Innholdsfortegnelse for September 2023 i World Soccer

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On November13,1963, Sporting of Lisbon demolished APOEL of Nicosia16-1 in the European Cup Winners’ Cup. Six of the goals fell to Domingos Antonio da Silva, their 26-year-old Angolan-born forward otherwise known as Mascarenhas. Records from that second round opener survive today. The scoreline raised eyebrows around Europe and sparked angst over gaps in skills, standards and finance. Sounds familiar? So it should. The arguments, like the records set 60 years ago, still stand, albeit in a far different financial and media context. A vain search for a bridge over the chasm will run and run. UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has been musing about a salary cap while aware, as a lawyer, that such an imposition would offer only professional and financial delight for his professional colleagues. UEFA’s first attempt at…

“The loveliest of men, humble, humorous, always giving of his time and advice…they say never meet your heroes, well, I met mine and he was an absolute gentleman. Rest in peace, Ledge, one in a million”Stan Collymore pays tribute to Trevor Francis Trevor FRANCIS (1954-2023) Francis will, perhaps, forever be known as British football’s first £1 million player. It was a price tag that was well deserved. As a teenager, Francis was among the most talented young players that the country has ever seen. dubbed “Superboy” by the Birmingham city fans, he was only16 years old when he made his debut for the club in1970, scoring 15 goals in his first season – including four in one match against Bolton Wanderers. A remarkable return for one so young, he proved…

NEWCASTLEUNITED European nights return to Tyneside Fans of the Geordie club have had to be patient when it comes to savouring magic moments in Europe. Only an infrequent continental competitor, Newcastle have made a European splash on just three previous occasions: winning the old Fairs Cup in 1968-69, reaching the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup in1996-97 and progressing to the second round group phase of the 2002-03 Champions League, a memorable campaign in which they managed to beat the likes of Juventus, Dynamo Kyiv, Feyenoord and Bayer Leverkusen. The Magpies have not played in the Champions League since, hence the heightened state of anticipation at St James’ Park. All credit to Newcastle manager Eddie Howe, who was appointed manager in November 2021 following a Saudi Arabia-backed takeover of the club.…

GROUP A1 England Netherlands Belgium Scotland GROUP A2 France Norway Austria Portugal GROUP A3 Germany Denmark Iceland Wales GROUP A4 Sweden Spain Italy Switzerland GROUP B1 Republic of Ireland Northern Ireland Hungary Albania GROUP B2 Finland Romania Slovakia Croatia GROUP B3 Poland Serbia Ukraine Greece GROUP B4 Czech Republic Slovenia Bosnia & Herzegovina Belarus GROUP C1 Malta Moldova Latvia Andorra GROUP C2 Turkey Luxembourg Lithuania Georgia GROUP C3 Azerbaijan Montenegro Cyprus Faroe Islands GROUP C4 Israel Estonia Kazakhstan Armenia GROUP C5 North Macedonia Kosovo Bulgaria…

Africa have dispensed with their three-tier qualifying system and will have only a single stage to determine the continent’s automatic qualifiers for the next World Cup in North America, with the first games getting underway in November. Traditionally, Africa decided its World Cup representatives with a preliminary stage to help eliminate the lesser lights, followed by a group stage and then two-legged play-offs. Now it will be a lot simpler as Africa’s representation for the 2026 finals jumps from five in Qatar to nine (possibly ten via the inter-continental play-offs) for the next tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The draw for the nine groups, from which only the winners will automatically qualify, was conducted in Abidjan in July, with all of the Confederation of African Football’s (CAF)…

Urawa Red Diamonds of Japan defeated Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal in May’s Asian Champions League final but much has changed ahead of September’s start of the new edition. To start with, this is the first time since the competition was formed in 2003 that it has switched from a single-year event, which usually starts in February and ends in November, to the European-style schedule that runs from autumn to spring. More significantly, this tournament will get more attention simply because of Saudi Arabia. After losing the final, Al Hilal (the most successful team in Asia with four Champions League titles) have signed Neymar from PSG, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic from Lazio, Kalidou Koulibaly from Chelsea, Ruben Neves from Wolves, Malcom from Zenit and tried to land Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe, the…

Lionel Messi’s introduction to Inter Miami and North American soccer came not in the regular MLS season, but in the third edition of the new-fangled Leagues Cup. The previous two smaller-scale editions of this tournament, which features teams from US’ Major League Soccer and Mexico’s LigaMX, may not have registered outside the circles of soccer aficionados, but the third, expanded edition certainly will have – in no small part due to Messi. It is simply impossible to talk about the 2023 Leagues Cup without mentioning Messi. His presence was bigger than that of the fledgling competition itself. It was his tournament won by his team. He finished as its top scorer and its best player. Most of the audience tuned in for Messi games, not Leagues Cup games. Some of…

