World Cup

USA soccer star Alex Morgan is upset that people are upset with her for daring to be brash after her team defeated England in the World Cup and she pretended to sip a cup of tea.

Morgan just said, "I feel that there is some sort of double standard for females in sports," adding, "to feel like we have to be humble in our successes and have to celebrate, but not too much or in a limited fashion. You see men celebrating all over the world in big tournaments, grabbing their sacks or whatever it is. And when I look at sipping a cup of tea, I am a little taken aback by the criticism." 

Alex went on to say her gesture was in-part an homage to "Game of Thrones" star Sophie Turner, who famously offers opinions on Instagram stories and ends with the phrase, "And that's the tea" as she sips from a cup.

The women's team -- which can we say is awesome -- is famous for their play and their after-play, notably Megan Rapinoe's comments that she's not at all interested in trekking to The White House to visit Donald Trump. 

Team USA superstar Megan Rapinoe has 3 words for the people criticizing Alex Morgan's "tea cup" celebration during the World Cup ...

"Wah, wah, wah!"

Morgan stuck her pinky out and pretended to sip some tea after scoring the winning goal in the semifinal against England on Tuesday ... and some people considered it "distasteful."

Rapinoe -- who had her own iconic celebration after scoring against France in the quarterfinals -- is calling B.S. on the criticism ... saying, "we're at the World Cup. what do you expect us to do?"

"This is the biggest stage, the biggest moment. I don't think anyone truly believes that we disrespect the game or disrespect our opponents," the co-captain said.

"We work hard, we like to play hard and we like to have fun and enjoy ourselves and these are the absolute biggest moments to do that."

"We have the utmost respect for England and every team that we faced and every team that we will face forever and ever. That's just part of the DNA of the squad."

Rapinoe's been outspoken throughout the World Cup -- getting President Trump's attention after saying "I'm not going to the f*cking White House" ... with POTUS saying she should focus on winning.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is taking a break from her jam-packed schedule ... to root on the U.S. Women's Soccer team in their HUGE game against England.

Sources close to AOC tell TMZ ... she plans to get in front of a TV at 3 PM ET as the USWNT takes the pitch in the World Cup semifinals.

Obviously, the NY Representative will be cheering for a big victory, and we're told AOC's also following through on her recent invite to Megan Rapinoe and her fellow soccer stars to visit the House of Representatives when the World Cup's over ... win or lose.

Our sources say her team's contacting reps for USWNT today to set it up, officially. We're told the invitation includes a trip to the nation's capital to meet with AOC and House leadership.

The team will also get a full tour of the Capitol Building, including the House Chamber, and get a rundown on the history of the landmark.

As we reported, Rapinoe made it VERY clear she will not visit Donald Trump at the White House if the U.S. wins. The president responded by saying "Megan should WIN first before she TALKS!" ... adding that she "should never disrespect our Country, the White House, or our Flag, especially since so much has been done for her & the team."

Trump did extend an invite to the team, though ... also win or lose. It has yet to be accepted.

Of course, Rapinoe responded to the criticism by scoring TWO goals in the quarterfinal game against France, and AOC tweeted out a House invite to Megan and the team afterward.

We are one week away from the FIFA Women's World Cup Finals, but before we can even think about that we've got to show you what some of the true futbol fanatics look like! 

From kooky costumes to outrageous headgear, these dedicated supporters in the stands have been cheering on their teams since the start ... I mean who wouldn't want fans like this? Talk about goals! 

Take a good look at the faces in the crowd by rolling through our gallery of wacky Women's World Cup fans ... see the iconic looks from the folks getting noticed for supporting in style!

Pamela Anderson's on-again, off-again relationship with soccer star Adil Rami is back ON again ... but her friends see red flags.

Sources close to Pam tell TMZ ... the "Baywatch" star and World Cup champ have been back together for several weeks, but friends wish she'd 86 the relationship for various reasons. The main one ... they say Adil has tried cutting Pam off from her friends and family.

What's more ... they fear his juvenile behavior -- partying and clubbing -- isn't for Pam anymore. Her friends are adamant ... it's never gonna work long term.

Pam's friends are clear ... they want her to move on. If and when she's ready ... find someone else. Nevertheless ... easier said than done.

You'll recall it was just last July when the central defender for French club Marseille met Pam's mom. A serious sign, for sure. But, things really heated up when Adil proposed marriage. Pam said no dice and the relationship went kaput.

Abby Wambach says FIFA's decision to double the prize money for the Women's World Cup is good -- but it's still FAR less from what the men are getting ... AND THAT'S NOT OKAY!!!

We spotted the Team USA soccer legend at LAX hours after the FIFA Council announced the move to increase the prize pool from $15 million to $30 million next year.

The women's champion will now get $4 million from that pool -- while the men's champs (France) just got $38 MILLION from a $400 million prize pool.

"We still got a lot of work to do," Wambach tells TMZ Sports ... "It's like a Band-Aid. They need to pay the women equally."

"The mission of FIFA isn't just to grow the men's game. It's to grow the game of football worldwide."

Hugo Lloris -- the star goalie on France's 2018 World Cup championship team -- was arrested for drunk driving in London, officials say.

