Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2025 i World Soccer

Welcome to the first World Soccer of 2025. This issue is focused on the future, with our global network of football experts picking 50 of the best young talents on the planet. Remember the names – you’ll be hearing them again. Indeed, many of them may well be in action at the 2034 World Cup, which recently had Saudi Arabia confirmed as its host by FIFA. We sent Samindra Kunti to Riyadh for the announcement. As well as looking forwards, there’s also space to wrap up a number of the domestic league campaigns that concluded at the end of 2024.…

MANCHESTER CITY Plenty will be written and said about Manchester City’s on-field strife following their major dip in form this season, but nothing will speak to the elite world of professional football in 2025 like the final verdict on the Premier League’s case against the club. The year should bring at least the beginning of the end of the saga. Two years have elapsed since City were charged with more than 100 alleged breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules across nine different seasons. The charges cover the first decade of Sheikh Mansour’s ownership, covering three league title wins as well as an FA Cup and three League Cups. City denied all wrongdoing at the hearing before a three-man panel that kicked off in September at the International Dispute Resolution…

FEBRUARY 1 African Nations Championship begins 3 Winter transfer window closes 4 CONCACAF Champions Cup begins 10 Copa Libertadores preliminaries 11 UEFA Champions League play-offs 12 Under-20 Asian Cup begins 21 UEFA Women’s Nations League begins 22 MLS season begins 28 African Nations Championship final MARCH 1 Under-20 Asian Cup final 3 Asian Champions League knockouts 4 UEFA Champions League knockouts 16 English League Cup final 17 South American & African 2026 World Cup qualifying continues 20 Asian 2026 World Cup qualifying third round continues UEFA Nations League quarter-finals CONCACAF Nations League semi-finals 21 European 2026 World Cup qualifying group stage begins Oceania 2026 World Cup qualifying concludes 23 CONCACAF Nations League final 25 2027 Asian Cup qualifying third round group stage begins 28 African Champions League knockouts 30 Oceania Champions League begins APRIL…

“In 2026 it will be over. In my head it’s very clear. I’ve done my time, with the same desire and passion to maintain France at the highest level. One has to be able to say stop”Didier Deschamps tells French broadcaster TF1 that he will step down as Les Bleus head coach after the 2026 World Cup 15 Years since Brazilian midfielder Oscar left first club Sao Paulo after the 33-year-old returned to his boyhood side following his exit from Chinese champions Shanghai Port. 6 Goals scored by Internazionale against Lazio in December, the capital city club’s biggest-ever home defeat in Serie A. £400m+ The reported value of the Friedkin Group’s takeover of Everton after the Merseyside club was finally purchased from Farhad Moshiri. 2 Nigerians to have been named…

Throughout its brief history, FC Midtjylland has been a football club built on innovation. It has had to be. Only formed in1999 after the merger of two other teams, the Danish club has had to be smart in order to compete with the country’s traditional giants. In 2014-15, they were rewarded with their first-ever Superliga title – and never looked back. Their revolutionary outlook on football, with an essential use of data analysis, was their key to success. Since then, Midtjylland have won three more Danish titles, including last season, as well as two Danish Cups, and they regularly compete in European football. The hunger for more is still very much there, with the team’s new owners aiming to become one of the top 50 clubs in Europe. That’s an…

Real Madrid wrapped up 2024 in style with a 3-0 victory against Pachuca of Mexico to claim the Intercontinental Cup, a new FIFA competition that is seeking relevance in a congested calendar. The new tournament – a modern reincarnation of the old Intercontinental Cup that pitted the best club in Europe against the best club from South America – served as a calendar replacement for the Club World Cup, which will be revived in the summer in an expanded 32-team version in the United States. Historically, the Intercontinental Cup recognised the world’s best club, but that sense of significance was lacking on December18 in Lusail, Qatar, where the champions of Europe ran out comfortable winners against the CONCACAF champions. With the FIFA Club World Cup on the horizon, the tournament…

