Soccer

Washington Spirit midfielder Croix Bethune will not play again this season ... and it's all because she hurled out a ceremonial first pitch at a Nationals game last week.

The 23-year-old was tapped by the MLB org. to kick off its tilt with the Yankees on Aug. 28 following her gold medal success at the Paris Games ... and, initially, everything appeared to go off without a hitch.

The soccer star -- who was at the D.C. game with several other Olympians -- toed the rubber, threw the ball to a catcher ... and was all smiles throughout the process.

Alex Morgan just announced her last professional soccer game will be this weekend ... saying she's officially retiring from the sport as she prepares to give birth to her second child.

The 35-year-old U.S. Women's National Team superstar shared a heartfelt post on social media minutes ago ... where she revealed her plans to walk away from her career after the San Diego Wave hosted the North Carolina Courage on Sunday.

"I gave everything to this sport, and what I got in return was more than I could ever dream of," an emotional Morgan said on Instagram. "Success for me is defined by never giving up and giving your all, and I did just that. I'm giving my all every single day on the field, and I did that."

Cristiano Ronaldo has made a fortune with his feet, but his hands are clearly fully functional, too ... 'cause the football superstar couldn't keep 'em off his partner's cheeks during a romantic getaway over the weekend!!

The Al Nassr striker and Georgina Rodriguez were spotted enjoying some R&R in Saint-Tropez ... soaking up the sun aboard a fancy yacht in the French Riviera.

The stunning couple put their physiques on display ... with Georgina sporting a white two-piece, and CR7 rocking some short trunks.

Soccer player Juan Izquierdo -- a defender for the Nacional team -- has tragically passed away less than a week after he collapsed on the pitch during a game, his team confirmed.

Izquierdo was only 27.

The Uruguayan professional sports club announced the devastating news Tuesday evening ... Izquierdo died following his collapse during the August 22nd game.

A hard foul during a women's college soccer game led to punches being thrown ... and the wild fistfight was caught on video!

It happened Sunday at Rudd Field in Massachusetts during the Rutgers and UMass game -- just the third game of the new season.

Rutgers player Gia Girman committed a hard foul on a UMass player around the 55th minute ... before they both fell to the turf. While Girman was trying to get up, UMass' Ashley Lamond came over to retrieve the ball near her feet.

Cristiano Ronaldo may have broken the record for most subscribers in 90 minutes on YouTube ... but there's just no way in hell he's catching up to MrBeast's astronomical figures -- so says Jake Paul.

Many had wondered if the soccer superstar could reach 300 million like Beast, given his wild numbers in just a few days of launching his channel -- but Paul told TMZ Sports on Friday, he just doesn't see it happening.

Now, that's not any kind of shade from the boxer -- Paul actually praised Ronaldo for scoring the number -- but he just thinks MrBeast's digits are in a whole 'nother stratosphere.

Another Olympic medal disaster ... USWNT star Lynn Williams broke her gold medal while celebrating Team USA's win, and she's not happy!!!

Williams -- the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) all-time leading scorer -- held story time with her thousands of followers on TikTok, just weeks after USWNT won their fifth gold medal in Paris.

The 31-year-old broke down what happened.

U.S. soccer star Tierna Davidson is back home after helping the women's soccer team secure their fifth Olympic gold medal ... and she tells TMZ Sports the whole experience was unforgettable!!

We sat down with the 25-year-old NY/NJ Gotham FC center back as she was working an honorary shift at a Raising Canes in New York ... and she spoke at length about her time in the City of Lights.

For starters ... she spotted a ton of celebrities at her games -- she was even able to squeeze in a brief conversation with legendary women's basketball coach Dawn Staley!!!

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The search for the next U.S. men's soccer head coach seems to have come to an end ... as Mauricio Pochettino and the United States Soccer Federation have reached an agreement to make the 52-year-old the next leader of the sidelines.

The Athletic was the first to report the development ... stating the former head coach of the Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea F.C. squads will be tapped as the man to replace Gregg Berhalter.

A well-known Italian soccer team was on the verge of going bankrupt ... but after starting from the bottom, now they're here -- and it's all thanks to Drake!!!

Venezia FC -- located in Venice, Italy -- is one of the most beloved soccer teams in the country. The org. was founded in 1907 and has been a mainstay on the Italian soccer scene ever since, spending most of its time in the Serie B division.

After years of struggling to earn promotion, the team finally made it back to Serie A in the Summer of 2021 -- the first time in two decades. The promotion was short-lived, as the team finished last that very next season ... bumping Venezia back to Serie B.

Ben Stiller wishes he was Black, Kamala Harris and Tim Walz kick off their campaign and Lionel Messi has a mess at home ... all this on today's TMZ TV Hot Takes.

First up on "TMZ Live," Harvey and Babcock react to Ben's racial joke about Jewish guys wanting to be Black.

A glitzy Ibiza mansion belonging to soccer superstar Lionel Messi was trashed this week by climate change activists who proclaimed they wanted people to "eat the rich" following the act.

The vandals hit the Argentinian's pad on Tuesday ... spraying the walls of the multimillion-dollar home with red and black paint.

Afterward, the group of troublemakers held up a sign that read, "Help the Planet. Eat the Rich. Abolish the Police."

History has been made ('cause surely this has never happened before) ... a young soccer fan completely blew off Rihanna, asking the superstar singer to TAKE a photo of him with Christian Pulisic, instead of including RiRi in the pic!

Talk about something the young guy will later regret. 😆

The unintended snub happened over the weekend at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx ... where AC Milan played an international friendly  against Manchester City.

Pro-Palestine protesters made their presence known at the Olympics in the worst possible way ... invoking the biggest antisemite known to human history straight from the stands.

Check it out ... as the Israeli team lined up on the field alongside Team Paraguay on Saturday at the Parc des Princes ... anti-Israel demonstrators holding Palestinian flags repeatedly made the Nazi salute and chanted, "Heil Hitler."

According to Sky News, the Israel national anthem was also booed by protesters, who held a banner that read, "Genocide Olympics." The protesters were reportedly removed during the game ... which saw Paraguay coming out victorious thanks to a 4 to 2 final score.

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Soccer star Cavan Sullivan is already a Major League Soccer professional at just 14 years old ... but he tells TMZ Sports he has even bigger goals in mind -- he hopes to win a World Cup for the United States.

The Philadelphia Union midfielder became the youngest player to appear in a United States professional league game on July 17 ... breaking fellow soccer standout Freddy Adu's longstanding record.

We caught up with Sullivan while he worked an honorary shift at a Raising Cane's in Philly this week ... and asked him all about his whirlwind past few days.

In honor of Soccer Day, we've mashed up one of the sport's most talented (and hottest) stars out on the field. Given the clues, bust out your sporty side and put your celeb knowledge on the line ...

Hidden behind these buck teeth is a fierce forward player who is among soccer's top goal scorers and commonly known for his step over skills. He also competed at the 2004 Summer Games in Athens.

When he's not dribbling the ball and tearin' it up on the field, he enjoys vacaying with his hot baby mama and precious kiddos.