Soccer

Soccer

KEVIN SOUSA / NSL Montreal’s Noémi Paquin (right) celebrates teammate Elyse Bennett’s (left) goal Sunday against AFC Toronto. Bennett has had a goal a game so far — including two in the season opener — for the Roses.

Around the NSL: Vancouver falling, Bennett’s boot, Montreal still perfect

Grace Anne Paizen 5 minute read Friday, May. 15, 2026

IT’S fine and dandy to be accused of being a broken record, because… to go from the best to the worst? In one season? What’s up with that, Vancouver Rise?

Do the Calgary Wild also have zero points so far this season? Yes. But no one was necessarily expecting the Wild to come tearing out of the gates.

The defending Matheson Cup champions? Yeah, fans were expecting more from them — and rightly so.

The Rise led the league in clean sheets last season. Goalkeeper Morgan McAslan recorded nine shutouts and received the 2025 Golden Glove award.

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Opinion

DARRYL DYCK / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES FIFA president Gianni Infantino has defended the ticket pricing by comparing the World Cup fixture list to a series of Super Bowls kicking off up to four times each day.

World Cup trolling takes to the air

Jerrad Peters 5 minute read Preview

World Cup trolling takes to the air

Jerrad Peters 5 minute read Friday, May. 15, 2026

You know you’ve done something very, very foolish when an airline is trolling you.

People don’t generally like airlines. Or, they’re at least apathetic to them — relying on the check-in staff, flight attendants, pilots and actual planes to get them from one place to another, preferably safe and sound and with a modicum of dignity.

The soaring price of jet fuel, a consequence of the pumpkin patch baby’s Iranian adventure, and resulting rise in fares has only made the carriers even more unpopular.

They know it. They also know they’ve still got a healthier brand, somehow, than FIFA.

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Friday, May. 15, 2026

Opinion

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Real Madrid’s Federico Valverde (left) won’t be on the bus for Sunday’s Clásico in Barcelona after a Thursday punch-up with teammate Aurélien Tchouaméni.

Real Madrid president Pérez’s apathy like a wound in salt

Jerrad Peters 5 minute read Preview

Real Madrid president Pérez’s apathy like a wound in salt

Jerrad Peters 5 minute read Friday, May. 8, 2026

You know the schoolyard is out of control when parents’ phone calls to the office are the least of the principal’s worries.

Fisticuffs that end up requiring wheelchairs and trips to the hospital? Now those are actual problems. And when a third of the students simply refuse to acknowledge their teacher’s existence, you’ve got something deep-rooted on your hands.

Administration can only do so much. At some point the little brats must learn to play nice. Otherwise, they risk suspension from Escuela de Valdebebas.

Already, Federico Valverde and Dani Ceballos won’t be on the bus for Sunday’s field trip to Barcelona.

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Friday, May. 8, 2026

Opinion

LUCA BRUNO / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Inter Milan is on the verge of its third Scudetto in five years win on top of making it to the Coppa Italia final, but other Italian soccer scandals have detracted from the club’s exceptional run.

Nerazzurri on brink of 21st Scudetto… not that anyone’s talking about it

Jerrad Peters 5 minute read Preview

Nerazzurri on brink of 21st Scudetto… not that anyone’s talking about it

Jerrad Peters 5 minute read Friday, May. 1, 2026

Inter Milan will likely win its 21st Scudetto on Sunday. And if not Sunday, then next Saturday. And if not then…well, it will have.

Should Napoli and AC Milan lose to Como and Sassuolo, respectively, it would even be champions before kicking off against Parma at San Siro (1:45 p.m., FuboTV).

Typically, an imminent title would be the main talking point — and by some distance — in the days before that title is won. It would also be expected that this Inter group would get its flowers, what with the next few weeks being a sort of last hurrah.

Goalkeepers Yann Sommer and Raffaele Di Gennaro, defenders Stefan de Vrij, Francesco Acerbi and Benjamin Pavard (who has spent this season on loan to Marseille), wing-back Matteo Darmian and playmaker Henrikh Mkhitaryan are all out of contract in June. Federico Dimarco and Hakan Çalhanoglu have another year remaining on theirs, but the latter will almost certainly depart at that point, if not before.

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Friday, May. 1, 2026

Opinion

ALEX TODD / IMAGO Heart of Midlothian’s Lawrence Shankland celebrates a goal against Celtic. Hearts are currently at the top of the Scottish Premier league pack and has pulled out wins over both Old Firm teams — Celtic and Rangers — so far this season.

Moneyball — Scottish Premier league style

Jerrad Peters 5 minute read Preview

Moneyball — Scottish Premier league style

Jerrad Peters 5 minute read Friday, Apr. 24, 2026

The numbers don’t lie.

