Soccer

Dec 14, 2023, 08:29 AM ET Open Extended Reactions As quickly as women’s soccer tends to grow year over year, 2023 felt like a giant leap forward. The Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand was the most competitive iteration in the tournament’s history by many measures. Traditional powerhouses such as Germany, Brazil and

Rebecca Welch will become the first woman to referee a Premier League game when she takes charge of Fulham vs. Burnley on Dec. 23. Sam Allison will also become the first black referee in a game for 15 years, following in the footsteps of Uriah Rennie. Wendy Toms was the first woman assistant to run

Paris Saint-Germain drew 1-1 at Group F winners Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday to secure second place and a spot in the Champions League knockout stage in their final group match. Both sides squandered numerous golden chances in a surprisingly goalless first half before Karim Adeyemi finally broke the deadlock for the already-qualified hosts in the

Open Extended Reactions NEWCASTLE — The Champions League can be as brutal as it can be glorious, and Newcastle United have learned the hard way that club football’s biggest competition can never be taken for granted. In the space of 90 minutes against AC Milan at St James’ Park on Wednesday, Eddie Howe’s team found

Alex Kirkland, ESPN FCDec 13, 2023, 08:33 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Say the name Bebé to a football fan, and there’s a good chance they’ll know exactly who you’re talking about. He’s the forward manager Sir Alex Ferguson signed for Manchester United in 2010 without ever having seen him play, not even on video.

Rob Dawson, CorrespondentDec 12, 2023, 06:51 PM ET Open Extended Reactions MANCHESTER, England — It’s been a slow death for Manchester United in the Champions League, but that doesn’t make Tuesday’s exit any less embarrassing. What started with defeat to Bayern Munich in September ended with another defeat to the Bundesliga champions, this time 1-0,

Open Extended Reactions The UEFA Champions League has reached the halfway stage, with all eight groups starting to take shape. This is the final season of the multigroup format, before it becomes a 36-team competition with all clubs in one league table. We take a look at who can seal their places on matchday four,

ESPN News Services Dec 11, 2023, 06:54 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo will meet in Saudi Arabia after all. Inter Miami confirmed Monday that it will take part in the Riyadh Season Cup — something that was announced by Saudi officials on Nov. 21. Inter Miami said the reports at

ESPN News Services Dec 11, 2023, 09:04 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Seniors Brandon Parrish and Ousmane Sylla each scored, and No. 9 Clemson held off No. 2 Notre Dame 2-1 on Monday night to claim the program’s second national championship in three seasons. Clemson (15-3-5), making its sixth championship game appearance in school history

Gabriele Marcotti, Senior Writer, ESPN FCDec 11, 2023, 01:10 PM ET Open Extended Reactions What a weekend! European soccer delivered a lot to discuss around the top leagues. In Spain, Girona smacked Barcelona away from home to take charge — seriously — of LaLiga’s title race. In England, Liverpool were “lucky” (Jurgen Klopp’s words) to

Open Extended Reactions Unai Emery knows better than most the suffocating pressure that comes with managing some of the biggest clubs in Europe, so the Aston Villa coach will know perfectly well what Mauricio Pochettino and Erik ten Hag are enduring at Chelsea and Manchester United respectively. Two of the Premier League‘s most successful clubs,

Sam Marsden Moises Llorens Dec 10, 2023, 12:15 PM ET The LaLiga fixture between Granada and Athletic Club was suspended on Sunday after the death of a fan inside the stadium. The game had kicked off as planned but was halted after 17 minutes, with Granada explaining there was a “medical emergency” in the stands.

Dec 9, 2023, 06:25 PM ET Open Extended Reactions As the final weeks of 2023 come to a close and as we hope to see some more drama and excitement occur into the new year, there is still have some business to get sorted as we wrap up another weekend of the best action across

Connor O’Halloran Dec 10, 2023, 08:38 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Manchester City forward Erling Haaland will missed their trip to Luton Town on Sunday with a foot injury, manager Pep Guardiola has said. Until Sunday, Haaland had started in every Premier League game for City this season, scoring a league-high 14 goals. – Stream

Jeff Carlisle, U.S. soccer correspondentDec 9, 2023, 09:15 PM ET Close Jeff Carlisle covers MLS and the U.S. national team for ESPN FC. Open Extended Reactions COLUMBUS, Ohio — The final whistle had blown. The Columbus Crew had claimed a tense, but unforgettable triumph in Saturday’s MLS Cup final, defeating LAFC 2-1. And it was

The Columbus Crew beat defending champion LAFC 2-1 on Saturday to win its third MLS Cup title. Columbus, playing at its home Lower.com Field, dominated the first half to take a two-goal lead through a Cucho Hernández penalty and a Yaw Yeboah strike. – Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (U.S.) LAFC pulled a goal

Open Extended Reactions Manchester City are enduring their worst slump in form since Pep Guardiola took charge as manager in 2016. Last season’s Treble winners are on a four-game winless streak in the Premier League and have dropped to fourth in the table, six points behind leaders Arsenal, after Wednesday’s 1-0 defeat at Aston Villa.

Jeff Carlisle, U.S. soccer correspondentDec 8, 2023, 11:03 AM ET Close Jeff Carlisle covers MLS and the U.S. national team for ESPN FC. Open Extended Reactions COLUMBUS, Ohio — Frankie Hejduk is in his element. The skies are cloudy, with a late fall chill in the air. But on the corner of North High and