CINCINNATI, Ohio -- United States manager Gregg Berhalter said he'll field a starting 11 that is closer to his preferred lineup in Sunday's final pre-Gold Cup tune-up against Venezuela, but that neither Christian Pulisic nor Michael Bradley will play in the match.

Pulisic trained with the team for the first time on Friday after taking a two-week break. Bradley has been nursing a hamstring injury, but has been a full participant in training.

"With Christian, it's that he just got into camp," Berhalter said. "We're building him up in the same way that we built up Weston [McKennie] and other guys that arrived at a later date into camp."

On a positive note, Berhalter noted that newcomer midfielder Tyler Boyd, forward Jozy Altidore and defender Aaron Long are all available. Berhalter added that Boyd would see limited minutes, while Altidore would play some part in the match, although he stressed that the Toronto FC striker wouldn't go the whole 90 minutes.

"We're going to continue to progress this group," Berhalter said. "You will see a more representative [team] of what could be a potential lineup. We know we're still missing some players, and that's fine. The whole idea of these two games was to build the team. We came in with an Olympic/national team group. We transitioned into more of a national team group, and now we're getting more of the Gold Cup group prepared. It's not going to be our end lineup, but you have to deal with these things as they come."

Berhalter also further addressed his decision to leave 19-year-old forward Josh Sargent off the Gold Cup roster, opting to go with only two strikers in Altidore and Gyasi Zardes.

"When [Altidore is] fit and he's strong, there's not a better striker than him in America," Berhalter said. "So it's hard to say, 'OK, here's a 19-year-old that is going to displace Jozy Altidore, even though he has a bright future ahead of him.' And the way we frame this is we're saying, 'Okay, he's participated in a U20 World Cup already. This is an opportunity for a guy like Sebastian Soto to show his self, his game on the world stage.' And he's done a great job of taking advantage of that.

- When is the CONCACAF Gold Cup?

- Full Gold Cup fixtures schedule

"Now if we view Josh as being more advanced than the U20 level, that doesn't mean he's ready to be a full international. There's space in between that. In between that comes the Olympic team, and Olympic qualifying, and perhaps the Olympics. In my mind, Josh is really close and has a lot of talent. If we had extra space on the roster, he'd be with us. But we don't."

The U.S. will be facing a Venezuela side that has its own tournament for which to prepare, that being the 2019 Copa America in Brazil. Berhalter feels that La Vinotinto will provide a different kind of challenge than Jamaica did last Wednesday.

"Whereas Jamaica gave us the physicality and the counterattacking, Venezuela has a very good striker, good wingers as well, so they do have transition and they'll high press at times," Berhalter said. "So it's another good challenge, something to prepare us for the Gold Cup."

The high press will be one to watch, especially since the U.S. was sloppy in playing the ball out of the back against Jamaica, with one such sequence leading to Shamar Nicholson's game-winner.

"Any time you're in some high pressure, there's going to be some errors," Berhalter said. "It's about staying calm, being brave, opening up, moving for each other and you can solve it."

Berhalter also added that he has yet to settle on who will captain the team during the Gold Cup.

"The way we see this group is that it's a group that we're developing, and we want to get leadership from a number of different players," he said. "We're not at the point now where we can say there's one leader in the group who is going to lead us forward. We think that right now we want a number of different guys to step up. We're not in the phase yet where we're ready to pick a full-time captain."

Hope Solo isn't a participant in this year's Women's World Cup, but the former United States goalkeeper isn't interested in being a silent observer.

Just three days before the U.S. begins play, Solo ripped coach Jill Ellis and said "she cracks under pressure."

Solo has been at odds with U.S. Soccer since being suspended for six months and seeing her contract terminated after calling Sweden's national team a "bunch of cowards" during the 2016 Olympics.

The 37-year-old Solo took aim at Ellis during a BBC interview Saturday and indicated she isn't a fan of Ellis' methods.

"Jill -- she's not the leader I wish her to be," Solo said of the national team's coach since 2014. "She relies heavily on her assistant coaches. She cracks under the pressure quite a bit. But oftentimes it doesn't matter, because the quality of the players on the U.S. team is superb."

Solo said the U.S. would win games no matter who coaches the squad.

"We have a rich history of winning, a winning tradition, and it doesn't matter oftentimes who's coaching us, because we'll find a way to win ... in spite of who the coach is," Solo said.

