When the U.S. men’s national team reconvenes on Sept. 21 to prepare for four exhibition games late this month and early next, it will probably look different from the 26-player squad that reached the round of 16 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.Forward Christian Pulisic hasn’t played for AC Milan since suffering two microfractures in his right leg during the tournament co-hosts’ humiliating 4-1 knockout loss to Belgium. World Cup captain Tim Ream turns 39 next month and has likely played his last match for his country. On the first steps toward the centennial 2030 competition co-hosted mostly by Morocco,…

The spirit of Erling Haaland and Norway is alive and well in Minneapolis.Prior to the Minnesota Golden Gophers’ 2026 season opener at home against the Eastern Illinois Panthers on Thursday night, Minnesota fans did the Norwegian Viking Row, which was a continuous scene among fans in the 2026 FIFA World Cup as Norway made its way to the quarterfinal round of the tournament for the first time in program history.Of course, the Viking Row sees somebody bang a drum and the crowd simulate rowing a boat, while chanting “row.” In this case, it was thousands of shirtless Golden Gophers fans…

World Cup winner Marcos Llorente retired from Spain’s team on Thursday.The 31-year-old right back, who has won 27 caps, said on Instagram that it was a “very carefully considered” personal decision.The post came accompanied by a photo of him holding the trophy he helped Spain win in July. The Atletico Madrid player said he had already made up his mind before the World Cup.”I am aware that I am still young and that, perhaps, if I continued to do things well, I still had years left to play in this jersey,” Llorente said. “I know that many of you won’t…

As an Argentine international, this may be the end for Lionel Messi — and I say “may be” because he has retired in the past, but this seems to be much more of a true retirement from Argentina.There are so many different directions and so many different questions that come up when it comes to what Messi did specifically for Argentina.At the beginning of his career, yes, he was there, but it was always in the context of Diego Maradona — comparing and contrasting, and all of that. Now, in the eyes of many and certainly in younger generations, he…

Arsenal battled past a stuffy Aston Villa 1-0 and maintained its winning start to the Premier League on Monday.It was a hard-fought win for the reigning champion, for which Bukayo Saka’s 59th minute goal was decisive.The win kept Arsenal joint top of the table, one of four teams with six points from two games, and left Villa pointless and, more worryingly for coach Unai Emery, without a shot on target so far.More than half of the players who started Villa’s Europa Cup win in May have since left the club and Emery faces a daunting rebuild.Two of his new signings…

Lionel Messi scored four goals and assisted one to lead Inter Miami to a historic 7-1 win over CF Montréal on Saturday at Nu Stadium.Messi scored his first goal, and Inter Miami’s second of the night, in the 40th minute from a direct free kick that caught Montréal goalkeeper Thomas Gillier off guard at the near post.Messi scored again 12 minutes later after dribbling past three Montréal defenders. His 16th goal of the season tied him with FC Dallas’s Petar Musa for the 2026 MLS season-high.Messi completed his hat-trick with a chipped shot in the 83rd minute, just three minutes…

Rayan Cherki scored two goals in five minutes and Erling Haaland also got a brace as Manchester City won at Crystal Palace 4-1 to maintain its perfect start to the Premier League on Friday.Haaland, the league top goal-scorer last season, opened his account after 17 minutes with a neat header.Cherki doubled the visitor’s lead early in the second half when he danced through a nest of players and poked the ball home from close range.However, Palace reduced the deficit almost immediately when Yeremy Pino’s superb free kick hit the bar and then rebounded into the net off the despairing back…

Inter Miami CF announced Thursday that Cristian Alberto Kily González has been appointed as the club’s new first team head coach, replacing Guillermo Hoyos.”González will officially assume his duties once he receives the corresponding work permits. Guillermo Hoyos will provisionally continue in charge of the team until the arrival of the new head coach and his coaching staff,” the club said in a statement.Inter Miami sits in second place in the Eastern Conference standings with 39 points through 21 games. The coaching change comes during a five-match winless streak, with the club recording four losses and one draw between MLS…

Two-time defending champion Paris Saint-Germain will host Manchester City and travel to Barcelona in the Champions League main phase this season, after the 36-team draw was made Thursday.PSG has won three straight visits to Barcelona — including a 2-1 win in the league phase last October — since imploding in the famous 6-1 loss in March 2017 that is known as the “Remontada” game.The French champion again plays Aston Villa, after a Super Cup win this month, and goes to Champions League newcomer Como, coached by Cesc Fabregas, in an eight-game slate that starts in two weeks’ time.Real Madrid will…

Kylian Mbappé’s first goals of the season came via a hat-trick in Real Madrid’s 4-1 victory over Real Sociedad in the Spanish league on Wednesday.Mbappé scored once in the first half and twice in the second to lead Madrid to its win over Sociedad in Mourinho’s return to the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium.Jude Bellingham had two assists, including on Vinícius’ first goal of the season in the second half.Madrid had opened its Spanish league campaign with a win at Espanyol.Sociedad had lost its league opener at Real Betis. recommended Arrow pointing to the leftArrow pointing to the right Item 1 of…