We’ve reached a new level in the relationship between Nike and the young phenoms churned out at Santos FC. It began with PSG’s Neymar, who signed with the multinational corporation at the age of 13. That trend continued with Real Madrid’s Rodrygo, who, at the tender age of 11, became Nike’s youngest-ever affiliated athlete after dazzling at a youth tournament in New York.
The talk of whether Major League Soccer has finally caught up to Liga MX is always a hot one. Especially with the Concacaf Champions League semifinals going on right now, LAFC may have the support of a whole league behind it.
The 2020 MLS All-Star Game, which would have put Liga MX All-Stars against MLS All-Stars was unfortunately canceled due to COVID-19. Also canceled were the 2020 Leagues Cup and 2020 Campeones Cup. The 2021 MLS All-Star Game under the same format is still planned, so fingers crossed everyone.
The 2020 Concacaf Champions League resumed last night with leg two of Olimpia versus Montreal — 280 days after the Honduran side had disappointed 23,000 fans inside the Impact’s Olympic Stadium by snatching a crucial 2-1 road win.
Despite having to play the return leg at Exploria Stadium in Orlando — where the remainder of the competition will be staged — Olimpia advanced on away goals after Montreal could only find one through Amar Sejdič.
Thierry Henry is out; Olimpia plays Tigres in the semifinals on Saturday.
It’s flown under the radar since it’s not within the FIFA International Match Calendar — meaning European clubs aren’t obligated to release players — but the Mexico national team returns to action on Wednesday night with a friendly against Guatemala at the Azteca.
It’s been almost a year since we last saw El Tri (a 2-1 victory over Bermuda back on Nov. 19, 2019), but the likes of Miguel Layún, Uriel Antuna and José Juan Macías are finally back in action for the world’s 11th-ranked nation.
In 2019, Concacaf held the largest-ever Gold Cup, with 16 teams creating an event that was actually pretty exciting. For the 2021 Gold Cup format, Concacaf is doubling down on the 16-team field but adding some weird new spice to the tournament — and for some reason an odd choice for its first guest participant in over a decade.
CONCACAF has unveiled a new qualification format for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar after COVID-19 forced a rejig of the usual system, the governing body for soccer in North and Central America and the Caribbean said on Monday.
The new format, which will feature all 35 of the region's members, has been split into three rounds with the first being played in October and November with teams ranked from No. 6 to No. 35 in CONCACAF as of July 16 drawn into six groups of five.
SAN JOSE — Costa Rica became the first country in the Americas to restart their professional soccer league on Tuesday, with an afternoon game played behind closed doors and substitutes sitting in the stands to ensure their distance from others.
The Costa Rican league was suspended on March 15 but Guadalupe’s 1-0 victory over Limon was the first of six games due to be held across the Central American nation this week.
"It is difficult to get up to speed again," said Arturo Campos, scorer of Guadalupe’s winning goal. "We feel heavy, but we are happy to return."
FIFA has proposed that teams should be allowed to make up to five substitutions per match, instead of the usual three, as a temporary measure to help cope with potential fixture congestion in the aftermath of the novel coronavirus outbreak.
Football has been at a standstill since mid-March but many leagues and federations are still hoping to complete the season but to do so they would have to cram fixtures into a shorter period than usual once play re-starts.
The format and dates for CONCACAF's qualifying matches for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar are up in the air due to the sports shutdown amid the coronavirus pandemic, confederation president Victor Montagliani said Monday.
Speaking to reporters on a conference call, Montagliani admitted that CONCACAF could wind up changing how it determines which three teams will earn direct berths in the World Cup and which one will head to an inter-continental playoff.
LAFC made MLS history Thursday night while the Seattle Sounders avoided it. The Sounders left a sour taste in the mouth of MLS fans on what was a monumental night in the Concacaf Champions League.
Let’s start with the good news. Carlos Vela and company became the first MLS team to defeat a Liga MX side after losing the first leg by multiple goals.