Solo was the goalkeeper for the 2015 World Cup-winning squad as well as the 2007 and 2011 teams. She also earned gold medals as the goalie for the 2008 and 2012 U.S. Olympic teams.

Solo earned 202 caps with the national team and holds the record of 102 career shutouts.

The U.S. plays Thailand in its opening match Tuesday in Reims, France.

CINCINNATI, Ohio -- The final dress rehearsal for the Gold Cup has arrived for the U.S. men's national team as the U.S. takes on Venezuela this Sunday. The only problem is that a few understudies are still playing prominent roles in place of the headliners.

Christian Pulisic isn't available. Neither is Michael Bradley, while minutes for Jozy Altidore and newcomer Tyler Boyd will be limited to varying degrees. Tyler Adams won't join up with the team until June 11. All are expected to be ready to go when the Gold Cup begins for the U.S. on June 18 against Guyana, but it's a less-than-ideal scenario heading into a tournament in which the U.S. will attempt to reverse the negativity surrounding the program, which was ratcheted up again following last Wednesday's 1-0 loss to Jamaica.

For manager Gregg Berhalter, the priorities haven't changed. He's still in the process of imparting his system to the players, though it has been more difficult than it might appear in this camp given that players have been arriving at different times and in varying states of fitness. Yet with the start of the Gold Cup now a week and a half away, the team must move forward.

- When is the CONCACAF Gold Cup?
- Full Gold Cup fixtures schedule

Against Jamaica, Berhalter experimented with both personnel and tactics, with little success, though he insists the data obtained will help the team down the road. The U.S. manager said his team's approach against Venezuela will be similar to what was on display in friendlies earlier this year. The team will likely go with a variant of 4-3-3, with Nick Lima the prime candidate to occupy the hybrid right-back/center midfield role.

"It will be a good opportunity to keep working through things, to create more offensive chances, to be stable in defense," Berhalter said. "The defensive stability last game was pretty good. We didn't let up any real goal opportunities. But we want to create more, so we'll see if we can put ourselves in position to create more goal-scoring opportunities."

Against the Reggae Boyz, the U.S. penetrated the attacking third easily enough, especially in the first half, but that didn't lead to many clear opportunities as the team managed just one shot on target. Getting a different result on Sunday will require playing with greater speed and precision.

"I think we're going to focus on wing progressions, how to get them more involved and behind the lines," defender Aaron Long told ESPN FC. "I think that's a big one for us right now."

Of course, that is by no means the only challenge. Venezuela, currently preparing for its own summer tournament at the 2019 Copa America (live on ESPN+, June 14-July 7) will pick its spots to press the U.S. team. The Americans were sloppy with the ball in the second half of the Jamaica game, with a turnover yielding Shamar Nicholson's winner. Long hinted that the U.S. will continue to try to do what it can to control the game.

"We're going to work on building out of the back as usual," Long said. "They have some good pressure, so that's going to be a good challenge for us, just circulating the ball and being a little more potent in the attack."

Berhalter added, "Any time you're in some high-pressure [situations], there's going to be some errors, and it's about staying calm, being brave, opening up, moving for each other and you can solve it."

Altidore will likely make his first international appearance since "That Night in Couva" and he continues to take plenty of flak from U.S. fans for what happened in that World Cup qualifier against Trinidad & Tobago. The reality is that Altidore remains the best forward in the U.S. pool, especially with his passing and hold-up play. The 2017 Gold Cup seems eons ago, but it was Altidore who scored in both the semifinal against Costa Rica and the final against Jamaica. Those goals not only helped the U.S. win the title but saw the oft-injured forward make a rare contribution in a tournament setting.

Berhalter will be counting on Altidore to be a difference-maker in this edition of the tournament, with Sunday's friendly the first match toward that goal.

"He's a guy that we have a lot of faith in," Berhalter said of Altidore. "He's a great addition to this group. I'm excited to see how he fits into everything we're doing."

Long is one member of the team who Berhalter said has returned to health. The New York Red Bulls defender was dealing with a hamstring injury but has been a full participant in training for the past week, and could see the field in place of either Omar Gonzalez or Matt Miazga. Whoever plays will certainly have his hands full with the likes of Atlanta United forward Josef Martinez and/or West Bromwich Albion striker Salomon Rondon.

The hope now is that with the Gold Cup looming and the roster now finalized, the U.S. can generate some momentum heading into the tournament.

"It's a feeling of excitement now," Long said. "We know our 23 and we're ready to get after it."

