Innholdsfortegnelse for November 2025 i World Soccer

It has long been my suspicion that young footballers are better now than they’ve ever been. So many of the high-profile teenagers that have burst onto the scene over the last decade or so seem to have unprecedented levels of intelligence and maturity, plus the precociousness and fearlessness that have always made youngsters so exciting. This issue of World Soccer bears that theory out, as we take a closer look at a whole host of Under-20 starlets – Gilberto Mora, Can Uzun, Ethan Nwaneri and many others – who are really excelling right now. The future seems to be bright.…

The Diarra precedent As another footballer uses the Lassana Diarra case to force through a move, is a transfer revolution on the way? Nothing gives the footballing powers-that-be cause for setting aside their own scuffles and uniting behind a common cause quite like a footballer with ideas above their station. Woe betide the player who dares put their head above the regulatory parapet. Very few dare. A player’s career is short, hence the fear that taking on the establishment can wipe away crucial club contract income and all the sponsorship bonuses baked into the pay-as-you-play system. Jean-Marc Bosman in the early1990s was one, George Eastham 30 years earlier another. Before them, the onstrike stars who fled Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay for a pirate El Dorado in Colombia in the late1940s.…

Matt BEARD (1978-2025) Asuccessful manager ofLiverpool Women, leading the club to back-to-back Women’s Super League titles in 2013 and 2014. After spells with Boston Breakers, West Ham United Women and Bristol City Women, Beard returned to Merseyside in 2021 and got the Reds promoted back to the WSL. Willie McFAUL (1943-2025) Goalkeeper who played for Linfield and Newcastle United, and who would have won far more than his six caps for Northern Ireland had it not been for the all-time great PatJennings. Jose ARAQUISTAIN (1937-2025) Araquistain, another in the long line of outstanding Basque specialists, was the original “cup goalkeeper”. He played just one league match throughout the 1965-66 season for Real Madrid but stepped up for the second leg of the European Cup semi-final and again for the final…

“While it is regrettable to have to let these two games go ahead, this decision is exceptional and shall not be seen as setting a precedent”Aleksander Ceferin confirms that UEFA will reluctantly allow Milan’s Serie A clash with Como and Villarreal’s La Liga match v Barcelona to take place in Australia and the United States respectively 16 Teams that will compete in next year’s Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco, an increase on the12-team tournament that took place in the summer. 2 International breaks that will occur in the autumn of 2026 after FIFA announced a change to the men’s international football calendar. From next year, the September and October breaks will be merged, with teams able to play up to four international matches from September 21 to October…

China has tried the top-down approach in football, perhaps more than any other country, and without success. In 2011, soon-to-be President XiJinping talked of his “three wishes”: to add a second World Cup qualification to the 2002 debut, to host the tournament and then, to go and win it. At the time, things were starting to happen in the Chinese Super League. The rise and relative fall of the CSL over the last decade has been one of the most talked-about stories in the global game. In came stars such as Nicolas Anelka, Didier Drogba and Carlos Tevez. Attendances rose and so did standards; Guangzhou Evergrande became the first Chinese team to win Asia’s Champions League in 2013 under Marcello Lippi and did it again two years later, led by…

Mourinho back where it all began Benfica is by far Portugal’s most popular club. The commonly reported statistic is that well over half the country are Benfica supporters, not to mention the vast majority of the Portuguese diaspora scattered around the globe. Following the fortunes of the Eagles is certainly never dull. Despite Porto’s sensational start to 2025-26 under new Italian coach Francesco Farioli, and champions Sporting continuing to look strong in their unaccustomed position as Portugal’s dominant team over recent years, it is once again Benfica who stole the headlines in the opening months of the new season. For the second successive season, club president Rui Costa sacked his coach just a few matches into the new campaign. Last year it was Roger Schmidt who was axed. The German…

