Football

Rob Dawson, CorrespondentDec 19, 2023, 04:00 AM ET Open Extended Reactions JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia — Manchester City have arrived in Saudi Arabia looking to add the FIFA Club World Cup to their already bulging trophy cabinet, but for the first time in a while, their reign as kings of England is under threat. History suggests

Alex Kirkland, ESPN FCDec 18, 2023, 07:00 AM ET Open Extended Reactions On Dec. 18, 2022, Argentina won the men’s World Cup in the most dramatic way possible, beating France in a penalty shootout after a breathless 3-3 draw in Lusail, Qatar. The game was an instant classic, one of the best finals anyone could

Dec 18, 2023, 06:27 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Holders Manchester City will play FC Copenhagen in this season’s Champions League round of 16, while 14-time winners Real Madrid face RB Leipzig. Copenhagen, who earned a memorable win against Manchester United on their way to finishing second in Group A, are the lowest-ranked side left

Open Extended Reactions LIVERPOOL, England — Manchester United‘s wait for a victory at Liverpool has rolled into its eighth year, but Sunday’s 0-0 draw at Anfield was a win for manager Erik ten Hag. It was a day when his players slammed the brakes on their nine-game losing streak against top 10 opponents away from

Dec 17, 2023, 06:33 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Carlo Ancelotti said he’s “never seen three cruciate ligament injuries in four months” after David Alaba joined Thibaut Courtois and Éder Militão on Real Madrid‘s long-term injury list, with the coach admitting the club could now consider a move for a defender in January. Centre-back Alaba

Dec 17, 2023, 10:33 AM ET Open Extended Reactions FIFA’s revamped Club World Cup planned for 2025 and set to feature 32 teams will be played from June 15 to July 13, while a new Intercontinental Cup will be played annually from next year, Gianni Infantino, the head of world football’s governing body, said on

Dec 16, 2023, 04:16 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola blasted his team after their careless defending and a needless late-game penalty cost them a much-needed victory in a 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace on Saturday, saying they deserved the result. “It’s not bad luck, it’s deserved,” an angry Guardiola told

Dec 16, 2023, 06:57 PM ET Open Extended Reactions There are only a couple of weeks until we ring in the new year but, before that, there is some football action to be decided all across Europe to finish off 2023 on a high. As always, this weekend saw some shocking results, drama, and excitement

Dec 16, 2023, 12:01 PM ET The Premier League game between Bournemouth and Luton Town was abandoned after Luton captain Tom Lockyer had earlier collapsed on the pitch on Saturday. The score was 1-1 in the 59th minute when Lockyer fell to the ground with no other player near him and players and Luton manager

Kyle Bonagura, ESPN Staff WriterDec 15, 2023, 05:00 PM ET Close Covers the Pac-12. Joined ESPN in 2014. Attended Washington State University. Open Extended Reactions Major League Soccer will not send its first teams to the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup in 2024, instead opting to enter teams from MLS Next Pro, the league’s two-year-old

Open Extended Reactions Can you see the difference between these two kits worn by Manchester United and Liverpool in January 2021? One in 12 men and 1 in 200 women can’t due to colour blindness. Matthew Peters/Manchester United via Getty Images It is often cited as the biggest game in English football, the clash between the

Constantin Eckner Dec 15, 2023, 06:56 AM ET Open Extended Reactions For a fleeting moment, there was brief hope among the 70,000 fans who attended Union Berlin’s final Champions League group stage game on Tuesday. Czech midfielder Alex Král snatched an 85th minute equaliser as the Bundesliga side staged a late comeback against mighty Real

Kyle Bonagura, ESPN Staff WriterDec 14, 2023, 07:16 PM ET Close Covers the Pac-12. Joined ESPN in 2014. Attended Washington State University. Open Extended Reactions Major League Soccer announced it will implement a pair of rule changes designed to limit stoppages in play during the 2024 season. The changes — an off-field treatment rule and

Dec 14, 2023, 08:29 AM ET Open Extended Reactions As quickly as women’s soccer tends to grow year over year, 2023 felt like a giant leap forward. The Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand was the most competitive iteration in the tournament’s history by many measures. Traditional powerhouses such as Germany, Brazil and

Rebecca Welch will become the first woman to referee a Premier League game when she takes charge of Fulham vs. Burnley on Dec. 23. Sam Allison will also become the first black referee in a game for 15 years, following in the footsteps of Uriah Rennie. Wendy Toms was the first woman assistant to run

Open Extended Reactions NEWCASTLE — The Champions League can be as brutal as it can be glorious, and Newcastle United have learned the hard way that club football’s biggest competition can never be taken for granted. In the space of 90 minutes against AC Milan at St James’ Park on Wednesday, Eddie Howe’s team found

Open Extended Reactions The UEFA Champions League has reached the halfway stage, with all eight groups starting to take shape. This is the final season of the multigroup format, before it becomes a 36-team competition with all clubs in one league table. We take a look at who can seal their places on matchday four,

Alex Kirkland, ESPN FCDec 13, 2023, 08:33 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Say the name Bebé to a football fan, and there’s a good chance they’ll know exactly who you’re talking about. He’s the forward manager Sir Alex Ferguson signed for Manchester United in 2010 without ever having seen him play, not even on video.