Timbers' unbeaten streak reaches 9 with draw vs Nashville

Santiago Moreno scored in the 27th minute and the Portland Timbers extended their unbeaten streak to nine games with a 1-1 draw against Nashville. The Timbers' last loss was on May 28. Teal Bunbury scored for Nashville, which finished with its third straight draw. Both Western Conference teams are angling for a spot in the MLS playoffs. Nashville is above the line in the standings in sixth, while the Timbers are eighth, just behind Seattle.

Sebastian Lletget traded to Dallas from New England

Sebastian Lletget's tenure with the New England Revolution is over after a little more than half a season. Lletget has been traded to Dallas for $300,000 in general allocation money this year and $300,000 in GAM next year. New England acquired the 29-year-old American midfielder from the LA Galaxy on Dec. 16 and he scored three goals in 22 games, including two in 19 Major League Soccer matches. Dallas said his rights were acquired through the 2023 season. Lletget was 89th on MLS's salary last this season at $900,000 in base pay and $1,023,750 in total compensation.

Galaxy top Chivas 2-0, America beats LAFC at SoFi Stadium

Dejan Joveljic and Jonathan Pérez each scored, and the Los Angeles Galaxy defeated Chivas de Guadalajara 2-0 in a friendly at SoFi Stadium. Joveljic stuck out his left foot to redirect a corner kick by Efrain Alvarez into the top netting in the 28th minute. Perez made it 2-0 in the 63rd minute with a well-struck shot from outside the penalty box that beat Raúl Rangel to the lunging goalkeeper's left. Wednesday's doubleheader was the first time soccer was played at SoFi, which will host the World Cup in 2026. LAFC and Club América were to play in the nightcap.

Swiderski, McNeill each score as Charlotte beats D.C. United

Karol Swiderski and Quinn McNeill scored three minutes apart in the second half and Charlotte beat D.C. United 3-0. Kristijan Kahlina saved the one shot he faced for Charlotte. Rafael Romo saved three of the six shots he faced for United. Both teams play again on Saturday. Charlotte hosts the Chicago Fire and United hosts the New York Red Bulls.

Ten Hag: 'Unacceptable' that Ronaldo, others left game early

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag says it was "unacceptable" for Cristiano Ronaldo and other players to leave Old Trafford before the end of Sunday's friendly against Rayo Vallecano. Ronaldo made his first preseason appearance in the match, playing 45 minutes amid speculation about his future at the club. He was pictured with teammate Diogo Dalot leaving the game before full-time of the 1-1 draw. Ten Hag did not speak to the media after Sunday's game but told Dutch broadcaster Viaplay that "this is unacceptable for everyone. I tell them that it's unacceptable, that we are a team, a squad and that you should stay until the end." Brighton visits Old Trafford on Sunday in the season opener.

Schmeichel leaves Leicester, joins French club Nice

Denmark goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel has joined French club Nice after an 11-year spell with Leicester during which he helped the team win a Premier League title. The 35-year-old Schmeichel was a key figure for the Foxes when they won the second-tier Championship in 2014, the Premier League title in 2016, and the FA Cup and Community Shield last year. Schmeichel made 479 appearances and the club says he will be remembered as "one of (the) greatest players in Leicester City history." Nice also confirmed the transfer. No financial details were released.

Napoli boss won't sign Africans unless they skip African Cup

Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis says his club will not sign African players anymore unless they agree not to play in the African Cup of Nations. The tournament takes place every two years and normally runs for a month from early January. That is midway through the season of Europe's top leagues. Kalidou Koulibaly, a defender who moved from Napoli to Chelsea this summer, captained Senegal to its first African Cup title at the start of this year. Koulibaly says "You cannot speak about the African national teams like this. You have to have respect like you have respect for the European national teams."

Champions League to get new camera tech for offside calls

The Champions League will use a camera-based system to judge tight offside calls in the group stage starting next month. The Semi-Automated Offside Technology was also approved last month by FIFA for the World Cup in Qatar. It uses multiple cameras to more accurately track players' limbs and the point when a key pass is made. The technology promises faster and more accurate offside decisions than are currently made with the Video Assistant Referee system known as VAR. Controversial calls have often flared in European leagues where VAR officials draw on-screen lines over players for marginal calls.

Soccer player Rubins, capped 117 times by Latvia, dies at 43

Latvian soccer player Andrejs Rubins who played 117 times for the national team has died at the age of 43. The Latvian soccer federation confirmed his death without giving details. Rubins wore the No. 10 shirt when Latvia qualified for its only major tournament at the 2004 European Championship in Portugal. He started all three games at the tournament, including a 0-0 draw with Germany. Rubins played for clubs in England, Sweden, Russia and Azerbaijan, including three years at Crystal Palace.

Europe starts unique soccer season split by Qatar World Cup

In the 134 years since league soccer started in England, the European game has never scheduled such a disrupted season. The European domestic season will be sliced in two by FIFA moving the World Cup in Qatar to November and December instead of the usual offseason months. So the unusual 2022-23 season in Europe starts early and shuts many leagues down from six to 12 weeks. It also forces players into yet more midweek games in their packed schedule.

England-US women's game at Wembley sells out in one day

England's women's soccer team is continuing to generate unprecedented fan interest following its European Championship victory, with its planned game against the United States at Wembley Stadium in October selling out in less than a day. The game pitting the European champion against the reigning world champion was announced on Tuesday by England's Football Association and will be played Oct. 7, subject to England having secured World Cup qualification in September. The Lionesses' official Twitter account posted an update early Wednesday that said 65,000 tickets had been sold in less than 24 hours. The team later said the game was sold out. It comes after a crowd of 87,192 saw the Lionesses beat Germany 2-1 at Wembley on Sunday.

Premier League teams won't take the knee before every game

Premier League players will no longer take the knee ahead of every match, but will do so at "significant moments" during the upcoming season in a gesture against racism. The gesture started in June 2020 to show support for the Black Lives Matter campaign and will now be used more sparingly in order to "amplify the message that racism has no place in football or society." Premier League captains agreed that teams will take the knee ahead of this weekend's opening round of games, for dedicated "No Room for Racism" matches in October and March, on Boxing Day, the final round of the season and the FA Cup and League Cup finals.