NEW YORK — The storybook ending eluded Lionel Messi.

Soccer’s biggest superstar, still playing at an otherworldly level at age 39, sat on the grass at MetLife Stadium, his thousand-yard stare saying more than words ever could.

Spain, in well-earned exuberance, celebrated nearby.

It wasn’t until the on-field medal ceremony that Messi’s...Read more

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — After 103 games and five weeks of dramatic wins, heartbreaking losses, surprise underdogs, Tartan Army parades and Norwegian synchronized rows, the 2026 World Cup reached its climax on a sun-splashed Sunday afternoon with a clash of titans that went down to the wire.

The tense game was scoreless for 106 minutes before ...Read more

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — At the start of this World Cup, Spain was one of the biggest favorites to win it all. And in the end, it was the team that deservedly won the title.

Spain’s second-half substitute Ferran Torres’ scored in the 106th-minute goal to fuel a 1-0 victory over Argentina. La Roja dethroned the reigning champions with a 20-...Read more

NEW YORK — Ferran Torres scored the winning goal in the second half of extra time to give Spain a tense 1-0 World Cup final victory over Argentina on Sunday evening in New Jersey.

Torres, who roamed into the box unmarked, received a headed pass from Nico Williams and rocketed the ball with his left foot past Argentine goalkeeper Emiliano Mart...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The shy 9-year-old Nathan Negrete doesn't naturally gravitate toward the spotlight, but as Negrete stood with Weston McKennie in front of the roaring 74,904 fans at SoFi Stadium, he smiled.

Looking back nearly a month later, the Pico Rivera resident doesn't remember much of the U.S. men's national team win over Paraguay, getting...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The Son, as they say, will come out tomorrow.

Bet your bottom dollar that Son Heung-min, LAFC's $26-million man — the record MLS fee for an incoming player — would peel himself off the mat and clear away the cobwebs and the sorrow of the past few weeks and months.

He did it with a sizzling, right-footed goal in the 57th ...Read more

ORLANDO, Fla. — The savior has arrived.

Or, at least, that’s how Orlando City is treating Antoine Griezmann.

Smoke machines. Purple hair. A standing-room-only introduction a few days ago for the club’s new No. 7. A goal and an assist less than 24 hours later in a 6-0 exhibition romp over the Tampa Bay Rowdies.

The marketing machine is ...Read more

NEW YORK — When Spain played France in the World Cup semifinals on Tuesday, there were 32 players on the field and 20 more across the respective benches.

At the final whistle, the reigning European champions had reminded the world that soccer is a team game. Spain didn’t just win 2-0; it delivered the most comprehensive performance of the ...Read more

SEATTLE — I remember watching a sports-panel show after Tiger Woods made a long birdie putt to win the 2008 Arnold Palmer Invitational — a non-major — and they were arguing whether that was Woods’ greatest tournament ever. I also remember reading a column after Manny Ramirez hit a seventh-inning home run in July, with the author ...Read more

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — England and France didn’t want to be in Miami on Saturday. Instead, they hoped to be in New York this weekend to play in Sunday’s World Cup final.

But England squandered a late 1-0 lead to Lionel Messi and Argentina in a semifinal, and France — a tournament favorite —was outclassed, 2-0, by Spain in the other ...Read more

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Showers and thunderstorms triggered a flash flood warning for Manhattan and northeastern New Jersey on Saturday, but the rain also helped blow out the smoke from Canadian wildfires that had choked the tristate area for days and threatened to disrupt Sunday's World Cup final at MetLife Stadium.

Concerns about hazardous ...Read more

The moment when the political sideshow of the 2026 World Cup moved to center stage came at the end of the second semifinal.

As the beaten England players wandered around the pitch in Atlanta trying to come to terms with how the game had gotten away from them, Argentina’s Giovani Lo Celso and Lisandro Martinez grabbed a banner from the crowd ...Read more

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The spotlight on Sunday's World Cup final will shine brightest on two men, one playing the last game of his sixth tournament and the other the final game of his first.

Argentina's Lionel Messi, 39, is arguably the greatest player in World Cup history, having played more games, scored more goals and collected more ...Read more

Heavy rains forecast to douse the New York and Washington, D.C., areas will improve air quality worsened by Canadian wildfires ahead of Sunday’s World Cup final.

By contrast, Chicago faces worsening conditions Saturday night as air patterns send more smoke down from across the northern border. Air quality is still “very unhealthy” in ...Read more

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The list of men who have won a World Cup final is less than 500 names long, making it among the most exclusive in sports.

Jurgen Klinsmann's name is on that list. And if he had known what a special club he would join when he stepped on the pitch for the 1990 final, he might have taken more time to enjoy it.

"How big ...Read more

They said Lionel Messi made a big mistake leaving soccer’s cathedrals in Europe three years ago to sign with a fledgling Inter Miami team that sat in last place in Major League Soccer and played at a temporary stadium.

Sure, MLS would benefit greatly by signing the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner and captain of the defending World Cup ...Read more