On the one hand, Alexandre Pato isn't old — he's only 33. On the other, memories of his footballing career belong to the wizened generations. It's been a decade since his last appearance for Brazil and 12 years since that unforgettable goal against Barcelona.
A friendly match between Women's World Cup-bound teams Ireland and Colombia was abandoned after becoming overly physical, the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) said on Friday.
The game in Brisbane, Australia, which was played behind closed doors, was called off after 20 minutes.
"The game, which was held in Meakin Park, Brisbane, became overly physical and it was decided, following consultation with the match officials, to end the game," the FAI said in a statement.
It's been almost a year since two-time Ballon d'Or winner Alexia Putellas went down with an ACL injury that cost her a place at last summer's European Championship and almost the entire 2022-23 club season with Barcelona.
Her last appearance for Spain was actually July 2, 2022, when she received her 100th cap and scored her 27th goal in a friendly against Italy.
Now, after a long and demanding road to recovery, Putellas made her long-awaited return to the national team Thursday during a friendly against fellow World Cup participants Panama.
United States captain and veteran defender Becky Sauerbrunn will not be included in the squad for the Women's World Cup due to a foot injury she suffered in April, the Athletic reported on Friday.
Sauerbrunn is one of several injured American players to miss the tournament, which kicks off on July 20 in Australia and New Zealand, after attacker Mallory Swanson went down with a knee injury in April.
Real Madrid Castilla faced off against Barça Athlètic in the second leg of their third division Primera Federación clash for a chance to fight for a promotion to the Segunda División (second division). After coming home with a 4-2 loss, the young Galacticos had a tough challenge to overcome if they wanted a chance to play in the next tier for the upcoming season.
With a booming atmosphere, the Merengues managed to turn the tie around and defeat the culés with a 3-0 scoreline.
2023 has been a disastrous year for LA Galaxy. The team sits last in the MLS Western Conference and was recently kicked out of the US Open Cup. On top of that, their staff doctors told the squad on Friday that captain and main striker, Javier Hernández, will miss the rest of the season due to an ACL injury.
Oh, rats!
2023 continúa siendo una pesadilla para Javier Hernández.
Chicharito sufrió el miércoles en la noche una aparatosa lesión de rodilla que de seguro hará aún más miserable la podrida temporada que vive.
El delantero mexicano fue titular en la derrota y eliminación del LA Galaxy en la US Open Cup, pero su aporte fue limitadísimo.
Angel City forward Sydney Leroux was in tears Monday night after an emotional return to the field. Leroux had been sidelined for the past 11 months and scored in her first game back during Angel City’s 2-1 defeat to the Chicago Red Stars.
Leroux joined Angel City from the Orlando Pride last June and was only able to make three appearances for the Los Angeles club before a season-ending ankle injury that required surgery.
There are plenty of interesting teams to watch at The Soccer Tournament, but one of the most star-studded is certainly Team Dempsey (although USMNT legend Clint Dempsey only serves as the head coach in flip-flops).
On Thursday, they began play at the 7-on-7 tournament with a starting lineup that had Luis Robles in goal (three USMNT caps), Jermaine Jones in midfield (69 USMNT caps), Eddie Johnson out wide (63 USMNT caps) and Chris Wondolowski up top (35 USMNT caps). Jaime Lozano (34 Mexico caps) was on the bench.
United States women’s national team and potentially soon-to-be Chelsea midfielder Catarina Macario posted on social media that she won’t recover from her ACL injury in time for the 2023 Women’s World Cup.
With the tournament starting in less than two months the 23-year-old looked like a long shot for making the roster. She missed the entire 2022-23 season for her club team Lyon (France) after suffering an injury to her left ACL in June 2022.