The kits at the World Cup are mishmash of verve and color featuring elements of the competing nations' culture and history.

Cristiano Ronaldo and his Portugal teammates were surprisingly held to a 1-1 draw by Congo in their opening match of the World Cup.

At age 38 and playing in his sixth World Cup, Lionel Messi has his first hat trick in soccer’s biggest tournament and Argentina’s defense of the trophy is off to a flying start.

Lionel Messi registered his first World Cup hat trick and moved into a tie for first on the tournament's career scoring list in a brilliant performance against Algeria on Tuesday night.

Some Argentina fans shelled out tens of thousands of dollars to follow the World Cup defending champions around the U.S. One group made a 20-hour drive to Tuesday’s opening match in Kansas City against Algeria, living on sandwiches, to save money.

Lionel Messi delivered his first World Cup hat trick and matched Miroslav Klose's career scoring record before thousands of Argentina fans packed into Arrowhead Stadium for a match against Algeria on Tuesday night.

Cristiano Ronaldo looks to make history by becoming the first player to score a goal in six World Cups when Portugal meets Congo on Wednesday.

Kylian Mbappé scored twice to move past Pelé with 14 World Cup goals, Bradley Barcola added another and France rebounded from a surprisingly poor first half to beat Senegal 3-1.

France striker Kylian Mbappé has scored the 13 and 14th World Cup goals of his career, tied for the fourth most in tournament history.

Alongside their flags, jerseys and songs, fans coming the World Cup matches will bring along their yerba mate.

Lionel Messi and Argentina are ready to defend their World Cup title.

Abdulelah Al-Amri scored on a rebound in the 41st minute for Saudi Arabia, and Uruguay’s Maxi Araújo responded with an equalizer in the 80th as the teams played to a 1-1 draw in their World Cup opener.

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are among the soccer royalty gracing the World Cup in north America but there's real-life aristocracy in Sweden’s squad.

It would have been unthinkable at the start of the 2022 World Cup to suggest Cristiano Ronaldo was anything other than the undisputed leader of the Portugal team.

As World Cup teams establish training bases across the United States, communities far from the tournament’s host cities are embracing the international spotlight.

Lionel Messi is ready for his sixth World Cup.

Argentina is drawing a crowd wherever it goes as it prepares for the World Cup.

FIFA’s on-field officials for the World Cup will insist on keeping matches moving by taking rule changes designed to limit time-wasting seriously, the sport’s governing body said Sunday with the start of the 48-team tournament now less than two weeks away.

Argentina has arrived in Kansas City, Missouri, to prepare for its World Cup title defense.

After going back-to-back in the Champions League, the next target for Paris Saint-Germain is the threepeat.

Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni has confirmed that most of the reigning world champions, including Lionel Messi, will be part of the squad for the upcoming World Cup.

Inter Miami confirmed Monday that Lionel Messi has a left hamstring issue, though did not say when the problem is expected to be cleared up.

Lionel Messi headed into the World Cup break a bit earlier than planned, and now it’ll be Argentina waiting to see if there’s an injury to worry about.

After more than 30 years, the World Cup is back in Boston.

A Spanish court has acquitted pop star Shakira in a tax fraud case and ordered the government to return over 55 million euros in wrongly imposed fines.

Lionel Messi had two goals and an assist, German Berterame had the go-ahead goal in the 84th minute and Inter Miami rallied for a 5-3 victory over Cincinnati, extending its road winning streak to seven.

Lionel Messi more than doubled his salary to $25 million in his new contract with Inter Miami and earns more more than twice as much as the second-highest-paid player in Major League Soccer, Los Angeles FC’s Son Heung-min.

Barcelona star Lamine Yamal waved a Palestinian flag during an open top bus parade as the team celebrated winning the Spanish title.

Injuries to some of soccer’s star players, including Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé and Lamine Yamal, sparked concern ahead of the World Cup.

Lionel Messi had two goals, Germán Berterame scored a goal for the second consecutive game, and Inter Miami beat the Colorado Rapids 3-2 to extend their unbeaten streak to seven games.

Lionel Messi is being sued by a Miami-based event promoter, saying the international soccer icon violated terms of a $7 million contract by missing an exhibition match last year.

Javier Mascherano is out as Inter Miami’s coach, a stunning move that comes only four months after leading Lionel Messi’s club to the MLS Cup title.

