Indholdsfortegnelse for October 2022 i World Soccer

3 ISSUES FOR ONLY £5 Don’t miss this special offer! • Pay just £5 for your first 3 issues of World Soccer – saving 72% • Continue to Save 36% after your trial – save on newsagent prices • Never miss an issue with FREE UK delivery direct to your door • Get the World Cup special issue on sale in October 2022* DON’T MISS OUR QATAR 2022 PREVIEW Subscribe now and you’ll receive our World Cup 2022 special issue as part of your 3-month trial offer!* ● Our World Cup 2022 special issue will be a 148-page bumper edition ● You’ll get the expert guide to all 32 teams including squad pen pics, tactics, analysis & interviews ● The bumper edition will also come with a massive World Cup…

The candidates for this year’s Ballon d’Or awards have been announced by its organisers France Football. For the first time since 2005, Lionel Messi has been left off the 30-man list of nominees, with Karim Benzema the overwhelming favourite for the top prize. Meanwhile, in the women’s award, three of England’s Euro 2022-winning squad have been nominated. “Professional football in South Africa and Africa could be at risk…There is no evidence that an African Super League will benefit soccer in Africa” South African Football Players Union on the proposed African Super League 2022 BALLON D’OR NOMINEES • Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool, England) • Karim Benzema (Real Madrid, France) • Joao Cancelo (Manchester City, Portugal) • Casemiro (Manchester United, Brazil) • Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid, Belgium) • Kevin de Bruyne (Manchester City,…

TEN BIG EARS By Aly Mir (Pitch Publishing, £16.99) Ten Big Ears is a personal account that commemorates the 30th anniversary of Barcelona’s first European Cup win in 1992. It is a fascinating story of some of the greatest football the world has ever seen, including all five of the club’s European Cup triumphs. Drawing on wider historical and cultural references (including philosophy, classical antiquity, religion, reality TV and popular music) this provides an alternative and quirky take on the rollercoaster that is Barca. HERO IN THE SHADOWS By David Tossell (Pitch Publishing, £19.99) Over a three-decade period, and as right-hand man to three England managers, Don Howe won acclaim from many of England’s finest players as a genius of the coaching profession. Through interviews with players, colleagues, friends and…

“Enough of African players, or they should give up playing in the African Cup of Nations. I won’t be buying them any more otherwise. We pay the salaries to send them around to play elsewhere” Napoli president Aurelio de Laurentiis sparked controversy with his comments on AFCON IN SUMMER2022 LATESTMAJORTRANSFERS £55m Marc Cucurella Brighton to chelsea £51m Casemiro real Madrid to Man. United £48.3m Lisandro Martinez Ajax to Man. United £45m Jules Kounde Sevilla to Barcelona £38m Matheus Nunes Sporting to Wolves £35m Morgan Gibbs-White Wolves to Nott’m Forest £33m Amadou Onana lille to everton £30m Gianluca Scamacca Sassuolo to West Ham £30m Oleksandr Zinchenko Man. city to Arsenal £27.5m Goncalo Guedes Valencia to Wolves £26.8m Charles De Ketelaere club Brugge to Milan £21.8m David Raum Hoffenheim to rB leipzig…

Helsingin Jalkapalloklubi (HJK), nicknamed “Klubi” and based in Helsinki’s Toolo suburb, are one of the world’s most decorated football teams. A current period of domestic dominance has seen them claim ten of the last13 Veikkausliiga titles, taking them to a total of 31 Finnish top-flight crowns since their foundation in 1907. They have qualified for the Champions League and Europa League group stages in the modern era, in addition to recording memorable victories in competitive games against the likes of Celtic, Benfica, Schalke and Torino. They have long been the backbone of the Finnish national team, with 15 of the players called up for June’s international fixtures having played for the club, and an additional seven current players called up in the last12 months. Finland’s record cap holder, Jari Litmanen,…

Over the past five years, Jurgen Klopp’s heavy metal football team have produced countless chart-topping riffs in the Champions League: twice runnersup (2017-18 and 2021-22) and top of the podium in 2018-19. Indeed, with a little more luck, they would have beaten Real Madrid in last season’s final. Fortunately for all followers of the Reds, this is not a squad or a club to be satisfied with past successes. At Anfield, thoughts tend to be relentlessly trained on tomorrow’s challenges. After coming within a whisker of completing a unique four-trophy clean sweep last term, there is an energising air of unfinished business about the place. The decision of sensational Senegal attacker Sadio Mane to up sticks for Bayern Munich may have left some fans reeling, but in Mohamed Salah, Luis…

PSG’s Qatari state paymasters are growing ever impatient. Claiming the Ligue 1 title virtually every year is not what motivates club president Nasser Al Khelaifi and his backers. They aspire to European predominance and it clearly rankles that in 11 years of petro-dollar excess, they have yet to win a single Champions League. The Parisians have come close, especially when losing to Bayern in the 2020 final. But in the final analysis, runners-up honours mean little to the voraciously ambitious Qataris. Such an obsession only means one thing for coaches at PSG – deliver the Holy Grail or hit the road. A host of big-name bosses – Carlo Ancelotti, Laurent Blanc, Unai Emery and Thomas Tuchel – were all dismissed after failing in their mission, and recently Maurico Pochettino suffered…