The 31-year-old superstar -- who's also the goalkeeper for Tottenham -- was pulled over around 2:20 AM on Friday morning for a routine traffic stop ... but cops suspected he was plastered.

Officials say Lloris took a breathalyzer -- and failed -- and was arrested on the stop. He was hauled to the Charing Cross Police Station where he was booked and spent 7 hours in custody.

Lloris was later released on bail and is due back in court on Sept. 11.

Lloris was scheduled to play for Tottenham in their next game on Monday night -- unclear if he will be suspended due to the arrest.

The guy is an absolute stud on the pitch -- he's the captain of the French national team and Tottenham and is widely considered one of the best goalkeepers on the planet.

Who's a good boy?!? Lionel Messi's dog, apparently.

The 31-year-old soccer superstar played a little keep-away from his furry friend in his yard Monday ... and it's all fun and cute -- until you realize the dog could end him at any time.

Hulk (appropriately named) is a Dogue de Bordeaux ... and weighs well over 100 pounds. If you're unfamiliar, Messi is pocket-sized, standing at 5'7" and weighing just 159 lbs.

So, neat tricks, Lionel ... but all of Argentina would probably be happier with a nice game of fetch.

Al Michaels has been covering pro sports in America for more than 50 years -- but, the legendary broadcaster admits ... he's never been to a single soccer game!

Michael says he really likes the sport -- and brags that his grandkids play -- but tells TMZ Sports he's never been to a real professional soccer game.

"People say to me, 'Don't you want to do the World Cup?' I'm going, 'Do the World Cup?' I've never been to a single soccer game."

For the record, Michaels has covered just about every OTHER major sport -- including football, baseball, hockey, horse racing ... and even figure skating and road cycling! Just no futbol.

Seems porn superstar Kiara Mia is moving from football to futbol ... because she was hanging out with some world-famous soccer stars Monday night and TMZ Sports has the footage.

Mia was leaving Poppy in West Hollywood -- where a whole bunch of famous soccer players had also been partying.

We're working to identify all of them ... so far, we know Samuel Umtiti (from France, the World Cup champs) and Karim Benzema were there. Unclear if any of them recognized Kiara.

Kiara was chatting up one of the dudes in the crew -- we're still trying to figure out who he is.

Pamela Anderson's BF, Adil Rami, just won the World Cup with France ... so what's next on the agenda for the soccer star? MEET HER MOM!!

TMZ cameras were rolling when Pam and Adil pulled up to The Ivy Sunday in Bev Hills and witnessed the first official introduction between Adil and Pam's mom, Carol. Pam beamed with pride introducing Adil, who looked dapper even in a t-shirt.

Lionel Messi has found a pretty good way to get over Argentina's disastrous World Cup exit ... load up your smokeshow wife on a yacht and float on over to Ibiza.

Messi rounded up his fam -- including Antonella Roccuzzo -- for an expensive and relaxing boat trip.

Of course, Messi's Argentina squad got bounced from the World Cup in late June after a pretty pathetic performance ... though he did score one of the most impressive goals of the tourney.

So, what next?

The France national soccer team wasted no time bringing their new World Cup trophy to their leader ... partying with President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Monday!!

Just a day after whooping Croatia in the final ... Hugo Lloris, Florian Thauvin and the whole Les Bleus crew made their way to Elysee Palace to celebrate.

The First Lady, Brigitte Macron, got especially touchy with the gold trophy ... taking a sweet handoff from Paul Pogba to show the crowd the goods.

The 'ship is France's first in 20 years ... so, only fitting they party like it's 1998 now.

Vladimir Putin presented Donald Trump with a soccer ball from the World Cup in Russia ... and then dropped the following eye-rolling metaphor ...

"Mr. President, I'll give this ball to you ... and now the ball is in your court."

Ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

It all went down at a massive media event in Helsinki, where the two world leaders had a private meeting for several hours where they discussed everything from election interference to NATO.

Trump was fired up about the meeting -- and the soccer ball, throwing it to Melania (who was sitting in the front row) and announcing that he would be giving it to his son, Barron.

Conor McGregor got to sit in on the World Cup final in person this weekend, showing up as a guest of none other than Vladimir Putin.

The UFC star posted a photo of himself Sunday alongside Russia's president, posing like a tough guy with someone he calls "one of the greatest leaders of our time."

Conor's caption read ... "Today I was invited to the World Cup final as a guest of Russian President Vladimir Putin. This man is one of the greatest leaders of our time and I was honored to attend such a landmark event alongside him. Today was an honor for me Mr. Putin. Thank you and congratulations on an amazing World Cup."

He ended with "Go Russia" ... written in Russian. Hopefully they're both aware Russia got knocked out in the quarter finals, but that's beside the point. What's important (and weird) is that Conor is super chummy with Putin ... who's known as kind of a bad dude, depending on who you talk to.

Make like some of the world's best soccer players and dive into these photos of some of the hottest wives and girlfriends of the World Cup Final!

France and Croatia will square off for soccer's highest honor ... and there will be plenty of "keepers" to look at on both sidelines.

In France's corner ... Pamela Anderson headlines the group of WAGS -- but, you gotta see who Samuel Umtiti and Paul Pogba are scoring with off the pitch.

For Croatia ... Mateo Kovačić and Ivan Rakitić have netted some serious talent too.