After missing the European Championship with a knee injury that lingered into the start of the new season, AC Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimović has been recalled to the Sweden national team for a pair of upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Kosovo (Oct. 9) and Greece (Oct. 12). Ibrahimović celebrates his 40th birthday on Oct. 3, so we’ll get to see if transitioning into the "middle age adult" stage of life has any effect on his game.

You wouldn’t think so.

European Championship winners Italy will face Copa America winners Argentina in June 2022, the soccer governing bodies of Europe and South America said on Tuesday.

"The agreement reached by the two organisations currently covers three editions of this match between the respective continental winners," UEFA said in a statement.

No venue or competition title name was given for the match but a source told Reuters the game has been given the working title of the 'Finalissima'.

There was some good news and some bad news from UEFA on Thursday. The good: European football’s governing body announced it will double the prize money available for the 2022 Women’s Euros. The bad: The Women’s Euro prize money is a miniscule fraction of the men’s Euro prize money.

The U.S. women’s national team cruised to an 8-0 victory in a friendly on Tuesday night in Cincinnati, hometown hero Rose Lavelle providing a goal and three assists in the process. It was a second straight win over Las Guaraníes after a 9-0 triumph on Thursday in Cleveland, essentially part of U.S. Soccer’s bronze-medal victory tour after the Olympics. 

The all-time leader in goals scored at a World Cup is not Pelé nor Ronaldo — it’s another Brazilian, the timeless Marta. The brilliant No. 10 added a 113th career international goal to her tally on Monday, a stunning free kick that stirred Pelé whilst the elder Brazilian watched from a hospital. 

After a disappointing third-place finish at the Olympics, the USWNT set out on what was supposed to be a victory tour of sorts with a pair of friendlies against Paraguay in September and two more against South Korea in October. With the U.S. only “celebrating” an unsatisfactory bronze medal, the four-time world champions took out their frustrations on a Paraguay squad that may have wished it had just stayed home.

MANCHESTER, England - FIFA says it has fan backing for the much-criticized plan to shift to a biennial World Cup after releasing a summary of the results of an opinion survey of supporters.

The proposals, which have been outlined by FIFA's head of Global Football Development, former Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger, have been met with widespread opposition from within the game.

Futsal’s importance to developing great footballers has never been a secret. 

Brazil is the standard-bearer of the hard court game that favors ball control, passing in tight spaces and creativity over any sort of physical advantage. Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Neymar, Pelé and Philipe Coutinho all played extensively in their youth, and what they learned and practiced on the court translated beautifully onto the pitch.