About to start their 13th Champions League campaign, Atleti are not, it has to be said, in the best of shape. Last season, their La Liga title defence never got off the ground, hampered by two exceedingly rare occurrences: a defence that regularly went AWOL, and coach Diego Simeone’s inexplicable failure to find a settled playing system. What’s more, money is extremely tight. Given the financial restraints, it’s hardly a surprise that Atletico have barely caused a ripple in the recruitment pool, limiting their purchases to Argentine right-back Nahuel Molina (ex-Udinese) and Belgian defensive midfielder Axel Witsel (free from Dortmund). Witsel, 33, will be taking over shielding duties from Hector Herrera, who split on a free transfer to MLS’ Houston Dynamo, while midfielder Saul Niguez and striker Alvaro Morata are…

Without charismatic coach Antonio Conte in the hot seat, Tottenham would not have come close to qualifying for the Champions League. Spurs were a dead duck under his predecessor Nuno Espirito Santo, but in just six months the Italian manager produced a sensational turnaround in North London, transforming a dysfunctional mid-table side into a gritty, wellorganised and vibrant collective whole. Conte, never one to hide his feelings, insists that his employers back him in the transfer market, and he seems satisfied with the newcomers brought in this summer. The list of recruits has something for all tastes: the guile and directness of ex-Everton attacker Richarlison, the all-action approach of former Brighton midfielder Yves Bissouma, the incisiveness of Ivan Perisic (ex-Internazionale) on the left-wing and the solidity of French centre-back Clement…

Get well soon, Sebastien. Diagnosed with testicular cancer just a fortnight after joining Dortmund from Ajax, Ivory Coast striker Haller promptly underwent treatment and posted an update on social media to inform fans on the first steps of his recovery. The 28-year-old will miss at least part of the autumnal Champions League programme. “It’s so awful for a player to be in training and then to suffer this,” said Dortmund CEO, Hans-Joachim Watzke. “What’s important is that Sebastien is healthy again.” Haller’s illness and unavailability is a real blow to Dortmund. Following the exit of Erling Haaland, the Dortmund brass deliberated for several months before choosing Haller as the Norwegian’s successor. And it seemed to make good sense too, especially when looking at Haller’s goalscoring numbers last season (34 goals…

Crucially, Leipzig enter the new season on a wave of confidence. The way the team went from flat-lining to qualifying for the Champions League and winning the German Cup under new coach Domenico Tedesco has given everyone a huge boost. “We are not interested in just taking part in the Champions League,” said Leipzig chief executive Oliver Mintzlaff. “Our goal is at least to be present in the knockout phase.” RB will take great heart from their impressive recent European track record: they beat Tottenham and Atletico Madrid en route to the Champions League last four in 2019-20, reached the last16 the following season, and made it to the semis in last term’s Europa League. May’s Cup final was a match that demonstrated RB’s toughness too: trailing from the19th minute,…

Never mind their recent shock defeat to third-tier Elversberg in the German Cup, Leverkusen deserve the utmost respect. They finished third in the Bundesliga last season, proving particularly strong in key away games – winning at Dortmund and RB Leipzig, and drawing with Bayern – and were a juggernaut in the second half of the season, producing their best post-Christmas points haul (36) in two decades. Their best off-season business was extending the contracts of their two most important players: Czech striker Patrik Schick and teenage attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz, who suffered an ACL injury in March. Sadly, he is only likely to return in November. Howwill their young back-line cope? Individually and collectively, they can be naive. On the flip side, the likes of Piero Hincapie, Edmond Tapsoba and…

Amidst the barbarity of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Shakhtar face an uncertain future. With no domestic championship to take part in for the first half of the year and no stadium to call their own, their squad has effectively become a group of wanderers, holding summer training camps in the Netherlands and Slovenia. In the Champions League, Shakhtar will host games at Legia Warsaw’s Wojske Polskiego stadium, while hopping between Kyiv and Lviv in the league. How is Shakhtar’s squad looking after so many departures? Shakhtar say that FIFA’s ruling that foreign players in Ukraine could suspend their contracts cost them €50m in lost transfer fees. Traditionally, they have packed their squad with Brazilian imports, but this summer the likes of Dodo, Marquinhos Cipriano, Marcos Antonio, David Neres, Alan Patrick…

Benfica opted for a change of tack this summer when hiring their first foreign coach since 2009, with the hope that Roger Schmidt will bring a much-needed rethink at the Estadio Da Luz. The club have spent the income from Darwin Nunez’s sale well, signing tricky winger David Neres and midfield schemer Enzo Fernandez from Shakhtar and River Plate. What can we expect from Schmidt? Schmidt shows no sign of moving away from his signature gung-ho approach. His two key changes so far have been to move Goncalo Ramos from secondstriker to centre-forward, and shifting winger Rafa Silva into the No.10 role. COACH Roger Schmidt The German has twice made the last 16 with Leverkusen. KEYMAN Enzo Fernandez The classy Argentine marked his Benfica debut with a stunning volley v…

