National Teams

The consensus among many was that Gareth Southgate had been too cautious with his starting lineup against Italy on Sunday in the Euro 2020 final. The England manager made one change from the semifinal, bringing in Kieran Trippier and adopting a back-five while winger Bukayo Saka dropped to the bench.

Steve McManaman called it a mistake on ESPN during the pregame show. It took all of one minute and 57 seconds to see that McManaman had been mistaken.

When the final whistle blew at the Maracanã on Saturday night, Argentina was confirmed as 2021 Copa América champion, bringing an end to the country’s 28-year wait for international glory, while Lionel Messi fell to his knees in triumphant elation. 

RIO DE JANEIRO - Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni paid tribute to Lionel Messi on Saturday, praising his team captain and revealing he played in the Copa América win over Brazil with an injury.

"If you knew the way that he played in the Copa América you’d love him even more,” Scaloni told reporters after Argentina’s 1-0 win at the Maracanã stadium in Rio de Janeiro. “You can never do without a player like him, even when he is not fully fit like in this game and the previous one.”

Lionel Messi is finally a champion with Argentina. In his fifth major final in his 10th major tournament, Messi led La Albiceleste to a major international trophy, beating Brazil 1-0 in the 2021 Copa América final on Saturday night at the Maracanã. 

Maybe that will shut the naysayers up after years of hearing “yeah, but” when discussing Messi as the greatest player of all time.

And you could see what it meant to him, his teammates and his country. 

¡Maracanazo consumado!

New Zealand’s Olympic soccer preparations were handed a blow a couple weeks before the tournament kicks off, and Football Ferns coach Tom Sermanni is not happy about it. Team captain Ali Riley and defensive star Abby Erceg were not allowed to join up with their national team until after this weekend’s NWSL games, leading Sermanni to excoriate the Orlando Pride and N.C. Courage.

LONDON — Britain's Queen Elizabeth has sent a message to the England soccer manager to wish the team luck ahead of the country's most anticipated game since the 1966 World Cup final.

England are due to play Italy on Sunday in the Euro 2020 final at London's Wembley Stadium, prompting excitement across the country, with beer sales soaring and special permission for children to start school late on Monday.

Friday evening the day before the 2021 Gold Cup was set to begin, Concacaf sent out a nonchalant email to media with the subject line: “Concacaf Statement — Curaçao Delegation at Gold Cup.” That’s an understated way to announce a team has been expelled from the tournament a day before it was scheduled to play.