SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The San Francisco 49ers’ 8-0 start, doubling their win total from last year, has changed expectations in an instant, and it was the team’s hope that a victory Monday night would show the N.F.L. its legitimate claim as the front-runner. Instead, the 49ers showed why their team is still a work […] More
SEATTLE — For a decade, fans of the Seattle Sounders have turned out in record numbers to cheer their team. They have come in the rain and in the wind, in the sunshine and in the cold, and they have roared as their beloved Sounders have won (often) and lost (less so). They have seen […] More
LIVERPOOL, England — Jürgen Klopp and Jordan Henderson were the last two figures on the field. Manchester City’s players and staff members had applauded their fans, tucked away at one end of Anfield. Most of Liverpool’s had lingered longer, though only a little, to bask in the adulation of their public. Now, though, it was […] More
SEATTLE — Major League Soccer is closing out its 24th season this weekend with a rubber match: For the third time in four years, the Seattle Sounders and Toronto F.C. will play for the league championship in M.L.S. Cup. While the matchup, as well as the stage, is familiar for both the teams and the […] More
KATOWICE, Poland — Buried on page 49 of a dry procedural document published by the World Anti-Doping Agency last year is a paragraph that threatens to be a major headache for the organizers of next summer’s European soccer championship. The monthlong tournament, Europe’s quadrennial continental championship, is set to be a celebration of soccer on […] More
The judge overseeing the United States women’s national soccer team’s gender discrimination lawsuit against U.S. Soccer granted the players class status on Friday, an important victory for the women that appeared to support the claim that they are subjected to unequal working conditions and unequal pay when they played games for their country. The players […] More
Want more soccer in your inbox? Sign up to receive Rory Smith’s weekly newsletter every Friday. For months, if not longer, Granit Xhaka will have heard the grumbles whenever he misplaces a pass. He cannot have failed to hear the groans when he shoots from range. He will have noticed the howls of rage when […] More
ROCHDALE, England — Alfie McLellan was grumbling as he walked out of the low-slung, lopsided stadium that his team, Rochdale, calls home. It was not so much that Rochdale had lost that bothered McLellan. Rochdale fans like him know, from long experience, not to expect to win, especially not when playing a team like Ipswich […] More
