Innholdsfortegnelse for August 2025 i World Soccer

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In the modern era when seasons seem to blur into one another, the FA Community Shield still stands out as a beacon lighting up the launch of a new campaign of English football. Contested since1908, the annual charity fund-raiser between title winners and FA Cup holders carries even more significance on August10. The eyes of the world focus on Wembley as Liverpool and Crystal Palace deliver an emotional salute to Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva who tragically died in a car crash in Zamora, north-western Spain, on July 3. The FA plans a special tribute, joining players and 90,000 fans in a powerful show of love and remembrance. The brothers will never be forgotten. And nor will their families. They need supporting. Heartache at losing a loved one…

For a long time it seemed that two themes would dominate discussion of the Club World Cup: the ongoing domination of Paris Saint-Germain, and the weather. The final, in which Chelsea beat PSG 3-0, caused things to be seen in a rather different light. This was a tournament in which Cole Palmer underlined his status as a genuine global star, but also one that confirmed the acumen of Blues head coach Enzo Maresca. With the exception of their group game against Botafogo, when they rested several key players, PSG had seemed dominant before that final, as they have since January. Although their Total Football/Barcelona heritage is clear, they are a deviation from the Guardiola model of the game, taking more risks with attacking dribblers. Even Guardiola last season admitted that…

“Olympique Lyonnais welcomes the decision to keep the club in Ligue 1. OL thanks the appeal committee for having recognised the ambition of the club’s new management”The French club release a statement after winning their appeal against relegation, reversing the earlier decision of the DNCG Aaron RAMSEY After departing boyhood club Cardiff City, where he ended last season as caretaker coach, the iconic Wales midfielder switched to Mexican side Pumas UNAM on a free transfer. Davide ANCELOTTI Carlo Ancelotti’s son took the reins at Botafogo, replacing Renato Paiva. It is the 36-year-old’s first coaching job, having previously assisted his father since 2016. Alexandre LAFITTE Fresh off winning the Ivorian title with Stade Abidjan, the 28-year-old joined South Africa’s Marumo Gallants and becomes the youngest coach in Premier Soccer League history.…

Liverpool Football Club’s trophy-laden history has so often been intertwined with moments of heartbreaking tragedy. The1980s comprised part of a golden era of success but was also cast into shadow by the dark spectre of both Heysel and Hillsborough. Now, a new chapter of glory following the Reds’ Premier League title triumph has once again been obfuscated by grief. The news of the devastating death of forward Diogo Jota alongside his brother Andre Silva in a car crash in Spain left the city’s community rocked and heartbroken. The feeling around Anfield in the immediate aftermath was one of numbness and sorrow. Not just for the loss of a great footballer, but for a humble, family man with working-class roots, who embodied the sort of down-to-earth principles and “Scouse” characteristics that…

FAROE ISLANDS Since 1580, the stone fortress of Skansin has stood watch over Torshavn, the capital of the Faroe Islands, a remote North Atlantic archipelago halfway between Iceland and Scotland. Initially built to defend against pirates, the fort remains an enduring symbol of protection and pride in Faroese life. In recent years, “Skansin” has taken on a new meaning. A short walk from the old fort, at the national stadium Torsvollur, a passionate group of Faroese football fans have adopted the name for their supporters’ stand – a modern-day stronghold of drums, flags and folk songs. It’s a passion that’s far from confined to the terraces. Across these wind-swept islands, football runs deep. In a nation of just over 50,000 people, more than 8,000 play football regularly – roughly one…

“You started coaching at a very young age. Did you initially have ambitions to make it as a player? I played for local teams. I was just on the cusp of making it into an academy, and had trials at Blackburn and Everton, but it never worked out. But I was also heavily involved in the coaching side from a young age, and had an influence on team selection. What was your journey into coaching? Towards the end of my school education, I built a plan for myself which would eventually lead me to coaching. I found out about the Robbie Fowler Academy, where I was part of the first cohort. While I was a student there, I took over at Southport Under-18s, where we competed in the North-West Youth…

Growth in multi-club ownership takeovers has slowed, with many of the most recent deals having been agreed by consortia, which take longer to put together. But partnerships between clubs are surging. Fernando Roitman, founder of consultancy CIES Sports Intelligence, says: “A partnership may sometimes be preferred because it allows to achieve some of the goals typically associated to an MCO investment – particularly in the areas like player scouting and development – but with a much smaller financial commitment (or perhaps none at all) and without tying up capital in the long-term. “I believe a partnership may also offer greater flexibility in the definition of the terms of the agreement, such as its duration and the specific areas of focus or objectives it sets out to pursue. “Potentially, partnerships may…

