Football

12:30 PM ET It’s been almost two months since the U.S. Soccer Federation announced that Earnie Stewart and Brian McBride were resigning their positions as sporting director and men’s team general manager, respectively. The consulting firm Sportsology was brought in to lead the search and analyze the structure of the USSF’s sporting department. And since

9:30 AM ET Cristiano Ronaldo has scored 7.5% of his 120 international goals for Portugal against Luxembourg. No opponent has been on the receiving end of Ronaldo’s ruthless finishing more than the European football minnows, so it’s safe to assume he will be anticipating Sunday’s Euro 2024 qualifier in Stade de Luxembourg with relish. Ronaldo,

10:00 AM ET Qualify for 2022, make a run in 2026. I feel like I wrote that many times regarding the United States men’s national team during the previous World Cup qualification process. With more major-club talent and more youth than ever, the U.S. seemed in a position to maintain the same roster core over

1:00 PM ET Bayern Munich have announced the sacking of manager Julian Nagelsmann and the arrival of his successor Thomas Tuchel. Nagelsmann has been relieved of his duties with the club just one point off top spot in the Bundesliga and days ahead of their Champions League quarterfinal showdown with Manchester City. – Stream on

6:00 AM ET Sid LoweSpain writer Luis de la Fuente took over from Luis Enrique as Spain manager in December. Oscar J. Barroso/Europa Press via Getty Images “I don’t drink, so I was perfectly sober,” Spain boss Luis de la Fuente insisted, and everybody laughed. It was a pretty funny thing for an international coach to say;

6:33 PM ET Striker Folarin Balogun is in Florida this week amid a serious push from U.S. Soccer for him to switch his international allegiance from England to the United States, sources told ESPN. Sources added that Balogun has met with the USMNT, who had been training in Florida preparing for Nations League matches at

5:54 PM ET Bayern Munich have sacked manager Julian Nagelsmann, according to multiple reports. The news was first reported by Fabrizio Romano, who added that Bayern are set to bring in former Chelsea coach Thomas Tuchel as his replacement. The Bundesliga giants hired Nagelsmann away from RB Leipzig in April of 2021 to replace the

5:30 AM ET New France captain Kylian Mbappe is eager to take advantage of this huge opportunity. FRANCK FIFE/AFP via Getty Images The contrast between the facial expressions and body language of France teammates Kylian Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann over the past two days could not have been bigger. Mbappe, who was named the new France

7:16 PM ET Rob DawsonCorrespondent Bidders for Manchester United have been given extra time to make their offers, sources have told ESPN. The Raine Group, the merchant bank handling the process for current owners the Glazer family, initially set a deadline of 9 p.m. UK time Wednesday for second bids. – Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga,

4:24 PM ET Barcelona are cruising to victory in LaLiga, but have very good reasons to feel pessimistic about the future. They’re not alone, either. Alex Caparros/Getty Images It’s one of the odd things at the top of European football this year: very few clubs (or their fan bases) can look at their current situation, conclude

6:00 AM ET The 2022 World Cup is now in the rear-view mirror, with national teams using this week’s international fixtures to focus on the challenges ahead, including continental qualifiers and the long build-up to the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico. – Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (U.S.) For

3:20 PM ET Associated Press Giovanni Reyna has been welcomed back to the United States national team said Tim Ream, one of the group’s senior players, after the family of the young midfielder sparked a feud with Gregg Berhalter that left the coach’s future uncertain. After Berhalter used Reyna sparingly at the World Cup, the

5:45 PM ET Jon Arnold Bazan tends to the coals at an Orlando City SC preseason asado. Courtesy of Orlando City SC There is magic in the smoked meat. At least, that’s what Josema Bazan believes. Get a team of soccer players together at any point during the week and you can bet they’ll talk shop,

8:30 AM ET Adriana Garcia It’s been just over three months since Lionel Messi led Argentina to glory in the 2022 World Cup final, but fans in the Paris Saint-Germain star’s home country are still flocking in their droves to pay tribute to their hero whenever he returns. – Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more

6:07 PM ET Ryan Rosenblatt Thiago Almada scored a goal of the season candidate with a sensational free kick from 30-plus yards out on Saturday against Portland. Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports Are we finally getting an idea for how the field of MLS teams stack up? It sure feels like it as sides find their footing,

1:59 PM ET What a weekend in European football! Barcelona bested eternal rivals Real Madrid in the latest Clasico to give themselves a potentially decisive lead in LaLiga‘s title race, while Arsenal put four goals past Crystal Palace to seize control in the Premier League before the international break. (Don’t write off Man City yet,

7:00 AM ET If Tottenham Hotspur are serious about challenging for trophies and ridding the club, once and for all, of its reputation for promising much but delivering nothing, chairman Daniel Levy should respond to manager Antonio Conte’s remarkable postmatch rant at Southampton by offering him a new long-term contract. – Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga,

9:22 PM ET Another weekend of European football is in the books and, once again, there was drama across the board. Fulham turned a one-goal lead into a red-tinted calamity at Manchester United in the FA Cup, while Bayern Munich slipped up to let Borussia Dortmund take the lead in the Bundesliga title race. Elsewhere,