No one expected Vancouver to contend MLS Cup when they were put up for sale at the start of the season, but they might be the team best equipped to win it

Inter Miami aim to defend home turf against NYCFC, while San Diego visit Vancouver in two finely poised conference finals. GOAL’s writers break down both matchups.

GOAL looks at the biggest storylines among Americans Abroad, including a big match for Chris Richards' Crystal Palace against Manchester United.

With the Lionel Messi-Cristiano Ronaldo duopoly now disappearing into the rearview mirror, the battle for the Ballon d'Or hasn't felt so open for the best part of 20 years, with countless players beginning the campaign believing they have a chance of claiming the most prestigious individual prize football has to offer. Ousmane Dembele emerged from a career plagued with inconsistencies to win the Golden Ball in 2025, and he is among a crowded field of contenders as the 2026 race gets going.

It’s no secret that, despite winning the last two European Championship titles and reaching the final of the most recent Women's World Cup, England’s Lionesses lack options at left-back. Sarina Wiegman has tried plenty to address the issue, deploying centre-forward Rachel Daly there for a good while, moving centre-backs across to test their credentials there and even changing formation to mask the problem.

This time last year, the narrative around Chelsea's meeting with Arsenal at Stamford Bridge focused on whether Cole Palmer had reached Bukayo Saka-levels of stardom. He had taken west London by storm during his first year with the Blues and was spearheading an unlikely title charge through the autumn. Now, though, the debate between the two rivals has shifted to midfielders Moises Caicedo and Declan Rice.

The incredible story of Leicester City's 2015-16 Premier League title triumph is perhaps the most well-known of the past decade. Claudio Ranieri guided a team of 5000-1 outsiders, which had been assembled on a shoestring budget, to glory in his first season at the King Power Stadium. No one could argue that Leicester were not the best side in the country either; they finished 10 points clear of second-placed Arsenal, losing only three of their 38 games.

England's centre-back room looks almost unrecognisable this month to how it has for the majority of Sarina Wiegman's tenure. With Millie Bright having recently retired, Leah Williamson still injured, Alex Greenwood ruled out for a few weeks and Jess Carter granted a period of rest, Wiegman is set to name a starting defence without any of that quartet for just the second, and third, time in her four years in charge of the Lionesses when her side take on China and Ghana over the course of the next week.

With Rose Lavelle flying, Naomi Girma healthy again and new faces pushing in camp, Emma Hayes gets a final 2025 look at the USWNT against Italy.

It's a wild time to be a fan of American soccer, leaving those who follow it plenty to be grateful for this holiday season

With five rounds now completed, and just three remaining, things are finally starting to get interesting in the Champions League league phase. After this week's games, we now have a slightly clearer picture of who needs what to progress to the knockout stage. Arsenal, for example, are the only team already assured of a play-off place after winning their battle with Bayern Munich for the title of the best team in Europe right now. The Gunners are also the only team left with a 100 percent record after Inter suffered a heart-breaking loss away to Atletico Madrid.

A little over a year ago, Gianni Infantino announced that Inter Miami would participate in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup. He said the Herons were "deserved participants", having supposedly proven themselves "the best club" in MLS. Only they hadn't. Miami may have finished top of the regular-season standings, but the play-offs had yet to get under way.

Kalvin Phillips left Leeds United for Manchester City to chase his dreams, but since penning an emotional, two-page letter to his boyhood club to mark his departure from Elland Road, his career has been a living nightmare. There have been multiple runs of bad luck, injuries and humiliation, and when his former club visit the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, the England international is highly unlikely to even be on the bench.

Weston McKennie and Jonathan David are in different situations for their club and, with the World Cup around the corner, need to start playing their best soccer.

Liverpool were condemned to another damaging, dreadful defeat as Arne Slot’s side were thumped 4-1 by PSV in a Champions League horror show at Anfield. The Reds' shambolic defence was exposed time and again, with captain Virgil van Dijk conceding an early penalty while Ibrahima Konate was at fault for the third as their season hit another depressing low.

Paris Saint-Germain loanee Randal Kolo Muani shone against his parent club with two goals and an assist, but his heroics ultimately counted for nothing as Tottenham slumped to a comprehensive 5-3 defeat at the reigning European champions. Spurs went ahead twice in the game. but were undone by some dismal defending as PSG scored five times and took home all three Champions League points.

