Soccer

The level of soccer in the U.S. is getting dangerously close to the elite leagues in Europe ... so says the greatest player of all time, Pele.

TMZ Sports spoke with the Brazilian soccer legend at a Hublot watch event in NYC Tuesday -- and the 75-year-old told us Team USA has made SERIOUS improvements since he played with the NY Cosmos back in the '70s.

And while Pele wouldn't predict when Team USA would finally win the World Cup -- saying "football is a book of surprise" -- he did praise Team USA coach Jurgen Klinsmann.

Imagine you're about to play a middle school soccer game ... and Ronda Rousey shows up to give the pre-game pump up speech -- pretty cool, right?!

Abby Wambach has changed her tune in her DUII case -- pleading guilty to driving under the influence of intoxicants -- but she won't spend another minute behind bars.

In exchange for her guilty plea stemming from her April 2nd arrest, Wambach was ordered into a "diversion program" ... which usually requires people to complete classes and avoid getting into trouble.

The specifics of Wambach's diversion requirements have not been made public yet.

As we previously reported, Wambach was arrested after blowing through a red light in Portland earlier this month and then bombing a field sobriety test.

She initially pled not guilty to DUII -- but changed her plea on Tuesday.

Surprising turn in the Abby Wambach drunk driving case.

TMZ Sports obtained court documents filed from the cops interview with the soccer star following her DUII arrest.

In the docs, she admits to using cocaine and marijuana several years ago. 35-year-old Wambach said she "first used marijuana by age 24." The cops note the last time she smoked weed was age 25.

As for the coke usage, cops say "the defendant tried cocaine at age 25."

U.S. soccer star Abby Wambach just pled not guilty to her drunk driving charge stemming from her arrest this past weekend in Portland.

As we previously reported, the 35-year-old soccer legend was arrested after allegedly running a red light and failing several sobriety tests late Saturday night.

Her attorney appeared at the Multnomah County Courthouse moments ago and entered the plea on her behalf. Wambach is scheduled to speak at the University of Kentucky later Tuesday.

Ex-Miss Washington Stormy Keffeler will NOT be charged with a crime for an alleged incident involving MLS player Marco Pappa ... TMZ Sports has learned.

As we previously reported, Keffeler was under investigation for allegedly stabbing her then-boyfriend, Pappa, at his apartment after a fight back in December. The Colorado Rapids midfielder had to get surgery for a punctured lung, diaphragm and damaged spleen.

The King County Prosecutor's Office released a memo saying no criminal charges will be filed against the beauty queen because Pappa insisted he was stabbed by a stranger while walking home from a bar and adamantly denied Keffeler did it.

Even though cops found a bloody knife inside his apartment, prosecutors say, "the blood evidence alone cannot prove the assailant, intent and disprove any potential defenses beyond a reasonable doubt without Mr. Pappa's further cooperation."

Prosecutors also say they examined the knife, but didn't find any legible fingerprints on it.

Anyone with dreams of watching 38-year-old Chad Ochocinco try his hand at the OTHER football is in for a rude awakening ... 'cause the ex-NFLer says there is NO WAY he'd ever try his hand on the pitch.

We got Chad leaving a restaurant in L.A. when we asked the soccer addict if he had any plans to take his athleticism to the MLS now that it looks like he's done in the NFL.

Not a crazy question ... Ocho plays a lot of pick up soccer in his off time ... and looks pretty good out there when he's doing it ... not to mention the whole "being a world class athlete thing."

Check out the clip ... Chad says it's never going to happen ... but does give us a hint at what his celebration dance would look like if he ever scored a professional goal.

There's at least one huge figure who believes the 2022 World Cup still belongs in Qatar ... Akon ... who says despite rampant corruption and human rights violations ... the event should stay put.

Akon is a HUGE international soccer fan so when we got him out at LAX we had to ask ... should the 2022 WC be relocated out of Qatar due to all of the turmoil surrounding the country right now?

That turmoil includes investigations into how Qatar got the bid in the first place (allegations of bribery and widespread impropriety) and the now well known putrid conditions for workers working to get the event ready.

Check out the clip -- Akon is undeterred by any of that stuff and tells us keeping the tournament in the desert nation can serve to prove we can all celebrate even when we disagree.

With Hope Solo considering skipping the Olympics due to Zika virus scares in Brazil -- the big question ... can Team USA still win the gold without her?

According to soccer legend Julie Foudy -- the answer is definitely "Yes."

Foudy says she completely understands Solo's concern -- but says if she skips the games, Team USA will still be real contenders ... thanks to serious talent on the bench.

The games begin in just 5 months ... and a lot can happen between now and then.

