Soccer

Tekashi69 just upped the ante in his would-be bid to play goalie for Mexico ... 'cause the dude's proving his skills against none other than Italian soccer stud Mario Balotelli.

Tekashi posted a video Sunday showing him playing keeper against the Italian super star striker on a practice field in what we imagine is somewhere in Europe. The rapper's on tour over there right now.

As for his actual goalie skills -- which were somewhat questionable last week -- Tekashi actually gets some blocks off ... against MARIO FRIGGIN' BALOTELLI!!

Then again ... the guy's not in cleats or athletic gear, and doesn't seem to be going too hard either. We're also not sure how or why he's hanging with Tekashi.

Wayne Rooney -- one of the most famous soccer players in the world -- has made it official ... he's joining D.C. United ... and his first game in the MLS is in TWO WEEKS!!

The team announced Rooney's arrival with a dope hype video ... titling it, "#NoWayneNoGain."

The ex-Everton star is a British legend on the pitch ... and his arrival has plenty of people gassed up for American soccer -- including Rooney himself, who says, "All right D.C. Let's get to work."

But, not everyone's as charged up about the move ... with Alexi Lalas telling TMZ Sports just a month ago that there's no way Rooney's arrival will "move the needle" when it comes to MLS interest.

Tekashi69 claims to be "so deadass" good at soccer -- he thinks Mexico should put him on the roster to face Brazil in the World Cup.

And, yes ... it's all on video!

The rapper put his rainbow hair in a bun and hit the pitch to show off his skills -- from a terrible penalty shot to flopping ... to that prayer thing players do when they take the field.

It's mostly bad ... until he plays goalie.

6ix9ine says he was dope as a kid -- and doesn't look completely unathletic when he's blocking shots in this workout.

Argentina's do-or-die game against Nigeria was almost do-or-die for Diego Maradona -- the dude suffered a medical scare at the end of the World Cup game and was reportedly hospitalized in Russia.

Throughout the game, the 57-year-old legend was wildin' out in his seats at St. Petersburg Stadium -- shouting, praying and flipping people off.

But, when Argentina's Marcos Rojo scored the go-ahead goal in the 87th minute, Maradona's body couldn't handle the excitement ... and paramedics raced to treat him.

Don't worry, he's alive ... but according to ESPN's Diego Cora, he was eventually taken to a nearby hospital to be checked out.

Maradona has a history of health problems, including breathing and heart issues ... as well as a much-publicized cocaine addiction.

Argentina's next game is against France on Saturday ... hopefully, he'll be rested up and ready to go by then.

He's a living legend in Africa -- he was born there, he does a ton of charity work there ... but when it comes to the World Cup, Dikembe Mutombo says his #1 team is from ANOTHER continent.

"My #1 team is still Brazil," Mutombo told TMZ Sports on his way out of Catch in West Hollywood.

"If I have to pick a #2, I think I would go with Senegal & Nigeria. I got to cheer for my homeboys."

Mutombo was born in the Congo -- and has been a huge force in bringing his sport to Africa with "Basketball without Borders" and even built a hospital in Kinshasa through his foundation.

But, despite all that, he likes Brazil -- and says he's rooting for the boys in green and yellow to take home the trophy.

Wanna see Rod Stewart mock Argentina for sucking in the World Cup and then defend Sweden?

Great, you're gonna love this clip!

The singer -- who's a MASSIVE soccer fan -- hit up Delilah for dinner over the weekend, when he stopped to talk World Cup.

His big beef ... he thinks Sweden got screwed out of a penalty kick during the match with Germany on Saturday when Marcus Berg had a breakaway shot.

Germany's Jerome Boateng raced in and manhandled Berg -- right in the penalty box -- but somehow, no penalty was called, which really pissed off Fox Sports analyst Stuart Holden.

Clearly, Rod Stewart agrees -- saying, "I think Sweden were robbed of a penalty."

Germany ultimately got the victory -- and now Stewart thinks they've got a real shot.

George Lopez just went off on Team USA soccer -- blasting the team for not qualifying for the World Cup.

But it's clear, George's beef is less about soccer ... and more about the way he feels Latinos are being mistreated in America.

"The U.S. is trying to keep Mexico out. Meanwhile, the United States can't even qualify for the World Cup."

"They're too busy pointing f*cking fingers to be looking to see where the ball's going."

Lopez added ... "The same people that are pointing the fingers are the same people that have Latinos come to their house every day and fix their meals, and change their kids, and clean their house and cut their grass, its hypocritical."

Brazilian soccer superstar Neymar got so pissed off the pitch Friday, he cussed out some of his opponents -- insulting their mothers -- and it was broadcast for the world to see.

Neymar and Brazil were taking on Costa Rica in a World Cup Group E game in Russia -- it was very chippy and Neymar was getting VERY frustrated.

So, when a Costa Rica guy appeared to flop -- again -- Neymar let him have it ... calling the dude a "puta" and muttering something about the guy's "madre."

Translation -- the insult is akin to someone calling your mother a whore or a bitch ... you get it.

