Month: December 2022

10:26 AM ET England manager Sarina Wiegman has criticised the scheduling of top-level women’s football, saying the top players are being forced to play too much. There has been a series of serious injuries sustained by players this year. Euros 2022 golden boot winner Beth Mead is a potential doubt for next year’s World Cup

6:00 AM ET James Tyler Close Senior Editor, ESPN FC James Tyler is an ESPN editor for soccer. Bill Connelly Close ESPN Staff Writer Bill Connelly is a staff writer for ESPN.com. Phew! The 2022 World Cup is over, Lionel Messi has that elusive prize and Argentina have bragging rights over the soccer world for

4:29 AM ET Two Melbourne Victory fans who rushed the AAMI Park pitch, including one who allegedly hit Melbourne City goalkeeper Tom Glover with a metal bucket, have received life bans from Football Australia (FA). Saturday night’s violent pitch invasion at AAMI Park forced the abandonment of the A-League Men derby. – Stream on ESPN+:

3:04 AM ET Thousands of ecstatic fans gave Argentina‘s squad a hero’s welcome in Buenos Aires in the early hours before dawn on Tuesday after the plane carrying Lionel Messi and his World Cup-winning teammates touched down at Ezeiza airport. The Argentine capital has been in party mode since their dramatic victory over France in

5:18 PM ET This World Cup in Qatar had its share of highs and lows, both on and off the pitch, but the brilliance of some of the individual performances will be a lasting memory of the tournament. It’s easy to name-drop Lionel Messi and the other goal scorers of the tournament, but there were

5:48 PM ET Associated Press Thousands of fans in central Paris cheered the arrival home of a France team that lost one of the greatest World Cup finals. Kylian Mbappe and teammates landed at Charles de Gaulle Airport from Doha just after 8 p.m. local time Monday and descended from the plane in a somber

10:00 AM ET Argentina now have a third star embroidered on their famous white-and-blue-striped shirts after Lionel Messi and his teammates emerged victorious over France in one of the most enthralling, topsy-turvy World Cup finals of all time. 2 Related The Albiceleste eventually won the game on penalties, but only after surrendering a two-goal lead

2:15 PM ET ESPN Facebook Twitter Facebook Messenger Pinterest Email Bayern Munich sent a message of support to France forward Kingsley Coman after he and midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni were subjected to racist abuse following Sunday’s World Cup final loss to Argentina. Argentina keeper Emiliano Martinez saved Coman’s effort from the spot and Tchouameni fired wide

3:12 PM ET Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said he plans to stay at the Spanish club until his contract expires in June 2024 amid reports of a possible move to the Brazil national team after the departure of manager Tite following the Selecao’s loss to Croatia in the quarterfinals of the World Cup. The

10:30 AM ET The headlines and the spotlights are all on Argentina’s Lionel Messi, and so they should be. The last dance, if that is what it was, proved to be the best dance as the “Little Genius” won the World Cup at the fifth time of asking. But it would not have happened without

11:52 AM ET United States talisman Christian Pulisic has said he is still haunted by the memory of a chance he missed against Netherlands in their World Cup round-of-16 clash. Gregg Berhalter’s side crashed out of the tournament in Qatar after a 3-1 loss to the Dutch, but Pulisic had an opportunity to put them

9:53 AM ET Karim Benzema has announced his retirement from international football, just a day after France suffered a heartbreaking penalty shootout defeat to Argentina in the World Cup final on Sunday. The 2022 Ballon d’Or winner missed the tournament in Qatar with a thigh injury and later declined an invite from French president Emmanuel

8:00 AM ET Argentina will not take over at the top of FIFA’s World Ranking this month — despite defeating France to win the World Cup for the first time since 1986. South American rivals Brazil have held the No. 1 position since February, when they deposed Belgium at the summit. But even though the

6:00 AM ET Tor-Kristian Karlsen The 2022 World Cup is over, but the transfer rumour mill is only just starting up as the January window opens next month for Europe’s top leagues. 2 Related Qatar 2022 has seen some incredible performances on the pitch, not least from shock semifinal side Morocco, and players young and

5:50 AM ET Arsenal forward Vivianne Miedema has announced she will undergo surgery after rupturing her anterior cruciate ligament in her side’s Champions League defeat to Lyon on Tuesday. The Netherlands international went down under no contact in the first half after landing awkwardly as she challenged for a loose ball, causing her to be

7:44 PM ET Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday the world still had heard his call for peace despite soccer governing body FIFA’s decision to decline to allow a video message to be broadcast ahead of the soccer World Cup final in Qatar. Zelenskyy had asked for the video to be broadcast, including his

6:25 PM ET LUSAIL, Qatar — Kylian Mbappe had converted France’s first penalty in the shootout, the fourth time he’d beaten Argentina keeper Emi Martinez in the World Cup final, following his earlier hat-trick. And so Lionel Messi walked up to take Argentina’s opening penalty. – Report: Messi, Argentina win 2022 World Cup on penalties