National Teams

History was made Tuesday night at DRV PNK Stadium, the future home of Lionel Messi, as Saint Kitts and Nevis defeated French Guiana in a penalty shootout to advance to the Concacaf Gold Cup group stage for the first time ever.

The Sugar Boyz — ranked 139th in the world — got themselves to the Gold Cup qualifying prelims in Fort Lauderdale by topping their group in Nations League C, but they had to get by Curaçao (a 2019 quarterfinalist) in the semifinals last Friday (which went to a penalty shootout) before Tuesday night's dramatics against French Guiana.

Brazil's legendary national team has played 89 different countries over the course of its storied history but only two nations have managed to face the Seleção without tasting defeat. Norway, surprisingly, has a record of two wins and two draws against Brazil (including a famous victory at the '98 World Cup), and the other nation actually beat them on Tuesday: Senegal.

Here at The18 we've been discussing strategies for staying awake to provide you with the best coverage of the Women's World Cup. The latest plan is to collectively move to Washington DC, where bars and restaurants will now be open 24 hours a day during the month-long tournament after emergency legislation was passed in the District. 

New Zealand Football (NZF) said it will contact FIFA about protecting players from racism after the men's national team abandoned a friendly against Qatar at halftime in protest at an alleged racist slur against one of their players.

New Zealand said a Qatari opponent directed a "significant racist slur" at All Whites defender Michael Boxall, who has Samoan heritage, shortly before the interval.

Goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois asked not to travel with Belgium for their Euro 2024 qualifier in Estonia on Tuesday, telling shocked coach Domenico Tedesco he did not feel respected within the team as he walked out of the squad.

Courtois, 31, played in Saturday's 1-1 home draw with Austria but told Tedesco after the match that he would not make himself available for the Estonia game.

Tedesco says Courtois's unhappiness spilled over when striker Romelu Lukaku was given the captain's armband for the Austria game in the absence of injured regular skipper Kevin De Bruyne.

The UEFA and CONCACAF Nations League finals both took place Sunday, and records fell, legends became immortal and history was written as the world came to a standstill to watch the heroics of goalkeeper Unai Simón and a blonded Gio Reyna.

The Concacaf Nations League trophy has only ever known one home, and it's staying put after the USMNT defeated Canada 2-0 on Sunday in Las Vegas to claim their most coveted prize of the summer. 

Canada came into this one with genuine belief that they could claim their first continental crown since the 2000 Gold Cup, but the pressure is now on manager John Herdman after the Americans — led by the interim mind of B.J. Callaghan — nullified their talented attack and provided all the entertainment going the other way.

ROTTERDAM - Serial winner Dani Carvajal converted the decisive spot-kick to hand Spain a first title in more than a decade as they edged Croatia 5-4 in a penalty shootout to win the Nations League in Rotterdam on Sunday.

The 31-year-old, who has won five Champions League titles with Real Madrid, calmly chipped home Spain’s sixth kick of the shootout as they claimed their first silverware since the 2012 European Championship.