Almost 60,000 fans were at the Jaber Al Ahmad International Stadium in Kuwait City on January 4 to watch Bahrain come back in dramatic fashion to defeat Oman 2-1 and lift the 26th Arabian Gulf Cup. Oman took an early lead and were heading for a third title in this regional eight-team tournament, but Mohamed Marhoon had other ideas. With12 minutes of normal time remaining, the winger sprinted down the left and was brought down in the area. He stepped up to equalise from the spot. Just moments later and the 26-year-old was racing down the same flank. This time he crossed from the by-line, and it was diverted into the net by the luckless Omani defender Mohammed Al Musalami and it was 2-1 to Bahrain. Despite15 minutes added on…

It was only in September that the Confederation of African Football (CAF) confirmed the dates for this year’s African Nations Championship (CHAN), to be co-hosted by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, and everything since has been a mad scramble to try and get ready. The CHAN tournament is for quasi-national teams made up of home-based players only and designed to offer more opportunity to the smaller nations around the continent. Yet with few or no marquee players to draw in a big television audience, the lack of commercial value meant that it had been facing the chop. Many argue that it is also wrong that its results are considered full internationals, and count towards the FIFA rankings, when there are restrictions on who can or cannot play, but this was pushed…

UNFASHIONABLE MICRO-STATE MINNOWS BECOME CULT CLUB IN LATIN AMERICA At the turn of the year, Argentine football influencer Valen Scarsini told his hundreds of thousands of followers on social media that he wanted to transform the fortunes of the club with the smallest fanbase in world football. He settled on FC Balzers, an amateur club in double-landlocked micro-state Liechtenstein that plays in the Swiss fifth division. The village team immediately shot from a modest1,000 Instagram followers to over 400,000 – ten times Liechtenstein’s population – in the space of just a week and overtook both Basel and Young Boys to become the most followed club in Switzerland’s football pyramid in the process. Marketing director Sandro Wolfinger, who is also the club captain and a full Liechtenstein international, has been inundated…

UNDER THE FLOODLIGHTS! By Rob Carless (Pitch Publishing, £14.99) Under the Floodlights! is the fascinating story of the English League Cup, charting the competition’s rich history through 64 seasons, with insightful contributions from the people who were there – players, supporters, managers, journalists and match officials. As the competition approaches its 65th anniversary, this book brings you the full, untold story. EUROPEAN FOOTBALL’S GREATEST GROUNDS By Leon Gladwell (Pitch Publishing, £35) Having made 71 journeys across Europe – from Armenia to the Arctic Circle – and clocking up more than 130,000 miles by public transport, football ground historian and amateur photographer Leon Gladwell offers a bucket list of places to watch football. This first-of-its-kind book introduces the reader to a diverse and often breathtaking range of venues, telling both the…

It was at the moment when FIFA president Gianni Infantino addressed Saudi Arabia as: “Dear friends,” that heads turned at Boulevard City, one of four public viewing parties in Riyadh, the Saudi capital. Mobile phones came out in anticipation of the 2034 host announcement. Much of the cold winter evening had passed with turgid speeches by South American officials, who spoke for almost 45 minutes – or about one-sixth of the playing time that the region will get during the 2030 World Cup co-hosted alongside Spain, Portugal and Morocco. They seemed delighted with the arrangement. Among Saudis, the excitement seemed somewhat muted. December 11 was, however, a momentous day. It was the culmination of both the power Infantino wielded at FIFA and Saudi Arabia’s growing influence in football. Once again,…

Samu AGHEHOWA Club: Porto (Por)  Age: 20 Position: Forward Pay no attention to his recent decision to reconfigure his sporting identity, ditching the surname “Omorodion” for Aghehowa in honour of his beloved mother. All that matters to the Porto faithful is that he continues to maintain his stupendous goalscoring record for the Dragons since pitching up in the summer from Atletico Madrid. Any club with pretensions of grandeur needs a prolific marksman and the talented 20-year-old Spanish international – born in Spain’s North African enclave of Melilla to Nigerian refugee parents – has proved just that, racking up a goal a game in his first ten league starts and netting five more in the Europa League. What’s more, he’s the complete line-leading package: hard-working, oozing pace and raw-boned force, aerially…