The close season has been chaotic. Will the 2025-26 season be a shorter campaign? The new Indian Super League campaign should have started in September, but kick-off was postponed due to the15-year Master Rights Agreement (MRA) signed between the FSDL and the AIFF in 2010 coming to an end in December. This set out the financial arrangements, with the federation getting paid a set fee of around £4 million every year. A new deal was proposed which would see the clubs getting a share of the league’s ownership, but this was refused by the federation who preferred the former arrangement. With no new deal in place by July, the FSDL paused the start. The Supreme Court was also involved and it has all taken a lot longer than it should…

You’re very well travelled. Do you feel British, American or maybe French? I have an English dad and an American mum, who met inthe States at university, and I have British and American passports. Mum took a job in banking in the Czech Republic and I was only there for a year. Idon’t have much recollection of living in the Czech Republic but I spent ten years in France, then moved to the US. I had a little bit of a French accent for awhile! What are your earliest memories of kicking a ball? As young as I can remember. We’d play after school on whatever patch of grass we could find, and I always say that that experience of playing football in France was a massive part of my…

The move to a league phase in this season’s UEFA Women’s Champions League was designed, as in the men’s competition a year prior, to produce more heavyweight match-ups and fewer dead rubbers. We won’t know until the final round of games in mid-December whether the latter is delivered, but the opening round alone produced a repeat of one of last year’s semi-finals with holders Arsenal hosting eight-time winners OL Lyonnes. It was a chastening night for the defending champions, who took an early lead but thereafter were second best and flattered by a 2-1 loss, Melchie Dumornay scoring both goals for the visitors. Matchday four features a rematch of the other semi-final, Chelsea going to Barcelona hoping to avoid a third successive 4-1 defeat. But as with the men’s event…

Having been hit with a FIFA transfer embargo following a payment dispute with former striker Aleksandar Prijovic, the full scale of Western United’s financial woes was laid bare in May when the majority of the club’s men’s and women’s players served breach-of-contract notices for unpaid wages. But it was the collapse of a proposed takeover by US investment firm KAM Sports that forced the Australian Professional Leagues, the league’s governing body, to take drastic action. Faced with the task of finalising fixtures for both the men’s and women’s competitions, where stadium availability remains a perennial concern, the APL opted to place the club from Melbourne’s western suburbs into hibernation. The decision allows Western United to mount a lengthy appeals process and potentially return to action next season after the Federal…

1 ANOTHER ALL-BRAZILIAN LIBERTADORES FINAL? A Flamengo v Palmeiras final looked a fair bet when the Copa Libertadores kicked off – and it still looks that way going into the semi-finals. Part of the prolonged domination by Brazilian clubs (six straight wins) is the contribution of foreign players, lured by high salaries on offer. Flamengo kicked off the first leg of their quarter-final against Estudiantes with six non-Brazilians in the starting line-up, while Palmeiras had four plus two coming off the bench in both legs against River Plate. And the Argentine clubs paid the price of facing Argentine talent. Flamengo keeper Agustin Rossi came up big in the shootout against Estudiantes, while River Plate were undone by striker “Flaco” Lopez. 2 RACING DREAMING OF THE BIGGEST PRIZE A fanatical follower…

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Fiorentina vJuventus 2013-14 Serie A, Stadio Artemio Franchi, Florence In October 2013, the Italy striker wrote himself into Fiorentina folklore with a stunning hat-trick against their biggest rivals to secure La Viola’s first home win against Juve in15 years “There’s a big rivalry between the two teams and hours before kick-off, as we headed to the stadium, there were already thousands of people on the streets chanting and going crazy. My team-mates from Florence explained why this was the biggest game of the year. I could feel it. But it started badly for us and we were 2-0 down at half-time. After Carlos Tevez and Paul Pogba scored, they both copied Gabriel Batistuta’s famous celebration, where he went down on one knee and pretended to shoot at the crowd. That…