A ridiculous four-goal showing from Kylian Mbappe led an otherwise shaky Real Madrid to a 4-3 win over Olympiacos in the Champions League on Wednesday evening. The Frenchman continued his outrageous run of form, while Vinicius Jr eased tensions after a week of controversy by grabbing an assist to carry Los Blancos to a much-needed European victory against a dogged opponent.

Bayern Munich's unbeaten start to the season came to an end on Wednesday as they fell to a 3-1 loss at Arsenal in the Champions League. Teenager Lennart Karl found the net yet again for Vincent Kompany's side after they had fallen behind to a Jurrien Timber header, but strikes from Noni Madueke and Gabriel Martinelli settled the game in favour of the Gunners.

Arsenal are now the last team with a perfect Champions League record this season after they beat Bayern Munich 3-1 in the Champions League on Wednesday. The Gunners have recorded five wins from five and kept up their 100 percent start by ending that of the Germans' in the process. Jurrien Timber put Arsenal ahead in the first half, while Noni Madueke and Gabriel Martinelli came off the bench to score.

GOAL spoke to a number of former NCFC players, who outlined the harsh realities of a volatile league after being made redundant four days before a playoff game

A new league, a new routine, and a surprisingly “boring” life in Germany - John Tolkin tells GOAL he’s finding stability at Kiel just as his USMNT chance reopens.

The signs that Vinicius Jr's relationship with Xabi Alonso's wasn't going to run smoothly were there almost immediately. Had Trent Alexander-Arnold not suffered an injury the day before Real Madrid's Club World Cup semi-final against Paris Saint-Germain, the new Blancos boss was planning to bench his Brazilian winger, preferring instead to hand homegrown forward Gonzalo Garcia a start up front alongside Kylian Mbappe.

England are missing a lot of key names for their final international camp of 2025. Captain Leah Williamson remains sidelined, making the absences of both Alex Greenwood and Jess Carter all the more notable in a depleted centre-back unit, while Lauren James remains out of the squad having only just returned from injury at Chelsea. Perhaps the most significant bit of team news, though, concerns Hannah Hampton, who could miss the rest of the year with a quad issue.

You'll Never Walk Alone? Liverpool supporters started streaming out of Anfield long before referee Andy Madley brought an end to Saturday's shambolic showing against Nottingham Forest. They knew that there was no way back for their team after Morgan Gibbs-White fired in the visitors' third and final goal with 12 minutes remaining. Truth be told, it felt like the game was up for the hosts as soon as Murillo opened the scoring after just over half an hour of play, because this is a side suddenly bereft of backbone.

Three games into the 2025-26 season under new head coach Thomas Frank, Tottenham must have believed they were onto a sure-fire winner. They showed tremendous promise in their eventual UEFA Super Cup defeat to Paris Saint-Germain on penalties, destroyed Burnley in their Premier League opener, and then tore apart Pep Guardiola's Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.

In an interview with Andrés Cantor for Futbol de Primera, Mauricio Pochettino discusses the work behind the USMNT’s recent turnaround - and calls out coaches who have criticized his approach.

Newcastle squandered a wonderful opportunity to all-but seal their route to the Champions League knockout stages after a quick-fire double from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang sunk the Magpies 2-1 in Marseille. In-form Harvey Barnes opened the scoring in the sixth minute, but a dreadful error from Nick Pope just seconds into the second-half allowed Aubameyang to turn the game in the hosts' favour.

Barcelona were comprehensively beaten at Stamford Bridge as the Blaugrana hardly put up a fight on the way to a 3-0 defeat against Chelsea in the Champions League. Hansi Flick's side went down to 10 men in the first half after Ronald Araujo was dismissed after picking up two bookings, and had the ball in their net six times as Chelsea attacked against their infamous high line at will.

Pep Guardiola marked his 100th match in the Champions League with Manchester City by dishonouring the competition with an arrogant team selection and got what he deserved: a 2-0 defeat to a streetwise and slick Bayer Leverkusen. The three-time winner of Europe's top competition made 10 changes to his line-up, including leaving out Erling Haaland, Phil Foden and Ruben Dias.

Chelsea's fine form under Enzo Maresca continued with a blockbuster win over Barcelona in the Champions League on Tuesday. The Blues turned on the style against their Spanish rivals, coming away 3-0 winners, thanks to an own goal from Jules Kounde, a wonderful Estevao strike and Liam Delap's first goal at Stamford Bridge. But the Premier League side could have had six or seven, such was their dominance under the lights in the capital.