“Africa Cup of Nations qualification was secured with a1-1 draw against Egypt. Did you expect to get that draw in Cairo? Honestly speaking, let me say this was how we planned for the game. One, we knew that they would want to keep the ball, and secondly that they would change the team and bring in a lot of quick players. We had to simplify our approach and tighten up our defence and we knew that by doing that we might have a chance. We were very fortunate to get a goal early, which I think helped us to settle quicker into the match. When you score early against a top team, it gives the players belief. It was also very simple again to motivate them at half-time because they…

For a fortnight after qualifying for Euro 2025, Jess Fishlock and Ewa Pajor could finally bask in the prospect of gracing the international platform that their talent deserved. Then reality, in the form of the group-stage draw, arrived. Fishlock’s Wales were rewarded for their first-ever qualification to a major tournament with a glamour tie against holders and neighbours England, but in the context of a brutal Group D that also includes France and the Netherlands. Pajor’s Poland were given a marginally easier but still daunting baptism for their international debut, paired in Group C with eight-time winners Germany, a Sweden side that has been in four tournament semi-finals in the past six years, and 2017 finalists Denmark. The group that both debutants would have wished for was A, which contained…

Since Liga MX implemented the system of two short tournaments per year in1996, no team had ever won three titles in a row. The short rest period between competitions and the usual parity among the league’s teams made even winning two consecutive titles a rare occurrence, achieved by only three teams in over 25 years. The main reason was the parity within the league. In Mexico, most clubs are owned by large corporations, and even the biggest teams did not usually enjoy a significant economic advantage over the rest. In fact, until recently, the three teams that had managed back-to-back championships were Pumas, the least powerful of the so-called “Big Four,” and two mid-sized clubs, Leon and Atlas. However, in recent years, the landscape of Mexican soccer has changed. The…

If revenge is a dish best served cold, then Vietnam waited two years to get back at Thailand, beating their regional rivals 5-3 on aggregate in the final of the 2024 ASEAN Championship on January 5. There was excitement until the end of Southeast Asia’s biennial ten-team bash, as the Golden Stars tasted success for the third time. Their last win came in 2018 under South Korean coach Park Hang-seo. Now, his compatriot Kim Sang-sik is the toast of Hanoi and Saigon just eight months after his appointment, with hundreds of thousands of fans celebrating on the streets. After a disappointing 2024 for Vietnam, who crashed out in the group stage of the Asian Cup in January and then failed to reach the third round of qualification for the 2026…

Brian Clough was never short of a great quote. When Nottingham Forest faced an exhausting third replay of their FA Cup fourth-round meeting with Fulham 50 years ago, Clough declared: “It’s just a slogging match now.” They’d played on waterlogged pitches and through two spells of extra-time. They’d managed four goals in five-and-a-half hours between them. It was a muddy, month-long marathon. “If one of us doesn’t win on Monday,” Clough added, “they should line all the players up against a wall and shoot them.” Shootouts did eventually come in but, fortunately, not in the way the irreverent Clough jokingly envisaged. A stroll down memory lane often provides insight into the present. As well as its length, what made that 1975 fixture noteworthy was its significance in the history of…

The first great age of Spanish football came to an end on June13, 2014. With Spain1-0 up against the Netherlands through a Xabi Alonso penalty as half-time approached, Robin van Persie met Daley Blind’s raking cross behind the Spanish line with an extraordinary diving header, hurling himself forward as he shaped his effort over Iker Casillas from the edge of the box. What had seemed like a routine Spain win was suddenly transformed. Van Persie and Arjen Robben ran amok, devastating Spain to the extent that the final 5-1 scoreline didn’t seem an entirely true reflection of their dominance. Spain were the reigning world champions and had also won the previous two Euros, but as they lost their following game 2-0 to Chile, they were eliminated from the Brazil World…

