National Teams

There’s no more convenient way to earn a surfboard than by winning at the Teen Choice Awards, so Lionel Messi and Tobin Heath will be disappointed to have lost out on Choice Male Athlete and Choice Female Athlete, respectively, at the 2019 award show in Hermosa Beach, California, on Sunday night.

But soccer still got its moment in the spotlight when Taylor Swift was presented with the inaugural Icon Award at the show — presenting her surfboard was USWNT star Alex Morgan.

Last night in Lima, Peru, Honduras upset Mexico after a penalty shootout to advance to the final of the 2019 Pan American Games. It’s a largely meaningless U-22 competition with understrength youth teams, so the Mexican Football Federation won’t be overly bothered by the result, but manager Jaime Lozano will be irked that his side couldn’t hold on to a 1-0 lead with just over 10 minutes remaining.

Especially since that 1-0 lead was built on one of the finest goals of the summer.

Christian Pulisic may be the most successful American playing in Europe right now, but he is by no means the only one. There are a bunch of American players who will be looking to break out at their clubs in Europe this season like Pulisic did at Borussia Dortmund. Here are the five American players in Europe you should watch out for this upcoming season:

Video footage has circulated around social media of construction workers in Qatar going on strike in response to the inhumane working conditions they have dealt with during stadium construction for the upcoming 2022 World Cup. The strike began on Sunday with thousands of workers protesting on the outskirts of one of their work-sites.

A crowd of 37,040 was on hand at the Rose Bowl in Southern California to watch the USWNT kick off its Victory Tour with a 3-0 win over the Republic of Ireland on Saturday night. First half goals from Tobin Heath, Lindsey Horan and Carli Lloyd settled things by the 41st minute, and 17 different World Cup-winners made an appearance on the night, although star attractions Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe both missed the match while recovering from minor injuries.

Lionel Messi was not happy after his team was beaten by Brazil in the 2019 Copa América — so unhappy he suggested the match was rigged.

Messi will be even unhappier after being handed a three-month ban for his comments.

Alex Morgan wants a three-peat. 

The ESPN+ exclusive four-part series “Alex Morgan: The Equalizer” concluded with the USWNT star striker saying she’s not planning to retire anytime soon. The 30-year-old has her eyes on more medals and an unprecedented third Women’s World Cup title.

Apparently not everyone is on board with the USWNT equal-pay suit. In an interview with the news site TooFab, former USMNT player Jermaine Jones openly criticized the action, stating that some women are making more money in the NWSL than men in MLS, while also claiming that the NWSL is league where “you can say that you suck” and you still get paid.

Jones' comments stem from the fact that members of the USWNT receive a guaranteed extra bonus of around $60,000 for playing in the NWSL, an incentive to draw American talent to the league.