Soccer players talking trash is nothing new -- but Neymar is one of the biggest, most famous players on the planet ... it would be like watching LeBron cuss out an opponent during the NBA Finals.

Cristiano Ronaldo hasn't officially said he's engaged to baby mama Georgina Rodriguez ... but her diamond ring was doing A LOT of talking at the Portugal game Wednesday in Russia!

There's been a lot of talk CR7 proposed to her back in April -- just months after she gave birth to their daughter, Alana Martina, back in November.

Well, Wednesday at the World Cup ... Georgina flaunted the ring for everyone to see.

Wasn't hard to spot ... the diamond is the size of her knuckle.

Meanwhile, Ronaldo killed it on the pitch ... scoring the only goal to help Portugal defeat Morocco, 1-0.

They may have lost on the field, but Team Poland won in the stands!!

Check out this smokin' hot Poland fan who cheered her heart out for her squad as they took on Senegal at Spartak Stadium in Moscow on Tuesday morning.

No word on who she is ... but, for some reason, she certainly got a lot of attention from the cameras.

Senegal emerged victorious with a 2-1 win over Poland.

Donald Trump is patting himself on the back this morning -- giving himself much of the credit for landing the 2026 World Cup in North America ... and admitting he got advice from the man who owns the Patriots.

It was announced this week that the United States, along with Mexico and Canada would be the joint host countries for the 2026 games.

Friday morning, Trump applauded ... himself.

"Thank you for all of the compliments on getting the World Cup to come to the U.S.A., Mexico and Canada. I worked hard on this, along with a Great Team of talented people."

He added, "We never fail, and it will be a great World Cup! A special thanks to Bob Kraft for excellent advice."

Interesting, considering Trump and Kraft -- longtime friends -- had disagreed about the way POTUS handled the NFL kneeling issue.

Hope Solo says she's still furious after her domestic violence case was dropped -- claiming the whole ordeal damaged her personal life and career ... and she wants someone to pay.

Solo was arrested back in 2014 and charged with 2 counts of assault after allegedly beating up family members at a home in Kirkland, Washington. Cops said Solo appeared wasted and she went on a tirade, cussing out officers.

The case had been dismissed back in 2015 on procedural grounds, but prosecutors appealed and the decision was reversed.

But now, officials say key witnesses stopped cooperating and prosecutors felt Solo was unlikely to attack a family member again ... so they dropped the case.

Solo has now issued a statement saying, "I always knew this day would come but I never imagined it would take nearly four years."

"Any sense of relief and gratification is matched by frustration and disbelief knowing the great lengths the City of Kirkland and all involved went to in order to further their own interests. "

"The harm caused to me, my family and my career has been immeasurable and I intend to explore any and all legal remedies to hold those with no regard for the truth, fully accountable."

Conor McGregor's gonna LOVE this -- Forbes just named him the 4th highest-paid athlete over the last 12 months ... over guys like LeBron James, Neymar and Roger Federer.

So, how much cash has Conor raked in? Forbes is estimating he's made $99 mil -- most of the cash was from his fight with Floyd Mayweather. Conor was ranked #24 the previous year with $34 mil in earnings.

Speaking of Floyd ... he's #1 -- with an estimated $285 MIL!!! (He was ranked #16 the previous year with only $44 mil).

He's followed by a pair of soccer superstars ... Lionel Messi ($111 mil) and Cristiano Ronaldo ($108 mil).

Remember, Conor once told Ronaldo to his face that he was coming for him on the Forbes list ... to which Ronaldo responded, "I don't think so."

He still might get him one day ... but it's not today.

Others on the list include ... Steph Curry ($76.9), Matt Ryan ($67.3), Matthew Stafford ($59.5) and Kevin Durant ($57.3).

This is interesting ... Lionel Messi posing with a live goat for a photo shoot -- while explaining that he doesn't consider himself the greatest soccer player alive.

"I don't consider myself the best," Messi tells Paper ... "I think I am just another player."

Yeah, right.

As Paper points out, Messi has one of the most impressive resumes in pro sports.

"He has helped his team, FC Barcelona, win 32 trophies -- including nine Spanish Liga titles and four in the Champions League. He led the Argentine national team to the gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and brought them victory at the FIFA Under-20 World Cup in 2005."

He's also got 5 Ballon d'Or awards, 5 Golden Shoes and holds the Guinness World Record for the most goals officially scored in a season (50 in the 2011-12 La Liga season).

But sure ... just a regular player.

"On the field, we are all the same when the game begins," Messi adds.

Messi also talked about everything from his upbringing in Argentina to his charity work with UNICEF in the full PAPER x Sports article.

No word on who had to clean up after the goats.

Ever seen a bicycle kick in zero gravity? Well, you have now ...

A couple of Russian cosmonauts somehow got an official 2018 World Cup soccer ball on board the International Space Station ... and what ensued is pretty amazing!

Check out the spaced-out trick shot video -- featuring cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov and Oleg Artemyev doing sideflips, backflips and upside down acrobatics while trying to score on each other.

The World Cup starts on June 14 in Russia and features 32 teams from around the globe.

But, not the United States though ... because we couldn't beat Trinidad and Tobago.