Defending

France's World Cup-winning defender Raphaël Varane announced his retirement from football at the age of 31 on Wednesday, bringing down the curtain on his successful career after suffering a serious knee injury.

Varane made 93 appearances for France from 2013-22, playing a key role in their victory at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, as well as their runners-up finish four years later in Qatar. He retired from international football in 2023.

Varane retires

The nominees for the Ballon d’Or (best soccer player of the year) were released on Wednesday and five American women were named to the 30-player shortlist. Shockingly, star defender Naomi Girma wasn’t one of the five.

The Ballon d'Or is an annual award determined by French magazine "France Football."

Trinity Rodman, Sophia Smith, Mallory Swanson, Lindsey Horan and Alyssa Naeher were the five USWNT players nominated for the prestigious award.

Portugal defender Pepe has retired from football, the 41-year-old said on Thursday.

Pepe's last game came at Euro 2024, where Portugal were defeated by France on penalties in the quarter-finals, and he became the oldest player to appear at a European Championship finals tournament.

Pepe retires

United States women’s national team defender Naomi Girma is cementing herself as the top center back in the world during the 2024 Summer Olympics. Her head coach Emma Hayes agrees as the 24-year-old has played every minute of the campaign so far.

Girma has led a stout USWNT defense to the gold medal match only conceding two goals in the process. Throughout the tournament Girma has had different center back pairings due to a Tierna Davidson injury.

Gregg Berhalter announced the United States men’s national team’s 26-man roster for the Copa América on Friday with an incredibly strong list. All 26 names were part of the squad that faced Colombia and Brazil in two June friendlies.

Portugal's 39-year-old forward Cristiano Ronaldo will play in his sixth European Championship and veteran defender Pepe also made the cut as coach Roberto Martinez named his 26-man squad on Tuesday.

Ronaldo, who has scored in every Euro since his first appearance in 2004, has netted 14 goals in the tournament. He also scored 10 times in European qualifying matches last year.

Cristiano Ronaldo Euro 2024

The United States women’s national team will say goodbye to another star as defender Kelley O’Hara announced her plans to retire at the end of the 2024 NWSL season.

O’Hara goes down as one of the best fullbacks in USWNT history as her 14-year career with the national team saw her win two World Cups and a gold medal in the 2012 Olympics.

Antonio Rüdiger shut down Erling Haaland and is now aiming to shut down Kylian Mbappé.

Rüdiger has been in incredible form with Real Madrid this season (taking the reigns of the central defense following the injuries of teammates Eder Militão and David Alaba), leading the team to a very likely LaLiga title as well as to a spot in the UEFA Champions League semifinals through the deciding kick in a penalty shoot-out.