Out of the Premier League title race.

Robert Lewandowski and Edin Džeko had a combined 160 goals in 309 national team games going into the World Cup qualifying playoffs.

Lionel Messi has reached another milestone, getting his 900th career goal in the opening minutes of Inter Miami’s CONCACAF Champions Cup Round of 16 match against Nashville on Wednesday night.

Joan Laporta has been reelected as the president of Barcelona for another five years after winning a leadership vote among members of the Spanish soccer powerhouse.

UEFA said Sunday that the game between Argentina and Spain known as Finalissima that was supposed to be held in Qatar has been canceled after the widening Middle East war.

FC Barcelona loves to say it is “more than a club."

Assisted by a glittering, pink soccer ball, Lionel Messi crossed yet another frontier with his visit to the White House.

UEFA says it still plans for Qatar to stage the Argentina vs.

Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lewis Hamilton are among the sports stars whose schedules are in doubt because of the spreading war in the Middle East.

Iran’s place at the men’s soccer World Cup in three months has been put in doubt amid an escalating Middle East conflict sparked by tournament co-host the United States.

Soccer star Lionel Messi was knocked to the ground by a fan and a security guard at the end of Inter Miami’s friendly match in Puerto Rico.

Lionel Messi says he would prefer to become a club owner rather than a coach when he quits as a player.

Rayan Cherki has recreated teammate Erling Haaland’s goal celebrations after curling an exquisite shot into the top corner in Manchester City’s 2-0 win over Brentford in the English League Cup quarterfinals.

Lionel Messi’s much-hyped tour of India has gotten off to a rocky start with angry fans throwing bottles and attempting to vandalize a stadium after many of them failed to get more than just a glimpse of their hero.

Soccer fans have accused FIFA of a “monumental betrayal” after latest prices for World Cup tickets began to circulate.

Lionel Messi has become the first back-to-back MVP in Major League Soccer history.

Lionel Messi and Inter Miami have won their first MLS Cup, defeating the Vancouver Whitecaps 3-1 on Saturday.

Lionel Messi and Inter Miami are playing in the warmest MLS Cup final in the league's history.

Argentina and Lionel Messi will play Algeria to open their World Cup title defense as part of a group that also includes Austria.

The World Cup draw takes place Friday, featuring four debuting teams: Cape Verde, Curaçao, Jordan and Uzbekistan.

A record 64 nations will be in Friday's World Cup draw as FIFA expands the tournament from 32 to 48 teams.

Thomas Müller knows what it's like to face Lionel Messi with a trophy on the line.

Lionel Messi has led Inter Miami to the MLS Cup final after a 5-1 win over New York City FC.

The 2026 World Cup draw next week will reward the four highest-ranked teams who are Spain, Argentina, France and England with being placed in separate sections of a new tennis-style seeded tournament bracket.

Lionel Messi had a goal and three assists and Tadeo Allende scored twice as Inter Miami beat FC Cincinnati 4-0 Sunday to advance to the Eastern Conference finals.

Lionel Messi and Inter Miami will play their first Major League Soccer match in their new stadium on April 4.

A super-sized World Cup has paved the way for tiny Curaçao and Cape Verde to book their places at sport’s biggest global event next year.

Cristiano Ronaldo says he expects his record sixth World Cup next year at age 41 will be his last.

Lionel Messi and Inter Miami are three wins away from an MLS Cup title.

Lionel Messi believes there's still more for him to accomplish in soccer.

Lionel Messi shines in Inter Miami's 3-1 win over Nashville SC, opening the Major League Soccer playoffs.

Lionel Messi has agreed to a new contract with Inter Miami, ensuring he stays with the team as they move to a new stadium next year.

A potential stadium conflict could arise if the Miami Hurricanes host a first-round College Football Playoff game.

Lionel Messi left no doubt on Decision Day.

Lionel Messi scored his second career MLS hat trick nearly a year after his first in Inter Miami’s 5-2 win over Nashville SC.

A soccer match between Argentina and Puerto Rico, initially set for next week in Chicago, has been moved to Florida.

The Spanish league is finally playing a regular-season game in the United States.

By the age of 19 Kylian Mbappe had already won the World Cup, become one of the most expensive soccer players ever and was labeled the heir-apparent to Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

The Champions League sends its top-ranked teams to new places this week.