English soccer star Adam Johnson -- a former member of the English national team -- was convicted of sexual activity with a 15-year-old girl and will likely go to prison.

The 28-year-old -- who played for Sunderland in the English Premier League -- was accused of hooking up with the girl in his Range Rover back in January 2015.

The girl told cops Johnson put his hands down her pants and she performed oral sex on him. Johnson was cleared of the oral sex charge ... but found guilty of digitally penetrating the child.

During the hearing, the judge told Johnson a prison sentence was "almost inevitable."

Justin Bieber got skills!!!

Check out Bieber doing some pretty impressive solo juggling -- complete with a few spin moves ... NOT BAD!!!

Turns out, Bieber's actually a pretty impressive athlete ... he can play hockey, he boxes with Mayweather, he can skate ... and he can hoop (sorta).

Gotta respect it ... right?

TMZ Sports has obtained photos of the bloody scene at Marco Pappa's apartment -- after the MLS player was stabbed ... showing a bloody knife and a blood trail from the kitchen to the bathroom.

Ex-Miss Washington Stormy Keffeler appeared drunk -- and had blood on her shirt and hands -- when cops arrived to her boyfriend's Seattle apartment after he had been stabbed ... this according to the police report obtained by TMZ Sports.

Cops say ... when they arrived to the home of MLS player Marco Pappa on December 17th -- there was blood all over the walls ... and also on a knife in the kitchen.

Pappa had a 2-to-3 inch stab wound on his torso -- and later needed surgery to treat the wound -- but when asked at the scene if his beauty queen girlfriend was the attacker, he was adamant she was NOT.

When asked for an explanation, Keffeler said they had been walking home from a bar earlier in the night when Pappa was bumped "by an unknown person." Cops say she then changed her story and later refused to talk to police completely.

In the police report, cops paint a picture that seems very damning of Keffeler -- saying there was a trail of blood from the kitchen area of the apartment to the bathroom ... and in the bathroom, there was blood spatter on the wall along with several "stab marks" on the wall.

Seems cops are convinced the stabbing took place inside the apartment.

Cops also point out the initial 911 call they received was from Keffeler saying, "I've had an accident at my boyfriend's apartment" ... but then changed her tune and said she didn't know what happened.

Cops say the bloody knife they found in the apartment was sent to the crime lab to be tested for fingerprints -- but no prints were recovered.

When asked about the blood on her shirt and hands, Keffeler says she was trying to treat Pappa's wounds.

Two things ...

First, Steve Harvey has a SMOKIN' HOT 19-year-old step-daughter.

Second, she's officially dating soccer superstar Memphis Depay.

Lori Harvey and the Manchester United star took the official first step of going public with their relationship Wednesday ... each posting romantic coupley pics of themselves on Instagram!

FYI, 21-year-old Depay's got some serious cash -- the dude reportedly signed a $40 MILLION contract with Manchester United last year.

Depay was connected to Chris Brown's ex GF Karrueche Tran for a while -- but that's clearly over and this one is on the upswing!

A Premier League soccer player reportedly smashed his Lamborghini into a garden in England this week -- after sideswiping a Mini -- but remarkably, he's okay.

According to several local reports, the guy behind the wheel was Diafra Sakho -- a striker for West Ham United.

26-year-old Sakho reportedly lost control of the Lambo around 9 PM on Sunday night and ended up in the garden of a home in Hornchurch, Essex.

The homeowner described the scene to local media outlets ... saying, "At around nine o'clock last night we heard it going up the road, it was unmistakable - it's a racing car isn't it?"

"We heard it accelerate and then just heard a big bang, like an explosion and a thud -- that's when I walked out. Lucky there was no one about. Lucky no one was hurt."

They hooked up Kobe back in May ... and Sunday night, Kobe returned the favor -- inviting the US Women's soccer team as his VIP guests to the Lakers game ... and they even got to shoot around on the court with Kobe's daughters.

Everyone from Alex Morgan and Hope Solo to Carli Lloyd and Sydney Leroux hit up Staples Center to watch the Lakers take on the Rockets ... as Kobe and Vanessa Bryant's special guests.

As you may know ... Kobe and his family are HUGE soccer fans -- and got a cool meet and greet with the team before the World Cup back in May. We're told he's wanted to do something cool for them ever since.

Unfortunately for Kobe, the Lakers lost and he only scored 5 points -- but he invited the women to hoop around on the court before the game ... and it appeared everyone had a blast.

After the game, the USWNT tweeted -- "#USWNT meets 5x @NBA champ @kobebryant. Thanks for having us, @Lakers. Stellar organization, we had a great time."