA contingent was waiting in the hallway for their turn. USA manager Mark DeRosa told Ramirez, "Way to swing the bat!" Judge shook hands with Ramirez, who in turn asked the three-time American League MVP to take a selfie with him.

Ramirez plays in the Los Angeles Angels organization and spent the 2025 season at the High-A level. Contreras will graduate from high school this spring and is committed to play college ball at Vanderbilt, if he is not drafted by an MLB organization.

Neither has made it to the majors yet, though each inherited certain traits from their dads.

Ramirez mirrors his father's swing mechanics, though he was taught to hit lefty instead of righthanded. The 20-year-old was drafted in the 17th round in 2024 and last March helped Brazil qualify for the WBC.

The first pitch Contreras learned how to throw was his father's infamous forkball. The son is 6-foot-4, tall and lanky like his father, and possesses the same quiet confidence.

"Oh man, that kid is something special," Ramirez said. "Obviously, he comes from a father who plays baseball as well, so that's been great. That kid's going to be lights out one day."

Ramirez regularly takes Christmastime trips to Brazil to visit his grandmother and grandfather, who own a livestock farm there. He said playing for Team Brazil has only strengthened his connection to the country. Ramirez, who speaks fluent Spanish as well as some Portuguese, has asked older players about Brazil's lone prior WBC appearance in 2013 and been taught by some teammates how to dance to Brazilian funk music.

Friday night's loss to the USA in pool play left Brazil still searching for its first WBC win after going 0-3 in the 2013 tournament. Brazil is scheduled to play remaining pool games against Italy, Mexico and Great Britain in Houston.

The final scoreline could have been worse, but Team USA's offense was more junk than juggernaut. Despite Brazil's pitchers walking 17 batters, hitting two more batters and incurring three pitch clock violations, the Americans hit 5-for-21 with runners in scoring position and stranded 13 baserunners.

What most fans will remember about the night, however, is how two burgeoning stars stole the spotlight from the tournament favorite.

Certainly, Ramirez and Contreras will never forget it. And next time Ramirez goes to visualize his success, he can close his eyes and picture those moments again and again.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Manny Ramirez's son a star for Brazil in WBC game vs USA