MIAMI — The casual sports fan may assume that Lionel Messi and his high-profile Inter Miami teammates are locks to advance from a Club World Cup group that includes Al Ahly of Egypt, Porto of Portugal and Palmeiras of Brazil.

But soccer fans who follow the international game are fully aware that although Messi’s No. 10 pink shirt is the ...Read more

SEATTLE — Quick, clear thinking helped Seattle Reign FC forward Jordyn Huitema get to safety during a May home invasion. She said she hid and listened behind a locked door as multiple men ransacked the bedroom she’d exited seconds earlier.

“Just survive,” Huitema said when asked what was going through her mind. “I just hope that they ...Read more

CHICAGO — The NWSL season is long, with games starting in March and rolling through November. The Chicago Stars have found a fun way to release the pressures of the year — and bond.

The soccer players meet up weekly to try their hand at Waddayaknow Trivia, a free event started in 2008 at multiple bars in Illinois to keep family and friends ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The Department of Homeland Security said border patrol agents will provide security for Saturday's FIFA Club World Cup opener between Inter Miami and Egyptian club Al Ahly at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla.

"Let the games begin," U.S. Customs and Border Protection wrote in a social media post Tuesday. "The first FIFA ...Read more

NEW YORK — Meg Kane, the host city executive of Philadelphia’s World Cup organizing committee, joined her counterparts from the other 10 U.S. host cities on Monday for a media event about the tournament’s logistics.

It was the kind of stuff that isn’t always entertaining, but is certainly always important, especially when it comes to ...Read more

CORAL GABLES, Fla. — High above downtown Coral Gables, on the sixth floor of an office building, is the nerve center for the upcoming FIFA Club World Cup, which kicks off Saturday at Hard Rock Stadium with Lionel Messi-led Inter Miami against Egyptian power Al Ahly.

It is there that hundreds of FIFA executives and staff members are working ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — When the CONCACAF Gold Cup was launched, it was intended to be the confederation's version of UEFA's European Championships or CONMEBOL's Copa América.

And for more than a generation it sufficed.

But as Mexico and the U.S. got better, playing group-play matches against the likes of Saint Kitts and Nevis or Martinique every ...Read more

SEATTLE — The MLS Players Association received a formal proposal from the league late Friday regarding how FIFA men’s Club World Cup money would be divided, according to a source with knowledge of the discussions.

The league didn’t deviate from the collective-bargaining agreement to factor the split for the tournament’s participation ...Read more

SEATTLE — The players signed an agreement. Sticklers could stop the argument right there.

They could say that the footballers should have been smarter about capping their earnings at $1 million per tournament, and instead opted for a 50/50 split. They could say the union should have been better visionaries in anticipating what might come.

...Read more

EAST HARTFORD, Conn. — A U.S. men’s soccer team full of young prospects from unheralded teams looked across rain-soaked Rentschler Field at a Turkey squad with stars from Real Madrid, Juventus, Benfica and more.

And for the most part, the Americans gave as good as they got.

The final score was a 2-1 loss, and it was deserved for the ...Read more

RENTON, Wash. — After Sunday’s protest regarding how FIFA men’s Club World Cup money will be disbursed, Sounders majority owner Adrian Hanauer “upbraided the team in a profanity-laced postgame address,” according to reporting by online publication Sounder at Heart.

But, in terms of the issues, the MLS Players Association said there is...Read more

CHICAGO — The Chicago White Sox were trailing the Detroit Tigers by eight runs Monday in their 13-1 loss at Rate Field when a young couple made their way to the top of the upper deck down the left-field line.

The upper deck was closed to fans for security reasons, as it often has been during low-attended weekday games this year. The Sox allow...Read more

MIAMI — Lionel Messi arrived in Buenos Aires early Monday morning wearing a giant smile, a comfy-looking Adidas sweatshirt (of course!) and carrying a fashionable black satchel.

He posted a photo of his happy self in front of Argentina’s national team headquarters, letting his 505 million Instagram followers know that things are good again ...Read more

ST. PAUL, Minn. — What a year it’s been for the United States women’s national soccer team since the last time it played in St. Paul.

When the Americans beat South Korea at Allianz Field last June, it was only coach Emma Hayes’ second game in charge of the squad. The clock was quickly ticking toward the Paris Olympics in August, where ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — In most of the big games Emily Fox plays these days, she plays for the favorite.

It’s as true with the U.S. national team as it is with her club, Arsenal, one of the biggest in England and all of Europe. But there are some matchups where the Gunners are the underdogs, and last Saturday’s Champions League final was one of ...Read more

Inter Miami, eager to build on a midweek victory and head into June on a high note after a miserable May, will be forced to play with a depleted roster against perennial power Columbus Crew at Chase Stadium on Saturday.

In addition to the loss of defensive midfielder Yannick Bright, who is out indefinitely with a hamstring injury, Miami lost ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — LAFC has won an MLS Cup and played in two CONCACAF Champions League finals.

None of those games were worth as much as the team's upcoming match.

Literally.

Next up for LAFC is the $10 Million Game, in which it will play Mexico's Club América on Saturday at Banc of California to determine the final entrant in the Club World ...Read more

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Lionel Messi and his Inter Miami teammates entered Wednesday’s home game against CF Montreal under intense pressure to live up to lofty expectations and get out of an eight-game funk during which they won just one game and slipped to seventh place in the Eastern Conference.

The Argentine icon and his former FC ...Read more