‘Pepism is over’ The new season has seen the pre-dominant possession-based tactical trends replaced Before Tottenham Hotspur’s Champions League game away to Bodo/Glimt at the end of September, the Norwegian side’s goalkeeper Nikita Haikin reflected that it was “unusual to see a team like Tottenham” focusing so much on “long throw-ins and slow throw-ins. Free-kicks from all over the pitch.” It didn’t appear intended as a criticism; rather he was pointing out a fact, seemingly with a degree of admiration. A couple of weeks earlier, after Brentford had equalised against Chelsea with a goal from a long throw, the Bees’ manager Keith Andrews observed that long throws had become “fashionable” now that big teams were practising them – he, of course, having been set-piece coach at the club, already had…

“I cannot be deprived of the right to practise my profession. I have decided to assert my rights like any worker who is prevented from doing their job”Brazilian left-back Renan Lodi walks out on Al Hilal after being left out of their Saudi Pro League squad list TRANSFERS ★ LOANS ★ SACKINGS ★ HITINGS ★ SWITCHES ★ RETIRMENTS MONCHI Aston Villa’s president of football operations stepped down from his role after two years, replaced by Real Sociedad’s former sporting director Roberto Olabe. Sergio BUSQUETS The Barcelona and Spain legend will retire at the end of the current MLS season with Inter Miami. He says he will become a coach after taking a sabbatical from the game. Anthony MARTIAL The ex-Manchester United striker became the latest big name to join Mexico’s Liga…

Between 2021 and 2024, the best way to describe the mood around Mexico’s national team was “doom and gloom”. El Tri were eliminated from the group stage of the 2022 World Cup, finishing third in a group that contained Argentina, Poland and Saudi Arabia, ending a run of seven consecutive last-16 appearances. Diego Cocca, appointed in the aftermath of Qatar, lasted just a few months in the role before a sorry 3-0 CONCACAF Nations League semi-final defeat to the United States cost him his job. His successor, Jaime Lozano, didn’t last long either, knocked out in the group stage of the 2024 Copa America after defeat to Venezuela and a goalless draw with Ecuador. With the 2026 World Cup at home, the Mexican FA decided to take no further risks…

Six years after the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) first mooted the idea of a professional league for the region, the plans are close to becoming a reality. “This is a historic moment for Oceania football,” said OFC general secretary Franck Castillo in confirming the plans. “For the first time, our region will have a professional league that provides a pathway for players, coaches, and clubs to compete at the highest level within the Pacific.” Eight teams from seven countries have been chosen to take part, with the participating clubs a mixture of existing names from the region and new sides. Solomon Kings will take part as part of a joint venture between the Solomon Islands Football Federation and Australian semi-professional outfit Wynnum Wolves, who play in the Queensland Premier League.…

If you told anyone in 2013 that within 12 years Pafos FC would be competing in the UEFA Champions League, you would get some very odd looks. This is because, until11 years ago, Pafos FC did not technically exist. Even skipping ahead to the scorching summer of 2025 – when supporters were basking in the club’s first league title triumph – battling the likes of Bayern Munich, Chelsea and Juventus in the cooler months seemed a preposterous possibility. League phase qualification proved a step too far for Scottish powerhouses Celtic and Rangers. Former European Cup winners Feyenoord and Red Star Belgrade could not manage it either. Even Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce fell at the final hurdle. But not Pafos, a team from a sleepy Cypriot seaside resort famed for being the…

It is now more than 30 years since Match Of The Day pundit Alan Hansen uttered the immortal words: “You can’t win anything with kids.” It was August1995, and the former Liverpool and Scotland defender had just witnessed a Manchester United side featuring Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt, Gary and Phil Neville and David Beckham lose 3-1 to Aston Villa. Yet by the end of the season, Hansen was made to eat his words as “Fergie’s Fledglings”, as they came to be known, reclaimed the Premier League title. Perhaps it is fitting, then, that shortly after the 30-year anniversary of that infamous phrase, records are being broken for the number of young players involved in the Premier League. In short, England’s top flight is younger than it’s ever been. Last season,…

“Your father was a goalkeeper for your hometown club Skofja Loka. When you started playing football, did you have the option to play outfield? It seems that it was my destiny to become a goalkeeper, just like my father. At youth level I did play as an outfield player. I played as a centre-forward. I liked that too, but it was always my wish to become a goalkeeper. Congratulations on winning yet another Zamora trophy as La Liga’s best goalkeeper. You’ve now won it a record six times. How much do individual awards mean to you? For sure, it is a big thing – but I cannot compare it with team titles. Without a doubt, I would swap some of those Zamora trophies for a big title with the club.…