As the Scottish Premiership gets set for its annual split, when the 12-team league divides in two for the final five games of the season, first-place Heart of Midlothian is targeting a most unlikely title and its first since 1960, when Tommy Walker’s side topped the table twice in three years.

With 70 points from 33 matches, Hearts has a one-point lead on Rangers and a three-point advantage over Celtic — the Old Firm that has finished champions every spring since 1985. Nothing and no one suggested that would change this term, especially after Hearts came an unremarkable seventh just 11 months ago.

That is, nothing but a mysterious supercomputer and no one except Tony Bloom, the gambler-slash-entrepreneur-slash-data geek who bought a minority stake in the club last summer. He intuited that Hearts would challenge for the title immediately and would win it, and break up the Old Firm, within a decade.

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Friday, Apr. 24, 2026

Opinion

DAVE SHOPLAND / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Arsenal’s Declan Rice (centre) said he and his teammates are ready to make a “massive statement” against Manchester City on Sunday.

Arsenal sputtering? There’s a joke for that

Jerrad Peters 6 minute read Preview

Arsenal sputtering? There’s a joke for that

Jerrad Peters 6 minute read Friday, Apr. 17, 2026

“What’s the difference between Arsenal and a book? A book has a title.”

Sure, go ahead and laugh. Everyone’s having a bit of fun — even Arsenal fans, albeit in a morbid sense. But let’s none of us quit our day jobs, especially when the jokes write themselves.

Like the one last weekend, when the Gunners lost 2-1 at home to Bournemouth. Although, with The Cherries in 13th place prior to kickoff, it seemed inevitable that the host’s luck was about to run out.

Only, luck had little to do with what happened at Emirates Stadium (which is apparently the ideal landing spot for aliens, as it has no atmosphere). Nor was Bournemouth, despite its victory, the protagonist of the story.

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Friday, Apr. 17, 2026

Opinion

THIBAULT CAMUS / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILES New Tottenham Hotspur manager Roberto De Zerbi’s hyped-up, drill-sergeant style isn’t likely to mesh well with Spurs’ semi-fit, injury-prone and psychologically brittle players, Jerrad Peters writes.

De Zerbi wrong fit for sliding Spurs

Jerrad Peters 6 minute read Preview

De Zerbi wrong fit for sliding Spurs

Jerrad Peters 6 minute read Friday, Apr. 10, 2026

When Tottenham Hotspur visits Sunderland on Sunday (8:00 a.m., FuboTV), the North London outfit and Europa League holders will have gone 105 days without a win in the Premier League.

Count them back, and it takes you into last year. Thomas Frank was still in charge when, three days after Christmas, Archie Gray delivered a 1-0 triumph away to Crystal Palace. That was two managers and a lifetime ago. Back when there was hope, even if just a bit.

Oh, to be 11th again.

When the opening whistle blows at the Stadium of Light, Spurs will be in the relegation places — leapfrogged by West Ham, which beat dead-last Wolves on Friday.

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Friday, Apr. 10, 2026

Opinion

CHRIS YOUNG / THE CANADIAN PRESS Canada’s Tani Oluwaseyi leaps over Tunisia’s Omar Rekik during the teams’ 0-0 draw on Tuesday. The way all three World Cup co-hosts — Canada, the United States and Mexico — have played recently has raised the concern that the second knockout stage may be as far as the co-hosts can reasonably advance.

All signs pointing to bloated boondoggle of a World Cup

Jerrad Peters 6 minute read Preview

All signs pointing to bloated boondoggle of a World Cup

Jerrad Peters 6 minute read Friday, Apr. 3, 2026

Canada’s senior men’s soccer team dropped one place to 30th in the latest FIFA ranking, released Wednesday.

Now, rankings, like political polls, are snapshots in time and tell us little about how a group of players — affected by injuries, returns from injuries, new call-ups and individual streaks of form, good or bad — will fare against Uzbekistan on June 1, for example, or against Bosnia and Herzegovina 11 days later in a home World Cup.

The United States, too, dropped a spot to 16th, swapping places with Mexico, now in 15th. Again, these numbers are not informed by rigorous data, so we can’t read too much into them.

What we can do, however, is examine recent results and anticipate what FIFA would consider its World Cup nightmare: the tournament’s North American co-hosts crashing out at the group stage.

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Friday, Apr. 3, 2026

Soccer

Antonio Calanni / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Italy’s Moise Kean (left) and teammate Francesco Pio Esposito celebrate after Kean scored Italy’s second goal during the World Cup semifinal qualifying match Thursday against Northern Ireland.