GROUP A The golden oldies were out in force as Inter Miami booked their ticket for the last16, Lionel Messi netting the winner in the 2-1 comeback victory over Porto and Luis Suarez on target in a 2-2 draw with Palmeiras. The Sao Paulo outfit then pipped the Florida club to first place in the group on goal difference. Inter Miami’s unbeaten progress made them the only MLS side to make the knockout round. Porto and Al Ahly of Egypt, who featured in a pulsating 4-4 draw in New Jersey, were both eliminated at the first hurdle, unable to muster a win between them. GROUP B With Paris Saint-Germain, Botafogo and Atletico Madrid all accumulating six points, goal difference was required to decide the top two spots. The first heavyweight…

The final of the 2025 European Under-21 Championship brought a lot of exciting moments and tension, with plenty of talented players on display for both sides. But it was a goal in the second minute of extra-time by Jonathan Rowe, the Marseille forward, that ultimately handed England a 3-2 victory and the trophy. Germany desperately chased the third goal, but the closest they came was Merlin Rohl’s shot rattling the crossbar with just seconds remaining. Then, it was time to celebrate for England as they lifted the trophy again – just as they had done in Batumi, Georgia in 2023. “I suppose the challenge now is to do it again in two years,” said head coach Lee Carsley, who recently signed a new contract keeping him in post until 2027,…

Both Caracas and Academia Puerto Cabello had their moments but neither managed to make the cut in the Copa Sudamericana, so continental club football for the Venezuelans was all over by the end of May. The other nine countries all have at least one dog left in the race – but only four of those nations have a guaranteed presence when the Sudamericana last16 is played in mid-August. That is because in this competition only the eight group winners go straight through to the next phase. The runnersup play off in July against teams dropping out of the Libertadores – the eight who finished third in their groups. All of this adds spice to the first few months of the Sudamericana, because there is a strong incentive to top the…

2025 CONCACAF GOLD CUP Group A Jun 14 – Inglewood Mexico 3 (Ed. Alvarez 44, Jimenez 47, Montes 53) Dominican Republic 2(Gonzalez 51, Azcona 67) Jun 15 – San Diego Costa Rica 4 (Martinez14, Ugalde19 pen, 90+13 pen, Alcocer 76) Suriname 3 (Kerk 34, Margaret 59, Pinas 64 pen) Jun 18 – Arlington Costa Rica 2 (Ugalde 44 pen, Alcocer 85) Dominican Republic1 (Urbaez 16) Jun 18 – Arlington Suriname 0 Mexico 2 (Montes 57, 63) Jun 22 – Paradise Mexico 0 Costa Rica 0 Jun 22 – Arlington Dominican Republic 0 Suriname 0 Group B Jun 17 – San Jose Curacao 0 El Salvador 0 Jun 17 – Vancouver Canada 6 (Sigur 27, Oluwaseyi 45+2, Buchanan 48, 65, P. David 75, Saliba 90) Honduras 0 Jun 21 – Houston…

On the morning of July 3, I typed the words “Diogo Jota” into the Getty Images search bar. The most recent results showed the 28-year-old celebrating the Nations League triumph with his Portugal team-mates. With a bit more scrolling, he was parading the Premier League trophy through the streets of Liverpool. Filtering the search to “entertainment” showed him getting married to Rute Cardoso, the mother of his three children. Just 11 days after the wedding, he was killed in a car crash with his brother Andre Silva; a stark reminder that life can be short and cruel, and that football is secondary. This issue is dedicated to Diogo Jose Teixeira da Silva.…

No escaping Saudi Arabia in world football: the only team to defeat Argentina at the last World Cup, buying into the English Premier League via Newcastle United, persuading FIFA president Gianni Infantino to hand them hosting rights for the 2034 World Cup, and helpfully financing his Club World Cup escapade via funding DAZN after the European TV snub. Yet previously this had all been China’s for the taking. One of the sports-politics fascinations of the century has been the rise and fall of their ambitions in the world of football, the most effective weapon for promoting state identity on a populist international stage. Remember 2002 when China finally made their World Cup debut in Japan and South Korea (they lost all three matches – to Brazil, Costa Rica and Turkey…

“Football…you gave me victories, defeats, lessons and friends for life. You gave me a unique path and a thousand stories to tell. Now it is time to enjoy you from another perspective”Former Croatia, Barcelona and Sevilla midfielder Ivan Rakitic announces his retirement…

