LOS ANGELES — Justin Bieber better be a fast singer.

The World Cup final halftime show already was going to feature three superstar acts with 121 Billboard Hot 100 hits, 20 No. 1 singles and 12 Grammy Awards among them.

Somehow that must not have been enough star power, because another performer with 123 hits, eight chart toppers and two ...Read more

FORT WORTH, Texas — No venue has hosted more FIFA World Cup matches than AT&T Stadium, and there’s still one more to be played.

With the quarterfinals on the horizon, which teams could play in the World Cup semifinal in Arlington, the city’s ninth and final match?

The two quarterfinal matchups that will determine who advances will be ...Read more

MIAMI — The Norwegian national team, which has captivated World Cup fans with superstar Erling Haaland and the synchronized Viking Row chant, landed in South Florida on Monday and trained in Fort Lauderdale on a sweltering Wednesday afternoon in preparation for Saturday’s quarterfinal against England at Hard Rock Stadium.

Players were ...Read more

BOSTON — Thursday afternoon Gillette Stadium — temporarily renamed “Boston Stadium” for the World Cup — will host its final match of the tournament.

And it’s going to be a doozy.

Four years after facing off in the 2022 World Cup semifinals, France and Morocco are set to clash once again with a spot in the final four on the line. ...Read more

SEATTLE — At 1:48 p.m. on Monday, a street performer on the edge of Occidental Avenue played a piano and wore a blue stars and stripes blazer. He faced the northern end of an entry line that already extended from Pioneer Square to the tip of T-Mobile Park, belting a pitchy-yet-appropriate rendition of Miley Cyrus’ “Party in the U.S.A.”

...Read more

If you didn’t believe it before, you need to understand it now: Donald Trump never should have picked up that phone, never should have put in that call to one of his toadies, FIFA president Gianni Infantino, and never should have tried to exert his icky influence in a sport rife with corruption.

The 4-1 loss by the U.S. men’s national team ...Read more

SEATTLE — Four years from now, the world will gather on the Iberian Peninsula and northern Africa for a FIFA Men’s World Cup that will span multiple continents and could be in line for another round of expansion.

The United States should be there. Nothing is certain — see, Italy — but the baseline expectation is the U.S. will find its ...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — For a while Tuesday, it appeared that players for defending World Cup champion Argentina might shed a tear following their round of 16 match against Egypt.

And Argentina star Lionel Messi was seen weeping after the final whistle, but it was out of joy and relief rather than disappointment. Argentina trailed by two goals ...Read more

It brings no joy to take a victory lap in defeat.

But didn’t it feel like something shifted after FIFA’s eyebrow-raising decision to overturn Folarin Balogun’s red-card suspension? Like, there was a disruption in the good karma and momentum the U.S. Men’s National Team had accumulated in its first four World Cup matches?

As news broke ...Read more

Everybody wants a hard line, no gray, yes or no on this, so here it is: This was not a successful men’s FIFA World Cup run for the host United States team.

It raised hope that it could be, showed promise that it might be, then ended Monday night like a car careening off a cliff. In flames.

“Disappointment” does not reflect how this ended...Read more

A Paraguayan senator has deleted social media posts that included racist remarks about French soccer superstar Kylian Mbappé that led to Paris prosecutors opening an investigation into possible aggravated public insult and incitement to hatred or violence.

Celeste Amarilla, a 61-year-old senator from Paraguay's Liberal Radical Party, indicated...Read more

SEATTLE — The buildup to the game was, without a doubt, the most soap-operatic in the U.S. men's soccer team's history.

There was a star striker whose suspension got suspended due to presidential intervention, and an aftermath that had people either elated or enraged.

Folarin Balogun, the United States' leading scorer in this FIFA World Cup,...Read more

SEATTLE — The hype around this World Cup didn’t just start when the last one ended four years ago. It took off as soon as the U.S. was picked as host, on the eve of the 2018 edition for which they failed to qualify.

By the time this summer arrived, there was enough evidence to believe these players could make the history they dreamed of, ...Read more

SEATTLE — Last fall, in an effort to inspire a national soccer team lacking in confidence and belief, coach Mauricio Pochettino came up with a slogan for this summer's World Cup, one the U.S. would be playing at home.

"Why not us?" he asked.

Why couldn't the U.S. make a deep run in the tournament? Why couldn't the U.S. compete with the best...Read more

Folarin Balogun didn’t help. He played to no avail Monday night as his U.S. team exited the FIFA World Cup meekly in a 4-1 round-of-16 loss to Belgium in Seattle.

The Americans did as expected to get this far but did no better in playing their worst game of the tournament when it mattered most. Malik Tillman’s 31st-minute goal evened the ...Read more

SEATTLE — A day of celebration. A night of frustration.

The FIFA Men’s World Cup came to an end in Seattle on Monday night with a day where the soccer community again showed up in force, only to watch the home team falter on the biggest stage.

The World Cup run of the United States came to a deflating conclusion on Monday night in a 4-1 ...Read more

SEATTLE — The game the U.S. men’s soccer team dreamed of for so many years proved to be a nightmare.

Belgium blew the Americans off the field, 4-1, in the round of 16, as Charles de Ketelaere scored two goals and created the third. Malik Tillman scored the Americans’ game-tying goal in the first half, but it was all they could muster in a...Read more

MEXICO CITY — Tears streamed down the faces of Mexican players as they saluted loyal fans at the end of their magical World Cup journey at Azteca Stadium.

Displaying tactical discipline and superior talent, the English national team defeated Mexico 3-2 with a lineup reduced to 10 men on Sunday night. England advanced to the World Cup ...Read more