Italy looking to avoid third straight shut out of World Cup

Jerrad Peters 5 minute read Preview

Italy looking to avoid third straight shut out of World Cup

Jerrad Peters 5 minute read Friday, Mar. 27, 2026

You get the feeling that Italy will have more on the line than World Cup qualification when its men’s national team faces Bosnia and Herzegovina on Tuesday (1:45 p.m. CT, DAZN).

“Feeling” is the operative word here.

The Azzurri feel they must prevail in Zenica, about an hour northwest of Sarajevo, as defeat would mean omission from a third successive World Cup finals. Victory, the only tenable result, would merely deliver the bare minimum: a berth in the tournament’s Group B and an opener against co-host Canada.

Far from excitement, the prospect of that June 12 match in Toronto would generate a neutral feeling in a country with four World Cups to its name. It would be an improvement. Beat the Canadians, and it would begin to feel familiar; beat Switzerland six days later and it would start to feel almost warm.

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Friday, Mar. 27, 2026

Opinion

IAN WALTON / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Arsenal’s star player Declan Rice (centre) isn’t flashy, but a defensive midfielder with a penchant for involvement in set-piece goals.

Carabao Cup final a tale of two footy clubs

Jerrad Peters 6 minute read Preview

Carabao Cup final a tale of two footy clubs

Jerrad Peters 6 minute read Friday, Mar. 20, 2026

Sunday’s Carabao Cup final could be the start of something, the end of something, or both.

Let’s start with, well, the start.

Still competing in all four competitions, Arsenal could kick off quite a memorable spring by beating Manchester City at Wembley (11:30 a.m., DAZN). Not counting Community Shields — because, who does? — a win would give the Gunners their first trophy in six years and perhaps be a springboard to bigger and better near-term triumphs.

Next up after Sunday will be an April 4th trip to Southampton in the sixth round of the FA Cup. Arsenal is the tournament’s record winner, and it would no doubt like to add a 15th replica to the cabinet. But if it ends up beating City, this is the competition it could sacrifice as it contends on more prestigious fronts.

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Friday, Mar. 20, 2026

Opinion

DAVE THOMPSON / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Manchester United’s Benjamin Sesko shakes hands with coach Michael Carrick.

Carrick leads revitalized Red Devils into crucial Villa match

Jerrad Peters 5 minute read Preview

Carrick leads revitalized Red Devils into crucial Villa match

Jerrad Peters 5 minute read Friday, Mar. 13, 2026

Had Manchester United been offered a single match with Champions League football at stake when the season kicked off, it would have taken a pass. After all, it had come up short in that exact scenario against Tottenham Hotspur in May.

Aston Villa, on the other hand, would’ve jumped at the chance. A late-winter meltdown had seen it throw away its place in Europe’s most prestigious club competition, and a one-off showdown might have sharpened its focus.

Well, the Birmingham side will get the closest thing to a 90-minute playoff when it visits Old Trafford on Sunday (9:00 a.m., FuboTV).

With nine games to go, United and Villa are tied for third in the Premier League. Neither will finish higher than that, but Chelsea and Liverpool are just three points behind and awaiting a slip-up to nab one or both of England’s four guaranteed Champions League spots.

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Friday, Mar. 13, 2026

Opinion

VAHID SALEMI / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILES Iran’s Mehdi Taremi (center) scores his side’s second goal against Uzbekistan during the World Cup qualifying match in Tehran last year. The Iranian soccer team booked their ticket to the 2026 World Cup with the draw against Uzbekistan last March.

War in Iran further exacerbates logistics of 2026 World Cup

Jerrad Peters 6 minute read Preview

War in Iran further exacerbates logistics of 2026 World Cup

Jerrad Peters 6 minute read Friday, Mar. 6, 2026

Earlier this week, FIFA World Cup countdown clocks passed from three to two digits. There’s now just 90-odd days until the event — set to take place in Canada, Mexico and the United States — kicks off in Mexico City.

But what if it was scheduled to start, say, tomorrow? It’s a frightening exercise.

Only a week ago, a World Cup co-host attacked a World Cup-qualified nation that posed no imminent threat. (It’s a wretched way to describe the United States’ military strike on Iran, but one that’s going to be increasingly germane as that countdown approaches zero.)

The war — and yes, it’s a war — has since seen at least 13 additional countries sustain bombardments, mostly from retaliatory Iranian missiles. Three of them (Jordan, Qatar and Saudi Arabia) will be sending their senior men’s soccer teams to North America this spring.