England 386 for 6 (Roy 153, Buttler 64, Bairstow 51) beat Bangladesh 280 (Shakib 121, Stokes 3-23) by 106 runs

England's batting engine room purred into life in Cardiff, setting up a total that their fast bowlers ensured was well out of Bangladesh's reach. Jason Roy top-scored with 153 and England reached a record seventh consecutive total of 300 or more, hitting twice as many sixes as they had in any World Cup match previously. Unchallenged, they soared to 386 for 6, their highest total in World Cups.

Jofra Archer then bowled the fastest ball of the tournament, a 153kph stinger, only for Mark Wood to inch past him with a delivery clocked at 154kph soon afterwards as pace and a bullying length stalled Bangladesh's flow with the bat. England simply scored too many, and bowled too hot, and despite Shakib Al Hasan's century, there was not a single session of play that England did not control. Archer and Ben Stokes both picked up three apiece, while every bowler contributed bar Chris Woakes, who endured a rare off day.

Roy kicked things off authoritatively, playing the sort of innings that he has been threatening to in the midst of a red-hot run of form into the World Cup. He and Jonny Bairstow further cemented their position as one-day cricket's most potent pairing, putting together their eighth century stand in just 29 innings: twice as many as any other opening pair has made since they started opening for England in this format.

The only way Bangladesh were ever going to rein a fearsome England batting line-up in was early wickets, and that's what Mashrafe Mortaza was hoping for when he decided to bowl first on a pitch that looked like it would help the seamers. The track looked as green and tufty as a martian's chest-hair, but Bangladesh's bowlers - seam or spin - found no sign of life upon it.

Watch on Hotstar (India only): Full highlights of the game

Shakib, opening the bowling, was seen off with minimal fuss, and England were chugging along happily at a run a ball by the time the Powerplay was up. Mashrafe overcame the frailties of his creaking body and a flat performance in the field to inspire a breakthrough, nipping Bairstow out shortly after he had raised a maiden World Cup fifty, but an assured response from England's middle order meant Bangladesh were unable to find any further advantage.

Roy cruised to a 92-ball hundred in the 27th over - his ninth ton in his 77th ODI innings - and when he sent the first three balls of Mehidy Hasan's sixth over careening over the boundary to bring up his 150, it appeared a World Cup double-hundred was within reach.

He fell attempting a fourth hit, having raised England's tempo, and Jos Buttler was promoted up to No. 4 to force the issue. He swatted and slogged his way to 64 from 44, while Liam Plunkett later capped the effort by slamming four fours and a six in the nine balls he faced. Buttler, however, tweaked a hip hitting one of his four sixes, with news filtering in midway through the game that he would not take the field for England to keep wicket, Bairstow filling in in his absence.

Not that the mid-innings switch seemed to affect England's bowling plans one iota. Archer cruised through what may well have been the fastest-ever opening burst by an England bowler in ODIs, topping more than 150kph three times in an over during which he also clean bowled Soumya Sarkar, the ball thudding off the stumps and carrying all the way over the 54 metre boundary behind the wicketkeeper, such was its velocity.

An uncomfortable Tamim Iqbal was put out of his misery by Wood in the 12th over, but Shakib then shared in yet another significant stand with Mushfiqur Rahim, the pair adding 106 for the third wicket, as Bangladesh briefly steadied themselves. But he was made to huff and puff along the way and by the time his tired arms failed to get his bat down fast enough on a Stokes toe-crusher to be bowled for 121, Bangladesh's chase was already long over.

Unable to get on top of a clinical English bowling outfit, the required rate ballooned steadily to double figures, and well beyond. There was nary a whimper from the lower order as Bangladesh folded, Archer returning to mop up the tail.

Buttler's hip was really their only worry throughout, and England appeared in a different league as they rebounded from defeat to Pakistan earlier in the week. What's more they made it look easy. On a record-breaking day - their total was also the highest in List A cricket at Cardiff - the abiding sense was of a team who are only getting started.

Eoin Morgan is confident that Jos Buttler will be fit to play in England's next World Cup match, against West Indies on Friday, but insists he will not be risked if there is any danger his injury could be exacerbated.

Buttler did not field in the Bangladesh innings at Cardiff after sustaining a hip injury while batting. But Morgan insists that decision was precautionary and remains optimistic that he will be fit to play in Southampton in just under a week's time.

