The Common Goal initiative will provide mental health training to coaches from more than 15 youth sports organisations, focusing on issues including anxiety, depression and loneliness, after the World Cup. "It’s long overdue that our soccer communities put mental health at the forefront when we discuss player care," Common Goal USA Executive Director Lilli Barrett-O’Keefe said in a statement. The United States are seeking an unprecedented third consecutive title, and fifth overall, at the tournament in Australia and New Zealand, kicking off their campaign on Saturday against Vietnam. The American soccer players are the latest athletes to take up the cause of mental health, after Olympic gymnastics champion Simone Biles and four-times tennis major winner Naomi Osaka helped flip the narrative on a topic once seen as taboo in high-level sport. Reporting by Nathan Frandino in Auckland, writing by Amy Tennery; Editing by Peter RutherfordOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Persons: Daniel Becerril, Naomi Girma's, Katie Meyer, Katie it's, Sophia Smith, Katie, Lilli Barrett, O’Keefe, Emily Fox, Simone Biles, Naomi Osaka, Smith, Nathan Frandino, Amy Tennery, Peter Rutherford Organizations: Soccer Football, Concacaf, Costa Rica, Estadio Universitario, United, REUTERS, Tribune, Stanford University, Stanford, Vietnam, Fox, Thomson Locations: States, Costa, Monterrey, Mexico, AUCKLAND, United States, U.S, Australia, New Zealand, American, Auckland