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LAFC are built for the competition, and have the best chance to win it of any MLS team in recent memory

GOAL sat down with the American defender to discuss life in Spain and his goals for the future

Claire Hutton and Lindsey Heaps provided control in midfield, but defensive miscues proved costly as the USWNT fell to Japan in a key evaluation match under Emma Hayes.

Real Madrid’s defeat to Bayern Munich has laid bare the club’s less appealing side. The Merengues have reacted like spoilt children, venting frustration at every turn. Their insistence that they were “robbed” in Munich only confirms their status as football’s most unsympathetic outfit, even though it was the record champions who had genuine cause for complaint for long periods of the contest.

With the Lionel Messi-Cristiano Ronaldo duopoly presumably 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 now beginning each campaign believing they have a chance of claiming the most prestigious individual prize football has to offer. Ousmane Dembele emerged from a career plagued by injuries and inconsistencies to win the Golden Ball in 2025, and he is among a crowded field of contenders one year on.

The Barcelona winger spoke with GOAL on his rise to become one of the best in the world over the last two years, but World Cup success could make or break his legacy.

After years of attempting to stockpile some of the best young talent around, it seems Chelsea are finally set for a dramatic shift in their transfer strategy as they struggle to keep pace with their rivals both domestically and abroad. With the Blues out of the Champions League and lagging behind in the gruelling chase for a top-five Premier League finish, the hierarchy is ready to change tack.

Bayern Munich have eliminated Real Madrid and reached the Champions League semi-finals. After a 2-1 first-leg win, the Bavarians prevailed 4-3 in a thrilling return match. Player ratings for the FCB squad.

FC Bayern have beaten Real Madrid in the second leg and now advance to the Champions League semi-finals on merit. Nevertheless, Joshua Kimmich is sounding a note of caution and pointing once more to a 2016 clash between the sides.

What a game! What a tie, in fact! Bayern Munich's Champions League quarter-final clash with Real Madrid had a bit of everything: great goals, goalkeeping gaffes and incredibly controversial calls. The net result was the kind of engrossing encounter that makes a mockery of Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis' claim that we need to change the game to make it more appealing to young people.

In the winter of 2022, under the lights of Lusail, Lionel Messi finally realised the dream he'd carried with him his entire life. After years of unrelenting pressure, bitter heartbreak and agonising near-misses, Argentina’s captain rose above expectation on football’s grandest stage to deliver his country the perfect ending - and to fulfill his own destiny. Welcome to the latest episode of Icons - a GOAL podcast that revisits the last 10 World Cups through the moments, characters, and controversies that defined them, bringing the spirit of each tournament vividly back to life.

Bayern Munich ended a run of four consecutive Champions League knockout stage losses to Real Madrid in the most thrilling fashion on Wednesday night, with the Bavarians scoring two stunning goals in the closing stages of an epic quarter-final clash to beat los Blancos 4-3 on the night and 6-4 on aggregate. Unsurprisingly, Vincent Kompany's fantastic forward-line played a starring role in the victory.

Arsenal set up a Champions League semi-final against Atletico Madrid with a 0-0 home draw against Sporting CP enough to seal a 1-0 aggregate victory over the Portuguese champions. Kai Havertz's late strike in Lisbon last week proved to be the difference in the tie, with both sides struggling to make much of an impact during a scrappy return encounter at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday night.

A moment of madness from Eduardo Camavinga saw Real Madrid's remontada hopes dashed in a 6-4 aggregate loss to Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. The Frenchman picked up a late red card to blow a tight game wide open. Bayern capitalised with a pair of late goals to win 4-3 on the night and Los Blancos were sent home with a whole host of regrets after a chaotic encounter.

Javier Mascherano's shock departure showed how chaotic Inter Miami truly are, but their hunt for a new head coach will be fascinating. GOAL's writers weigh in.

GOAL looks back at what the sporting director set out to accomplish during his three years with the federation

Is this really the best you can do, Florentino Perez? When Real Madrid sacked Xabi Alonso after less than five months on the job, there figured to be, at least, some sort of succession plan. If Alonso, who was so hyped, so early, was to walk away, then it only made sense that Los Blancos, power that they are, would have someone tailor-made to walk into the role.