The last few months have been a fruitful period for Dinamo, first announcing a record turnover of €62.4m for 2021 - including a welcome profit of €838,000 - then qualifying for what will be their eighth seat at the European top table. The cash will be most welcome. Last season, Dinamo banked €14.6m for reaching the quarter-finals of the Europa League; a place in the Champions League group phase will bring in double that amount. Will Dinamo’s new recruits impress? New centre-back Bosko Sutalo did not exactly cover himself in glory during a two-and-a-half-year spell in Italy with Atalanta and Verona, and Switzerland striker Josip Drmic has a lot of ground to recover after flopping badly at Norwich City. Yet Drmic has begun life in Zagreb with a flurry of…

For the first time since 2009, Maccabi are through to the group phase. And how thoroughly they deserved it, seeing off Olympiakos, Apollon Limassol and Red Star Belgrade in qualifying. Haifa are now the only Israeli team to reach the Champions League three times, and will want to avoid the humiliation of their last appearance, in 2009-10, when they lost all six games without scoring a goal. How has Bakhar improved Maccabi? Mentally. Maccabi have an unbreakable fighting spirit in the ranks, a rare refusal to accept defeat. In both legs against Red Star, they came from behind to force a result. Aggression, work ethic and humility are drilled into the squad. COACH Barak Bakhar The 42-year-old has won five Israeli titles in seven years: three with Be’er Seva and…

The Euros may have been the headline act, but it was only one part of a global fiesta of women’s football in mid-2022 with Africa, CONCACAF, South America and Oceania also staging international tournaments. When the last final whistles blew, USA, Brazil, South Africa and Papua New Guinea had joined England and China – who won the Asian Cup earlier this year – as regional champions. AFRICA In their sixth final, South Africa finally won the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, defeating hosts Morocco in front of a continental record crowd of 51,000. Both teams had beaten perennial winners Nigeria on the way. Expanded from eight to 12 teams, the14th WAFCON returned with vigour after a two-year COVID-enforced delay. A controversial regional qualifying process meant there was representation in most…

“It was intriguing to see Grenada play two matches in Europe this year, against Andorra and Gibraltar. How did that come about? When I arrived in Grenada it was a real steep curve because it was in the middle of COVID. The first time I met the team was 48 hours before a World Cup qualifying game against El Salvador. And in that process it became quite obvious that we needed more matches and to create some sort of opportunities, because the players have limited experience against other levels of competition. I wanted us to play in Europe because we have gone through a player recruitment process. We now have about 60 per cent of our squad playing in the UK. In January we had a camp in the United…

It’s a three-way shootout between Hungary, Germany and Italy for the Nations League finals berth in Group A3, so England’s aims in September will be to avoid relegation to League B and reGroup Ahead of the World Cup. The Three Lions’ miserable showing in June – zero wins, a mere two points and only one goal to their name – has left Gareth Southgate with the first real crisis of his six-year tenure. Thanks to those ten calamitous days, exemplified by the shocking 4-0 home defeat to Hungary, England’s stock has fallen substantially. Remedial measures have to be adopted – and fast. Above all, Southgate must be bolder. For far too long he has stubbornly applied the safety-first handbrake, often opting to deploy two defensive midfielders. England boast a wealth…

It has been another lengthy Asian Champions League campaign but at least now we know the identity of one finalist – and it is a familiar one. In the eastern zone semi-final meeting between two two-time winners, on August 25, Urawa Reds of Japan defeated South Korea’s Jeonbuk Motors courtesy of a penalty shootout. The Reds will, however, have to wait until February to find out their opponents in the two-legged final. That is partly because the tournament is split into two geographic zones until the big game. The western zone, with domestic leagues just starting and the World Cup approaching, will not play their knockout stages until early 2023. There is also the fact that the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) is in the process of changing the competition from…

In 2009, England women faced Germany in the final of the European Championship. It was a game watched by around 16,000 people in the stadium, and around 1.4 million on the BBC, as Germany ran out 6-2 winners. It was an event overlooked by many media outlets – this one included – while those that did cover it offered limited analysis. Fast-forward 13 years, and the women’s game is unrecognisable. This year’s final took place in front of a sold-out Wembley crowd of 87,192 – the biggest-ever crowd at any Euros match, men’s or women’s – while a TV audience of almost 18 million watched Leah Williamson lift the trophy. And it was not a one-off. Earlier this year, Barcelona Femeni broke more attendance records en route to the Champions…

€686m Potential value of women’s football by 2033, according to a recent report by UEFA. £62m Total price - including add-ons - of Marc Cucurella’s transfer from Brighton to Chelsea, a world record for a full-back. 4 FIFA ranking of England’s women’s side, after the Lionesses won the European Championship. €50,000 Fine handed to Fenerbahce by UEFA after the club’s fans were heard chanting Vladimir Putin’s name during their Champions League qualifier. 34 Of the last 67 UEFA trophies have now been won by Spanish clubs, after Real Madrid defeated Eintracht Frankfurt in the Super Cup final. 3 Brazilian teams in the semi-finals of this year’s Copa Libertadores, with clubs from Brazil having won the last three editions of the tournament. 20% Pay-cut required by Bordeaux players after the club’s…

