We are officially in the final month of the European season while MLS enters its 11^th round of games. Most importantly, Mauricio Pochettino will name his World Cup roster later this month, heightening the drama around the games in the coming weeks.

When selecting our top five games of the weekend, we will start in the English Championship League, which will have its own decision day to determine promotion, relegation, and playoff seedings.

Middlesbrough vs. Wrexham (Championship League 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿)
• Aidan Morris
Saturday, May 2, 7:30 am ET 📺 CBS Sports Golazo

The Championship’s final round is Saturday, with many teams in critical games. For Aiden Morris, the stakes could hardly be higher on every level.

Middlesbrough’s Aidan Morris (Photo: Adam Gee/News Images via ZUMA Press Wire)

Middlesbrough has secured at least a spot in the promotion playoffs, but automatic promotion to the Premier League remains possible if it wins Saturday and both Ipswich and Millwall lose (or if both ties and Middlesbrough overturns a five-goal deficit to Ipswich on goal difference).

Standing in its way is a Wrexham team clinging to the final playoff spot and likely needing a win to qualify. The club featured in the documentary Welcome to Wrexham is chasing an improbable fourth straight promotion.

For Morris, the task is to keep performing. He remains on the bubble of the U.S. World Cup roster, competing with Sebastian Berhalter and Cristian Roldan for a central midfield spot. Morris has yet to deliver a breakthrough performance with the national team, but helping lead Middlesbrough to the Premier League would boost both his World Cup chances and his career.

Villarreal vs. Levante (LaLiga 🇪🇸)
• Alex Freeman
Saturday, May 2, 8:00 am ET 📺 ESPN+

Alex Freeman joined Villarreal from Orlando City in January, but regular minutes weren’t there at first. Gradually, his substitute appearances became more frequent and longer. Last weekend, however, Freeman earned his first start for Villarreal, and it could not have gone better. The U.S. national team defender played all 90 minutes, distributed the ball efficiently out of the back, and won a clear majority of his aerials and duels.

Alex Freeman of Villarreal. (Photo: Ricardo Larreina/AFP7 via ZUMA Press Wire/ISI Photos)

With the win, Villarreal remained in third place in LaLiga with five games remaining, beginning Saturday when it hosts relegation-battling Levante.

Freeman was already likely to make the World Cup team after his 2025 breakout with Orlando City and several strong national team performances. But the win over Celta Vigo showed he is in a good place heading into the World Cup. He is not rusty, and the inconsistent minutes have not had a major adverse effect.