BERLIN — World Cup winner Andreas Brehme, whose late penalty in the 1990 final against Argentina in Italy handed Germany their third world title, has died at the age of 63, his family said.
The attacking full back and dead-ball specialist became an instant Germany football great when his spot kick earned them a 1-0 victory over Diego Maradona's Argentina in the World Cup final in Rome.
The appearances of Americans in Europe’s most prestigious club competition has become a norm in the past few decades. With players like Weston McKennie who has played in five straight editions of the competition and Christian Pulisic who won the tournament in 2021 with Chelsea, the UEFA Champions League has gotten accustomed to seeing the United States’ best.
With appearances, though, comes the most important part of the game and an honor that many of today’s American Champions League stars have under their belt in the tournament — scoring goals.
PARIS — Paris Saint-Germain look set to leave the Parc des Princes after the City confirmed the stadium was not for sale, club president Nasser Al-Khelaifi said on Thursday.
"It's too easy to say now that the stadium is not for sale anymore. We know what we want, we wasted years to try and buy it. It's easier for us now, we know what we want. It's over for us. We want to move out of the Parc," Al-Khelaifi told reporters at a UEFA Congress.
PSG leaving Parc des Princes
Cristiano Ronaldo won’t be playing against Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami on Thursday due to a calf injury said Al Nassr head coach Luis Castro.
Castro said that Ronaldo is in the final stages of his recovery and won’t be able to play in the friendly. Many fans had dubbed the game as the “Last Dance” between two of the greatest soccer players the world has ever seen.
Why is Ronaldo not playing vs Messi’s Inter Miami
After 11 years it appears the beef between Eden Hazard and former Swansea ball boy Charlie Morgan has been settled.
A rewind back to 2013 sets the scene of the two crossing paths for the first time. With Chelsea trailing 2-0 on aggregate in the final minutes of a League Cup match, Hazard wasn’t a fan of Morgan’s timewasting tactics.
The ball had gone out for a goal kick and Morgan took a little too long grabbing the ball for Hazard. The now retired Belgian took the ball by force and kicked Morgan who was just 17 years old at the time.
The first place a match-worn soccer jersey usually goes is the washing machine, however that wasn’t the case for six Lionel Messi shirts worn at the 2022 World Cup. A Messi shirts auction saw six of the Argentine’s World Cup jerseys sold for a staggering $7.8 million.
Messi shirts auction
New York based auction house Sotheby sold the six jerseys for a price tag higher than nearly any other jersey in history. The most expensive in sports history was a Michael Jordan jersey from the 1998 NBA Finals that sold for $10.1 million.
LONDON — Rebecca Welch will become the first female referee to officiate a Premier League match when she takes charge of Fulham's home game against Burnley on Dec. 23.
The Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) confirmed the appointment on Thursday and also said Sam Allison would become the first Black official to take charge of a Premier match for 15 years.
Allison will be the referee for Sheffield United v Luton Town on Dec. 26.
Premier League female referee
When you think of the worst flops in soccer you think of names like Neymar and Arjen Robben. A recently unearthed Aston Villa Micah Richards flop might join the Mount Rushmore of flops.
The ridiculous flop was shown during CBS’ coverage of the Champions League with Kate Abdo, Thierry Henry, Jamie Carragher and Richards. Liverpool legend Carragher was critical of Manchester City youngster Micah Hamilton flopping during the game vs. Red Star Belgrade.
Christian Pulisic netted his first Champions League goal in 637 days during AC Milan’s 2-1 victory vs. Newcastle on Wednesday. The result wasn’t enough for Milan to advance to the Round of 16 but did qualify the Italian club for the Europa League knockout playoffs.
In order to advance out of their Champions League group Milan needed to defeat Newcastle and required some help from Borussia Dortmund to best Paris Saint-Germain, however that game ended 1-1.
MANCHESTER — Manchester United's slim chance of a Champions League last-16 spot ended with a 1-0 defeat by group winners Bayern Munich at Old Trafford on Tuesday, piling more misery on Erik ten Hag's beleaguered team in an already rocky season.
The three-time European champions needed to beat Bayern in their group stage finale on Tuesday and hope Copenhagen's game against visiting Galatasaray ended in a draw.