SAN DIEGO — The first question about any new sports franchise is whether its games can be entertaining enough to attract and retain fans.

San Diego FC, the new soccer squad in town, has gone for broke on the pitch since the first whistle blew. That style earned respect. But, without special talent, tactical gusto goes only so far.

Turns out,...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Saturday's women's soccer friendly between the U.S. and Brazil was billed as a rematch of last summer's Olympic final. That was a bit of a misnomer since two-thirds of the women on the 23-player U.S. roster weren't in Paris last August.

Even the uniforms weren't the same.

As for the result, only the score was different, with ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Trinity Rodman is taking a coffee break.

Not a break for coffee. A break from coffee. Specifically espresso.

Last summer Rodman and teammates Mallory Swanson and Sophia Wilson (née Smith) combined for 10 goals and five assists to lead the U.S. to its first Olympic title in women's soccer in a dozen years. One of the three had ...Read more

Café Bustelo is one of Inter Miami’s sponsors, and fans may want to drink a cup of Cuban coffee Wednesday night to make sure they are awake to watch the road game against Los Angeles FC in the first leg of their Concacaf Champions Cup quarterfinal.

It is a highly anticipated matchup that kicks off at 11:30 p.m. Eastern time. Fans will be ...Read more

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Even when he doesn’t start, and enters a game in the second half, it usually doesn’t take Lionel Messi long to find the back of the net.

On Saturday night, it only took him two minutes.

Messi began Inter Miami’s matchup against Philadelphia on the bench.

He entered in the 55th minute. By the 57th minute, Messi ...Read more

SAN DIEGO — Major League Soccer newcomer San Diego FC showed Sunday it can hang with Austin FC in the Texas heat.

Though the 2-1 loss was deserved, the San Diego newbies won in possession by more than 50 percentage points. They didn’t let the 87-degree heat and Texas humidity crush them.

But there’s an area where SDFC doesn’t and ...Read more

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