U.S. begins tough tournament

Mallory Pugh approaches her opportunities with the U.S. national team pragmatically: It’s a chance to get better.

“I think if you talk to anyone that goes into national team camp, they’ll say it’s the most competitive environment that you can be in,” she said.

Pugh is among those on the U.S. roster for the Tournament of Nations, which starts Thursday in Seattle. The 19-year-old forward grabbed headlines this year when she decided to eschew a college career at UCLA and go pro.

She plays for the Washington Spirit of the National Women’s Soccer League, and is learning to navigate her job and all that it entails — including juggling club and national-team obligations.

“I think it’s definitely very demanding and it is quite an adjustment, but I’ve got great resources around me to help me gel into that,” she said.

The Tournament of Nations will be tough. The United States, ranked No. 1 in the world, will face sixthranked Japan, seventhranked Australia and eighthranked Brazil in the roundrobin showcase, with a winner determined by points.

International Champions Cup: Neymar inspired Barcelona to a 1-0 win over Manchester United. The Brazilian continued his fine form for Barcelona with his third goal in two matches to condemn United to its first defeat of the preseason at FedEx Field in Landover, Md. Neymar and Lionel Messi produced a wonderful first-half performance, the former stripping Antonio Valencia of the ball in the penalty area and finding the back of the net in the 31st minute — enough to secure back-to-back wins for new Barca coach Ernesto Valverde . ... Claudio Marchisio scored his second goal from the penalty spot in the 89th minute to give Juventus a 3-2 win over Paris Saint-Germain in Miami.

MLS: C.J. Sapong scored his career-high 10th goal of the season to help the Philadelphia Union beat the visiting nine-man Columbus Crew 3-0. Philadelphia (7-9-5) ended a two-game losing streak. Columbus (10-11-1) had won three of four . ... The Colorado Rapids signed German midfielder Stefan Aigner to a multiyear contract.

Briefly: In Champions League third-qualifyinground highlights, Mario Balotelli’s first-half goal was only enough for Nice to draw 1-1 against Ajax . ... Argentina and Uruguay are going ahead with plans to make a joint bid to host the 2030 World Cup despite expected competition from China and others.