This third-place game has a dirty little secret: it’s the most entertaining game, by far, in the entire World Cup. Nobody parks the bus. Nobody plays scared. Two exhausted, heartbroken teams show up, shrug and just play. Saturday in Miami gave us a spectacle for the ages. England beat France, 6-4, in a 10-goal circus…
NEW YORK — Spain has the chance to accomplish something no nation has ever achieved. If it defeats defending champion Argentina in Sunday’s World Cup final, both its men’s and women’s national teams will simultaneously hold the sport’s biggest trophy. Germany’s men and women have each won two World Cups, but never concurrently. Similar feats…
Mark Twain once said that the two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why. But I would add a third: the day I met Lionel Messi. It was a sticky, humid and thunderstorm-ridden day in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, back in the summer of…
It’s safe to say that the 2026 World Cup was an excellent platform for young players to shine under the brightest of spotlights. Many of these players laid the foundation to be dominant figures in the international game for years to come. Here are the 10 best players ages 21 and younger from the 2026…
It’s time for every England fan to sadly move from one Oasis all-timer to another. But before we skip from “Wonderwall” to “Don’t Look Back in Anger” — which, interestingly enough, follow each other on the “(What’s The Story) Morning Glory?” album — let me begin with a thought I’m almost certain is shared by the…
When Argentina and Spain meet in the 2026 World Cup final on Sunday, it will be a true passing of the guard. From one generational superstar to the next. From one Barcelona legend to the club’s current star. From 39-year-old Lionel Messi to 19-year-old Lamine Yamal. Yamal is already a household name, who, at 17,…
In Driver’s Eye with James Hinchcliffe, the six-time INDYCAR winner will bring you inside the mind of a racer while breaking down the nuts and bolts of the sport for fans. After back-to-back road course races, INDYCAR switches gears again this weekend in Nashville, heading to the tricky concrete superspeedway oval just outside the Music…
On the same day that U.S. Soccer CEO JT Batson told me and a handful of other national reporters that the federation remains in “active discussions” to bring Mauricio Pochettino back as the U.S. men’s national team coach, Pochettino said Thursday his decision on whether he’ll stay coaching the Americans or move on is just…
There may not be a clear favorite on Sunday when Spain and Argentina meet in the FIFA World Cup final, but there are very discernable differences in the way each team arrived at this point. For Argentina, Lionel Messi is the star. He is the World Cup’s all-time leading scorer with 21 goals. In 2022,…
If your first thought when seeing the now-viral photo of Lionel Messi bathing Lamine Yamal as an infant is how unbelievable it is that the two will be playing against each other in Sunday’s World Cup final, you’re not alone; Messi shares the sentiment. “That picture with Lamine, now we are facing in a final…