TECHNICALLY SPEAKING For Manchester City, the risk is significant. They have won four of the last five league titles, topping the Premier League’s scoring charts in each of those five seasons, with a system that works extremely well. Yet this season they have chosen to change it. City have not won a Champions League, and that is the trophy their owners really crave. They have developed a habit of eye-catching exits, dominating games yet somehow never scoring quite enough, while opponents turn bafflingly ruthless at key moments. None of the Champions League winners in the past five seasons have been notably more talented than City. The temptation may have been to write off those failures – albeit they follow a pattern of disappointment for Pep Guardiola in the Champions League…

“Uwe had one thing ahead of all the other players: his shot while falling, hitting the ball while his feet were at head height himself. I haven’t seen that in any other player” Brazil legend Pele on his admiration for Uwe Seeler UWE SEELER (1936-2022) Uwe Seeler was one of the most inspiring of German football heroes. His career statistics are impressive enough but Seeler’s enduring popularity owes much to his accidental status as a bridge across football eras. “Uns Uwe” (Our Uwe) registered 43 goals in 72 appearances for West Germany between late1954 and 1970, captaining the side for the last eight years, but was never a World Cup winner: “his” West Germany were fourth in 1958, quarter-finalists in 1962, runners-up in 1966 and third in1970. The closest he…

Champions League winners14 times, including in four of the last six seasons, and semi-finalists on seven occasions this century, it’s fair to say that Europe’s premier club competition remains very much in the DNA of Real Madrid. Their remarkable road to glory in last season’s Champions League was a masterclass in never-say-die spirit; rising from their deathbed to see off PSG, Chelsea and Manchester City before battling like lions to edge out Liverpool in the final. In terms of grit, strong nerves and unwavering self-belief, Carlo Ancelotti’s side were absolutely peerless. Even in the most perilous of circumstances, they find a way to win. The hunger for trophies is incredible. Following every triumph, the slate is immediately wiped clean, with the focus moving to a new set of horizons. As…

Using funds raised by selling off a portion of their future domestic TV rights, Barca have been splashing much of the cash on boosting their attacking options, bringing in former Bayern goal machine Robert Lewandowski and exciting Brazil winger Raphinha from Leeds. For a combined €117m, the Blaugrana faithful now have a new Dream Team strikeforce to idolise, a unit that should provide copious amounts of end-product. The Barca Class of 2022-23 should not be short on firepower. Alongside Lewandowski and Raphinha, Xavi can also turn to the likes of Spain youngsters Ansu Fati and Ferran Torres, newlyretained French winger Ousmane Dembele and Gabon road runner Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Elimination from the Champions League group phase last season – their worst performance in the competition for 21 years – did not…

Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri, twice a Champions League runner-up with the Turin club in 2014-15 and 2016-17, has one overarching goal in this season’s competition: to push the Bianconeri further up the continental pecking order. Following three straight round-of-16 exits, Juventus’ standing in the European game has taken a real hit. With nine final appearances, but only two trophies to show for it, the Old Lady is in dire need of a European tour de force. At the heart of the Juve relaunch this summer was a major injection of marquee know-how, the free transfers of French midfielder Paul Pogba from Manchester United and the Argentine winger Angel Di Maria from Paris Saint-Germain. The pair will be on familiar turf in the Champions League: together they have appeared in over…

Above all else in 2022-23, the Rossoneri, Italian champions for the first time in over a decade last campaign, will be desperate to improve on their disastrous showing in last season’s Champions League, when they finished bottom in their group behind Liverpool, Atletico Madrid and Porto. The campaign was a complete train wreck, with Stefano Pioli’s side losing four games and winning just once. For a club that has claimed seven European Cups, this was a humiliating reminder that Milan are no longer part of the continental elite. Milan’s European glory days of the late1980s and ’90s were underlined by the lavish spending sprees of owner Silvio Berlusconi. These days, though, Milan have to be considerably more frugal in their personnel choices. “I don’t like talking about budgets, but if…

The Dutch champions lost a great deal of talent this summer. The list of outgoing transfers include midfielder Ryan Gravenberch, right-back Noussair Mazraoui (both to Bayern), defender Lisandro Martinez (Manchester United), striker Sebastian Haller (Dortmund) and left-back Nicolas Tagliafico (Lyon), not to mention the exit of coach Erik ten Hag. Few clubs could survive such a haemorrhage of ability. But if any organisation can fight back it’s Ajax, home to one of the best academies in world football. In addition to the core of class that remains – centre-back Jurrien Timber, midfielders Steven Berghuis and Davy Klaassen and wingers Antony and Dusan Tadic – the Amsterdammers have spent judiciously on new signings, using a large proportion of the €100m raised. The new guys on the block include the much-coveted AZ…

Delighted to be in the Champions League mix for the first time in their history, Eintracht will be hoping to build on the momentum of their Europa League triumph last season, their first continental trophy since claiming the UEFA Cup in 1979-80. The Eagles could certainly use the forthcoming Champions League windfall (expected to be €30m plus); despite their moment in the Europa League sun in Seville, Frankfurt still made a loss of €23m last season, mainly as a result of COVID-enforced crowd restrictions. A reasonable showing in the Champions League would put the club back on a much sounder financial footing. All of a sudden, Eintracht are a reference point in Germany, a team to respect and take seriously. One only has to look at the European honours board…