It’s customary when public figures die to hear tributes eulogising their best character traits, but in Diogo Jota’s case the avalanche of testaments regarding his personality leave no doubt that this was a universally loved human being. News of the tragic death in a car accident of Jota and his brother Andre Silva shocked Portugal. Within hours, tributes had been made by the prime minister and president of the country as a profound sadness underpinned the blanket coverage on all media. But it was the words of former team-mates and those who knew him best that hit hardest. Simplicity, humility and joy are among the most common adjectives used to describe Jota, which perfectly reflect the humble but happy upbringing that moulded him. The son of factory employees – his…

JAPAN The rivalry between Yokohama’s two biggest clubs, Yokohama F-Marinos and Yokohama FC, has livened up like never before in this year’s J. League – but not quite in the way that either side would have wanted. On the final weekend before the J. League broke off for its short summer break in July, Yokohama F-Marinos edged Yokohama FC1-0 with a late penalty in the derby match. It was F-Marinos’ first win in five league matches and Yokohama FC’s fifth straight league defeat. The result left both clubs in the relegation zone, with F-Marinos bottom on18 points from 23 games and Yokohama FC two places higher with just one point more. Yokohama F-Marinos have had a nightmare start to the 2025 season. The five-time J. League champions – most recently…

By the conclusion of the 2024-25 campaign, England’s Women’s Super League featured the reigning European champions in Arsenal, the world’s most expensive female player in Chelsea’s US defender Naomi Girma, and then at Euro 2025 had nearly 100 players, twice as many as any other country. But it also has its problems: a lack of competitive balance, plateauing crowd growth, and financial worries that have led to Reading and Blackburn Rovers voluntarily dropping out of the second tier and Wolverhampton Wanderers rejecting the chance to enter. So is the WSL on course to realise its stated ambitions of being the “world’s first £1 billion women’s football league”, as veteran media boss Dawn Airey declared in 2023? Can it become “the most distinctive, competitive and entertaining women’s football club competition in…

How fitting that Chelsea owner Todd Boehly should see his club crowned world champions in his homeland. Boehly, a major shareholder in a pair of Stateside sporting institutions (baseball’s LA Dodgers and the LA Lakers basketball franchise), now has clambered to the top of the soccer world with the Stamford Bridge side. Boehly has received no end of brickbats in the English media for his “if it moves, buy it” approach to transfers. But he must be doing something right if Chelsea can so comprehensively outmanoeuvre the previously all-conquering Paris Saint-Germain, who had just blown away Atletico Madrid, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid and were seeking the fourth-leg of a quadruple after triumphs in the Champions League, Ligue 1 and Coupe de France. With world-class talents such as attacking midfielder…

UNITED STATES 1 (Richards 4) MEXICO 2  (Jimenez 27, Ed. Alvarez 77) With a World Cup looming and international football preparing to descend on North American shores in 2026, it was Mexico who claimed CONCACAF’s last regional prize before then, extending their record as the Gold Cup’s most successful team and confirming themselves as the strongest of the three co-hosts. It was a milestone tenth tournament win for Mexico and came at a time when all three 2026 hosts are experiencing some degree of apprehension to go with the excitement and anticipation of a World Cup on home soil. Are Mexico, Canada and the United States ready to welcome the world? And will their teams put up a respectable showing on the pitch when it matters most? A 2025 summer…

First the grimace, then a flood of tears. At nearly 40 years of age, Hugo Rodallega’s body had already groaned, his joints were already creaking when a shot of pain seized his groin. With12 minutes left on the clock in the Colombian Apertura championship decider, and the tie against Deportivo Independiente Medellin hanging in the balance at1-1, Santa Fe’s captain bowed his head and sobbed into his shirt. Rodallega’s night appeared over, his career about to end on a whimper. But one final ball, a goal-kick flicked into his path and the former Premier League man was jolted back into life. Laying the ball off, he hobbled into the penalty area before pouncing on the rebound with one last swing of the leg. “GOOOOOOAL! The champion of resilience! The most…

The Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) is stepping up its campaign to recruit from the UK with attempts to identify eligible junior players. The country was a British colony before securing independence in1980. Under long-time ruler Robert Mugabe, living standards slowly dropped and many Zimbabweans moved to the UK. There are now an estimated130,000 Zimbabweans living in the UK. Zimbabwe already have a number of senior players based in the UK including goalkeeper Marley Tavaziva at Brentford, ex-England youth international defender Brendan Galloway at Plymouth Argyle, midfielders Marvelous Nakamba and Marshall Munetsi at Luton Town and Wolverhampton Wanderers respectively and striker Tawanda Maswanhise with Motherwell in the Scottish Premiership. ZIFA has been quick to sign up eligible younger players, such as 20-year-old defender Joey Phuthi, who was recently on the books…

