Come August, there are always a few clubs that capture the imagination with their audacious summer spending before inevitably collapsing by October. Usually this is Everton.
The return of a club legend, the signing of a highly touted prodigy or a loan move for a big-name player whose career has stalled (or preferably all three in one window) are the usual fixings for getting way too hyped before the start of a new campaign.
A beautifully chaotic Gold Cup quarterfinal between the USMNT and Jamaica produced a dramatic winner on Sunday night in Arlington after 20-year-old forward Matthew Hoppe earned the Americans’ passage to the semis with a header in the 83rd minute.
With an average age of 23 and average cap collection of just 12, there was a question of nerves — especially after a large crowd at AT&T Stadium had belted out "The Star-Spangled Banner" to animate the enormity of the occasion.
Ricardo Pepi became the youngest player in Major League Soccer history to score a hat-trick, leading FC Dallas to a 4-0 win over the Los Angeles Galaxy on Saturday evening in Frisco, Texas.
Pepi, who is 18 years, 197 days of age, increased his season goal total to a team-high eight with his first career hat-trick. The El Paso, Texas, native is in his third season with the team.
TOKYO - France's Olympic men's soccer campaign got off to a dreadful start when they were thrashed 4-1 by Mexico while Argentina suffered a shock 2-0 loss to Australia as the group stage kicked off on Thursday.
Brazil striker Richarlison scored the first hat-trick of the men's tournament as the defending champions held off a late rally from Germany in a 4-2 win at Yokohama's International Stadium.
Trinity Rodman scored the best goal of her rookie season on Sunday, but it wasn’t enough as the Washington Spirit fell 3-2 to Gotham FC at Segra Field.
The Spirit looked doomed as early as the seventh-minute after Sam Staab was issued a straight red card for committing a foul as the last defender, but six minutes after her dismissal, Rodman shocked NJ/NY.
The 19-year-old used her pace to get on the end of a ball out wide, but with support arriving in the middle, Rodman elected to drift inside before unleashing a right-footed effort that flew inside the far post.
FC Dallas announced the transfer of midfielder Tanner Tessmann to Serie A side Venezia FC on Thursday.
The 19-year-old signed a homegrown deal with Dallas ahead of the 2020 MLS campaign and has appeared in 26 games (15 starts), including seven games (six starts) this season. He has taken 20 shots and tallied one assist.
18-year-old PSG phenom Xavi Simons is the world’s most well-known footballer with just a single league minute to their name. The Dutch prodigy was a standout performer in Barcelona’s youth setup, where his every progression through La Masia brought increased interest.
But after failing to agree to a new contract with Barça, Simons was whisked off to Paris in 2019, where the 16-year-old signed a three-year deal that reportedly paid him over $1 million annually.
Roy Keane said England teenager Bukayo Saka should not have been given the task of taking their crucial fifth penalty in Sunday's shootout defeat by Italy in the Euro 2020 final.
Saka, 19, had to score to send the shootout to sudden death but his kick was saved by Gianluigi Donnarumma. The Italian goalkeeper had also saved from Jadon Sancho after Marcus Rashford had hit the post.
DONNARUMMA SAVES THE PENALTY!
The NCAA has adopted a new interim policy that provides college athletes with the opportunity to profit off their name, image and likeness (NIL). Including all the top three divisions of all NCAA sports nationwide, almost 460,000 athletes now have the liberty to be compensated for their worth and what they bring to their school. Before the new policy came into effect, the NCAA owned the public rights of every athlete as a part of their scholarship agreement.