Innehållsförteckning för November 2023 från World Soccer

GIVE WORLD SOCCER MAGAZINE AND SAVE UP TO 57% Delivery available in every country Great reasons to give a subscription • They’ll never miss an issue with delivery direct to their door• Save up to 57% on the shop price• They’ll receive 13 issues a year SCAN ME Subscribe online now at shop.kelsey.co.uk/XMAS23WS or call 01959 543 747 quote XMAS23WS Calls charged at your standard network rate. Lines are open 8.30am-5pm Monday to Friday. Terms and conditions: UK Direct Debit offer only. You will pay £47.99 every 12 months. Savings based on the standard basic annual rate of £113.62 which includes the cover price of £5.99 plus Kelsey Media’s standard postage and packing price per single issue for one full year (13 issues). Offer ends January 31, 2024. Your subscription…

8 Different goalscorers in Newcastle’s 8-0 rout of Sheffield United – a Premier League first. 70,000 Proposed capacity for Milan’s new home stadium in the south of the city, with the club aiming to leave the San Siro soon. 11 Matches that it took for Cheltenham Town to score their first League One goal this season – a joint-English Football League record. 17 Durand Cups won by Mohun Bagan, the most by any side. The Indian cup competition is the oldest club tournament in Asia. 14 Days that it took UEFA to back down from its plans to reintegrate Russia’s Under-17s into its competitions following strong opposition from numerous national football associations. 13 Age of Sacramento Republic attacker Da’vian Kimbrough, who became the youngest player to feature in a professional…

Goalkeepers are different. In every other position, there is a sense that competition is a positive. You have a good centre-forward? Bring in another one who might prove to be very good, or whose presence might motivate the incumbent to become even better. But when Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta signed David Raya from Brentford, there was a feeling he had somehow breached one of football’s sacred codes. Part of the problem is that there is no massaging this. There can be no pretence that Raya could play alongside Aaron Ramsdale. One will play and one will not, and that means that if Raya is selected, Ramsdale, who is highly regarded and very popular, must be dropped. Peter Schmeichel has been especially critical: “I don’t understand why you want to create…

“Much of what Manchester City achieved in the ’60s and ’70s was down to Francis…he is, quite rightly, seen as one of this club’s best-ever players”Manchester City ambassador and Lee’s former team-mate, Mike Summerbee Francis LEE (1944-2023) When lists of Manchester City’s greatest players are compiled, Lee’s name is rarely far from the top. City paid £60,000 – a club record fee – in order to sign the striker from Bolton Wanderers in 1967, and it proved money well spent as he helped kickstart the club’s most successful period of the 20th century. Supported by Colin Bell and Mike Summerbee, Lee helped City to scale new heights both at home and in Europe. Such was the impact of the trio – City’s answer to the “Holy Trinity” of George Best,…

Fearing a repeat of the 2021 Copa Sudamericana final, when Montevideo’s Centenario stadium was half full for the meeting of two Brazilian clubs, in September CONMEBOL announced a change of venue for this year’s final. Originally scheduled for the Centenario, the October 28 match has been moved a couple of hours down the coast to Maldonado, a ground with a much smaller capacity. After all, both teams and their supporters will have to make an epic journey. Both Liga de Quito (or LDU) of Ecuador and Fortaleza of Brazil are at the other end of the continent. Fortaleza, though, are no strangers to epic journeys – in two senses. First, as they make their way down from Brazil’s North East they have to clock up the air miles for almost…

As Houston Dynamo captain Hector Herrera and his team-mates lifted the 2023 US Open Cup in Fort Lauderdale, local parks and fields across the United States were already playing host to the qualifiers for the next edition. Just three days after Houston had defeated Inter Miami at Fort Lauderdale, teams with such vivid and original names as Tennessee Tempo, Deportivo Lake Mary, Lansdowne Yonkers, Chicago House, Austin Longhorns and New York Pancyprian Freedoms started out on the road to the 2024 final. It is at both extremes that a picture of the true character of American soccer be put together. From the grassroots, amateur and semi-pro clubs playing on college fields or in local parks on pitches that often have markings for several other sports; to the glamour of Miami,…

Everything, or so it would seem, appears to be set up for Brazilian club Fluminense to win its first-ever Copa Libertadores title. The Rio outfit have home advantage. They face a Boca Juniors team which drew all six of its knockout-round games and has barely managed half as many goals in the competition. The Argentinians are without captain Marcos Rojo, suspended after being sent off in the second leg of the semi-final against Palmeiras. And, unlike previous rounds, in the final there is extra-time if scores are level after 90 minutes. On a warm spring Rio de Janeiro afternoon this will certainly make it harder for Boca to hang on and hope for the heroics of goalkeeper Sergio Romero in the shootout. The odds, then, are heavily on a fifth…

Fluminense began their Copa Libertadores Campaign with a 3-1 win away to Sporting Cristal of Peru. The standout moment was the goal that put them in the lead. The local commentator got a bit carried away, yelling that it was a goal of the pure essence of Brazilian football – ignoring an assist from a Colombian for a shot by an Argentine. There are plenty of homegrown heroes in the Fluminense side – 43-year-old keeper Fabio has kept coming up with big saves, Olympic gold medallist Nino takes responsibility at centre-back, roving left-back Marcelo has been a glamour signing, central midfielder Andre has a huge future, and the enigmatic playmaker Paulo Henrique Ganso has come up with some of the best football of his long and frustrating career – but…

