3:45 PM ET Ed DoveSpecial to ESPN Close Ed Dove is a writer and scout who has a deep and enduring passion for African sport, politics and literature. Instagram: @EddyDove22, Facebook: @EddyDoveAfrica Friday’s first leg World Cup qualifiers across Africa offered tension and tactical intrigue aplenty, with the four teams still standing from the continent’s

5:27 AM ET World Cup qualifying has entered its final stretch, with 19 of the 32 finalists now known. But who could take the 13 places that remain? We take a look at how qualifying looks. – World Cup 2022 qualifying: How it works around the world Europe Qualified (10/13):GermanyDenmarkBelgiumFranceCroatiaSpainSerbiaEnglandSwitzerlandNetherlands – Olley: England still a

7:01 PM ET Luke Thrower The 2022 January transfer window is closed, but there’s still plenty of gossip swirling about who’s moving where. Transfer Talk brings you all the latest buzz on rumours, comings and goings and, of course, done deals! TOP STORY: Rashford draws interest from Gunners Arsenal are set to make a move

Mar 25, 2022 MEXICO CITY — There are too many times the United States men’s national team has walked out of Estadio Azteca seething, on the wrong end of a scoreline, to count. Usually it was because the visitors had been subjected to death by 1,000 passes, no match for Mexico‘s methodical possession game, and

8:46 AM ET It’s like the old joke about buses: you wait hours for one, and then two come along at once. Except in reverse. Italy went 60 years without missing a World Cup and now, after Thursday’s 1-0 playoff defeat to North Macedonia, they’ve missed the last two buses to the biggest show on

Mar 24, 2022 Gareth Bale has responded to his critics in Spain and said they should be “ashamed of themselves” after his stunning brace helped Wales past Austria in their World Cup playoff semifinal on Thursday. Bale produced a wonderful free kick in the first half to open the scoring for Wales before doubling their

9:16 AM ET Adrian Simon Gill, a United States youth international, first joined Barca’s La Masia academy in 2018. Craig Williamson/SNS Group via Getty Images United States youth international Adrian Simon Gill has signed a new three-year contract with Barcelona, the club announced on Friday. Gill, 16, first joined Barca’s La Masia academy in 2018 and

6:52 PM ET William E. Ricks North Macedonia pulled off one of the biggest soccer stunners of all time, defeating Italy in Thursday’s UEFA semifinal match 1-0. The loss also eliminates Italy from the 2022 World Cup. Aleksandar Trajkovski played the hero for North Macedonia, scoring the game-winning goal during the 92nd minute. Entering the

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10:51 AM ET The U.S. men’s national team has had a interesting relationship with the World Cup. After appearing in three of the first four competitions (1930, 1950, 1954), the Yanks missed the next nine before returning, in 1990, thanks to a pivotal qualifying goal by Paul Caligiuri in Trinidad & Tobago. (You can see