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Friday, Mar. 6, 2026

Opinion

Sevilla’s head coach Matias Almeyda (Jose Breton / The Associated Press)

Relaxed Real Betis ready for Sevilla challenge

Jerrad Peters 5 minute read Preview

Relaxed Real Betis ready for Sevilla challenge

Jerrad Peters 5 minute read Friday, Feb. 27, 2026

You can make a pretty safe guess, based solely on pre-game preparations, as to which of Seville’s football clubs is the most frantic, and which the most confident, ahead of Sunday’s Gran Derbi (11:30 a.m., TSN+).

Sevilla FC manager Matías Almeyda — currently serving a seven-match ban after confronting the officials in a 1-1 draw with Alavés earlier this month — gave his players a rare Tuesday off, and he broke with tradition when he held his final practice of the week behind closed doors.

City rival Real Betis Balompié, meanwhile, enjoyed a combined squad-staff lunch on Thursday, and manager Manuel Pellegrini’s Friday training session was open to the public.

There’s no hiding it. Sevilla, just five points above the relegation places, is panicking. Betis, presently fifth in La Liga, is chilling. And it wants its opponent to know it’s chilling.

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Friday, Feb. 27, 2026

Opinion

LUCA BRUNO / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILES Inter Milan striker Lautaro Martinez leads the league in goals. The club has now spent 10 week in first place going into the Derby d’Italia clash against Juventus on Saturday.

An Inter win would underscore Milan’s Oly success

Jerrad Peters 5 minute read Preview

An Inter win would underscore Milan’s Oly success

Jerrad Peters 5 minute read Friday, Feb. 13, 2026

MILAN — After a brief eviction from San Siro (something about Andrea Bocelli, Mariah Carey and five interlocking rings), Inter Milan is back home at its iconic, century-old ground. And not a moment too soon. Juventus is coming to town for the Derby d’Italia (Saturday, 1:45 p.m. CT, FuboTV), and any other stadium just wouldn’t do.

That’s not to disrespect Stadio Brianteo, where Inter “hosted” and defeated Torino last week in the Coppa Italia. It’s a perfectly fine arena for Monza, presently in a promotion battle in Serie B. But the biggest match in Italian football? Not a chance.

This is a showdown made for the grandest stage, and stages don’t come much grander than San Siro. The imposing and beloved, if creaking, venue was decked out and shown to all the world as the setting for the Opening Ceremony of the 2026 Olympic Winter Games. It looked good, all dressed up.

But who’s kidding who? As much fun as it was to see it welcome international athletes and hear it boo JD Vance, it only truly comes alive when either Inter or AC Milan — or both — are gracing its legendary surface.

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Friday, Feb. 13, 2026

Soccer

Richard Pelham / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Manchester City’s Erling Haaland reacts during Sunday’s match against Tottenham Hotspur. The Sky Blues lost the two goal lead in the second half with the match ending in a two-all draw.

Post-halftime collapses recurring theme for Manchester club

Jerrad Peters 5 minute read Preview

Post-halftime collapses recurring theme for Manchester club

Jerrad Peters 5 minute read Friday, Feb. 6, 2026

Maybe you’ve heard someone who doesn’t watch basketball opine that only the last few minutes of hoops are worth watching. (For the record, I am not this person. Basketball, especially when my team is playing, makes me more nervous than any other sport.)

Now, let’s take that idiom, adjust it to soccer and apply it to a phenomenon that’s backed up by evidence. Like this: Manchester City matches only begin after halftime.

Take their February 1 draw at Tottenham Hotspur for example.

Leading 2-0 at the break thanks to goals from Rayan Cherki and Antoine Semenyo, and having dominated every statistical category through 45 minutes, City looked an entirely different team in the second half. And not in a good way.

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Friday, Feb. 6, 2026

Soccer

Jose Breton / The Associated Press files Real Madrid appears back to its dominating self under new head coach Álvaro Arbeloa (left).

Arbeloa seemingly perfect fit in Real Madrid hierarchy

Jerrad Peters 5 minute read Preview

Arbeloa seemingly perfect fit in Real Madrid hierarchy

Jerrad Peters 5 minute read Friday, Jan. 23, 2026

Only at Real Madrid can you beat Barcelona in La Liga and be fired nine games later.

Only at Real Madrid can you go from Manager of the Month to cleaning out your office in the space of half a season. Only at Real Madrid can you post the best defensive record in the division, lead it for 10 of 19 weeks and be sacked for underperforming. Only at Real Madrid…

To say the standards are a bit different in the Spanish capital is a massive understatement. Xabi Alonso, who won the title, the Copa del Rey and the Champions League at the club as a player, knew this better than most when he was named its head coach back in June. It didn’t matter.

You see, those famous standards, those almost impossible measures that have made Los Blancos the record Spanish and European champions, apply to much more than the standings and stat sheets.

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Friday, Jan. 23, 2026

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