MIAMI — Lionel Messi has been training with his teammates after six weeks off with an ankle injury and has not been ruled out of the Inter Miami game Saturday on the road against the Chicago Fire, according to coach Tata Martino.

“He is better each day, still has not received medical clearance, but we will determine after training (Friday) ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Trinity Rodman is no stranger to fame within the soccer world, and hasn't been for some time.

In 2021, she was the NWSL's rookie of the year and helped the Washington Spirit bring the nation's capital its first pro women's soccer title in 18 years. In 2022, she signed the first $1 million contract in NWSL history, and in 2023 she...Read more

Power to the people. The people on the pitch.

Like, a lot of power.

On Thursday, the National Women’s Soccer League and NWSL Players Association announced a stunning new collective bargaining agreement that will – among many other important gains in pay, travel, parental leave – abolish all drafts and and require players to consent to ...Read more

DRUMCONDRA, Ireland — On Friday night, I visited Tolka Park, a soccer stadium in this north Dublin suburb that’s the home of a top-division Irish soccer team. I hoped to flesh out a column and to absorb a slice of sports in a different country.

I returned to my hotel with a singular life experience.

My original plan for this space was to ...Read more

MIAMI — Inter Miami coach Tata Martino on Friday delivered promising news about Lionel Messi’s ankle injury: After five weeks training only in the gym, the Argentine captain began on-field individual workouts early this week, it “shouldn’t be long” before he returns to full training, and yes, he will play again this MLS season.

But he...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The NWSL and its players association have agreed to a collective bargaining deal that will eliminate the draft, guarantee contracts and grant unrestricted free agency, giving players unprecedented control over where they play. The agreement, one of the most progressive, pro-player labor pacts in the history of U.S. women's sports...Read more

The Union’s hopes of winning the Leagues Cup ended in the semifinals again, this time with a 3-1 loss at the Columbus Crew.

Diego Rossi scored the opener and what proved to be the winner in the first half, with Dániel Gazdag scoring in between those, and Juan “Cucho” Hernández delivered the insurance goal early in the second.

The Union...Read more

David Beckham is revealing just how therapeutic it was to make his 2023 Netflix docuseries “Beckham,” saying the process allowed him to address “mental health wounds so deep” that he’s not sure he’ll “ever be fully rid of them.”

The 49-year-old soccer legend opened up on the challenges and emotional weight of revisiting his ...Read more

Last week, for the first time in nearly a decade, Paris Saint-Germain opened its season without Neymar, Lionel Messi or Kylian Mbappe. Two years ago, it had all three — and a payroll of $803 million, the highest in club soccer history.

But the change in strategy doesn't signal a change in ambition or a reluctance on the part of the team's ...Read more

MIAMI — Lionel Messi was left off the Argentina national team roster for a pair of upcoming 2026 World Cup qualifiers, indicating that the captain and Inter Miami star is being rested as he continues to recover from a right ankle ligament injury that he sustained during the July 14 Copa America final.

Messi has not played since that day and ...Read more

SAN DIEGO — There were discussions about Landon Donovan taking over San Diego Wave FC as interim coach when the team plays Angel City on Friday at Snapdragon Stadium.

Why fly nearly 3,000 miles to Panama for a Concacaf W Champions Cup game Tuesday that does not count in the NWSL standings?

“We talked about it,” Donovan told the Union-...Read more

SAN DIEGO — During his heyday as a soccer star, Landon Donovan was clocked at roughly 19 mph on the field — making him one of the fastest players in the sport.

Donovan’s latest sprint will determine whether the San Diego Wave FC’s 2024 season is a success.

The American soccer legend was named the San Diego Wave coach through the end of...Read more

SAN DIEGO — San Diego Wave FC found itself in desperate need of stability and a reputable rudder. To say things had unraveled would be like saying Mia Hamm could play a little bit.

The team hemorrhaged offensive punch, winning just three times in 16 games while scoring the third-fewest goals in the 14-team National Women’s Soccer League.

...Read more

Defending champion Inter Miami was ousted from the 2024 Leagues Cup in the Round of 16 Tuesday night after squandering a two-goal second-half lead and losing, 3-2, on the road to the Columbus Crew.

In a thrilling game that could be a preview of the MLS Eastern Conference finals later this season, Inter Miami seemed in control and headed to the ...Read more

Alex Morgan kept her chin up.

Setting a winning example for many young people who follow her, the San Diego native and longtime global soccer star publicly cheered for the U.S. women’s soccer team during its drive to the Olympic gold medal.

This, despite Morgan no doubt wishing she could’ve been on the fields in France.

The former U.S. ...Read more

MIAMI — Lionel Messi’s continuing brilliance on a soccer pitch and the Messiah mania and outright worship that followed him to America puts a halo on the human and gives the G.O.A.T. an ageless quality.

Then reality reminds us:

He’s old.

Not regular-person, work-at-a-grocery store old, but athlete old. Soccer old.

We have just seen age...Read more

MIAMI — Inter Miami, the defending Leagues Cup champion, plays a Round of 16 match on the the road Tuesday night against reigning MLS champion Columbus Crew.

Miami coach Tata Martino insists that although his team has been perched atop the MLS standings all season and beat Columbus in mid-June in a regular-season game, the Crew “is the best...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — The Union beat CF Montréal, 2-0, on Friday in the round of 32 of the Leagues Cup, in front of a sparse crowd at Subaru Park.

Tai Baribo scored both goals, one in first-half stoppage time and one in second-half stoppage time. The win advanced the Union to a round of 16 game at FC Cincinnati on Tuesday. It will be the first time...Read more