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…
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…
STATE FARM STADIUM (Glendale, Ariz.) — The U.S. men’s soccer team’s winless streak against FIFA’s Top 10-ranked teams is over. The USA beat No. 10 ranked Mexico, its fiercest rival, 3-0 in Saturday’s exhibition match here in front of a heavily pro El Tri crowd of more than 60,000 at the home of the NFL’s…
STATE FARM STADIUM (Glendale, Ariz.) – What a way to get your first start for the U.S. men’s national team. A week after making his senior international debut in the second half of the USA’s 4-1 win over Peru, 20-year-old Barcelona goalkeeper Diego Kochen was named in coach Mauricio Pochettino’s lineup for Saturday’s high-profile exhibition…
Lamine Yamal kept up his run of early goals in the Nations League when he put Spain ahead with a superb sixth-minute goal against Czechia on Saturday. Spain, winners of this summer’s World Cup, have now gone 41 matches without a loss. Spain coach Luis de la Fuente shook his head in admiration and disbelief…
Harry Kane and Bukayo Saka scored two each as ruthless England crushed Croatia 7-0 away in the Nations League on Saturday. Ballon d’Or contender Kane extended his national record to 89 international goals. Left winger Anthony Gordon set up Jude Bellingham and grabbed one for himself. Substitute Morgan Rogers completed the rout in Rijeka. “It…
TEMPE, Arizona — For any international soccer squad (or really a team in any sport at all), hitting the road for games in inhospitable environments is a fact of life. Home-field advantage is real. The flip side of that fact is that it also holds true for opponents. Being the away team is almost always…