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CUP FINALS By Cliff Hague (Pitch Publishing, £16.99) Cup Finals: Football Stories of Great Games, Heroes and Villains dives into the drama of football’s most iconic finals – from the World Cup to the Scottish Junior Cup. This book captures the ecstasy and agony of the beautiful game’s biggest stages, exploring the legends, underdogs and controversies that define them. In an era of corporate football, Cup Finals asks: who really owns the game? THE ENGLISH GAME By Ivan Ambrosio (Pitch Publishing, £14.99) The English Game: A Journey of Discovery in the Home of Football sees coach Ivan Ambrosio embark on a heartfelt journey through England’s footballing heartlands. Told through 52 vivid stories, this book blends personal discovery with club and stadium lore, offering a fresh, outsider’s perspective on the soul…

“For us as a club, the sense of shock is absolute. Diogo was not just our player. He was a loved one to all of us. He was a team-mate, a colleague, a workmate and in all of those roles he was very special”Liverpool manager Arne Slot pays tribute to Diogo Jota Diogo JOTA (1996-2025) Portugal forward DiogoJose Teixeira da Silva died in a car crash in Spain along with his brother Andre Silva. He was travelling back to Liverpool for pre-season training. Jota had scored 65 goals in 182 games for Liverpool and 14 in 49 appearances for Portugal with whom he won the UEFA Nations League in June. Before joining Liverpool in 2020, he played for Pacos de Ferreira, Atletico Madrid, Porto and Wolverhampton Wanderers. Jota, with Liverpool,…

“You win a cup, actually win something for the first time in your history. Somebody said to me it’s like winning the lottery, going to the counter and you don’t get the prize”Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish speaking to Sky Sports News after UEFA’s ruling to demote the Premier League club from the Europa League to the Conference League 8 Clubs set to appear in a one-month long competition being organised in war-torn Sudan after a pause in football for over two years. 1 Penarol won the Uruguayan Intermedio for the first time, defeating Nacional in a penalty shootout following a goalless draw after 120 minutes of football. 100 Goals forward Vivianne Miedema has scored for the Netherlands after netting against Wales at Euro 2025. She became the19th woman to…

UNITED STATES Is the United States ready to host the 2026 World Cup? Every host nation – or co-host – is the subject of scrutiny when staging football’s ultimate extravaganza. The Club World Cup showcased America’s hosting credentials, but concerns remain, not least in times of shifting geopolitics and the US administration’s policies towards immigration. In 1994, the US hosted the World Cup for the first time. Bill Clinton had just swept to power on a ticket to restore the economy. For the first time in 12 years, the same party held Congress and the White House. At 46, Clinton, the youngest American president ever, promised to preserve America’s ideals: life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness. Part of that happiness was on display at the 1994 tournament. Never shy of…

SLOVAKIA Very few clubs across Europe have a stranglehold on their domestic league like Slovan Bratislava. Founded in1919, Slovan won the old Czechoslovak First League eight times and beat Barcelona 3-2 to win the now defunct European Cup Winners’ Cup in1969. Seven years later, seven Slovan players were part of the Czechoslovakia team that won the 1976 UEFA European Championship – more than any other club. Before Czechoslovakia split into two countries in 1993, Slovan had stiff competition from the likes of Sparta and Slavia Prague, but the club has since gone on to dominate the independent Slovak football scene; in May, they won their seventh Slovak First Football League title in a row. Only two other clubs in Europe – Ludogorets of Bulgaria with 14 successive wins and Serbia’s…

“Congratulations on winning the 2024-25 Gulf Club Champions League with your current club, Duhok. Did you always believe you could go all the way? When I arrived at Duhok, people were saying we should just be aiming not to embarrass ourselves as there were some good teams in the competition. But I knew the coach [Mesut Meral] from Sweden and saw after just a couple of games that we could do something special. When we drew with [UAE side] Al Nasr, the belief started growing. When we beat [Saudi Pro League outfit] Al Ettifaq in the semi-finals, we knew the trophy could be ours. You scored the winner in the semi-final against Al Ettifaq, whose team included Gini Wijnaldum and other experienced European players. How did that feel? It was…