Bad blood in the boardroom is never far from the surface at the Stade Velodrome, and the toxicity was in full flow again this summer, with Argentine coach Jorge Sampaoli walking out on the club just two days into pre-season, having steered Marseille to second place in Ligue1. President Pablo Longoria considered moves for Shakhtar Donetsk’s Roberto De Zerbi, ex-Valencia and Athletic Bilbao boss Marcelino, and Julien Stephan of Strasbourg. Ultimately, though, he opted for the former PAOK, Galatasaray, Hajduk Split, Udinese and latterly Verona coach, Igor Tudor. Local media have reported that certain players are already unhappy with the Croat’s tough, disciplined style. Will they badly miss William Saliba? Saliba, who recently returned to Arsenal following a successful loan, barely put a foot wrong last season. It speaks volumes…

The Lisbon-based Lions are very much on the up. Portuguese champions in 2020-21 and praiseworthy runners-up last term, they have finished in Portugal’s top two for the first time since 2009. Essentially, this is a team built on two pillars: insistence on a clear identity as outlined by coach Ruben Amorim, and a world-class academy system, producing an ever-flowing pipeline of homegrown talent. Top of the class this year are centre-back Goncalo Inacio, right-back Pedro Porro and winger Pedro Goncalves. How defensively sound are Sporting? The golden rule in Amorim’s playbook is a solid, well-organised defence, so Sporting fans would have been worried to read pre-season press reports that the coach was concerned about his leaky rearguard. In summer friendlies, the back line of Inacio, Sebastian Coates and Matheus Reis…

In eight attempts, Brugge have never reached the Champions League last16 and the smart money says they will fail again. The sale of Charles De Ketelaere has left a huge hole, while stopper Stanley Nsoki and striker Lois Openda have also left. The Belgian champions will be without Mats Rits too, after the midfielder tore cruciate knee ligaments. How risky is Hoefkens’ appointment? While this is Hoefkens’ first job, he knows the club inside out after excellent work in the academy. He has nurtured a host of talented youngsters and will hope to get the best out of the next generation of young stars, such as Cisse Sandra, Lynnt Audoor and Daniel Perez. COACH Carl Hoefkens Assistant to former boss Alfred Schreuder, who joined Ajax after winning the title. KEYMAN…

Reaching the group stage for the fourth time was highly satisfying for Viktoria, especially after last season’s top scorer Jean-David Beauguel - who netted 21 goals in total - joined Saudi outfit Al-Wehda. Beauguel’s departure left a hole in attack, but that has been filled by Tomas Chory and Czech international Jan Kliment, a new signing fromWisla Krakow. Can Plzen improve on 2018-19? The bar is set high. Plzen punched above their weight in 2018-19, beating Roma and finishing third with seven points. A well-organised, resilient outfit that can execute a gameplan, they will dream of upsetting the odds again. COACH Michal Bilek Now in his second stint at Plzen after spells in Costa Rica, Georgia, Slovakia and Kazakhstan. KEYMAN Jindrich Stanek Comfortably the finest goalkeeper in the Czech Republic.…

World Soccer’s November issue highlights 50 World Cup wild cards who could catch the eye at Qatar 2022. We also continue our countdown to the greatest show on Earth with news and reports from Canada, Iran and Saudi Arabia, exclusive Q&A features, and an in-depth player biography on Senegal’s Sadio Mane. Plus, don’t miss previews of the Copa Libertadores and Sudamericana finals, a look ahead to the new A-League Men’s season in Australia, and our transfer window round-up, plus regular monthly features such as World Service, Headliners and incisive comment from our in-house columnists Keir Radnedge, Jim Holden and Jonathan Wilson. Print £5.99 Digital £3.99 ORDER NOW shop.kelsey.co.uk/WSC22 Or Call: 01959 543 747 You may have missed… SAVE10% when you spend £25 or more VOUCHERCODE: WSCSHOP22 Also from the publishers…

1 PEDRO (BRAZIL) Could Brazil’s secret World Cup weapon be a striker who was shown the door by Fiorentina after four games and has spent much of the last two years on the bench? Bizarre as it sounds, there is a real possibility that Flamengo striker Pedro will be included in the squad, an emergency option off the bench when Brazil are seeking to break down deep-lying opponents. He offers something rare: a genuine centre-forward with penalty-area presence. Technically adept and an ice-cool finisher with a shrewd understanding of what is going on around him, he is no blunt instrument, although he is slow – hence the short spell in Italy. After initially struggling to make his impact at a Flamengo side rich in attacking options, he is currently flying…

With Qatar 2022 looming, the pressure is on France boss Didier Deschamps to settle on his first-choice tactical system. Over the last year or so, the World Cupwinning coach has alternated between a back three and a four-man defence. Now he must plump for one or the other and this fixture in Copenhagen represents his last chance to bring clarity to the question. In Les Bleus’ four winless Nations League games in June, they constantly disappointed with their lack of creativity and offensive punch. For whatever reason, Deschamps has not found the right balance in the attacking third and one player particularly at risk of losing his place is Antoine Griezmann, whom many pundits in France think is past his prime. Deschamps is renowned for staying loyal to key lieutenants,…

