World Cup

Tim Howard's a goalie ... so, unlike everyone else, he's allowed to use his hands -- even at the strip club!

The Team USA soccer legend was living it up at the legendary V Live over the weekend -- where we're told the dancers and the staff FREAKED OUT (in a good way) when they saw him walk in!

Side note -- apparently, soccer is huge in the Texas stripper community.

He bumped, he grinded ... he threw out thousands of dollars in cash -- everyone had a great time!

Howard and the Colorado Rapids were in Texas to face FC Dallas on Saturday ... and even though the game ended in a draw, Howard was clearly in the mood to celebrate.

U.K. prime minister Theresa May just laid down the gauntlet to Russia -- saying NO members of the British government OR the royal family will attend the World Cup over a chemical attack on a double agent living in England.

May is FURIOUS over the attack on Sergei Skripal -- a former Russian spy who was jailed in Russia in 2006 for selling state secrets to British intelligence officers.

He was released in 2010 as part of a spy swap -- and was living in England. He was being visited by his 33-year-old daughter, Yulia, when they were both poisoned in an attack British officials are blaming on Russia.

May has already expelled 23 Russian diplomats from the country -- and has blocked Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov from his upcoming planned visit to Britain.

But, May REALLY let the Russians know she's pissed when she called off plans for high-ranking British officials and Royals to attend the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

"There will be no attendance by ministers or indeed members of the royal family at this summer's World Cup in Russia," May proclaimed in a speech to Parliament.

Young American soccer players should STEER CLEAR of MLS -- and take their talents to Europe to get World Cup ready ... so says former Team USA star Jermaine Jones.

With Team USA soccer in shambles -- not even qualifying for the World Cup -- we asked Jermaine for answers ... and dude kept it real.

"I think that you have to battle with the best and the best play in Europe."

FYI, Jones currently plays in MLS (LA Galaxy) -- but started his career in Europe, where he grew up. Clearly, he thinks the European leagues are better suited to grow talent because they're more competitive.

Team USA soccer coach Bruce Arena has a message for people calling for him to be fired -- Thanks for the support!!!

Arena landed at LAX Wednesday -- less than 24 hours after USMNT's loss to Trinidad and Tobago which eliminated them from the 2018 World Cup -- and TMZ Sports asked him straight-up what went wrong. His answer was directly to the point.

Honestly ... Bruce doesn't seem too rattled by the crushing defeat or concerned about his job, and even dishes out some advice on how American soccer can get back on track.

With a freshly shaved line on the side of his head, soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo joined a training session with the Portugal national team ... gearing up for a 2018 World Cup run.

Ronaldo looked Ronaldo-ish ... skilled, agile, rich ... and ran drills with teammates Pepe and Fabio Coentrao during the practice sesh in Lisbon.

By the way, the World Cup is gonna be here before you know it ... it's set to kick off on June 14 in Russia.

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.

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.

Carli Lloyd is tough ... really tough ... but there's a limit to how much pain she'll tolerate when it comes to high heeled shoes.

After running around all night long for the ESPYs -- Carli finally had enough with her painful kicks ... and hit the dirty, gross streets of Hollywood ... barefoot.

But the best moment ... when Lloyd got into her waiting SUV with her fiance, we asked if he was actually going to be allowed to attend the World Cup matches in 2019, since Carli forbade him from coming this year.

Sorry ladies, there won't be any "Battle of the Sexes" Billie Jean King moment if the U.S. Women's soccer team plays the men ... 'cause the champs would get rocked ... so says Cobi Jones.

It's an interesting question ... considering the women just DOMINATED their way through the World Cup and seemed virtually unstoppable. But could they hang with the guys?

"No ... not yet," Jones says.

"I have a feeling it's probably gonna be a long time before that happens. But right now I don't think that's probably in the cards."

As for the men, Cobi's obviously a big fan of the U.S.M.N.T. -- but says they're still a "long ways" away from doing what the women did ... and taking home the big trophy.

The entire country is OBSESSED with Carli Lloyd ... including the President ... so says Team USA's Ashlyn Harris who tells us the squad thinks POTUS has a little crush on #10.

Ashlyn -- one of the goalkeepers on the US team -- was at LAX when she told us one of the coolest post-World Cup moments was when the gang got a call from President Obama.

Harris says POTUS congratulated the team and officially invited them to the White House -- but says afterward, the ladies thought Obama seemed a little smitten with the Queen of the Hat Trick.

Hey, can't blame the guy ... GO USA!

Memba when we told you Team USA soccer star Heather O'Reilly was rockin' a pair of Yeezys when she got off the team jet at LAX? Turns out she got 'em for free .. courtesy of Adidas.

O'Reilly was leaving the victory rally at L.A. Live today when she told us the super-exclusive (and expensive) kicks were gifted to her. Teammate Becky Sauerbrunn also had a pair -- we're guessing they were also free.

Nothing goes better with a brand new World Cup ... than a slick new pair of YEEZYS ... just ask the ladies from Team USA.

Christie Rampone got off the team jet with the trophy in her hands ... and the new ultra-exclusive Yeezy Boost sneakers on her feet. Teammates Heather O'Reilly and Becky Sauerbrunn also had the shoes.

The kicks are still super hard to get ... and selling for hundreds of dollars (some in the thousands) in the secondary market.

No word if the champs bought 'em themselves or got 'em as a congratulatory gift -- but either way, they look good.

World Cup hero Carli Lloyd BLOCKED her fiance from attending the championship match yesterday -- and says it was for the good of the team ... and their relationship.

Lloyd just appeared on FOX Sports 1 and explained that her fiance Brian Hollins WANTED to come to the game ... and made plans to attend ... until Lloyd found out and shut him down.

"My fiance Brian was coming until I kinda made sure he wasn't coming," Lloyd said ... "and then he quickly changed his mind 'cause he figured we might not get married if he did show up."

Check out the clip ... Lloyd explains that she doesn't like when her friends and family attend her games because it's a distraction.

Instead, Brian watched the game at a restaurant in New Jersey.

Can't argue with results.

Abby Wambach isn’t afraid of the big moment, and she seized one right after the World Cup when she locked lips with her wife in front of a global TV audience.

Moments after the final whistle ... Abby sprinted off field to celebrate with her wife, Sarah Huffman. It was an especially big (even historic) moment for gay rights -- coming on the heels of the Supreme Court decision, and happening on one of the biggest sports stages possible.

The nation got to see Michael Sam have his draft day kiss with his boyfriend, but that's nothing compared to the over 21 million worldwide viewers that saw Abby's PDA.

To the victors ... go the BOTTLES OF CHAMPAGNE!!!

Moments after crushing Japan and taking back the World Cup, the U.S. Women's National Team partied their faces off in an epic locker room celebration.

Check out the pics ... Carli Lloyd, Abby Wambach, Sydney Leroux and the rest of the gang turned all the way up.

Carli Lloyd has become VERY popular after her legendary performance in the World Cup finals last night ... racking up more than 100,000 new Instagram followers in less than 24 hours.

Lloyd was sitting at roughly 226k when Team USA took the field ... but 3 goals later ... and now she's already up to 340k -- not bad.

Similar trend on Twitter -- where she was at 302k during the game ... and now she's at 370k.