United States 0 (P) China 0 1999 Women’s World Cup final, Pasadena Rose Bowl In 1999, Carla Overbeck captained the United States to their second World Cup triumph after a penalty-shootout victory over China in front of 90,185 supporters – the biggest-ever crowd to attend a Women’s World Cup match. “My whole family was from California, we moved to Texas when I was around five, but all our relatives lived in California so we would always go to the Rose Bowl parade. It was a really fun thing we all did as a family, the parade was amazing and the stadium is beautiful, so to go back there in1999 was pretty special. When we won the World Cup in 1991, I was the sweeper, that’s what we played in college.…

The 2023 Women’s World Cup was another record-making, barrier-breaking event, emphasising the accelerating growth of the women’s game. Off the pitch the numbers were astounding – almost two million fans attended the tournament, while average attendances were up by more than 9,000 compared to France 2019. On the pitch there were remarkable moments too, with South Korea’s Casey Phair becoming the youngest-ever World Cup player (aged 16 years and 26 days), Morocco’s Nouhaila Benzina becoming the first player to wear a hijab at the World Cup, and Spain’s teenage sensation Salma Paralluelo becoming the first player to become a world champion at Under-17, Under-20 and senior level. And that’s not to mention any of the action, goals or drama from the tournament itself. Congratulations to Spain for their deserved victory,…

PRETTY POLY By Alex Ireland (Pitch Publishing, £25) Pretty Poly tells the fascinating story of the football shirt, charting its dramatic evolution over a150-year period, from modest beginnings to a product at the centre of a billion-dollar industry. Packed with facts, figures and anecdotes, it uncovers the history embedded in every feature of modern-day strips, including sponsors, names, numbers, patches and badges. THE FORGOTTEN CUP ByJo Araf (Pitch Publishing, £19.99) The Mitropa Cup was the inter-war equivalent of today’s Champions League. Matthias Sindelar, Karel Pesek, Giuseppe Meazza, Gyorgy Sarosi and Josef Bican were the icons of a sport that had just turned professional, born out of the frictions of a politically heated era with an atmosphere that reverberated on the pitch. The top teams of the time have since fallen…

“The question in this case is not about the ‘almighty dollar’, but a matter of principle”Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis challenges the Italian Football Federation’s appointment of Luciano Spalletti as national team coach after he’d left the Naples club for a “sabbatical” “I’ve had offers abroad and from some very good Championship teams. There’s been some Saudi offers but it’s not where I see myself playing, to be honest”Theo Walcott reveals on The Overlap podcast that he turned down several offers before announcing his retirement IN PEOPLE ON THE MOVE EUROPE Italy appointed Napoli’s Scudetto-winning boss LUCIANO SPALLETTI as their new coach following the resignation of Roberto Mancini. Elsewhere, MEHO KODRO took charge of Bosnia & Herzegovina after Faruk Hadzibegic’s brief tenure, while THIERRY HENRY took charge of France’s Under-21…

BAYERN MUNICH Overdue a Champions League challenge For all Bayern Munich’s noteworthy work in the Champions League last season – not dropping a single point in the group phase (scoring18 and conceding just twice) and knocking out Paris Saint-Germain in the last16 – what fans and decision-makers at the Allianz Arena demand above all is continental staying power, an ingredient that the Reds have singularly lacked in recent years. Since winning the Champions League in 2020 (beating PSG1-0 in the behind-closed-doors COVID final), Bayern have been knocked out at the quarter-final stage in each of the past three seasons and, for a club as prestigious and voraciously ambitious, this is simply not acceptable. Six-time winners of European football’s top cup and runners-up on a further five occasions, Bayern set the…

FEYENOORD Slot building something special The most significant occurrence this summer at the Dutch champions was the decision of much-lauded coach Arne Slot to sign a new contract with the Rotterdammers to keep him on board until 2026. Slot had been linked with Tottenham Hotspur, only to wisely conclude that he still has unfinished business in the Dutch port city. There is a euphoria in Rotterdam at the moment that Slot just could not resist. Feyenoord’s Eredivisie triumph last term was only their second this century and they have not competed in the Champions League for six long years. Why would Slot want to miss out on this? Feyenoord, thrice European victors – claiming the European Cup in1969-70, and the UEFA Cup in both1973-74 and 2001-02 – have been displaying…

