Soccer

Bill Connelly, ESPN Staff WriterOct 16, 2024, 10:39 AM ET Close Bill Connelly is a staff writer for ESPN.com. Open Extended Reactions On Oct. 16, 2004, in the 82nd minute of a 1-0 win against local rival Espanyol, Barcelona manager Frank Rijkaard made a substitution. Off went Deco, the game’s lone scorer, and on came

Oct 16, 2024, 07:00 AM ET Open Extended Reactions GUADALAJARA, Mexico — The first battle between Mexico manager Javier Aguirre and new United States men’s national team boss Mauricio Pochettino ended in a 2-0 victory for El Tri on Tuesday, snapping a seven-game winless streak for Mexico against their northern rivals. The USMNT, playing away

Lionel Messi scored a hat trick and had a hand in two more goals as Argentina crushed Bolivia 6-0 in South American qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup on Tuesday. Making only his second international appearance since recovering from an injury sustained at the Copa América in July, Messi capitalised on a mistake by defender

Connor O’Halloran Oct 14, 2024, 07:01 PM ET Open Extended Reactions BRUSSELS — On Monday, in a nondescript conference room on the east side of Belgium’s capital, the raging battle over player workload took a turn into the legal arena. The amount of football demanded of top players has been one of the hottest topics

Lizzy Becherano Oct 14, 2024, 09:09 PM ET Open Extended Reactions United States men’s coach Mauricio Pochettino said the door is open for new players to feature against Mexico on Tuesday night at Estadio Akron in Guadalajara after the departure of five players. Marlon Fossey, Zack Steffen, Weston McKennie, Ricardo Pepi left U.S. camp after

Oct 14, 2024, 11:05 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Historically two of the biggest teams in the Concacaf region, the United States and Mexico have failed to impress in recent times. In efforts to breathe new life into their programs following their underwhelming 2024 Copa América campaigns, both countries made changes to their coaching staffs,

Oct 14, 2024, 11:06 AM ET Open Extended Reactions With two national team programs that have a combined history of 200-plus years, there’s obviously no lack of legends that have represented either the United States or Mexico. The rivalry has had iconic luminaries from the 20th century and younger superstars who have taken charge in

Rob Dawson, CorrespondentOct 14, 2024, 04:49 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Pep Guardiola said he is yet to decide whether to continue at Manchester City beyond the end of the season. Editor’s Picks 2 Related The 53-year-old has a contract at the Etihad Stadium until June 2025 and has repeatedly dodged questions on whether he

Associated Press Oct 13, 2024, 02:38 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Christian Pulisic, Ricardo Pepi and Weston McKennie will miss the United States‘ friendly at Mexico on Tuesday in order to return to their clubs in Europe. Marlon Fossey and Zack Steffen, who didn’t dress for Saturday’s 2-0 win over Panama, also are returning to

Jeff Carlisle, U.S. soccer correspondentOct 13, 2024, 06:00 AM ET Close Jeff Carlisle covers MLS and the U.S. national team for ESPN FC. Open Extended Reactions AUSTIN, Texas — Mauricio Pochettino said he was happy, though at times it was hard to tell. Yes, the United States men’s national team had prevailed 2-0 over Panama

ESPN News Services Oct 12, 2024, 11:21 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Yunus Musah‘s first international goal and a late strike from Ricardo Pepi gave Mauricio Pochettino a victory in his first game as United States men’s national team coach, with a 2-0 win over Panama in a friendly in Austin, Texas, Saturday. The match

Oct 12, 2024, 09:06 PM ET Open Extended Reactions United States women’s national team forward Trinity Rodman is in line to return from a back injury when the Washington Spirit hosts Racing Louisville in the NWSL on Sunday. Rodman has been absent since she left the field in a wheelchair during the Spirit’s 3-0 loss

Oct 12, 2024, 11:34 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Wesley Fofana has come out in defence of France captain Kylian Mbappé after reports emerged that the Real Madrid forward had been in a nightclub in Sweden on the night of his team’s UEFA Nations League win over Israel. Mbappé had already been criticised in some

Jeff Carlisle, U.S. soccer correspondentOct 11, 2024, 02:09 PM ET Close Jeff Carlisle covers MLS and the U.S. national team for ESPN FC. Open Extended Reactions AUSTIN, Texas – United States men’s national team head coach Mauricio Pochettino hailed Christian Pulisic as one of the world’s best offensive players but said he was concerned about

Sid Lowe, Spain writerOct 11, 2024, 11:21 AM ET Open Extended Reactions The men who raised the alarm were the first to fall, an extra cruelty to it all. But at least this way, they were heard. “If this carries on we will have no option but to go on strike: we’re worried, it’s too

Sam Marsden, Barcelona correspondentOct 11, 2024, 10:08 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Sergio Agüero filed a lawsuit against Barcelona for €3 million ($3.2m) over money owed as part of his 2021 contract termination and the matter is still in court, an official report sent to the Catalan club’s members has revealed. Agüero, 36, joined Barça

Lizzy Becherano Oct 10, 2024, 08:35 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Lionel Messi blamed the conditions of the pitch Estadio Monumental de Maturín for Argentina‘s “ugly’ 1-1 draw against Venezuela on Thursday night in their first World Cup qualifier of the October international window. The heavy rain in Maturin, Venezuela impacted the pitch before kickoff,

Rob Dawson, CorrespondentOct 10, 2024, 06:41 PM ET Open Extended Reactions LONDON — On the plus side, Lee Carsley now has a ready-made reply the next time he’s asked if all of England‘s best young attackers can fit into the same team. The downside for the interim manager is that in finding out the answer