Youth Soccer

15-year-old Nimfasha Berchimas is tearing up the U-17 World Cup as USA advance to Round of 16

The United States U-17 men’s youth national team has a star in the making and it’s 15-year-old Nimfasha Berchimas.

The U.S. is competing in the U-17 World Cup in Indonesia and secured a spot in the Round of 16 after defeating Burkina Faso 2-1 on Wednesday. The Americans bested South Korea 3-1 in their opening game and now sit tied at six points with France, mathematically advancing the U.S. out of the group.

California soccer game turns ugly as parents and players brawl after final whistle

Chaos erupted after an amateur soccer game in Irvine, California, this past weekend when players and parents got involved in a nasty brawl.

The fight was between two teams that play in the United Premier Soccer League, which is sometimes considered the fourth tier of the U.S. Soccer pyramid.

Irvine Zeta FC II was a younger team that upset the undefeated Club Garrafones 2-1. After the final whistle scuffles turned to skirmishes which devolved into an all-out brawl.

Da'vian Kimbrough, 13, just became the youngest U.S. pro soccer player

Sacramento Republic forward Da'vian Kimbrough became the youngest U.S. pro soccer player in history, making his professional debut on Sunday.

Kimbrough, who is 13 years, 7 months and 13 days old, entered a USL Championship match in the 87th minute of Sacramento Republic's 2-0 win over the Las Vegas Lights.

PSA: Please respect youth soccer referees this season, they don’t get paid enough for your nonsense

Fall is rapidly approaching, and youth soccer is already underway this season. The18 unfortunately reports on far too many instances of enraged parents going after youth soccer referees. We’re looking to change the narrative on those poor officials in yellow and give them some more respect.

13-year-old Da’vian Kimbrough becomes youngest pro in U.S. history, signs with Sacramento

Sacramento Republic FC of the United Soccer League made history on Tuesday by signing a 13-year-old player to a professional contract.

Da'vian Kimbrough, who is 13 years, 5 months and 13 days old, signed with Sacramento to become the youngest pro player in U.S. soccer history. The record most recently belonged to Maximo Carrizo, who signed with New York City FC's senior squad on his 14th birthday in February 2022.

The club also claims that Kimbrough is the youngest professional athlete in American team sports history.

Thiago Messi steals the show from dad with a savage nutmeg during presentation

Lionel Messi was introduced as an Inter Miami player in front of a raucous sellout crowd of over 20,000 at DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale on Sunday night. Messi was welcomed in the driving rain with an impressive display of pyrotechnics and star-studded video messages (Tom Brady! Steph Curry! Gregg!), and he thanked the crowd for making his family feel so welcome in the city.

Mexico national team finds viral kid who wanted to be Mexican, feeds him quesadillas

Sorry, Panama. I know the Gold Cup final is later Sunday night, but the tournament has already been won by Mexico after members of the national team met the child who wanted to be Mexican — so he could spend his days eating quesadillas — and presented him with that delicacy and an El Tri jersey.

It was revealed in the original video that the four-year-old boy has Ethiopian roots, but that's all over now — just look at how content he is to be wearing La Verde and eating that delicious cheesiness melted inside a warm tortilla. 

No more FIFA: First look at EA SPORTS FC on July 13 along with playable demo

Billed as "the next chapter in The World's Game," the hype surrounding Electronic Arts' latest edition of its beloved soccer video game has never been greater, and that's all driven by the shift from what was expected (FIFA 24) to a brave new world of licensing (EA SPORTS FC).

U-17 free kick routine beginning with rock-paper-scissors is only getting started

What is it with the youth of Japan and unforgettable set piece routines? Every year we're visiting the All Japan High School Soccer Tournament to watch some team perform Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake before scoring, so it comes as no surprise that when all the finest young Samurai Blue minds come together to represent Japan at the U-17 level, magic happens. 

USA U-20s self-destruct in World Cup quarterfinal defeat to Uruguay

The United States men's U-20 team wanted to make history Sunday by advancing to the World Cup semifinals for the first time in program history, but after looking like tournament favorites while rattling off four straight victories, scoring 10 goals and conceding none, the U.S. dream quickly became a nightmare against Uruguay in the quarterfinals.

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