Three months after the humiliation of a 4-1 Nations League loss to the Dutch in Brussels, Belgium are thirsting for revenge as Group A4’s top two go head-to-head in Amsterdam. However they will need a much-improved defensive performance to achieve it. The Diables Rouges’ backline was a total shambles in that derby hammering in June, and there is an evergrowing feeling in the Belgian media that a central defensive unit featuring both Jan Vertonghen (35) and Toby Alderweireld (33) is just too long in the tooth. Belgium coach Roberto Martinez continues to stick by the duo, though he has made one important change to his three-man back-line, bringing in Wolves ace Leander Dendoncker – normally a midfielder – on the right side of the defence. Dendoncker has admirably risen to…

Japan lifted the East Asian Championship trophy for only the second time in their history in late July, defeating fellow World Cup qualifiers South Korea 3-0 in the final round of games to take top spot. The Samurai Blue finished in top spot of the (usually) biennial tournament with seven points from three games, one ahead of the Koreans. China took third place with four, while Hong Kong finished last with zero points to show for their efforts. Although winning is always welcome, this is a fairly low-key tournament, meaning that all four had their own targets and ambitions for the competition. The top two were both looking to the World Cup that kicks off in November; neither Japan nor South Korea were able to call upon their European-based players,…

Internationals 2022 WOMEN’S EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP Group A Jul 6 – Manchester England1 (Mead16) Austria 0 Jul 7 – Southampton Norway 4 (Blakstad10, Maanum13, Graham Hansen 31 pen, Reiten 54) Northern ireland1 (Nelson 49) Jul 11 – Southampton Austria 2 (Schiechtl19, Naschenweng 88) Northern ireland 0 Jul 11 – Brighton & Hove England 8 (Stanway12 pen, Hemp15, White 29, 41, Mead 34, 38, 81, Russo 66) Norway 0 Jul 15 – Southampton Northern ireland 0 England 5 (Kirby 40, Mead 44, Russo 48, 53, Burrows 76 og) Jul 15 – Brighton & Hove Austria1 (Billa 37) Norway 0 Final standings Group B Jul 8 – Milton Keynes Spain 4 (Paredes 26, Bonmati 41, L. Garcia 75, Caldentey 90+5 pen) Finland1 (Sallstrom1) Jul 8 – London Germany 4 (Magull 21, Schuller 57,…

THE INSIDER Strolling half an hour from downtown Montevideo brings any inquiring tourist to a quirky grey post on the sidewalk at a crossroads in the suburb of Pocitos. Further down the Calle Coronel Alegre stands a grey angular frame, like a half-completed bus shelter. No city wears its footballing pride like Montevideo. The post marks the spot where France and Mexico kicked off on the first day in the history of the World Cup; the steel frame represents the goal into which Frenchman Lucien Laurent struck the first goal. Just about every football romantic and historian knows, in his or her heart, that the finals of the 2030 World Cup should return to the city in which it all began a century earlier. But while Uruguayan football fanaticism has…

MAKING OF MESSI As Messi mania swept football, World Soccer was there every step of the way, and this special 100-page bookazine tracks Leo’s amazing journey with club and country. GREATEST RIVALRIES From Rome to Cairo, Glasgow to Buenos Aires, Milan to Shanghai and Budapest to Rio de Janeiro, this edition showcases some of the biggest rivalries in football. FACE TO FACE This issue features a collection of interviews with footballing icons, including Maradona, Kaka, Zidane, Xavi, Ronaldo, Cruyff, Sacchi, Pele, Klinsmann, Shearer and Wenger. HISTORY OF THE EUROS Published specifically to coincide with the European Championship’s 60th anniversary, World Soccer chronicles the history of the Euros, from 1960 through to 2020. PEP TALK The greatest manager of all time or a flawed genius? You decide after reading this special…

Danilo Rinaldi stands with his arms locked around the shoulders of his team-mates either side of him beneath the sweltering sun. Backs straighten, heads look up to the stands, as the opening chords of “Inno Nazionale della Repubblica” ring out. A row of Sammarinese, lost for a moment, in the moment, eyes glassy, distant, focusing on a place very few of us ever reach, where the pride, meaning, belonging felt in representing your nation lives. We can only imagine, but Danilo Rinaldi knows. It is not his first experience of this moment, shared with 600 spectators at the national stadium of San Marino. He has experienced it 46 times in his international career spanning 14 years. He has experienced it in front of 85,000 fans at Wembley, twice. He has…

Since winning the1969-70 European Cup Winners’ Cup – beating Polish outfit Gornik Zabrze on a night of torrential rain in Vienna – City have not lifted a European trophy. But is the 52-year drought about to come to an end? Under Pep Guardiola, City have always had the fluidity, creativity and sheer joie de vivre. However now they have an extra offensive weapon: a genuine No.9 in the shape of Norwegian Erling Haaland. Potentially, his physical presence and irrepressible goalscoring instinct represent the missing piece of the jigsaw. In theory, the net-result of work-of-art approach play and a genuine marksman could be nuclear. Haaland knows all about scoring in the Champions League: in his first-ever match in the competition in September 2019 he bagged a hat-trick for Red Bull Salzburg…

