National Teams

Spain rocked by squad revolt with 15 players axed for questioning the head coach

On Thursday night at 11 p.m. in Madrid, the Spanish women's national team — one of the favorites at the upcoming 2023 World Cup — was thrown into disarray after 15 players, in emails sent to the Spanish Federation (RFEF), reportedly made themselves unavailable for selection until the dismissal of longstanding manager Jorge Vilda. 

USMNT player ratings vs. Japan: We're better than this (hopefully)

This USMNT team is very young; they'll be the youngest at Qatar. Sometimes they look like serious 2026 World Cup contenders, sometimes they look lucky to have qualified for the 2022 tournament. Friday's 2-0 loss to Japan was a look at, as we outlined in our match preview, many of the worst-case scenarios for this team.

Here are the three biggest takeaways from the USMNT’s uninspiring 2-0 defeat to Japan

American fans that woke up early Friday morning to watch the United States men’s national team play a friendly vs. Japan were greeted to a pathetic, lackluster 2-0 U.S. defeat. Gregg Berhalter’s men were second-best just about everywhere on the field.

Mbappé beats 5 defenders and scores another goal that only Mbappé could score

PARIS - France kept their hopes of staying in the top tier of the Nations League alive as goals by Kylian Mbappé and Olivier Giroud secured a 2-0 home victory over Austria on Thursday.

Mbappé opened the scoring with a stunning goal before Giroud, who again showed coach Didier Deschamps he is more than a third-choice forward, sealed the world champions' win with a header.

Battle in the Bay Area: TBT to the last time the USMNT faced off against Japan

In the final international break before the World Cup, the USMNT faces an interesting set of matches against some infrequent opponents as Gregg Berhalter looks to formulate his final roster.

The international period begins on Sep. 22 with a friendly match against Japan at 8:25 a.m. ET in Düsseldorf, Germany. This is followed by a friendly against Saudi Arabia on Sep. 27 in Murcia, Spain. 

Here are the best, alright and worst-case scenarios for USMNT vs. Japan on Friday

Gregg Berhalter’s United States men’s national team plays its first of two friendlies on Friday vs. Japan. The game is being played on neutral ground in Düsseldorf, Germany. Here are some USMNT vs Japan predictions and scenarios.

USMNT vs Japan Predictions & Scenarios

Up first will be the overall scenarios, and then it'll be broken down by the three sections (attack, midfield and defense).

Gareth Bale says he's on ‘good path’ to World Cup despite never going 90 minutes for LAFC

Wales captain Gareth Bale said he is on a "good path" towards full fitness ahead of the World Cup in Qatar, despite not completing a full game since joining Los Angeles FC in June.

Bale signed for the Major League Soccer club after leaving Real Madrid, where he struggled with injury in his last few seasons. He has made only two starts in his 11 appearances for LAFC, scoring twice.

Want tickets to the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris? IOC reveals key details

It's almost impossible to believe, but we're currently just 671 days from the start of soccer at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France, and the IOC is revealing key dates for how to get tickets for Paris Olympics.

It's going to be a massive competition for U.S. Soccer as the USWNT looks to return to the top of the podium after earning bronze in Tokyo, while the USMNT U-23s are back at the Olympics for the first time since 2008.

If Berhalter plays his hottest hand, this is the USMNT starting XI vs. Japan

The USMNT begins its two-game September window Friday morning with a friendly against fellow World Cup participant Japan at Merkur Spiel-Arena in Düsseldorf, Germany. 

It'll be a fascinating matchup with the Samurai Blue fielding the likes of Schalke's Maya Yoshida, Monaco's Takumi Minamino, Arsenal's Takehiro Tomiyasu and Real Sociedad's Takefusa Kubo, while the U.S. is looking for some reassurances from its banner carriers (the goalkeeper position, Christian Pulisic). 

Injury bug in full swing as USMNT will have seven players miss September friendlies due to injury

The United States men’s national team was forced to replace Yunus Musah, Chris Richards and Cameron Carter-Vickers on the September friendlies roster after all three picked up injuries. The three amigos of injuries are the latest addition to a growing list of USMNT injuries

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