Don’t miss World Soccer’s October issue, which features a player biography on Harry Kane’s incredible career journey and the new challenges he now faces at Bayern Munich. We also provide an update on the Euro 2024 qualifiers and 2023 Copa Libertadores knockout rounds, review the final AFCON 2023 qualifiers, and preview both the Asian 2026 World Cup qualifiers and 2023-24 women’s domestic European league campaigns. Plus, don’t miss our special player focus on Trent Alexander-Arnold, interviews with Hansi Flick, Marco Rossi and World Cup winner Aitana Bonmati, and dispatches from Ghana, Hungary, Argentina and Gozo. Print £5.99 Digital £4.99 ORDER NOW shop.kelsey.co.uk/WSC23 Or Call: 01959 543 747 You may have missed… June 2023 July 2023 Summer 2023 August 2023 Also from the publishers of WorldSoccer World Soccer Presents As Messi…

GROUP A Egypt Burkina Faso Guinea-Bissau Sierra Leone Ethiopia Djibouti GROUP B Senegal DR Congo Mauritania Togo Sudan South Sudan GROUP C Nigeria South Africa Benin Zimbabwe Rwanda Lesotho GROUP D Cameroon Cape Verde Angola Libya Eswatini Mauritius GROUP E Morocco Zambia Congo Tanzania Niger Eritrea GROUP F Ivory Coast Gabon Kenya Gambia Burundi Seychelles GROUP G Algeria Guinea Uganda Mozambique Botswana Somalia GROUP H Tunisia Equatorial Guinea Namibia Malawi Liberia Sao Tome & Principe GROUP I Mali Ghana Madagascar Central African Republic Comoros Chad…

In terms of pure excitement, it will be hard for the new Indian Super League (ISL) season, which kicks off on September 22, to match the last one. The 2022-23 title went down to a penalty shootout, with Mohun Bagan defeating Bengaluru 4-3 to take the trophy back to Kolkata. That was in March, meaning that the close season is getting shorter. When the ISL started back in 2014, there were just eight teams and it lasted not much more than two months. Then, it served as a standalone tournament, full of big-name, if ageing, stars while the I-League remained the pinnacle of Indian football. Not anymore. This new campaign is the first that sees a promoted team from the I-League, now the country’s second tier, join the ISL, which…

Cristiano Ronaldo may or may not lead Al Nassr to glory in Saudi Arabia and in Asia this season, but he played a major part in delivering the club’s first trophy since he signed for the Riyadh outfit in December: the King Salman Club Cup. In August, the Yellows defeated bitter local rivals Al Hilal in the final of this 16-team tournament better known as the Arab Club Champions Cup. If there was any doubt that the big-spending Saudi Arabian clubs are now the ones to beat in the Middle East and North Africa region, it was put to bed here. They dominated: of the four entrants from the Kingdom, three reached the semi-finals, knocking out the fourth along the way. Off the pitch too, they and their megastar signings…

“All those involved, including Mason, recognise the difficulties with him recommencing his career at Manchester United. It has therefore been mutually agreed that it would be most appropriate for him to do so away from Old Trafford”Manchester United announce Mason Greenwood’s departure GERMANY England captain Kane shines on Bundesliga debut Bayern Munich head coach Thomas Tuchel was full of praise for his new signing Harry Kane after the England striker scored on his Bundesliga debut. Kane joined the Bavarians for a club-record fee of €100 million from Tottenham Hotspur earlier this summer, and came on as a late substitute in the German Super Cup defeat to RB Leipzig. His first start came in the 4-0 win at Werder Bremen and, after he had set up the opener and notched one…

Everybody knew the revolution at Manchester United would take time. There were understandable concerns after they began with a first-ever home defeat to Brighton and were then hammered 4-0 at Brentford, but once Erik ten Hag had retreated to a compromise position and form stabilised, last season became one of transition, of Ten Hag slowly imposing himself and his method. More will be expected this campaign. There was even, improbably, a brief moment when it seemed that United might be a third force in the title race, but the concession of late goals at Crystal Palace and Arsenal in successive games in January, costing three points, had effectively put paid to that even before the shock of the 7-0 defeat at Liverpool. And that, really, was the story of the…

£25m Robert Sanchez Brighton to Chelsea £23.1m Allan Saint-Maximin Newcastle United to Al Ahli £21.3m Gianluca Scamacca West Ham United to Atalanta £21.3m Lovro Majer Rennes to Wolfsburg £20m Tyler Adams Leeds United to Bournemouth £20m Alex Scott Bristol City to Bournemouth £20m Iliman Ndiaye Sheffield United to Marseille £19.3m Calvin Bassey Ajax to Fulham £19m Konstantinos Mavropanos Stuttgart to West Ham United £18m Yassine “Bono” Bounou Sevilla to Al Hilal £17.4m Victor Boniface Union SG to Bayer Leverkusen £17.4m Josip Sutalo Dinamo Zagreb to Ajax £17.3m Arthur Cabral Fiorentina to Benfica £17m Matheus Franca Flamengo to Crystal Palace £17m Yunus Musah Valencia to Milan £17m Denis Zakaria Juventus to Monaco £16.2m Marcel Sabitzer Bayern Munich to Dortmund £16.2m Wataru Endo Stuttgart to Liverpool £15.4m Merih Demiral Atalanta to Al Ahli £15.3m Habib Diallo Strasbourg to Al Shabab £15.3m Jeremie…

