LOS ANGELES — Mauricio Pochettino’s first major test as coach of the men’s national team ended in disaster Thursday when Cecilio Waterman scored deep into stoppage time to give Panama a 1-0 victory in the CONCACAF Nations League semifinals before a tiny crowd at SoFi Stadium, where the Americans will play two of their three group-play ...Read more

Lionel Messi was back in the Inter Miami starting lineup Sunday night against Atlanta United for the rematch of last season’s MLS playoff upset and a fired up crowd of 42,844 showed up at Mercedes Benz Stadium for the occasion.

The home crowd got a thrilling game, but not the result it wanted. A sublime first-half equalizer from Messi and a ...Read more

MIAMI — Lionel Messi, fresh off his late-game goal in Jamaica, is expected to be back in the lineup on Sunday night for the MLS road game against Atlanta United.

The plan is for Messi to travel to Atlanta, coach Javier Mascherano said on Saturday morning, as he has recovered from the muscle strain that kept him out of three games.

“The ...Read more

Inter Miami fans, and Lionel Messi fans in Jamaica, got great news on Wednesday.

The Argentine icon and eight-time Ballon d’Or winner, who missed the past three games with muscle fatigue, will travel to the Caribbean island for Thursday’s Concacaf Champions Cup Round of 16 game against Cavalier FC, according to coach Javier Mascherano.

...Read more

CHICAGO — Mallory Swanson is still missing for the Chicago Stars.

The star striker will not play in Friday’s regular-season opener against the Orlando Pride, the reigning NWSL champions. Swanson has not participated in any preseason activities due to personal reasons. And the Stars won’t specify when — or if — Swanson will return.

...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Mauricio Pochettino, facing his stiffest test yet as manager of the U.S. national soccer team, has summoned a veteran squad for next week's CONCACAF Nations League final four at SoFi Stadium.

The 23-player roster released Tuesday is headed by forward Christian Pulisic and midfielders Weston McKennie and Tyler Adams, who is ...Read more

SAN DIEGO — The name Chucky, in this case, is pronounced CHOO-kee.

Just rhyme it with spooky.

For San Diego’s soccer fans, spooky was what transpired in the 28th minute Saturday night in an otherwise celebratory first half of San Diego FC’s inaugural home opener.

Star forward Hirving “Chucky” Lozano was brought to a halt by an ...Read more

SAN DIEGO — When Don Garber was named Major League Soccer’s commissioner in 1999, the league consisted of 12 teams. The Mutiny, MetroStars, Fusion, Burn and Clash, among others, settled ties with 35-yard shootouts. The clock counted down from 90 minutes to zero instead of the other way around. Players wore uniforms made by Nike and Adidas �...Read more

MIAMI — Memo to all the Lionel Messi fans who have been fretting about their beloved Argentine hero since he exited the field at the 69-minute mark of Inter Miami’s 3-1 home win over Sporting KC on Tuesday night:

Coach Javier Mascherano said Messi is fine and he trained with the team Friday morning ahead of the road game Sunday against the ...Read more

MIAMI — Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez were fined an undisclosed amount by the MLS Disciplinary Committee for touching the necks of a New York City FC player and coach during separate heated arguments during their season opener on Saturday night at Chase Stadium.

The MLS Disciplinary Committee announced on Tuesday that both players violated the...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Before joining the Galaxy two years ago, Christian Ramírez spent two seasons with the Columbus Crew, winning an MLS Cup one year and then failing to get out of the first round of the playoffs the next.

The lesson, Ramírez said, is it’s far easier to climb to the top of the league than it is to stay there. And if the Galaxy, ...Read more

SAN DIEGO — As first impressions go, this was close to perfection.

San Diego FC introduced itself to Major League Soccer Sunday night with a 2-0 road victory over the league’s most prestigious franchise, and nothing about the performance screamed fluke.

Before the match, the Los Angeles Galaxy celebrated its league-record sixth MLS Cup ...Read more

It was just 11 weeks ago that the Galaxy raised the MLS Cup for a record sixth time, an occasion the team celebrated Sunday with a relay of supporters and first responders carrying the Philip F. Anschutz Trophy back to midfield at Dignity Health Sports Park.

A triumphant video played on the stadium's huge video screens, fireworks filled the air...Read more

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Lionel Messi, wearing a longer haircut and Inter Miami’s new pink striped jersey, looked like the same old Messi as the 2025 MLS season got underway Saturday night, battling for 105 minutes and playing a major role in both Miami goals in a 2-2 tie against NYCFC.

The second came at the 100-minute mark, when some fans ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — As a British expat living in Los Angeles, Paul Martin found the thing he missed most about home was soccer.

"If I'm walking across a park and I see two people playing, I'll stop and watch it," the documentary film producer said.

So the idea of making a documentary about a soccer league wasn't a hard sell. The challenge was ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Will Kuntz knew something few others did when the MLS Cup final kicked off in December: The Galaxy team Kuntz had so carefully rebuilt, the one that would win the league title that day, would begin to be dismantled shortly after the game.

"We knew well in advance that change was coming," said Kuntz, the Galaxy's second-year ...Read more