ALLIANZ FIELD (St. Paul, Minn.) — Mauricio Pochettino had a plan. Ahead of FIFA’s first international window of the 2030 World Cup cycle, the coach of the U.S. men’s national team knew that the Americans’ four exhibition games in late September and early October presented a unique opportunity to take a long look at the…
Lionel Messi turned his official farewell to Argentina into a gala performance, contributing a penalty and two assists in a 3-0 win over Benin in an international friendly on Tuesday at the Monumental Stadium in Buenos Aires, where the crowd offered a deafening final ovation to the genius who, for over two decades, defined the…
ALLIANZ FIELD (St. Paul, Minn.) — A fourth win and as many games for the U.S. men’s national team to kick off the 2030 FIFA World Cup cycle. The Americans beat rivals Canada, 1-0, on Tuesday in the Twin Cities on a first-half goal by 19-year-old striker Justin Ellis — a win that comes on…
The first time I ever watched Lionel Messi play soccer couldn’t have been more anticlimactic. Though the player now generally accepted as the greatest in the history of the planet’s most popular sport had already made his first team debut for Barcelona by this time, the setting was far from the bright lights at the…
Cristiano Ronaldo is not following Lionel Messi into international retirement just yet. The Portugal superstar said he will remain available to play for his national team, despite having walked out on the squad during the current international window. In a long statement issued through the Portuguese media Tuesday, Ronaldo said recently hired coach Jorge Jesus…
Portugal wants Cristiano Ronaldo to know he’s welcome back to the national team, if he so desires. The issue? It’s not something he desires — not so long as Jorge Jesus is the coach. According to a report from ESPN on Tuesday, the 41-year-old superstar has issued the Portuguese Football Federation an ultimatum, threatening not…
United States men’s national team striker Folarin Balogun hasn’t given up on a return to the Premier League, a month after his deadline-day move to Everton fell apart. Asked by talkSPORT whether a Premier League move still interested him, the 25-year-old called it a possibility. “I was close to a transfer,” Balogun said. “It didn’t…
As palpable as the euphoria was among the Americans players who sauntered down the tunnel beneath State Farm Stadium following the USA’s 3-0 dismantling of Mexico last Saturday night in Arizona, so was the exhaustion. There was no hooting or hollering. The smiles were tired ones. Before walking into the desert night, playmaker Gio was…
Argentina fans are confident there is a bright future beyond Lionel Messi as the team’s most influential player of the last two decades prepares to bid farewell. The 39-year-old superstar will play his final match for Argentina on Tuesday — a friendly against Benin at Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires — marking a pivotal moment…
STATE FARM STADIUM (Glendale, Ariz.) — With his USA jersey slung over his shoulder and the history-making ball in hand, Cavan Sullivan almost looked overwhelmed as he fielded questions from a throng of reporters in the bowels of the 60,00 seat arena he had just about silenced an hour before with one swing of his…