MANCHESTERUNITED Back in the big time Fifty-five years after George Best inspired the Red Devils to their first European Cup, United desperately need to act fast to restore some much-needed A-list credibility. Since Sir Alex Ferguson departed the Old Trafford scene in 2013 – leaving a legacy of two Champions League triumphs – this most prestigious of football addresses has lost its continental lustre. In the post-Fergie era, the furthest they have gone in the Champions League is a pair of quarter-final appearances. Where they once regarded the competition as their back-garden, it’s now only a holiday home. Since swapping Ajax for Old Trafford a year ago, Erik ten Hag has got most calls right. A club which had lost its way has now rediscovered high standards, and third place…

ANTWERP Still celebrating last season’s title Last season was one to remember for the Reds, clinching their first Belgian league title in 66 years. It was a close run thing, though, with Antwerp only securing the crown at the death on the final weekend of the season. Without that stoppage-time equaliser from Toby Alderweireld in a 2-2 draw with Genk, Antwerp would not have prevailed. How key was the retaining of midfielder Mandela Keita? After moving to Antwerp on loan from OH Leuven early this year, the Belgian U21 defensive midfielder gave a string of storming performances during the run-in. Leuven rate the 21-year-old in the €10m bracket, which is a reasonable valuation for someone of his promise. Who will replace outgoing centre-back Willian Pacho? Antwerp appear to have pulled…

The tipping point may have been England’s 20-0 evisceration of Latvia, a match so pointless that even the winning manager was unhappy. Or maybe it was Belgium’s19-0 butchering of Armenia, Sweden’s 15-0 romp in Georgia, or any of the16 other 2023 Women’s World Cup qualifying matches in the European zone that ended with one team scoring double-figures and the opposition zero. Most likely it was an accumulation, but the upshot is such mismatches, of no real benefit to either team and unhelpful to the sport’s image, should now be a rarity as the qualifying process for major tournaments has been overhauled. “You want competitive games and these are not competitive games…I don’t think a 20-0 is good for the development of anyone”Sarina Wiegman on England’s 20-0 thrashing of Latvia in…

In recent times all ten South American nations have gone into World Cup qualification campaigns with hopes of making the cut – and that applies all the more now that the expansion of the tournament has awarded the continent six automatic slots plus one more through a play-off. This makes it all but impossible for the traditional powers to miss out, and is likely to turn the middle of the table into a battleground where the outcome will only become clear once the smoke has cleared and the final ball has been kicked in September 2025. By then, after18 competitive rounds, all the teams should be battle-hardened; but at this point, they look strangely raw. Usually there is a gap of at least15 months – and often more – between…

The tiny French-controlled Pacific islands of Wallis & Futuna have a population of less than 15,000, but once had half a dozen clubs playing in a league affiliated to the French Football Federation (FFF) and even made sporadic footballing appearances at the South Pacific Games. On their Games debut in 1966, Wallis & Futuna lost 5-0 to Tahiti and 9-1 to Papua New Guinea but returning in 1979 recorded their first win by beating Samoa 3-1. Four years later, the French collective beat Samoa 2-1 and thrashed Tonga 3-0. American Samoa were thumped 5-1 at the1987 Games and Guam were beaten 5-0 four years later but Wallis & Futuna lost all four games in 1995 and never returned. Enthusiasm on the two island groups – also known as Uvea and…

2026 WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS SOUTH AMERICA Section ● 6.5 finals places available Matchday1 Sep 7-8: Argentina v Ecuador; Brazil v Bolivia; Colombia v Venezuela; Paraguay v Peru; Uruguay v Chile Matchday 2 Sep12: Bolivia v Argentina; Chile v Colombia; Ecuador v Uruguay; Peru v Brazil; Venezuela v Paraguay EURO 2024 QUALIFIERS Group A Sep 8: Georgia v Spain; Cyprus v Scotland Sep12: Norway v Georgia; Spain v Cyprus Group B Sep 7: France v Republic of Ireland; Netherlands v Greece Sep10: Greece v Gibraltar; Republic of Ireland v Netherlands Group C Sep 9: Ukraine v England; N. Macedonia v Italy Sep12: Italy v Ukraine; Malta v N. Macedonia Group D Sep 8: Croatia v Latvia; Turkey v Armenia Sep11: Armenia v Croatia; Latvia v Wales Group E Sep 7: Czech…