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Defending champion Galaxy lose in season-opening stunner to San Diego FC

Sports / Soccer /

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

Greg Cote: Must-win MLS season a long climb for Messi, Inter Miami as opening 2-2 home draw shows

Sports / Soccer /

MIAMI — Lionel Messi in his first full season in Major League Soccer last year led Inter Miami to the best record in league history and won the MLS MVP trophy.

The imperative in the 2025 soccer season that began Saturday night?

Be better. Do more.

This is Messi, after all. He is like none other, so the expectations are thus: Unreasonable, ...Read more

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Messi's two assists secure Inter Miami 2-2 tie vs. NYCFC in dramatic MLS season opener

Sports / Soccer /

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

Jeremy Ebobisse scores in his LAFC debut in season-opening win over Minnesota

Sports / Soccer /

LOS ANGELES — LAFC headed into its eighth MLS season Saturday with more questions than answers, few of which were solved in its 1-0 victory over Minnesota United in front of a crowd of 22,310 at BMO Stadium.

The game's only goal came from newcomer Jeremy Ebobisse in the 78th minute. On the other end, goalkeeper Hugo Lloris was called on to ...Read more

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With new Apple docuseries, Major League Soccer takes a page out of Formula One's playbook

Sports / Soccer /

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

Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Kevin Baxter: Galaxy and LAFC are paying a price for success. Are they still MLS Cup contenders?

Sports / Soccer /

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

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Dave Hyde: New season, new coach and same old questions for stacked Inter Miami

Sports / Soccer /

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — At the start of Inter Miami’s new MLS season, the question of last season lingers.

Not how they lost to bottom-seed Atlanta in the playoffs’ opening round.

Not if they win any of the trophies they missed out on last year in this season’s four competitions.

Not even if Messi’s presence can set more attendance ...Read more

Matias J. Ocner/Miami Herald/TNS

Messi, Inter Miami set to kick off pressure-filled 2025 season under new coach Javier Mascherano

Sports / Soccer /

MIAMI — Finally, after more than two months at his new job as Inter Miami coach, Javier Mascherano’s heart and refrigerator are full.

The Argentine former FC Barcelona star sheepishly admitted that until his wife, Fernanda, and three children arrived for an extended February visit, he had little food in his kitchen since replacing Tata ...Read more

Kyle Rivas/Getty Images North America/TNS

Messi scores as Inter Miami beats Sporting KC, 1-0, in frigid Champions Cup match

Sports / Soccer /

Lionel Messi and his Inter Miami teammates disembarked from their team plane in Kansas City, Mo., on Wednesday bundled up in ski hats and parkas. A few hours later, the Argentine captain scored in frigid conditions to give the visitors a 1-0 victory over Sporting KC in their Concacaf Champions Cup opener at Children’s Mercy Park.

The game was...Read more

Why Sounders goalkeeper Stefan Frei might be MLS' most underrated player

Sports / Soccer /

RENTON, Wash. — Perhaps this is the season it all falls apart. Stefan Frei becomes more porous than a rain garden, allowing every shot imaginable past his goal line.

At least then, it would be understandable how, despite his consistent dominance in goal for the Seattle Sounders, Frei is consistently left out of the conversation for MLS ...Read more

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Here is everything you need to know about Lionel Messi's new Inter Miami teammates

Sports / Soccer /

MIAMI — Lionel Messi has a half-dozen new Inter Miami teammates this season, and they will play their first game that counts Wednesday night on the road against Sporting KC in the Concacaf Champions Cup opener, which was postponed from Tuesday due to a snowstorm.

Those newcomers, who will be bundled up in ski caps and gloves for the sub-zero ...Read more

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San Diego FC counts on Mexican star Chucky Lozano to be a spark in its debut season

Sports / Soccer /

INDIO, Calif. — San Diego FC had yet to play an MLS opponent when the team's players filed onto one of the manicured fields at the Empire Polo Club earlier this month to take on New York City in a preseason exhibition. Spotting one player in particular, a small army of kids rushed the white picket fence guarding the field and broke into a ...Read more

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John Romano: No goals for Lionel Messi, but the memory of a lifetime for Tampa Bay

Sports / Soccer /

TAMPA, Fla. — Officially, it was a soccer friendly. A random, meaningless exhibition game between two teams with neither roots nor rationale for spending a Friday night in Tampa Bay.

And yet, standing above the tunnel leading from the locker room to the field in Section 118, it felt more like a religious experience. A pilgrimage in pink.

...Read more

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Crowd of 42,000 in Tampa show Messi love on Valentine's Day as Inter Miami ties Orlando

Sports / Soccer /

A crowd of 42,000 showed up at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla., Friday night for Inter Miami’s final preseason game against Orlando City and based on the sea of pink No. 10 shirts, many of the fans were there to show love for Lionel Messi on Valentine’s Day.

They saw an entertaining game that ended in a 2-2 tie. The Miami equalizer was...Read more

What you should know as Inter Miami wraps up preseason vs. Orlando City in Tampa Friday

Sports / Soccer /

MIAMI — The preseason rehearsals end Friday night in Tampa for Lionel Messi and his Inter Miami teammates, who will face MLS rival Orlando City at Raymond James Stadium.

Messi is expected to play at least 45 minutes, and it will likely be similar for the other key starters, as they must preserve energy and not risk injury heading into a ...Read more

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Kevin Baxter: For Alyssa and Gisele Thompson, Angel City 2.0 was too good to pass up

Sports / Soccer /

LOS ANGELES — When Angel City selected Alyssa Thompson with the No. 1 pick in the NWSL draft two years ago, she had two choices: take what the team offered or pass up the chance to play in the NWSL.

But last month, when the team came to Thompson and her sister, Gisele, with contract extensions, their choices were almost unlimited.

“They ...Read more

Jose F. Moreno/The Philadelphia Inquirer/TNS

The English Premier League has 'no intention' to bring regular-season games to the US any time soon

Sports / Soccer /

PHILADELPHIA — Every once in a while, people talk about the English Premier League playing regular-season games in the United States.

Not just the summer exhibitions that have brought big English clubs over here for years, and will probably do so again this year. Philadelphia has gotten a taste of that in recent times: the six-team Premier ...Read more

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Messi fit to play extended minutes for Inter Miami on Sunday in preseason match in Panama

Sports / Soccer /

Lionel Messi and the rest of Inter Miami’s key starters are expected to play extended minutes Sunday as the team faces Sporting San Miguelito in Panama City, Panama.

The preseason match, which kicks off at 5 p.m., is the third in the club’s Americas Tour, which also includes a game against Olimpia in Honduras next Saturday. Miami won its ...Read more

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NWSL officially introduces Denver as 16th franchise, with more than 2,000 fans signed up for season tickets on Day 1

Sports / Soccer /

DENVER — Mellody Hobson is not sweating the $110 million expansion fee that the new Denver NWSL franchise paid to get into the league. And she’s not worried about the millions she and the ownership group will pony up to build a new stadium, either.

In fact, Hobson, whose sports ownership portfolio includes the Broncos, White Sox, WNBA and ...Read more

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Messi, Inter Miami beat Universitario in PKs after scoreless tie as 80,000 watch in Peru

Sports / Soccer /

Lionel Messi received a hero’s welcome from 80,000 fans at sold-out Estadio Monumental in Lima, Peru, on Wednesday night, as Inter Miami won its preseason match against Universitario in a penalty kick shootout.

The game remained scoreless after regulation and went directly to PKs. All five Inter Miami players made their shots, starting with ...Read more