Soccer

5:00 AM ET Thirty years after its inaugural season, the Premier League can rightly celebrate its status as the world’s most popular football league. There’s not one factor behind it; there are many, and you might be familiar with them. In no particular order, you might cite the following: heritage (the game was invented here,

3:56 PM ET DUSSELDORF, Germany — United States men’s national team manager Gregg Berhalter conceded that his side has “work to do” ahead of the World Cup following a 2-0 friendly defeat to Japan in which the Americans struggled against the Samurai Blue’s press. Japan applied pressure throughout the opening 45 minutes, limiting the U.S.

11:06 AM ET DUSSELDORF, Germany — With the World Cup less than two months away, the United States men’s national team was hoping to sharpen up its game against Japan, but if anything, it was the Samurai Blue who looked more ready for the showpiece tournament, riding goals either side of halftime from Daichi Kamada

10:18 AM ET The United States got their World Cup preparations off to a poor start as they fell to a 2-0 defeat against Japan in Dusseldorf, Germany, in the first of two warm-up games before they travel to Qatar. Daichi Kamada scored in the 24th minute while Kaoru Mitoma added another late on to

11:36 AM ET COLOGNE, Germany — United States manager Gregg Berhalter has said Arsenal goalkeeper Matt Turner will start in Friday’s friendly against Japan, and he will be joined by center backs Aaron Long of the New York Red Bulls and Nashville SC’s Walker Zimmerman. “Aaron and Walker are going to play, going to start,

1:15 PM ET Cesar Hernandez Only two months separate the Mexico men’s national team from their World Cup group-stage opener against Poland on Nov. 22. Before the trip to Qatar, El Tri have two upcoming friendlies in California, against Peru (Sept. 24) at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena and against Colombia (Sept. 27) at Levi’s

10:22 AM ET In less than two months, the 3,065-day wait between World Cup matches for the United States men’s national team will come to an end. Only tuneups against Japan in Germany (Friday, 8:25 am ET on ESPN2/ESPN+) and Saudi Arabia (on Tuesday in Spain) remain before the Nov. 21 group-stage opener against Wales

10:28 AM ET The days are counting down to the start of the World Cup in Qatar, with the host nation kicking it all off on Nov. 20, when they take on Ecuador. – Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, MLS, more (U.S.) All 32 finalists are making their closing plans for the tournament, hoping that

7:30 AM ET Rob DawsonCorrespondent Phil Jones was one of only five players picked to represent England at both the 2014 and 2018 World Cups, but when Gareth Southgate sits down to select his squad for Qatar 2022, he won’t be anywhere near the conversation. 2 Related The 30-year-old defender can’t play for Manchester United

3:43 PM ET DOHA, Qatar — The 2022 World Cup is just two months away. Twelve years after being awarded the rights to host the tournament, the tiny Gulf state of Qatar has built the stadiums, opened five-lane highways and a $36 billion Metro system, and undertaken a huge construction effort on a grueling timeline

12:12 PM ET In these last FIFA dates before the World Cup squads are announced, most of the coaches are merely ticking over, enjoying the chance to get the group together and looking at fringe options, with the basic plan for Qatar already well established. This should be especially true of the South Americans. Since

3:40 PM ET United States star Christian Pulisic has criticized his former Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel, saying he was left “dumbfounded and very disappointed” by the decision not to start him in the Champions League semifinal second leg against Real Madrid in 2021. Pulisic started and scored Chelsea’s goal in a 1-1 draw in the

7:10 AM ET When the World Cup kicks off in two months, it seems certain that Portugal and Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo will head into the tournament as the most powerful player in the world — at least in terms of his social media influence. – Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, MLS, more (U.S.)

11:24 AM ET Lionel Messi and Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni have their sights set on the World Cup Gustavo Pagano/Getty Images When Argentina take on Honduras and Jamaica in upcoming friendlies, there will be few changes to the Albiceleste squad that has not lost a match in more than two years. And why should there be?

1:56 PM ET When greatness becomes pallid, when the extraordinary becomes extremely ordinary, it’s almost always a hard story to tell. The reason that Hans Christian Andersen’s fable of “The Emperor’s New Clothes” is still famous today, the one where the king loses sight of reality and is conned by weavers into wearing nothing at

10:50 PM ET MLS said it will investigate the alleged use of a racial slur in Sunday’s match between Inter Miami and D.C. United, in which it is alleged that DCU forward Taxi Fountas directed the N-word at Inter Miami defender Damian Lowe. “MLS has zero tolerance for abusive and offensive language and we take

6:35 PM ET Ahead of the FIFA international break, some prominent clubs (looking at the ones from Bavaria and Turin) are already facing some questions so early in the season. And at other sides, it could mean see some managers being replaced before league action re-starts in less than a fortnight. Meanwhile, we saw some

4:51 PM ET Real Madrid saw off crosstown rivals Atletico 2-1 in a fiery edition of the city’s local derby at the Wanda Metropolitano on Sunday to restore their two-point lead over Barcelona in LaLiga. Despite being second best for large periods of the first half, Carlo Ancelotti’s side were ruthless in front of goal