Soccer

5:02 AM ET Adriana Garcia Brazil great Ronaldo believes Neymar and other Brazilian players should have psychological help to deal with the “disproportionate pressure” from the World Cup. Neymar admitted after his team’s World Cup quarterfinal defeat to Croatia on penalties that he was “psychologically destroyed.” “I would advise having a psychological support to withstand

8:00 AM ET Rob DawsonCorrespondent DOHA, Qatar — There’s a spot on the Corniche promenade in Doha where the 2022 World Cup organising committee erected a flag each time a new nation qualified for the tournament. Croatia‘s went up in November 2021. While heavyweights like Germany, Spain, England and Brazil have had theirs removed now

4:32 PM ET Last week, in response to word that the US Soccer Federation was interested in re-signing men’s head coach Gregg Berhalter following a run to the World Cup round of 16, the general world soccer media, and a lot of the sport’s more casual American fans, shrugged their respective shoulders and said, “Yeah,

7:00 AM ET Argentina‘s dance goes on, as their fans sing, to Tuesday’s World Cup semifinal match against Croatia, followed by either a shot at eternal glory in Sunday’s final, or a melancholic end to the Lionel Messi era in Saturday’s third-place consolation game. Barring the gateway to glory are the very opponents against whom,

8:34 PM ET United States midfielder Giovanni Reyna was almost sent home from the World Cup in Qatar due to a lack of effort in training and in a pre-tournament scrimmage against Qatari side Al Gharafa SC, sources told ESPN on Sunday. Reyna, 20, did not start a single game for the US in Qatar

11:57 AM ET Lionel Messi and Argentina will kick off the semifinals against Croatia on Dec. 13. Matthias Hangst/Getty Images The 2022 World Cup semifinals are here. After a thrilling round of 16 and quarterfinals, we’re into the business end of the tournament with four teams remaining. There’s plenty of star power, great matchups and top

7:44 AM ET OLEKSANDR PETRAKOV LOOKED around the airplane at his boys with both love and disgust. He sat in 1A, front left, his usual head coach seat, as he and the Ukrainian national soccer team flew from Glasgow to Yerevan, Armenia for their next match. They’d lost 3-0 to Scotland a few hours before,

5:52 PM ET The World Cup semifinals are set! With Croatia and Argentina clinching their spots on Friday, history was made on Saturday with Morocco beating Portugal to be the first African team to reach the final four. They’ll meet defending champions France, who outlasted England in the other quarterfinal match. Be sure to check

6:45 PM ET England skipper Harry Kane said he will have to live with the penalty miss that condemned his team to a World Cup quarterfinal exit against reigning champions France on Saturday. The striker had drawn his side level at Al Bayt Stadium with a successful spot kick that saw him match Wayne Rooney’s

10:53 PM ET ESPN News Services Grant Wahl, one of the most well-known soccer writers in the United States, died early Saturday while covering the World Cup match between Argentina and the Netherlands in Qatar. He was 48. US media seated near him said Wahl fell back in his seat in the press box at

8:00 PM ET In a World Cup that has seen some upsets and stunners, we had our biggest yet! Brazil, led by Neymar and the favorites to win it all in Qatar, were eliminated in the quarterfinals by Croatia on penalties. Now, the 2018 World Cup runners-up aim to oust Lionel Messi and Argentina, who

6:42 PM ET LUSAIL, Qatar — If Lionel Messi is to finally lift the World Cup, he is doing it the hard way. Genius can take you only so far, especially if your team is as flawed as Messi’s Argentina, but the fairy-tale story can still have the perfect ending. It might even happen with

1 Dominik Livakovic Saves 8 Shots 0 0 Shots on Target Fouls Committed 0 0 Fouls Against Assists 0 Discipline 0 Yellow 0 Red 20 Josko Gvardiol Goals 0 Shots 0 0 Shots on Target Fouls Committed 1 0 Fouls Against Assists 0 Offsides 0 Discipline 0 Yellow 0 Red 6 Dejan Lovren Goals 0

1:42 PM ET Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser al-Khelaifi has said he is confident Lionel Messi will stay at the club and expressed his interest in signing Manchester United‘s Marcus Rashford on a free transfer. Messi’s contract at PSG runs out next June and reports have linked the Argentina captain with a move to Major League

3:30 AM ET DOHA, Qatar — Casemiro had just left the stage with his Player of the Match award. The Brazil midfielder had scored the stunning winner in their 1-0 win over Switzerland in their second group-stage match, but he dodged any personal praise, instead spreading the acclaim throughout the team. 2 Related It’s part

7:00 AM ET Alex KirklandESPN FC Cristiano Ronaldo — winner of five Champions Leagues and five Ballon d’Ors as well as scorer of a staggering 800-plus career goals — now finds himself in uncharted territory. 2 Related A free agent since leaving Manchester United last month when his contract was terminated by mutual agreement, he

7:59 PM ET The 2022 World Cup quarterfinals are here. After a thrilling group stage and roller-coaster round of 16, we’re into the business end of the tournament with eight teams remaining. There’s plenty of star power, great matchups and top players who all have their eyes set on hoisting the trophy on Dec. 18.

10:42 AM ET Wednesday is the first rest day of the World Cup and with that, a good opportunity to reflect on the individual brilliance we’ve seen so far this winter in Qatar. The final eight teams are set to battle Friday and Saturday, but with the Round of 16 meaning we’re past the midway