"There's no serious concern at that moment," Morgan said. "He's going to be monitored over the next 48 hours, but at the moment it's more precautionary than a situation where he is not able to do his job. I'm quite confident that it's not a serious injury."

The manner in which Buttler sustained his injury - hitting a perfectly respectable delivery for six over long-on off the back foot - on the way to a 33-ball half-century underlined his value to England. But while his absence would certainly be felt in Southampton, Morgan believes it would be foolish to take any chance with him at this relatively early stage of the tournament.

He also played down the prospect of picking him as a specialist batsman on the basis that playing as keeper might be less demanding on his hip than having to get through 50 overs as an out-fielder.

"Would we play Buttler as a specialist batsman? It depends on the risk of him making his injury worse in the field," Morgan said. "If he is a risk going into the next game, it might not be worth it.

Watch on Hotstar: How the wickets fell in England's innings (India only)

"In theory the best place to be would be with the gloves on. The worry would be that the high catch went up and he with the gloves would have to take the responsibility to take the catch, and make his hip worse.

"There are five days between now and the next game. We'll use every day as much as we can to get try to get him back on the park."

Meanwhile Morgan described the presence of two fast bowlers in his side as "unbelievable". Both Mark Wood and Jofra Archer hit 95mph at times during this game, while Ben Stokes (in this game) and Chris Woakes (at Nottingham) have also hit 90mph in recent days. But it is the continuing development of Archer - just six games into his ODI career - which seems to most please Morgan.

"The slow nature of the pitch made it more difficult to play them," Morgan said. "Shorter balls didn't fly through. On a quick-natured pitch it's easier to play or get out the way of. It follows you when it's slower so here it was ideal.

"We've seen Jofra bowl extremely well at the start of the innings but the way he finished here was also very pleasing. We wanted to bowl them out to improve our run-rate and he wanted the ball in the 44th over."

The England team will now take a couple of days off, with their next training session likely to take place in Southampton on Wednesday.

The story goes back to the time when Chandika Hathurusingha was Bangladesh's coach. Shakib Al Hasan told him that he wanted to bat at No. 3 in ODIs after establishing himself as this spot in T20Is for Bangladesh. But Hathurusingha didn't agree. Shakib tried to convince him, but Hathurusingha would not have any of it. The conversation was tense, apparently.

But from the first ODI following Hathurusingha's departure, Shakib started batting in his desired spot. There were people to convince too, but the likes of captain Mashrafe Mortaza and BCB president Nazmul Hassan and his coterie of directors were easier to get on side.

ALSO READ: Bangladesh's outdated thinking on spin strikes again

Shakib has certainly justified himself at No. 3. Since the start of 2018, he averages 52.76 in 19 innings so far, culminating in his last six innings producing four fifties and a century. His last four innings read 50 not out, 75, 64 and 121. He is also, for now, the leading run-scorer at the World Cup.

He has looked right at home, which was evident in this latest innings too. Shakib took on Chris Woakes, Mark Wood and Liam Plunkett, as well as hitting Adil Rashid for 31 off 25 balls. He already had the chops for tackling spin, and is now showing his ability against pace. In fact, Shakib can now be regarded as the one who has fixed this position for Bangladesh, after Sabbir Rahman and Mominul Haque, among others, couldn't nail down the place.

Shakib said that he had to convince the decision-makers to let him bat at No. 3, although he still faces questions about filling in the position. he added that he wanted to take the opportunity to be more involved in batting.

"It was my decision [to bat at No. 3]," Shakib said. "I had to convince everyone. If I don't score runs in a single match, they think that I should be bat at No. 5. I had to convince a lot of people to bat at No. 3, but it is working at this moment.

"It is different. You need to face different challenges. I am enjoying it at the moment. Having said that, it is just the start. I need to contribute with both bat and ball. I thought [batting at No. 3] is a better opportunity for me to contribute more with the bat. But there are plenty of matches in this tournament left."

Shakib said that at one stage in his 106-run third-wicket stand with Mushfiqur Rahim, they actually believed they could gun down England's 387-run target. "I thought anything between 320 and 330 was something we could have felt comfortable chasing," he said. "We were two wickets down in 30 overs, with 180 on the board. From there you can think of chasing 320-330 if we had wickets in hand. But 387 was always against our favour.

"We wanted to see where we are at the 30-over mark. After the 30th over, we needed around 200. In a T20 game, you can reach that total if you bat really well. We always knew that we were against the run of play but we held that belief for a little time."