The new season marks a turning point in the German champions’ existence. For eight wonderful years, the Bavarians could count on the supreme finishing ability of Robert Lewandowski. Whenever Bayern needed a goal, the Pole duly obliged, netting the absurd total of 344 goals in 375 official fixtures. No wonder fans in Munich are balefully talking about the end of an era. His worth to Bayern was not merely measured in goals by the truckload. He was a great team man too, securely holding the ball up, combining cleverly in build-up play and serving in decoy mode. While opposition defenders concentrated on the Poland ace, other Bayern forwards would slip into the red zone undetected. Bayern coach Julian Nagelsmann, one of the brightest minds in European football, will now have…

After19 years of wall-to-wall success – including two Champions League titles – under Roman Abramovich, a new chapter is about to begin at Stamford Bridge, with a consortium led by US businessman Todd Boehly now in charge. Sensibly, Boehly has not taken his new broom to the coaching department, offering his full backing to incumbent boss Thomas Tuchel. This has to be a wise move. The German not only is one of the most tactically astute managers in Europe; he is an outstanding teambuilder as well, innovative in his ideas and superb on the training ground. Tuchel is a ruthless pragmatist too, making it clear to Boehly that misfiring big-money striker Romelu Lukaku had to be off-loaded, allowing the Belgian international to return on loan to former club Internazionale. Also…

“The financial sustainability of the club is our absolute priority.” As general manager Beppe Marotta recently pointed out, the harsh truth is that the Nerazzurri simply do not have the economic resources to spend, spend, spend in the transfer market. Austerity is the order of the day for Inter right now and that means cutting their cloth accordingly. Missing out on transfer targets was very much a trend at Inter in the off-season. After agreeing personal terms with Torino centre-back Bremer, negotiations over the fee dragged on for so long that Juventus were able to hijack the deal. And it was the same story in the hunt for out-of-contract Juventus forward Paulo Dybala. The Nerazzurri were thought to be in pole position to sign the mercurial Argentine, but just could…

No wonder the Sevilla fans were so ecstatic after clinching fourth place in La Liga last season. Not only had they qualified for their third consecutive Champions League, they had done so at the expense of neighbours Betis, who ended the campaign one place behind. Now the goal is to emulate their bestever Champions League performance (a quarter-final spot in 2017-18). More often than not, the round of 16 has proved Sevilla’s ceiling. Last term, they did not even progress beyond the group stage, winning just one game. Nevertheless they do still boast an excellent European pedigree, with six Europa League titles this century. Expertly led and drilled by coach Julen Lopetegui, Sevilla are extremely hard to outmanoeuvre. Beaten only four times in La Liga last term, they are solid…

Strangely for a club whose results have been more than satisfactory over the last five years – winning three domestic league titles and thrice competing in the springtime phase of the Champions League, a substantial section of Porto’s supporters are unhappy. The cause of their ire? An ever-growing feeling that club president Pinto da Costa is not doing enough to retain the team’s best players. During the course of the last year or so, Da Costa has sold star names with abandon, cashing in on the highly marketable likes of Danilo Pereira and Vitinha (both Paris Saint-Germain), Fabio Vieira (Arsenal), Luis Diaz (Liverpool) and Francisco Conceicao – the son of current Dragons coach Sergio Conceicao – who was lured away by Ajax. Pinto da Costa would not win any popularity…

A major team overhaul is underway in the football-mad city of Naples after four of the Sky Blues’ most significant performers departed the scene. Centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly signed for Chelsea, winger Lorenzo Insigne made tracks for Toronto, false nine Dries Mertens was released (later signing for Galatasaray), and keeper David Ospina left for Saudi Arabia. In one fell swoop, Napoli have lost a combined 30 seasons of service to their cause. Coach Luciano Spalletti, who guided them to a creditable third place in last season’s Serie A, will have his work cut out to maintain their competitiveness, to work on a new winning blend. But don’t write him off; he’s a meticulous organiser, an incredibly hard worker and produces the sort of exciting teams that players naturally embrace. What’s more,…

The days when Salzburg couldn’t buy a Champions League slot – falling 11 times in the preliminaries – are long gone. Thanks to Austria’s rise in the UEFA coefficient rankings, the country’s champions have automatically qualified for the group stage since 2019 and Salzburg’s progress has accelerated. Their strength is maintaining their edge while selling their best players. This year, striker Karim Adeyemi joined Dortmund, and Leeds United snapped up Brenden Aaronson and Rasmus Kristensen. Among the young guns checking in is versatile forward Fernando, previously with Shakhtar Donetsk, and the Brazilian announced his arrival by scoring on his Austrian Bundesliga debut. Who will be the main man up top to replace the goals of Karim Adeyemi? The most likely candidate is Benjamin Sesko, a19-year-old Slovenian with a big future.…

