World Football

The MLS All-Stars were without players like Lionel Messi and Luiz Suárez for their matchup against the Liga MX All-Stars, and boy did it show.

Liga MX hammered the MLS, 4-1, as Mexico's top-flight league looked far superior to that of its northern neighbors.

Germán Berterame, Oussama Idrissi, Juan Brunetta and Maximiliano Meza all tallied goals for Liga MX, while Cucho Hernández found the back of the net for MLS.

After the contest, fans and pundits on social media didn't pull many punches while discussing the MLS All-Stars' disappointing performance:

It was not a great day for U.S. soccer.

Alongside the MLS All-Stars' disappointing showing, the USMNT squad representing the country at the Paris Olympics fell to France, 3-0. Granted, the men's Olympics are a U-23 event, barring three older exemptions each country can bring, so it wasn't representative of the nation's best players. But it was still a disappointing result.

As for the MLS All-Star Game, it ultimately was a meaningless exhibition match. But in the ongoing and heated feud between United States and Mexican soccer, it afforded Mexican supporters some much-needed bragging rights.

Those have been tough to come by for El Tri in particular—the USMNT hasn't lost to the Mexican men's national team in seven matches, with five of those being American wins. El Tri last beat the USMNT in 2019 in a friendly, and has only won two of its past 10 meetings with the United States dating back to 2017,

France handed the United States a 3-0 defeat to open the men's soccer tournament in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

The score remained tied through 60 minutes before Alexandre Lacazette broke the deadlock. Michael Olise doubled France's lead in the 69th minute, while Loïc Badé put the finishing touches on the victory in the 85th.

This is the first year since 2008 the U.S. men are competing in the Olympics, and this wasn't the return to the Summer Games they envisioned.

July 24 Results

Group A

New Zealand 2, Guinea 1

France 3, United States 0

Group B

Morocco 2, Argentina 1

Iraq 2, Ukraine 1

Group C

Spain 2, Uzbekistan 1

Egypt 0, Dominican Republic 0

Group D

Japan 5, Paraguay 0

Mali 1, Israel 1

The full men's and women's soccer schedule is available on the Olympics' official site

Group Standings

Group A

1. France (+3 GD, 3 PTS)
2. New Zealand (+1 GD, 3 PTS) 
3. Guinea (-1 GD, 0 PTS)
4. United States (-3 GD, 0 PTS)

Group B

1. Iraq (+1 GD, 3 PTS) 
2. Morocco (+1 GD, 3 PTS) 
3. Argentina (-1 GD, 0 PTS) 
4. Ukraine (-1 GD, 0 PTS) 

Group C

1. Spain (+1 GD, 3 PTS) 
2. Egypt (0 GD, 1 PTS) 
3. Dominican Republic (0 GD, 1 PTS) 
4. Uzbekistan (-1 GD, 0 PTS)

Group D

1. Japan (+5 GD, 3 PTS) 
2. Israel (0 GD, 1 PTS)
3. Mali (0 GD, 1 PTS)
4. Paraguay (-5 GD, 0 PTS)

For those unaware, there's no overlap between the Copa América and Summer Olympics squads for the United States.

In the Summer Games, countries in the men's tournament are limited to an under-23 roster with a limit of three slots for overage players. This year, the quick turnaround from the Copa América basically ruled out anybody who competed in that event.

As a result, USMNT coach Marko Mitrović is leaning on a relatively inexperienced group in Paris. Walker Zimmerman and Miles Robinson are the only players with at least 20 caps with the senior team.

Contrast that with the records of France's first two goalscorers.

Lacazette may not a decorated member of Les Bleus, but he has played the game at the highest level with Arsenal and Lyon. The 33-year-old is simply head and shoulders better than what the United States can throw at him in defense.

The same goes for Olise, who had 10 goals and six assists in 19 Premier League games for Crystal Palace and parlayed that into a move to Bayern Munich. The dynamic winger made it look easy with his left-footed effort from just outside the 18-yard box.

The final score is slightly deceiving as it wasn't totally one-way traffic in France's favor before Lacazette's opener. Moments before that goal, Djordje Mihailovic had a shot go off the crossbar.

Paxten Aaronson and John Tolkin both narrowly missed on what would've been equalizers in the minutes after the United States went behind as well.

Olise's goal was the backbreaker, though. The U.S. as unable to muster much effort after falling behind 2-0.

You don't want to read too much into one game, especially one that included a tournament favorite in France. Those who have followed the USMNT for years, however, probably saw similar issues that have long lingered.

The United States will look to regroup against New Zealand on Saturday before closing out the group stage against Guinea.

