World Cup

President Barack Obama is finally weighing in on the international FIFA scandal -- saying it's important for the U.S. to make sure the sport is clean ... because the Americans are good at it now!!

Obama was at the G7 Summit in Germany when he said, "I will say that in conversations I’ve had here, in Europe, people think it is very important for FIFA to be able to operate with integrity and transparency and accountability."

“And so, as the investigation and charges proceed, I think we have to keep in mind that although football -- or soccer, depending on which side of the Atlantic you live on -- ​is a game, it’s also a massive business, it’s a source of incredible national pride, and people want to make sure that it operates with integrity."

"The United States, by the way, since we keep on getting better and better at each World Cup, we want to make sure that a sport that is gaining popularity is conducted in an upright manner."

Suck on THAT Zlatan ...

Here, in all its glory, is supermodel Adriana Lima's message to all her fellow countrymen still licking their wounds from that humiliating World Cup loss to Germany.

It's pretty simple -- ultimately, Brazil always comes out on top. Or, in this case ... bottom.

We know ... Lima's Victoria's Secret shoot has nothing to do with soccer. But who's complaining?

U.S. women's soccer star Alex Morgan says FIFA is using women as "guinea pigs" by making them play their World Cup on artificial turf while the men have no plans to switch any time soon.

Morgan and several other women's soccer players are furious the 2015 World Cup in Canada will be played on artificial turf as a "test" … while the men will play on grass for their next two World Cups.

U.S. soccer legend Landon Donovan is hanging up his spikes ... announcing he'll retire after the MLS season.

Donovan announced the decision on his Facebook page, writing, "After careful deliberation and after many conversations with those closest to me, I have decided that this will be my last season as a professional soccer player."

Donovan, who many consider the best player in the history of American soccer, says although he spent half his life in the sport, he's looking forward to a "new chapter" -- which some think means a trip to the broadcast booth.

U.S. Soccer coach Jurgen Klinsmann stirred up controversy earlier this year when he left Donovan off the World Cup roster. Despite the snub, Donovan says, "I will do everything I can to help the continued growth of soccer in the United States."

A fractured vertebra might be enough to keep Brazilian soccer star Neymar off the pitch, but it's not enough to stop him from partying with Paris Hilton.

The 22-year-old posted a photo to his Instagram page, posing with Paris in a nightclub in Ibiza.

Neymar suffered the terrible back injury during Brazil's quarterfinal win against Chile in the World Cup. He missed the next game and it's unclear if he'll be ready for the start of La Liga.

Paris is apparently popular on the soccer scene -- last week she posed with USA midfielder Jermaine Jones.

Not even a diamond-crusted wonderbra could make Brazilian supermodels Adriana Lima and Alessandra Ambrosio happy after their team got SMACKED AROUND by zee Germans yesterday.

The ladies had thrown on their finest Team Brazil jerseys ... and went to an NYC restaurant ... in hopes they would be able to loudly brag about Brazil making the World Cup final.

Instead, Adriana looked like she was fighting back tears ... like most of the Brazil fans who were at the game ... and Alessandra was so mad, she flashed a duck-faced thumbs down to the paps!!!

Meanwhile, over at Heidi Klum's pad ...

Brazil's humiliating 7-1 loss to Germany wasn't just bad ... it might be the most EMBARRASSING thing that's ever happened to a World Cup team ... so says Piers Morgan.

The former CNN host -- and die-hard soccer fan -- was out at Madeo last night when he WENT OFF on Brazil ...

"The most incredible thing I've ever watched in my entire 49 years of watching football," Morgan said ... "It was like an abattoir. A footballing abattoir."

For the record, "abattoir" is a fancy French word for "slaughterhouse."

Tim Howard's defense is still IMPENETRABLE ... throwing a QUICK BLOCK on an overzealous fan who tried to get too close at LAX ... and TMZ Sports caught the whole thing on video.

A giant porn company suffered a seismic loss in business when the U.S. World Cup team triumphantly lost to Germany Thursday ... with a notable gay exception.