Shakib said the particular challenge of taking on the rapid Jofra Archer and Wood invigorated him. "They were quick, but I enjoyed the difficult challenge," he said. "They are the two quickest bowler in the World Cup. It was tough but I felt very happy the way I played them."

His century was one of the bright spots in a day when Bangladesh lost much of what they gained against South Africa and New Zealand. Shakib now holds the key as many of his team-mates haven't quite hit their strides. A fine start such as this is sure to set him up to flourish in the rest of the tournament.

New Zealand 173 for 3 (Williamson 79* Taylor 48, Alam 3-45) beat Afghanistan 172 (Shahidi 59, Neesham 5-31, Ferguson 4-37) by seven wickets
As it happened

While some of his team-mates were having the time of their lives in the middle in the 2015 World Cup, James Neesham watched that semi-final against South Africa from the Eden Park grass banks. He later fell out of love with cricket and was talked out of retirement. Then, he himself conceded that he hadn't started his maiden World Cup well. After leaking 45 in five overs against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, Neesham led New Zealand's pace assault in Taunton, returning 5 for 31 - his best figures in professional cricket - to bask in the company of Richard Hadlee, Shane Bond, Tim Southee and Trent Boult. No other New Zealand seamer has claimed five wickets in a World Cup.

Lockie Ferguson fell one short of joining that elite list, but was equally central to New Zealand dismissing Afghanistan for 172 and securing their third successive victory in the tournament. Ferguson's Flash-like pace netted him 4 for 37, including the wicket of Rashid Khan who was bowled off the helmet. The blow was so nasty that Rashid failed two concussion tests and did not bowl in the chase. There was no Mujeeb Ur Rahman either - he was dropped - and Afghanistan were forced into using part-time legspinner Rahmat Shah. In stark contrast, New Zealand didn't need Mitchell Santner at all.

Despite the unavailability of their premier spinners, Afghanistan made New Zealand's batsmen work hard for their runs in the chase. Aftab Alam, who had replaced the rested Dawlat Zadran, hit a hard length with his very first ball and had Martin Guptill lobbing a bat-pad catch to point for a golden duck. Colin Munro, who had kept his place in the side, ahead of a fit-again Henry Nicholls, had a promising start, but he wound up slicing a catch to third man for 22 off 24 balls.

Watch on Hotstar (India only) - Full highlights of the match

This brought Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor, and familiar nervy running into focus. Williamson survived a run-out chance on 22 after responding slowly to a single. That Hashmatullah Shahidi couldn't effect a direct hit or fling a more accurate throw to the keeper saved Williamson. Mohammad Nabi then teased the New Zealand captain with his donkey drops and drift, making him overhit the ball and lose his shape in the process.

Rahmat, meanwhile, scratched Taylor's outside edge with his first ball and continued to trouble the batsman with his turn and dip. Afghanistan had deployed a square gully and point for Williamson, blocking his favourite dab to third man. They steadily built pressure on New Zealand, but Williamson and Taylor absorbed it and bed in to put their side on top. Taylor played all around a dipping full-toss from Alam and was bowled for 48, snapping a vital 89-run stand, but Williamson had progressed to a 77-ball half-century.

Williamson ushered New Zealand home in the company of Tom Latham, who had earlier snapped up five catches behind the stumps - just one short of tying the all-time ODI record.

It was Afghanistan opener Hazratullah Zazai who had set the early pace with almighty leg-side hoicks and baseball swings. He was reprieved twice - on 16 and 18 - and went after anything that was remotely close to his body. Noor Ali Zadran, who had replaced the injured Mohammad Shahzad at the top, rolled out some exquisite front-foot drives at the other end to push Afghanistan to 61 for 0 in the Powerplay.

Then, it was time for Williamson to #UnleashtheNeesh. Neesham dangled a wide ball - possibly wider than a set of stumps outside off - and Zazai took the bait, carving a catch to sweeper cover. Just like that Afghanistan lost 4 for 4, with Neesham collecting three in three overs. He fooled Rahmat Shah with one that held up in the pitch while splice-jarring bounce got the better of captain Gulbadin Naib.

Mohammad Nabi and Naijibullah Zadran, too, were bounced out by Neesham as Afghanistan were teetering at 109 for 6. After finishing a career-best spell, Neesham drew warm pats on his shoulder from his seniors Williamson and Taylor. Job well done.