Especially with New Zealand winning earlier in the day, the USMNT is effectively facing a must-win situation. Four points may not be enough to secure a second-place finish in Group A thanks to an already intimidating goal differential.

Inter Miami confirmed Monday that Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez will miss the MLS All-Star Game on Wednesday.

"Leo Messi will miss the All-Star Game due to an ankle injury, while Luis Suárez, who recently returned from international duty after over 40 days away from the club, will miss the All-Star Game due to knee discomfort," the club said, per the Miami Herald's Michelle Kaufman. "Their availability for Saturday's League's Cup match will be assessed based on their daily recovery process."

Messi was subbed off in Argentina's 1-0 victory over Colombia in the Copa América final with what Inter Miami described as a ligament injury in his right ankle. He had gone down without contact and exited in the 66th minute of the match.

Suárez, who represented Uruguay at Copa América, might be getting rested by Inter Miami proactively as much as he's experiencing knee discomfort. He has logged a lot of minutes this summer, most recently going the distance in the 2-1 win over Chicago Fire FC over the weekend.

Messi and Suárez are arguably the two most notable names in the league based on their reputations in the sport, and they earned their All-Star nods on merit. The former has 12 goals and 13 assists in 12 appearances, while the latter boasts 12 goals and five assists through 18 fixtures.

Missing both will be a blow for MLS in terms of building interest for the All-Star Game, which pits the league's top players against a handpicked squad from Mexico's Liga MX.

The supporters in Columbus, Ohio, are the biggest losers from Monday's news.

Inter Miami's lone trip to Lower.com Field during the 2023 season came in April, before Messi and Suárez had signed with the club. They have yet to make the trip to Central Ohio, and their only chance this year is now Miami's Oct. 2 date with the Columbus Crew.

Arsenal are reportedly set to land Riccardo Calafiori after reaching an agreement with Bologna on a transfer fee that will send the defender to north London.

Per soccer insider Fabrizio Romano, the two clubs agreed to the $49 million transfer fee that includes $5.4 million in add-ons and a sell-on clause.

The final step in the process will be getting Basel and Bologna to agree to the 50 percent sell-on payment terms before Calafiori can officially join Arsenal.

The Athletic's David Ornstein previously reported Arsenal were "accelerating" its efforts to sign Calafiori, with the goal of getting a deal done as soon as possible.

Calafiori joined Basel on a permanent transfer in August 2022 after he spent the previous four years in Serie A with Roma. The 22-year-old signed with Bologna last August.

Per Samuel Meade of The Mirror, Bologna was threatening to call off the deal with Arsenal because it wanted Basel to accept less than the 50 percent fee it was owed as part of the original agreement for Calafiori.

Calafiori can play either center-back or left-back for the Gunners. Mikel Arteta has prioritized positional flexibility as he has built up his squad, influenced in part by his time at Manchester City, which has had success using four center-backs in defense.

The addition of Calafiori would also give Arteta another potential starting option at left-back alongside Oleksandr Zinchenko and Jurriën Timber. Timber is still working his way back after tore his ACL last August and was only able to return to action in the final Premier League match of the season against Everton.

Calafiori would also be a rotation option at center-back, where Gabriel and William Saliba have combined to form one of the Premier League's top defensive partnerships.

Calafiori appeared in 30 matches for Bologna during the 2023-24 Serie A season. He finished with two goals and five assists, helping the club qualify for the Champions League for the first time since 1964.

Arsenal finished second to Man City in the 2023-24 Premier League standings. The Gunners reached the round of 16 in the Champions League before losing to Bayern Munich 3-2 on aggregate.

Arteta's club will open the 2024-25 Premier League season on Aug. 17 against Wolves. Depending on how quickly the remaining hurdles get cleared, Calafiori could potentially be on the pitch in a Gunners jersey for that match.

The Chicago Fire will credit fans who purchased tickets for the team's match against Inter Miami if Lionel Messi is unable to play due to injury, per ESPN's Lizzy Becherano.

Messi suffered a ligament injury in his right ankle during Argentina's Copa América Final against Colombia on Sunday, sidelining him for the remainder of the game. His return from injury is still unclear.

If he is not back on the field by the time Inter Miami faces Chicago, fans who have already purchased tickets will be offered two complimentary tickets to the Fire's Fan Appreciation Night matchup against Nashville FC on Oct. 19.

For fans who have yet to purchase tickets, Chicago will offer $250 off two or more new 2025 Chicago Fire season-ticket memberships or $100 off two or more single-match tickets for the 2025 home match against Inter Miami. Fans must purchase between now and Aug. 3 to be eligible for the deal.

"As the Club looks forward to filling Soldier Field with fans to cheer on the hometown Chicago Fire, it does recognize that a player of Inter Miami star forward Lionel Messi's caliber always helps to draw a larger crowd and attract new fans to the beautiful game," the Fire said in a statement.