When did you realise that you wanted to be a coach? It’s a privilege to play football. But, compared to other professions, you retire very early, so the passion and energy are still there. I finished playing at Hartlepool United in 2012. Dropping down the divisions, the football was more direct and physical. I started to feel more like telling people what to do on the pitch. I was convinced that I wanted to be a coach. I was still living around Newcastle, so I started to do my coaching badges in England. Sometimes, as footballers, we think we know everything about football, but coaching is completely different. It involves a lot of different things. Of all the managers you played for, who had the biggest influence on you? I…

The US Open Cup’s place in American soccer, and by extension in American sport, was up for discussion once again as Nashville SC emerged triumphant in the 2025 edition, narrowly defeating Austin FC 2-1 in the final in Texas. The victory was touted as the first major trophy in any sport in the state of Tennessee, which raised questions around what constitutes a “major” in American sports and around the prestige of the Open Cup itself. In the national media outside of soccer circles, Major League Soccer is not always considered alongside the other major men’s professional leagues of NFL, MLB, the NBA and the NHL. If football’s top division is left out of such debates, then what chance does the domestic cup have of being taken more seriously? Even…

The 2025-26 Vatican League is due to start in November with organisers hoping for an upturn in the number of entries after the previous season was disrupted by the death of Pope Francis. First staged in the early1970s, the competition for workers and residents of the Vatican City – the world’s smallest state – has featured as many as11 sides in the past. The 2024-25 season was delayed for a period of mourning and games got underway in March but the number of entrants was reduced to eight with famous names missing, such as the side from the Swiss Guard. Nicola Vignola, president of the Vatican League, explains: “This year, unfortunately for the championship, several teams dropped out due to their active participation in the Catholic Church’s Universal Jubilee. Consequently,…

OFF-PITCH MATTERS MAKING HEADLINES IN ITALY’S SERIE C Italian third-tier club Crotone have been placed under judicial supervision for a year after police found “sufficient evidence” of pervasive mafia infiltration. The powerful ’Ndrangheta syndicate in southern Calabria had reportedly infiltrated the club’s security and ticketing operations, prompting the authorities to deem protective measures necessary. In a released statement, the club – who are not under investigation – said the court decision “does not even remotely suggest complicity or connivance by the club, its shareholders, or its managers and collaborators”. It is not an isolated case. Fellow third-tier outfit Foggia are also operating under judicial supervision following investigations to safeguard the sport under Italy’s Anti-Mafia Code. Further north in Italy’s third tier, Ternana have made headlines for appointing a 23-year-old with…

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We’ll always have Kolkata Looking back on England’s victory at the Under-17 World Cup in 2017 When Steve Cooper coached the England Under-17s side, he stuck a string of instructions on the wall ofthe players’ meeting room at St George’s Park. Some were about ways of quietening the crowd, others about frustrating the opposition and working the referee. Nothing was left tochance by Cooper in preparations to win the Under-17World Cup in2017. Cooper flew out to India twice for recces, checking out the facilities and climate. He stayed on after the draw and visited venues where England could play. He spoke to England cricket staff onpitfalls of playing in India. He talked to coaches who’d worked out there like Steve Coppell. England were so well-prepared. None of the other teams…

