Soccer

5:00 AM ET The battle for Jude Bellingham is hotting up, with Liverpool in pole position — ESPN’s Insider Notebook has the latest. Jump to: Real Madrid ready for battle | Barcelona plan more spending | Shakhtar set for MLS fundraising drive | Alonso’s new deal | Prem clubs to help financially struggling fans Liverpool

2:00 PM ET Barcelona defender Gerard Pique has announced that he will retire from football when the Spanish league breaks for the World Cup this month. Pique, 35, says Saturday’s match against Almeria in LaLiga will be his last at Camp Nou for the Catalan club after 14 years in the first team following his

1:18 PM ET The next time the Champions League becomes the dominant topic in soccer, we will be approaching Valentine’s Day. An entire World Cup will have come and gone. We’ll have spent many thousands of words talking about player wear and tear, particularly for players on the four teams that will have played seven

5:00 AM ET The 2022-23 Champions League group stage is all wrapped up, and there was no shortage of drama, goals and chaos. Bayern Munich achieved a perfect record, Tottenham Hotspur narrowly clinched qualification into the knockouts and Club Brugge made it out of the group stage for the first time in their history. Meanwhile,

5:32 PM ET Shakhtar were no match for a rampant Leipzig side who avenged a 4-1 defeat in matchday one to win 4-0 and advance to the Champions League last 16 at the Ukrainian side’s expense. EPA/Leszek Szymanski WARSAW, Poland — “We wanted to hit the jackpot, but it was not to be,” Shakhtar Donetsk coach

12:20 PM ET Associated Press The United States will start preparations for the 2026 World Cup with friendlies against Serbia and Colombia in the Los Angeles area in January. The U.S. will play Serbia on Jan. 25 at Banc of California Stadium in Los Angeles and meet Colombia three days later in Carson, California, the

5:51 PM ET Tottenham Hotspur survived a real scare in Marseille before fighting back to win 2-1 at the Stade Velodrome on Tuesday and clinch a place in the Champions League last 16 as group winners at the French side’s expense. Spurs, with coach Antonio Conte banned from the touchline, were dominated in the first

7:21 PM ET Tottenham Hotspur survived a scare in Marseille before fighting back to win 2-1 at the Stade Velodrome on Tuesday and clinch a place in the Champions League last 16 as group winners. Spurs, with coach Antonio Conte serving a one-game suspension from the touchline, went behind the French side in stoppage time

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3:52 AM ET Associated Press Mana Shim, a former National Women’s Soccer League and the U.S. under-23 national team player, will chair the U.S. Soccer Federation’s taskforce to prevent the abuse and harassment of women that was found to be systemic in the sport. The USSF created a participant safety taskforce following a report issued

9:00 AM ET Adam Snavely Braden Mann’s attempted onside kick was a familiar one to all those with an interest in soccer. ESPN New York Jets punter Braden Mann attempted a kick in an NFL game on Sunday that would have made former Tottenham Hotspur star Erik Lamela proud. Adam Snavely compares Mann’s “rabona” attempt to

2:11 PM ET Well, Europe’s big leagues gave us another big batch of talking points lot to enjoy, dissect and digest this weekend! From Chelsea‘s and Liverpool‘s chastening defeats — though for different reasons — to Napoli‘s latest big win and Barcelona‘s great escape against Valencia, and from Real Madrid‘s shocking 1-1 draw with lowly

6:30 AM ET The bedrock of every great team is the midfield, which is why Jurgen Klopp’s outstanding Liverpool side of the past five years are beginning to lose pace with their rivals both in the Premier League and the Champions League. Klopp’s midfield no longer has the legs or fitness to protect Liverpool’s defence

10:29 PM ET The Philadelphia Union will take on host LAFC in the MLS Cup final after coming from behind to score three quickfire second-half goals and beat defending champions New York City FC 3-1 at Subaru Park in Sunday’s Eastern Conference Final. After NYC took a 57th-minute lead through Maxi Moralez, Philadelphia responded swiftly

2:20 PM ET Marcus Rashford connects with a cross to score Man United’s only goal of the match. James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images Marcus Rashford‘s 100th goal for his club earned Manchester United the match as they beat West Ham 1-0 at Old Trafford on Sunday. After struggling to create chances for much of the first-half,

7:10 AM ET Manchester City forward Erling Haaland will skip their Champions League clash with Sevilla on Wednesday as a precaution after missing Saturday’s 1-0 Premier League victory at Leicester City due to injury, manager Pep Guardiola said. Haaland, who has 22 goals in all competitions this season, was substituted in the second half of

10:53 PM ET The Portland Thorns ran out 2-0 winners over the Kansas City Current in Saturday’s NWSL title decider. AP Photo/Nick Wass The Portland Thorns claimed the 2022 NWSL Championship with a 2-0 victory over the Kansas City Current on Saturday night. NWSL MVP Sophia Smith put the Thorns up 1-0 in the fourth minute,

How to watch soccer smarter: What to watch beyond the ball itself Trying to watch soccer and understand it at Pep Guardiola’s level? Though you’ll never get there, it’s possible to train your brain — and eyes — to focus on certain things that can help make sense of the chaos.