Chicago currently sits near the bottom of the Eastern Conference at 6-7-11, while Inter Miami sits at the top of the table at 15-5-4.

The next manager of the United States Men's National Team could come from abroad.

Per Fox Sports' Doug McIntyre, the U.S. is eyeing "the most accomplished international manager possible" as its next hire after firing Gregg Berhalter.

"But faced with the sobering reality that there are no U.S. coaches who are habitual winners at the highest level and available right now — if there are any at all — U.S. Soccer sporting director Matt Crocker has instead set its sights on attracting the most accomplished international manager possible, multiple sources told FOX Soccer this week," McIntyre wrote.

Berhalter's exit came after a disappointing showing at the 2024 Copa América tournament that saw the United States win just one game and drop two as it failed to advance past the group stages.

The poor performance at Copa América provided enough evidence that Berhalter wasn't the manager the USMNT wanted leading the charge as it prepares for the 2026 World Cup in North America, which could be a golden opportunity for the team to have success against the world's best teams.

Should the USMNT hire a non-American, it will be just the third coach since the start of the modern era—which began in 1989—to be from outside of the United States. Bora Milutinović and Jürgen Klinsmann were the only non-Americans out of 11 coaches.

But hiring from outside of the United States could be the best plan of attack for the USMNT as it looks to be a serious contender on the biggest stage in the world in two years. With few Americans who have a track record of success available right now, the best person for the job could be an international manager.

"I just want to get the best coach possible that can help the team win," Crocker said. "Whether they're from the U.S. or elsewhere, they've got to fit the profile, which is a serial winning coach."

Cavan Sullivan made history Wednesday night.

The Philadelphia Union prospect became the youngest athlete in MLS history to ever appear in a game after subbing into the club's matchup with the New England Revolution in the 85th minute.

At just 14 years and 293 days old, Sullivan topped the previous MLS record held by Freddy Adu (14 years, 307 days old) back in 2004 for the San Jose Earthquakes.

He also became the youngest person to ever appear in a major North American professional sports league (MLB, MLS, NBA, NFL, NHL, NWSL) contest.

Adu congratulated the young phenom on breaking his record:

Sullivan didn't wait long to make his presence felt, with a shot on goal in the 93rd minute:

The Union won the contest 5-1, though they remained buried on the Eastern Conference table in last place, with just 21 points through 23 matches.

With the Union struggling overall this season, working Sullivan into the lineup made sense, especially on a night when the outcome wasn't in question later in the match.

"Cavan's earned the right to be in the 20 if you just go through the numbers," manager Jim Curtin told reporters on Tuesday. "He'll get that opportunity now and the next step is working hard to get your first minutes. Sometimes that might be one minute, that might be 15 minutes, that might be 90 minutes. But you have to earn it and I think Cavan understands that and recognizes it."

For good measure, Sullivan's older brother, Quinn, scored an absolute banger earlier in the contest:

It was a pretty amazing night for the Sullivan family, and an exciting night for soccer fans as one of the most hyped soccer prospects in United States history took to the pitch.

Jude Bellingham's incredible stretch is carrying over to the video game world.

EA Sports revealed Wednesday that the Real Madrid and England star will be the cover athlete for EA Sports FC 25. It also dropped the trailer for the new game, which revealed that those who preorder it before Aug. 20 will receive bonuses such as one of 14 untradeable player items and up to seven days early access beginning Sept. 20.

Those who preorder the game can also start their player career with David Beckham, Zinedine Zidane or Ronaldo Nazário all while receiving extra FC points.

The opportunity to play as Beckham or Zidane is notable, as they are part of the EA FC 25 Ultimate Edition cover alongside Bellingham, the legendary Gianluigi Buffon and Barcelona's Ballon d'Or Féminin winner Aitana Bonmatí.

As for Bellingham, ESPN noted he is the youngest cover athlete for the global cover in the game's history at just 21 years old.

But it is a fitting selection, as all he did this past season was win Champions League, LaLiga and LaLiga Player of the Season with Real Madrid and help guide England to the final of the 2024 European Championship.

While England ultimately fell short in the final against Spain, it was yet another impressive accomplishment for someone who has quickly ascended to be one of the faces of the game.

"I played this game with my brother all the time growing up, and I've always thought about how incredible it would be to one day be featured on the cover," Bellingham said.

"There have been so many iconic players on the cover over the years, and I am delighted to be the most recent English player to be bestowed with this honour since 2011."

Gamers will have the chance to match Bellingham's accomplishments and perhaps even exceed them when EA Sports FC 25 is released in September.