Red Bull has become synonymous with multi-club ownership in football since the soft drinks manufacturer acquired Salzburg Sport in 2005. A string of further acquisitions soon followed, including Major League Soccer’s New York MetroStars in 2006 and the German fifth-tier side SSV Markranstadt from Leipzig in 2009. All three were renamed and rebranded to become instantly recognisable as part of the Red Bull group. Outside of the City Football Group, there are only a handful of portfolios to rival the holdings of the Austrian-based Red Bull, which has also invested in ice hockey and Formula One teams. The football operations are run by the triumvirate of Oliver Mintzlaff, Jurgen Klopp and Mario Gomez. Klopp, one of the world’s most recognised football managers courtesy of stints at Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool,…

LAST 16 Al Hilal, superbly marshalled by new head coach Simone Inzaghi, pulled off a seismic shock in seeing off Club World Cup holders Manchester City in a seven-goal, 120-minute thriller in Florida. The former Internazionale boss rightly oozed satisfaction from every pore in the wake of his team’s sensational 4-3 extra-time victory over Pep Guardiola’s charges. “We knew we would have to do something extraordinary against a team like Manchester City,” said the Italian. “We knew we had to climb Mount Everest without oxygen and we were great.” When Brazilian attacker Marcos Leonardo popped up at the back post to bundle home the winner against City after a back-and-forth encounter, it was not merely a totally unexpected triumph on the night for the Riyadh-based club and a golden ticket…

CANADA Even though they were missing several usual starters through injury, including CONCACAF standouts Alphonso Davies and Moise Bombito, the quarter-final defeat to Guatemala was still a shock result for Jesse Marsch’s team. The first-half red card for Jacob Shaffelburg made their task unnecessarily difficult before they exited on penalties. COSTA RICA Miguel Herrera’s team were looking to join fellow Central American sides Guatemala and Honduras in causing an upset, but didn’t quite show enough against the United States despite taking the game to penalties. Manfred Ugalde, who scored three in the group stage, was suspended for the quarter-final showdown and was a big miss. CURACAO Led by veteran Dutch coach Dick Advocaat, the team from the tiny island had the potential to overcome their low ranking and advance from…

The last 16 of the Copa Libertadores contains plenty of recent champions – five of the clubs have won eight of the last ten titles between them, and there are also the last two winners of the Copa Sudamericana – so the knockout round is a round-up of the usual suspects. But there is one new and unusual factor thrown in: how will four of the leading contenders cope with the fallout from the Club World Cup? While most of the others have been relaxing, Botafogo, Flamengo, Palmeiras and River Plate have been on the other side of the Rio Grande playing a high-profile Club World Cup in intense summer heat. Might they pay a price for their exertions? If so, it could tip the balance in the only all-Brazilian…

FC ANDORRA COMPLETE QUIRKY LA LIGA 2 LINE-UP There was no local league to join when FC Andorra were founded back in the1940s, so the club hopped across the border and entered the Spanish football pyramid, where they have played ever since. But it was not until they were purchased by Gerard Pique’s Kosmos Holding Group in December 2018 that Els Tricolors really started to rise through the ranks, climbing from the fifth to the second tier in the space of only four years. After a season back in the third division last term, they returned to the second tier via the play-offs this summer. For their first game back, the fixture computer has handed them an away journey to Las Palmas in Gran Canaria. Located off the west coast…

WORLD 2025 FIFA CLUB WORLD CUP Group A Jun 14 – Miami Gardens Al Ahly (Egy) 0 Inter Miami (USA) 0 Jun 15 – East Rutherford Palmeiras (Bra) 0 Porto (Por) 0 Jun 19 – East Rutherford Palmeiras (Bra) 2 (Abou Ali 49 og, Lopez 59) Al Ahly (Egy) 0 Jun 19 – Atlanta Inter Miami (USA) 2 (Segovia 47, Messi 54) Porto (Por)1 (Aghehowa 8 pen) Jun 23 – Miami Gardens Inter Miami (USA) 2 (Allende16, Suarez 65) Palmeiras (Bra) 2 (Paulinho 80, Mauricio 87) Jun 23 – East Rutherford Porto (Por) 4 (Mora 23, William Gomes 50, Aghehowa 53, Pepe 89) Al Ahly (Egy) 4 (Abou Ali15, 45+2 pen, 51, Ben Romdhane 64) Group B Jun 15 – Pasadena Paris Saint-Germain (Fra) 4 (Fabian19, Vitinha 45+1, Mayulu 87,…