MEXICO CITY — After what may have been the most important game in the Mexican national team's World Cup history, coach Javier Aguirre hugged each of his 26 players.

The embraces weren't to celebrate a victory. They were hugs of gratitude, encouragement and, above all, resignation.

Minutes earlier, the players paraded around Azteca Stadium �...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The 2026 FIFA World Cup semifinals are set to start, with France taking on Spain and defending champion Argentina facing England.

World Cup co-hosts U.S., Canada and Mexico will be watching from the sideline after being eliminated in the round of 16.

Here's everything you need to know about the two World Cup matches being ...Read more

MIAMI — Nobody has scored more World Cup goals than Lionel Messi, who is up to 21 heading into Argentina’s Wednesday semifinal against England.

Nobody has more career assists than Messi’s 410. Nobody has won more Ballon d’ Or world player of the year trophies than Messi, who has eight in his collection. And nobody has won more major ...Read more

ARLINGTON, Texas — Before it could rise in the World Cup, France first had to fall.

And the fall was spectacular.

In 2010, four years after reaching the final for the second time in three World Cups, the players revolted against coach Raymond Domenech during the tournament. In response, the managing director of the country's soccer ...Read more

NEW YORK — New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Monday his focus will be “on the game” rather than on President Donald Trump’s expected attendance at the World Cup final, set to take place July 19 at MetLife Stadium, which has been renamed New York New Jersey Stadium during the tournament.

Although Trump’s been involved in the ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — The U.S. women’s soccer team will return to town in October for a game that will be about as big as a friendly gets.

The reigning Olympic champions will face reigning World Cup champion Spain at Subaru Park on Oct. 13, three days after the teams open a two-game set in Washington.

It will be the U.S. women’s team’s 16th ...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The moment of brilliance didn’t come from Lionel Messi.

At long last, though, it did come.

Argentina played with a man advantage for nearly an hour before Julian Alvarez broke through with a strike from beyond the box, the go-ahead goal in extra time that piloted a 3-1 win against Switzerland inside a jubilant Arrowhead ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Before this summer's World Cup, FIFA asked the 48 participating teams to provide a list of songs to be played during warmups and goal celebrations and, if appropriate, after victories. On the U.S. list was John Denver's "Take Me Home, Country Roads," which quickly became the anthem of the team's run through the tournament.

A ...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Sunny Shahdadpuri packed a suitcase for a three-week trip to America. He stuffed it with the usual — clothes, personal items, international soccer jerseys and his camera — and then added a prized possession he’d been dying to wear for three years.

A Patrick Mahomes jersey.

Shahdadpuri lives in Spain and had never ...Read more

DENVER — For too long, men’s soccer looked like a left-handed portrait. It was interesting, but awkward to watch without heavy doses of scoring and violence.

There were bursts of popularity, like in 1994 and 2002, followed by apathy.

But as legendary Colorado Rapids and international player Marcelo Balbo watched the U.S. men’s national ...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Say this for Argentina. The defending FIFA World Cup champion knows drama.

Argentina is moving on to the semifinals after a 3-1 triumph over Switzerland in a quarterfinal match at Kansas City (Arrowhead) Stadium on Saturday.

The game-winner was a rocket shot from Julian Alvarez from a few feet beyond the box, a ball that ...Read more

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — “Hey Jude” was the song of the night at Miami Stadium.

England midfielder Jude Bellingham, who England fans serenade with The Beatles’ 1968 hit, scored twice to send England to the World Cup semifinals with a 2-1, extra-time victory over upstart Norway.

Bellingham has four goals in England’s last two matches.

...Read more

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — The night before Saturday’s World Cup quarterfinal match in Miami, along Ocean Drive in nearby Miami Beach, hundreds of reveling and daresay imbibing England soccer fans had been serenading the Atlantic Ocean to the Beatles’ Hey Jude late into the night. Call it a coincidence — or a tribute, one night early, to ...Read more

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Spain’s 2-1 victory against Belgium in the World Cup quarterfinals played in $5.5 billion stadium in Southern California might have been decided by research a few months earlier inside a closed-circuit, low-speed, low-turbulence wind tunnel at the University of Tsukuba in the Ibaraki prefecture of central Japan.

...Read more

SEATTLE — Imagine competing in a soccer tournament like the FIFA Men’s World Cup that’s been playing out in Seattle and across North America this summer.

The badge on your jersey. The ball at your feet. The smell of the grass. The roar of the crowd. For most young soccer players, it’s just a dream.

But for Zjada Baydass, it’s a real ...Read more

MIAMI — After five World Cup matches involving South American teams, South Florida will be treated to what should be a riveting All-European quarterfinal as England faces Norway at Hard Rock Stadium on Saturday at 5 p.m.

The game features a showdown between Norwegian star Erling Haaland and England captain Harry Kane, both of whom have been ...Read more

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Belgium became the first team to beat Spanish goalie Unai Simón on Friday. But they couldn’t beat his team, with second-half substitute Mikel Merino scoring in the 88th minute to lift Spain to a 2-1 victory in a World Cup quarterfinal before a sold-out crowd at SoFi Stadium.

The win, which extended Spain’s unbeaten ...Read more

SEATTLE — On the internet, they call it “the rule of cool.”

The concept is simple. In sports, if a play is cool enough — a poster dunk, a buzzer-beating 3-pointer, a one-handed catch straddling the sideline, a bicycle kick pummeled between the posts — its coolness should outweigh everything else. Like whether the tip of a football ...Read more