The folks over at Bang Bros -- who run sites like Bang Bus, AssParade and TugJobs -- tell TMZ their network of sites took a 33% hit during the big match.

But for some reason ... its gay site, Gay Pawn, saw a rise in traffic ... to the tune of 23%.

Theories in the office:

-- It was a great 2-screen experience
-- The hot soccer players got people hot
-- Someone else controlled the TV set
-- The soccer players got the "curious" more curious
-- All that talk of headers ...

Not that there's anything wrong with any of our theories.

Smoke show Ana Braga hit the beach in Miami, proving there is at least one Brazilian on the planet NOT obsessed with the World Cup.

The bikini model who was once featured on the cover of Playboy Venezuela ... supported her futbol team Tuesday -- the same day they played Mexico -- by wearing a super teeny tiny g-string bikini.

Considering the Mexico match ended in a 0-0 tie ... Ana might need to wear even less for Brazil's next game.

She's at it again ... Mexico's number 1 fan 2013 Playboy Playmate of the Year Raquel Pomplun -- once again vowing to go wild on video every time Mexico scores a goal.

Pomplun -- who was raised in Tijuana -- blew up on the 'net last week by live-cheering Mexico's game against Cameroon ... and clearly, she's more than happy to do it again for today's match against Brazil.

She's already uploaded a pre-game pump up video to show off her team spirit.

Hopefully, Mexico pulls through on their end.

Self-proclaimed soccer fan Kobe Bryant was spotted in the stands at the Spain vs. Netherlands World Cup match in Brazil today ... taking in the game like every other non-world famous celeb in the building.

No word on who Bryant's pulling for ... but he was sitting next to a bunch of Spain fans.

It'll be interesting if Kobe runs into Team USA coach Jurgen Klinsmann during his time in Brazil -- since Klinsmann recently ripped the Lakers for giving Kobe a $48 million contract extension.

“This always happens in America. Kobe Bryant, for example -- why does he get a two-year contract extension for $50 million? Because of what he is going to do in the next two years for the Lakers?"

"Of course not. Of course not. He gets it because of what he has done before. It makes no sense. Why do you pay for what has already happened?"

The entire TMZ Sports newsroom just became fans of Team Mexico ... because every time the squad scores a goal, Playboy's 2013 Playmate of the Year is celebrating by bouncing around in a skimpy top.

Raquel Pomplun -- who was raised in Tijuana -- is live-cheering the game with Playboy and Hornitos tequila ... which basically means she quickly records a sexy video anytime Mexico does anything noteworthy.

Earlier today, Mexico scored its first goal of the World Cup against Cameroon ... and Pomplun went wild.

Team Costa Rica and Team Mexico are getting screwed ... by not being able to get screwed during the World Cup ... so says Reggie Miller who tells us the "no sex" rules are stupid.

Miller -- one of the most clutch athletes of all-time -- says he doesn't understand why World Cup teams forbid their players from banging during the tourney ... saying, "If you're a trained athlete, I think you're gonna focus no matter what."

He adds, "It's mind over matter, isn't it?"

The President of Costa Rica knows ... if his team is gonna win the World Cup, it's gonna take a miracle -- which could explain why he's already mentally prepared himself for the worst.

Luis Guillermo Solis was out in D.C. today -- while his team preps to play Uruguay, Italy and England -- and he admitted things aren't looking up when it comes to advancing to the next round.

"I mean, it's gonna be difficult ... it's a difficult group ... but we'll do our best."

Translation -- at least we MADE the World Cup.

With so many soccer players banned from having sex during the World Cup, there's one dude who CAN'T BE RESTRAINED ... the armadillo mascot -- because Jack Hanna tells us, those things will mate ANYWHERE!!

The animal guru tells TMZ Sports he's really excited that Brazil chose the Three-Banded Armadillo as the official mascot -- saying, "It is fitting that they picked [the armadillo] because they are endangered, but can also roll up into a secure ball to protect themselves from predators."

As for the armadillo sex drive -- Hanna says he knows from experience, those things have no shame!

"I’ve taken armadillos on the 'Late Show with David Letterman' several times -- and would you believe that one time a pair even mated right on his desk!"