“This has come as a complete shock as I have never knowingly used any banned substances or broken any rules, and am working closely with my team to investigate how this could have happened”Chelsea winger Mykhailo Mudryk denies any wrongdoing after an “adverse finding in a routine urine test” Steve HOLLAND Gareth Southgate’s former assistant at England took his first managerial role since leaving Crewe Alexandra in 2008, taking charge of Japanese outfit Yokohama F. Marinos. Hamza CHOUDHURY The 27-year-old Leicester City midfielder, who won seven England Under-21 caps between 2018 and 2019, switched his international allegiance to Bangladesh. Alessandro NESTA The World Cup-winning defender was sacked as coach by Monza halfway through his first campaign, with the team 20th in Serie A. He was replaced by Salvatore Bocchetti. Yannick…

Scotland has the second-oldest football association in the world, a national team that has appeared at eight World Cup finals and four European Championships, and three clubs with UEFA honours in their trophy cabinets – not a bad record for a country of only 5.5 million. Yet for all of that footballing pedigree, the flurry of multi-club ownership groups that have sprung up around the world in recent years have mostly overlooked Scotland. Until recently, interest in the country’s clubs has been restricted to minority stakes that have led to indirect MCO links. For example, a 4.3 per cent stake in Rangers is held by investment firm Tifosy, whose founder, Fausto Zanetton, has links to Eagle Football Holdings, which owns or controls major clubs including Crystal Palace, Lyon and South…

ENGLAND Defending champions Chelsea went into the Women’s Super League winter break with a six-point lead over Manchester City, with Arsenal and Manchester United a further point behind. Blues boss Sonia Bompastor began her managerial reign with14 wins in the WSL and Champions League before a surprise1-1 draw at struggling Leicester in the final league match of 2024 (in which Chelsea had 28 shots to two). Mid-table Aston Villa sacked Robert de Pauw after just six months in charge. WSL attendances are on course to treble in three years with the sport now ranked fourth in the UK behind the men’s game, horseracing and rugby union. GERMANY Wolfsburg and Bayern Munich have won the last12 Frauen-Bundesliga titles between them, but now their duopoly is under threat. Thanks to the goals…

With three potential champions going into the final day of the season, Argentina’s 2024 Liga Profesional produced a dramatic photo finish. Two of the candidates met head-to-head in Buenos Aires: leaders Velez Sarsfield hosting third-placed Huracan. A victory for Velez would see them crowned champions, while Huracan needed a win and for second-placed Talleres to fail to beat Newell’s Old Boys at home in Cordoba. Meanwhile, a win for Talleres – who only trailed Velez on goal difference – would see them claim the title should the leaders fail to win in the capital. It made for an intriguing and tantalising end to the campaign. Recent history between Velez and Huracan ramped up the tension in the build-up, while bad blood still festered over the controversial 2009 league decider between…

Following their breakthrough season of 2023, 2024 was another memorable year for Vissel Kobe. The defending J. League champions confirmed they are the new giants of Japanese football by winning the 2024 league and cup double. Kobe edged Gamba Osaka1-0 in the Emperor’s Cup final in November and then clinched the J. League crown with a 3-0 win against Shonan Bellmare in front of their home supporters on the final day of the 2024 season in December. Patient defending, swift transitions and clinical finishing again gave Kobe the edge. After a jittery start, Kobe were vying for the top spot by May. A streak of six consecutive wins from late August then placed them in the driving seat as the league turned into a three-way battle between Kobe, Sanfrecce Hiroshima…

The clubs of North America, Central America and the Caribbean are all set for the 2025 Champions Cup, where a diverse array of teams from the Canadian Rockies to the Caribbean Sea will compete to be crowned champions of CONCACAF. Mexican side Pachuca defeated Columbus Crew 3-0 in last year’s final – the first in an expanded format with a new name: Champions Cup instead of Champions League – but the holders will not be present in 2025 to defend their crown having dropped off in Liga MX and failed to qualify. The Crew, meanwhile, claimed the 2024 Leagues Cup, giving Wilfried Nancy’s stylish team a bye to the last 16. Four other teams join the Crew with byes to the round of 16, including 2024 MLS Cup champions LA…