Lionel Messi had two goals and an assist to reach 37 goal contributions this season and Inter Miami clinched a playoff spot with a 4-0 victory over New York City FC.

Paris Saint-Germain forward Ousmane Dembélé has won the Ballon d’Or.

Lionel Messi had a first-half assist before scoring two goals in the second half to take over the league lead and propel Inter Miami to a 3-2 victory over D.

Lionel Messi and Inter Miami are reviewing the final details of a contract extension to keep him with the club until at least 2026, a person with knowledge of the matter tells The Associated Press.

Spain and Lamine Yamal have taken top spot from Argentina and Lionel Messi in the new FIFA men’s rankings.

Marcus Rashford proved the perfect replacement for Lamine Yamal in Barcelona’s 2-1 win at Newcastle in the Champions League and Kevin De Bruyne watched mostly from the sideline as Napoli lost 2-0 at his former club Manchester City.

Lionel Messi had a goal and an assist as Inter Miami beat Seattle 3-1 just over two weeks after losing to the Sounders in the Leagues Cup final.

Major League Soccer has suspended Inter Miami forward Luis Suárez for three league matches.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s quest to play in a record sixth World Cup finals began in typical fashion with two goals as Portugal made a winning start to its qualifying campaign by routing Armenia 5-0.

Inter Miami forward Luis Suárez has been suspended yet again for on-field antics, this time getting a six-match ban from future Leagues Cup matches in response to his conduct — including spitting at someone — after his team lost Sunday’s final to the Seattle Sounders.

Lionel Messi made sure he had good memories of playing a home qualifier with Argentina’s national team for the last time in his illustrious career.

Inter Miami forward Luis Suárez apologized Thursday for his behavior following his team’s defeat by the Seattle Sounders in the Leagues Cup final earlier this week, antics that became the latest entry on a long list of on-field transgressions over his lengthy career.

Ticket prices for next year’s World Cup will range initially from $60 for group-stage matches to $6,730 for the final, but could change as soccer’s top event adopts dynamic pricing for the first time.

Osaze De Rosario scored in the 26th minute, and the Seattle Sounders blanked Lionel Messi and Inter Miami 3-0 on Sunday night to win the Leagues Cup.

Lionel Messi has not yet announced when he plans to retire, but he knows that next week’s match against Venezuela could be his last one playing at home in a World Cup qualifier with Argentina’s national team.

Lionel Messi scored twice in his return and Inter Miami beat Orlando City 3-1 on Wednesday night to advance to the Leagues Cup Final.

Luis Suarez scored twice on penalty kicks and Inter Miami overcame Lionel Messi’s absence to beat Tigres UANL from Mexico 2-1 in a Leagues Cup quarterfinal Wednesday night.

Larry Nance Jr. is going to shed some light on why so many NBA players have become big fans of international soccer.

Luis Suárez scored and had two assists, and Inter Miami beat Pumas 3-1 on Wednesday night to advance in the Leagues Cup.

Son Heung-min agreed to a contract with Los Angeles FC on Tuesday, finalizing his move to Major League Soccer after a decade at Tottenham Hotspur.

Inter Miami says star Lionel Messi is dealing with a minor muscle injury in his right leg after being hurt in the opening minutes of Saturday’s Leagues Cup match against Necaxa.

Lionel Messi exited Inter Miami’s Leagues Cup match against Necaxa after suffering an apparent injury in the opening minutes.

Rodrigo De Paul has enjoyed years of playing alongside Lionel Messi for Argentina’s national team, but the star midfielder said that for a long time, he’s dreamed of playing on the same club with his good friend.

Inter Miami played FC Cincinnati to a 0-0 draw without the suspended Lionel Messi.

The owner of Inter Miami called Major League Soccer’s suspension of Lionel Messi and Jordi Alba for skipping the All-Star Game a “draconian” punishment.

Sam Surridge, Tai Baribo and Brian White scored goals and Major League Soccer defeated Liga MX of Mexico 3-1 in the MLS All-Star Game.

Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber says the league continues to look at shifting to a fall-to-spring season, saying he’d “rather get it right and take our time than get it wrong and do it quick.”.

Lionel Messi will miss the Major League Soccer All-Star Game against Liga MX on Wednesday night.

It is the world’s most popular sport and yet there is still debate over what it should actually be called.