If you're trying to make sense of the U.S. men's soccer team's stunning failure to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, start here:

What you saw in Tuesday's loss at Trinidad & Tobago represents just a fraction of the problem.

You could write a book the size of an encyclopedia on the reasons why. Here are a few points that should stand out even for...Read more

COUVA, Trinidad -- The longest, most arduous journey for a U.S. national team in 28 years reached the finish line Tuesday. But it wasn't the kind of finish the Americans had been hoping for, with a 2-1 loss to Trinidad and Tobago, combined with wins by Honduras and Panama, denying the U.S. an automatic berth in next summer's World Cup.

The U.S....Read more

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Brian Bliss remembers coming off the field after the game that changed everything, believing nothing really was different.

Perhaps it was the fatigue of playing 90 minutes on a stiflingly humid day in Trinidad. Or the shock of the 1-0 win that had qualified the U.S. soccer team for a World Cup for the first time in four decades...Read more

SAN PEDRO SULA, Honduras -- Bobby Wood has played 34 games for the U.S. national soccer team, nearly half of them as a substitute. So he knew what was expected of him when came off the bench Tuesday.

"Coming on as a sub, you always want to change the game in some way," he said. "That's my job."

But on this steamy afternoon at the raucous ...Read more

HARRISON, N.J.--When it comes to World Cup qualifying, Costa Rica has found a way to bring out the worst in the U.S.

Consider what happened Friday when, for the second time in 10 months, the Central Americans dealt the U.S. a loss of historic proportions, getting two goals from Marco Urena in a 2-0 victory before a sold-out crowd of more than ...Read more

The time for Bruce Arena to experiment with his national team roster is over, so the team the U.S. coach called up Sunday for the resumption of World Cup qualifying is older, deeper and more experienced than the one he used in July's Gold Cup.

A dozen of the 26 players Arena summoned have made 10 or more appearances in World Cup qualifying, ...Read more

Juan Carlos Osorio pulled a chair up to the breakfast table, pointed a fork at his inquisitor and cleared up a misunderstanding before cleaning up his eggs.

"I was misquoted as saying I don't like the MLS," the Mexican national team coach said this spring. "No. I never said that. I said it's a strong league."

There's no misunderstanding Osorio...Read more

LOS ANGELES -- Jill Ellis studied literature in college. But you don't need a medical degree to know that unexercised muscles will eventually lose their strength.

The same goes for teams. So when Ellis, coach of the U.S. women's soccer team, took stock of her program following the 2015 World Cup, some of what she found worried her.

The U.S. ...Read more

Finally, after three and a half years of facing hurdles and navigating a complicated web of local politics, David Beckham's quest for a Major League Soccer team in Miami is "at the finish line," according to league commissioner Don Garber.

MLS owners are meeting in Chicago on Wednesday morning as part of All-Star Week, and Beckham's expansion ...Read more

Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo, who skipped El Clasico Miami on Saturday, appeared in a Spanish court on Monday, where he is facing allegations of tax evasion.

Ronaldo is accused of dodging $17.3 million in taxes by creating foreign shell companies to hide income generated in Spain from his image rights. He has denied the allegations, and ...Read more

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. -- For one night in Miami, soccer was king. In the building crescendo of Saturday night's preseason El Clasico Miami, in the swelling hype surrounding one of the world's best rivalries, and in FC Barcelona's 3-2 win over Real Madrid, the sport owned its massive stage.

The two Spanish soccer titans transformed Hard Rock ...Read more

CHICAGO -- The $93 million question has been answered.

Cristiano Ronaldo, the reigning FIFA player of the year and the world's highest-paid athlete, will not be in town with Real Madrid on Wednesday when the La Liga superpower faces the MLS All-Stars at Soldier Field.

Ronaldo is on an extended summer break and will not be rejoining the team ...Read more

MIAMI -- Cristiano Ronaldo will not be at El Clasico Miami on Saturday night.

The Real Madrid star told event organizers Friday afternoon that he could not make it because his schedule has been too full, and he has a court hearing on Monday in Madrid. FC Barcelona and Real Madrid are scheduled to play at Hard Rock Stadium on Saturday at 7:30 p....Read more