SEASON RANKINGS Cumulative votes through the season GOALKEEPERS David Raya (Arsenal) 3 Gianluigi Donnarumma (Man City) 2 Mile Svilar (Roma) 2 Alisson (Liverpool) 1 Lucas Chevalier (PSG) 1 Dean Henderson (Crystal Palace) 1 DEFENDERS Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool) 6 Gabriel (Arsenal) 5 Konrad Laimer (Bayern Munich) 5 Nuno Mendes (PSG) 4 Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace) 3 Achraf Hakimi (PSG) 3 Alex Grimaldo (Bayer Leverkusen) 2 Jules Kounde (Barcelona) 2 Gianluca Mancini (Roma) 2 Illia Zabarnyi (PSG) 2 Nayef Aguerd (Marseille) 1 Riccardo Calafiori (Arsenal) 1 Robin Le Normand (Atletico Madrid) 1 Eder Militao (Real Madrid) 1 Jonathan Tah (Bayern Munich) 1 MIDFIELDERS Michael Olise (Bayern Munich) 4 Pedri (Barcelona) 4 Christian Pulisic (Milan) 4 Luka Modric (Milan) 3 Vitinha (PSG) 3 Ryan Gravenberch (Liverpool) 2 Arda Guler (Real Madrid) 2…

In April 2023, during a qualifier for the 2024 Paris Olympics between Indonesia and Lebanon, Claudia Scheunemann made football history. By making her international debut at the age of just13 years and 349 days old, she became the youngest player in the history of international football. Playing for the Under-18s just a few weeks prior was remarkable enough, pitching her against opponents five years her senior. But having scored in that game, she was swiftly promoted. The young forward has attributed her rapid progress to being raised in a footballing family. Her father, Ralph, left his home in Germany to play semiprofessionally in Indonesia, representing Gajahyana in the city of Malang. Her uncle Timo is a former manager of the Indonesia women’s team, now coaching the Under-17s, while her cousin…

The 2025 FAI Cup semi-finals were supposed todeliver the ultimate underdog story. Founded just three years ago, Kerry FCare the League of Ireland’s newest outfit and had captured hearts across the country with acup run that defied all logic. Part-time players, led by top scorer and record appearance-maker Sean McGrath – who spends his days labouring for the council with his uncle – had already seen off top-flight Sligo Rovers in asensational quarter-final, coming from 3-0 down to win 4-3. With manager Colin Healy, atwo-time FAI Cup winner in his playing days, the ingredients were all there. But the reality check came swiftly at Tallaght Stadium. Shamrock Rovers, ruthless and clinical asthey have been for much of the season, dispatched Kerry 6-1. Graham Burke scored twice, teen sensation Michael Noonan…

After almost a decade as a coach at club level, including on the staff at Manchester United, how have you found the irregular rhythm of being a national team coach? That is the one thing that I’ve kind of struggled to get to grips with because I’m no longer active every day, so the switch has been crazy. It has been hard to adjust, because you go from working with players every single day, getting to know players, their personalities, prepping for training, prepping for meetings, prepping for games every weekend. You’re on your toes every day. But when it comes to the national team, you just go and watch matches and watch players. You get data and feedback from everyone, speak to clubs, speak to managers, speak to coaches,…

In May, Al Ittihad celebrated winning their tenth Saudi Pro League (SPL) title by eight points. The only downside was the fact that, in the same month, they had to watch Jeddah rivals Al Ahli lift the AFC Champions League Elite trophy in front of 60,000 delighted fans. No matter: the new campaign would give manager Laurent Blanc the chance to add to the club’s pair of continental titles, won in 2004 and 2005 – or so he thought. In September, the French coach was out after the Tigers had lost their first two games. Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kante and Fabinho have all won European titles with Real Madrid, Chelsea and Liverpool respectively, but are finding that Asia’s top-tier tournament is no walk in the park. Successive defeats against Al…

Vancouver Whitecaps defeated Vancouver FC 4-2 in the final of the Canadian Championship, becoming only the second club to win the competition in four consecutive seasons. The Championship features teams from across the Canadian soccer system, including the country’s three MLS representatives, the eight teams from the Canadian Premier League (CPL) and the champions of the four regional semi-professional leagues that make up League1 Canada. Although the two finalists are close geographically – the game was dubbed the “604 Derby” in reference to the city’s phone code – they’ve been at opposite ends of Canada’s professional football spectrum this season. While the Whitecaps reached the CONCACAF Champions Cup final in June and are still in contention to win the MLS regular season, VFC sat rock bottom of the CPL. Yet…