Back in the group stage for the first time since 2017-18, the Bhoys will be keen to do infinitely better than last time, when they lost five out of six ties and suffered heavy defeats to PSG. European respect is what they crave in Glasgow’s East End and, backed by full houses at Celtic Park, the Hoops have the tools – especially their high-intensity pressing and flowing attacking football – to spring surprises. How does Celtic’s 4-3-3 operate? In possession, the full-backs push inside to receive the ball centrally, creating an overload in the middle of the park, while tricky wingers Liel Abada and Jota stay high and wide to create one-on-ones. COACH Ange Postecoglou Title winner in Australia and Japan before creating a vibrant winning machine at Celtic. KEYMAN…

After going into liquidation in 2012 and being forced to start anew in the Scottish fourth tier, Rangers’ remarkable turnaround is now complete – with European success at the heart of their revival. Reaching the final of last season’s Europa League was tangible evidence that the Gers were back, while returning to the Champions League for the first time in 12 years has underlined the point. Does Alfredo Morelos have a future at Rangers after being dropped? That Van Bronckhorst was prepared to send his best striker into exile tells its own story. It will be hard for the feisty Colombian striker to get back into his manager’s good books; despite his excellent scoring record for Rangers (113 goals in 228 games), Morelos is a liability at times. With eight…

Set to play in their fifth campaign, Copenhagen are Denmark’s most experienced Champions League side, with their best performance coming in 2010-11 when they lost to Chelsea in the last16. The Danish champions have strengthened this summer, signing Slovak stopper Denis Vavro (Lazio), Aussie keeper Mat Ryan (Real Sociedad) and midfielder Lukas Lerager (Genoa). Where are Copenhagen vulnerable? In the play-offs, FCK showed an alarming lack of ambition in beating Trabzonspor. Against stronger teams, these safety-first tactics could lead to the dam bursting, and they must offer more on the counter. COACH Jess Thorup Controversially appointed in 2020, leaving Genk after a month. Two-time Danish champion. KEYMAN Viktor Claesson Versatile frontrunner, capable of scoring from out wide or the middle. YOUNGSTER TOWATCH Victor Kristiansen Composed yet gutsy Danish U21 left-back.…

Heading back to Wembley Park tube station hours after England had won their first senior international trophy in 56 years, a group of female fans were still serenading the woman who they believed was responsible for the Lionesses’ victory in UEFA Women’s Euro 2022. “Sarina, you’re the one, you still turn me on, football’s coming home again!” – sung to the tune of Atomic Kitten’s iconic hit Whole Again. Even before becoming the first permanent foreign coach to lead the England women’s team last October, the international coaching credentials of the 52-year-old Sarina Petronella Wiegman-Glotzbach were formidable. In five years in charge of the Netherlands national women’s team, she won12 straight matches at major tournament finals, a sequence that was only ended by USA in the 2019 World Cup final,…

A 90-minute duel with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Rafael Leao and Diogo Jota will be a severe test of the mettle of a Spanish rearguard that has lost its way recently. At times, flaky and uncoordinated, the Spanish back-line is very much the team’s weak link. In the absence of a marked improvement in this department, La Roja can forget any hopes of World Cup glory. Apart from outstanding Manchester City stopper Aymeric Laporte, the Spanish central defensive cupboard is poorly stocked. Barcelona’s Eric Garcia has an unfortunate tendency to make unforced errors, while neither Leeds United’s Diego Llorente or Inigo Martinez of Athletic Bilbao offer the necessary security at this high level. Despite ferociously backing his defenders, coach Luis Enrique must realise, deep down, that something has to…

War and football have been intertwined in the minds of Ukrainians for many decades. In August 1942, just over a year after the Nazi invasion of Ukraine, a football match took place in Kyiv between the Ukrainian team – featuring several professional players – and Wehrmacht soldiers. Thousands watched on as the Ukrainian side defeated their German occupiers in a clash that was later nicknamed “The Death Match”, after four of the players involved for the home team – who had all played for Dynamo Kyiv before the war – were shot. While the historical truth of the story is murky to say the least, popular mythology says that the Ukrainian players stood up to their invaders, defeated them on the pitch, and died as heroes. Now, 80 years on,…

The British overseas territory has typically been among the world’s weakest sides, but the BVI FA was making progress by developing juniors until Hurricane Irma hit in 2017. Rebuilding in every sense has been necessary but president Andy Bickerton’s plan of connecting with the game in his native Dorset is bearing fruit. Bickerton recruited Dan Neville, a former academy coach at Premier League side Bournemouth, as technical director and promising young players are furthering their education on and off the pitch in the UK. Five BVI players are now at Neville’s Champions academy, which is based at Southern Premier League side Dorchester Town and combines sixth form study with football. The BVI contingent plays in the Tactics or Hampshire Premier League for Champions, while Neville looks for opportunities. One player…

In 2008, Ledley King captained Tottenham Hotspur to the Carling Cup – their only trophy win in the last 23 years… had been at Tottenham since the age of 14 and I knew what winning a trophy would mean to the fans. As is the case again now, those supporters waited too long to win something and their desperation adds pressure when you are going into a final. Those games are rare opportunities to do something that will be remembered for a long time. That day, against a very good Chelsea team, we made it happen. Juande Ramos was our manager at the time and he took the players away for a few days to get ready for the match. We could all feel the tension around the club as…