No. 4 Shahidi, however, found a way against seam and bounce and held on limpet-like either side of a rain delay. Ferguson had blasted out Noor Ali and welcomed Shahidi with a 147kph ball that rocketed past the outside edge. Neesham and Colin de Grandhomme gave him no swinging room either, but Shahidi ground his way to an 84-ball half-century.

However, with his partners appearing and disappearing, Shahidi, too, swung for the hills and added 20-plus stands with wicketkeeper Ikram Alikhil and No.11 Hamid Hassan. Aftab Alam contributed with 14 off 10 balls, helping take his side past 150. Shahidi, though, was the last man dismissed as Afghanistan left nearly nine overs unused in their innings. New Zealand ultimately closed out the game with 17.5 overs to spare, handing Afghanistan their third straight defeat.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.

Ashleigh Barty has praised the "amazing period" in her life when she was a cricketer in the Women's Big Bash after claiming her first Grand Slam tennis title in the French Open.

Barty, who has made regular references to following the World Cup during her time in Paris, stepped away from tennis in 2014 and a year later signed for Brisbane Heat in the WBBL. She returned to professional tennis in 2016 and on Saturday defeated unseeded 19-year-old Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic 6-1, 6-3.

"It truly was an amazing period of my life," Barty said of her cricket career. "I met an amazing group of people who couldn't care less whether I could hit a tennis ball or not.

"They accepted me, and they got to know Ash Barty. They got to know me. I still have those relationships to this very day. I got an amazing amount of messages over the last couple of days from those cricket girls who were some of my best friends.

"The way they are accepting of someone new coming into their locker room, into their dressing room and into their sport was amazing. They are truly an incredible group of girls that I know I'll have a relationship with for the rest of my life and a friendship with for the rest of my life."

Barty's coach Craig Tyzzer believes that her switch of sports was critical in her subsequent tennis success. "It was the best thing she ever did: stepping away from the sport," he said. "She wanted to reassess her life. For someone to be able to step back in and play at the level she has after three years out is pretty amazing."

Free-agent quarterback Johnny Manziel has expressed interest in the XFL's new Houston team, saying he would relish the chance to play in his home state and be reunited with coach June Jones.

While appearing at the TriStar collectors show in Houston on Saturday, Manziel discussed his XFL possibilities with multiple reporters. He told the Houston Chronicle that part of his interest would be based on the team's proximity to Texas A&M, where he was a Heisman Trophy winner.

"It's a stone's throw from College Station," Manziel said. "A lot of Aggies drove from Houston to College Station. Houston's a great city that'll always be near and dear to me."

After two seasons out of professional football, Manziel signed with the CFL's Hamilton Tiger-Cats last year and played under Jones, a former NFL and college quarterback and coach. Manziel told Fox 26 that it would be "very cool" to play for Jones once again.

"Coach Jones is a great guy," Manziel said. "I enjoyed him from an offensive standpoint, from a personal standpoint. He's been there for me, especially when I was in Hamilton, getting to a new place, a different country. I enjoyed my time with him very thoroughly, and I think it would be a great opportunity."

Manziel also said he would be willing to play for the XFL's Dallas franchise, telling the Chronicle that he was intrigued that the league has two Texas teams.

The 26-year-old Manziel has previously addressed playing in the XFL, which is slated to begin play in February 2020. He told TMZ in April that he would be open to "any football options," including the resurrected league that operated for one season in 2001.

On May 20, Jones said Manziel "played very good for me" in Hamilton and that he expected the quarterback to be in the XFL draft pool.

Manziel never played in a game under Jones in Canada and was ultimately traded to the Montreal Alouettes, where he played in eight contests before his contract was terminated.

There had been some question about Manziel's eligibility for the XFL, which has a policy excluding players with a criminal record from the league. Manziel had faced a domestic violence charge after he was accused of hitting and threatening his ex-girlfriend in January 2016. Those charges were dismissed in November 2017. But XFL commissioner Oliver Luck told the PFT PM podcast in April that Manziel wasn't ruled out from joining the league.

Manziel was selected 22nd overall in the 2014 NFL draft, and the XFL would be his fourth professional league since leaving Texas A&M after the 2013 season. In 2018, he was kicked out of the CFL for violating the terms of his agreement with the league. The AAF folded less than a month after he joined the league.

"I think I'm in a good place personally. I think I've been doing the right things," Manziel told Fox 26. "When the opportunity presents itself moving forward, we'll see how things go."