National Teams

Olivier Giroud bagged a double as he showed his worth for France again to help the world champions beat Sweden 4-2 at home in the Nations League on Tuesday.

Giroud scored either side of Benjamin Pavard's first-half strike as Les Bleus recovered from Viktor Claesson's early opener. Sweden, who reduced the arrears through Robin Quaison before France's Kingsley Coman wrapped it up in stoppage time, were relegated into League B.

Spain forward Ferran Torres scored a first career hat-trick as his side crushed helpless Germany 6-0 at home on Tuesday to storm into the final four of the Nations League.

Goals from Alvaro Morata, Ferran and Rodri gave Luis Enrique's side a convincing 3-0 lead at halftime, while Ferran struck again early in the second half and completed his treble with a classy finish. Substitute Mikel Oyarzabal tapped in the sixth goal in the 89th minute to adorn an incredible Spain display and deepen four-time world champion Germany's misery.

As the rain and mist rolled into Liebenauer Stadium in Graz, Austria on Tuesday, it was Mexico that moved like the onryō ("vengeful spirits") that originated in their opponent’s homeland before being proliferated around the world through the J-Horror genre.

An opening 20 minutes of Japan superiority was beat back single-handedly by Guillermo Ochoa, but the rhythm of the game slowly changed in Mexico’s favor and by the time Raúl Jiménez opened the scoring in the 63rd minute, you felt as though it’d been coming for El Tri.

But first, Ochoa.

USWNT manager Vlatko Andonovski has announced his squad for the Nov. 27 friendly against the Netherlands, and — as always given the extremely competitive nature of forcing your way into this team — the exclusions are probably more notable than the inclusions.  

Former Iran striker Ali Daei has said he would be honored to see Cristiano Ronaldo break his record for the most goals in international soccer as the Portugal forward moves closer to his tally of 109.

Ronaldo, the only other centurion in the men's international arena, has scored 102 goals in 168 appearances since his debut in 2003.

Atletico Madrid and Uruguay forward Luis Suarez has tested positive for COVID-19, the Uruguay national team said in a statement on Monday.

Uruguay's statement said top scorer Suarez and stand-in goalkeeper Rodrigo Munoz plus a staff member had tested positive. Other members of the squad had all tested negative ahead of Tuesday's World Cup qualifier at home to Brazil.

The USMNT defeated Panama 6-2 in Austria on Monday with braces from Nicholas Gioacchini (age 20) and Sebastian Soto (20) complimented by strikes from Giovanni Reyna (18) and Sebastian Lletget.     

Beating Panama isn’t the be-all and end-all in international football — unless you’re England, then you’re winning the 2018 World Cup — but it's the perfect barometer for how this USMNT (fielding its second-youngest starting lineup of all time) will handle itself come next summer’s CONCACAF Octagonal.

The World Cup finals in Russia feel a lot longer than two years ago, especially for an England team, beaten 2-0 by Belgium on Sunday, that have lost their way.

During their run to the semifinals in 2018, England seemed to have solved the long-standing puzzle of how find a way to inject the quality, tempo and excitement of Premier League football into the national team's style of play. Finally, Gareth Southgate had created a team where players were performing in the same manner, with the same intensity and positivity, that they showed with their clubs every week.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and his Gabon teammates were forced to spend the night sleeping on the airport floor ahead of their vital Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Gambia.

Aubameyang used social media to highlight their plight after arriving at Banjul airport on Sunday, ahead of Monday’s Group D clash in the Gambian capital. The Gabon delegation were told they were not allowed to leave the airport because of an administrative problem and were forced to sleep on the floor before being allowed to leave in the morning after government intervention.

The U.S. Women's National Team will return from an extended break due to the COVID-19 pandemic with an exhibition game against the Netherlands on Nov. 27.

The rematch of the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup final, won 2-0 by the Americans, will be played at Rat Verlegh Stadium in Breda, Netherlands, about 67 miles south of Amsterdam. There will be no fans in the stands. The U.S. squad last played March 11, when it beat Japan 3-1 to win the SheBelieves Cup in Frisco, Texas.