Soccer teams playing in the Champions League on Tuesday paid tribute to Jesus de Miguel after the Tenerife forward’s death following an on-field collision.The three Spanish teams hosting games — Barcelona, Atlético Madrid and Villarreal — chose not to play the customary Champions League anthem ahead of kickoff in honor of De Miguel, 30, who suffered cardiac arrest after being struck in the chest by FC Andorra goalkeeper Jesus Owono in a second-division match on Monday.In those stadiums and others around Europe, like at Old Trafford where Manchester United was playing Roma, a moment of silence was held in memory…

Let me take you back to 1983. A year of turning points and exclamation marks in pop culture, history and sports. Michael Jackson’s 13-minute “Thriller” music video premiered, thus creating a global reaction that would forever change the way we saw the genre. The Philadelphia 76ers won the NBA championship with a sweep over the Los Angeles Lakers, remaining as the last time they became champions. Dr. Sally Ride became the first American woman to fly in space, marking an important trailblazing juncture for women who aimed to reach the stars. And Aston Villa Football Club, my lifelong club, faced Barcelona in…

Lamine Yamal won the Kopa Trophy at the Ballon d’Or gala on Monday, marking the third consecutive time he’s won the award given to the best player in the world under the age of 21.The 19-year-old had 16 goals and a league-leading 11 assists as Barcelona won La Liga for a second straight season, and he was named the league’s player of the season. He added six goals in the Champions League, where Barcelona reached the quarterfinals.A hamstring injury in April put his World Cup hopes in doubt, but he was able to make the 26-man squad that would go…

Some time ago, when Harry Kane was eight years old, he took a routine walk to the local park in his hometown of Chingford (a suburb in north-east London) with his dad and brother to play football. “No goals. No proper pitch. Just give us some grass and two trees and we were happy,” Kane remembered back in 2018 in an essay for the Players’ Tribune.It was on this day in the park when he received some disappointing news. “Arsenal have released you,” said his father. At the time, a young Kane had been part of Arsenal’s youth team, which was a very…

Ah, Halloween. The season of spooky mischief and relentless candy-driven aggression. A holiday of dark creativity where costumes adorn every street just like one of the witches in William Shakespeare’s Macbeth said — “By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes…” — this is a time for deviously good fun. It’s also a time to cuddle up in the comfort of your own home and watch scary movies. I love being scared. It’s a feeling that is an alarming reminder to the soul, evoking my senses and telling me once again that I am indeed alive. Horror movies,…

For all the excitement that a youth-heavy U.S. men’s national team generated earlier this fall in the Stars and Stripes’ first games since the 2026 FIFA World Cup, don’t expect the roster that coach Mauricio Pochettino drops next week ahead of the Concacaf Nations League quarterfinals vs. Haiti to include quite as many fresh faces.Sure, emerging teenage stars Julian Hall and Cavan Sullivan deserve to be included after helping the U.S. top Mexico, Canada, Chile and Peru in late September and early October and continuing to produce in MLS.Those games didn’t count in any standings, though. In this two-leg, total-goals-wins…

When a new generation of blue-chip teenagers recently led the U.S. men’s soccer team to four convincing wins in its first four games since capturing the imagination of the American public during the 2026 FIFA World Cup, optimism about the program’s future surged among USA fans old and new.Perhaps nobody was happier about how Cavan Sullivan, Julian Hall and the rest of the youngsters fared than U.S. Soccer COO Dan Helfrich. (Photo by Isaiah Vazquez/USSF/Getty Images) In less than a year in the role, the former Deloitte executive has quietly emerged as one of the most influential figures in the domestic…

Harry Kane won the Ballon d’Or to cap a memorable year with Bayern Munich and England and became the first Englishman to win soccer’s top individual award since Michael Owen in 2001.Kane received the most votes for the award, ahead of Kylian Mbappé and Lamine Yamal, who finished second and third, respectively.Kane scored 61 goals for Bayern in 2025-26. His 36 in the Bundesliga won him the league’s scoring title for a third straight season and a second European Golden Shoe. He added 14 goals in the Champions League and 10 in the German Cup as Bayern won the Bundesliga,…

The United States will host the inaugural FIFA Women’s Club World Cup in 2028, soccer’s governing body said Thursday.FIFA said the tournament featuring 19 of the best women’s clubs from around the world will take place Jan. 5–30 in 2028, but did not announce host cities. The Women’s Club World Cup will be staged every four years after that.Seven clubs have already qualified for the inaugural event, FIFA said.They include England’s Arsenal, Spain’s Barcelona, Mexico’s América, Gotham FC from the U.S., Corinthians from Brazil, China’s Wuhan Jiangda and Naegohyang from North Korea.FIFA said it opted to return to the U.S.…

In its first competitive matches since the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the U.S. men’s soccer team will play its two-legged fixture against Haiti next month without having to leave home.On Thursday, Concacaf announced that the USA will open the “away” leg of the two-game, total-goals-wins encounter in the quarterfinals of its 2026-27 Nations League tournament against Haiti Nov. 14 at Nu Stadium in Miami. The decisive rematch follows three days later at Cincinnati’s TQL Park, with the series winner advancing to the four-team Nations League finals in Los Angeles next March. With Haiti unable to host the game on home soil…