ARTUR JORGE Age 51 (01.01.72) An authentic one-club man, Jorge spent his entire 12-year playing career at Braga as a rugged and dependable centre-back, clocking up over 250 appearances for his hometown football team. Jorge then moved into coaching, working his way through Braga’s youth structure – and briefly as interim head coach in 2020 – before being appointed manager of the senior team ahead of the 2022-23 season. He promptly set club records in terms of points (78), wins (25) and goals (75), subsequently navigating the team through Champions League qualifying to make the group stage of Europe’s premier club competition for the first time in 11 years.…

Japan have hit the ground running since the World Cup with an impressive series of high-scoring wins, most notably September’s 4-1 trouncing of Germany in Wolfsburg. As well as pouring salt into the wounds inflicted by Samurai Blue’s shock 2-1 win over Hansi Flick’s side at last year’s World Cup in Qatar, it was a result that cost Flick his job. Japan impressed at the World Cup with group victories over both Germany and Spain, before a promising campaign was ended on penalties in the last 16 against the eventual third-place finishers, Croatia. That win over Germany in the group opener was a masterclass by Japan coach Hajime Moriyasu, who stunned his opponents by bringing most of his best attacking players on all at once in the second half. The…

“You grew up in Zagreb and played for local third-tier club Dubrava, yet were never picked up by Dinamo Zagreb – was that a disappointment to you? No, not really. Above all, I enjoyed playing football and I didn’t think about clubs who would be interested in signing me. When the call came from Hajduk Split I was happy, because I knew it was a big step forward for my football career. Initially you were an attacking midfielder but at Hajduk you started playing at right-back, the position you play currently. Is that now your favourite role? Yes, I’m happy playing as a right-back or wing-back. It’s true that earlier I played in midfield, but the then-Hajduk coach Damir Buric fielded me at right-back, where I became a regular. Who…

There’s special features previewing the Club World Cup and the new African Champions League campaign, while we also interview Augsburg’s Japhet Tanganga and Brighton Women’s Pauline Bremer. In Technically Speaking, Jonathan Wilson turns back the clock on the 70th anniversary of the “Match of the Century” (England 3-6 Hungary), plus don’t miss reviews of the Major League Soccer regular season, Canadian Premier League and Chinese Super League campaigns. Print £5.99 Digital £4.99 ORDER NOW shop.kelsey.co.uk/WSC23 Or Call: 01959 543 747 You may have missed… SAVE 10% when you spend £25 or more VOUCHERCODE: WSCSHOP23 Also from the publishers of World Soccer Presents As Messi mania swept football, we were there every step of the way to track Leo’s epic journey. This special edition showcases some of the biggest rivalries in…

There’s something special attached to unbeaten runs in football; something about the air of invincibility they foster, which is why Arsenal’s 2003-04 season is so ingrained in the history of English football. Arsene Wenger’s Gunners are rightly deified for going a full season without defeat, but earlier this year Myanmar outfit Shan United marked three unbeaten years. There are, inevitably, caveats and complications to the story, which begins in 2015. Before then, Shan United did not mean anything, with the club instead known as Kanbawza. Founded in Yangon in the early 2000s, Kanbawza won two Myanmar Premier League titles in the amateur era and were among the founding members of the professional National League, but did not achieve any success in the form of silverware thereafter. When the club’s status…

Whether by accident or design, most issues of World Soccer tend to be themed in one way or another, and this month’s edition undoubtedly carries a certain theme to it too; players or clubs emerging from the shadows to showcase their full potential, understudies no longer content with underdog status. The foremost instance is this month’s player biography. After playing an important but somewhat secondary role at treble winners Manchester City last season, Argentina forward Julian Alvarez has been exceptional in 2023-24, and the bright young talent now looks set for superstardom. Joel Richards tracks his rise from fledgling prospect at River Plate to World Cup winner and now “almost undroppable” superstar, according to Pep Guardiola. Sporting Clube de Braga are another example of a rising power, and Tom Kundert’s…

Who owns association football? The competing claims for how and where it all began, from ancient China to Pharaonic Egypt to the comparatively recent Anglo-Saxon Middle Ages, are well-rehearsed, while FIFA and UEFA continue to battle both each other and their scandals in the quest for supremacy. Further down the feeding chain, but with direct relevance to every supporter, is the club-ownership battleground: an ever-growing gaggle of investors claiming a tranche of both the perceived wealth on offer and the accompanying kudos. The corporate attraction is obvious. For example, the English Premier League is launching its domestic TV rights tender for three or four years running from 2025. The target is a significant increase on the current £5 billion package through more live matches via greater fixtures flexibility. No wonder…

“We’ve come to an agreement but it’s bigger than just the bonuses. For us, it’s about being world leaders on and off the pitch”Lionesses captain Millie Bright confirms that the England Women’s players have resolved their dispute with the FA The likes of Lautaro Martinez, Erling Haaland and Harry Kane all made themselves early frontrunners in the race for the 2023-24 Golden Shoe, but none of them reached ten goals as quickly as Stuttgart’s star striker. With braces against Bochum, Freiburg and Darmstadt, plus a hat-trick v Mainz and a solitary goal at RB Leipzig, Guirassy only needed five matches to hit double figures and move within one goal of his best-ever league haul, which he achieved last season. Whether the 27-year-old has matured into an elite goalscorer or is…

Considering his €100 million transfer to Bayern Munich this summer, few would have expected that, after the first month’s action, Harry Kane would not be the standout newcomer to the Bundesliga. The former Tottenham Hotspur striker by no means underwhelmed, but he was upstaged. Victor Okoh Boniface cost Bayer Leverkusen five times less but, after a remarkable start to life in Germany, he took home not only the season’s first Player of the Month award, but also plenty of column inches. Yet, it could all have gone so differently. Given the lack of a proper developmental infrastructure in Nigeria, there are two main avenues open to the country’s young players who dream of a professional football career. The first is to catch the eye of the national team selectors at…

Tucked away in Tuggerah, a small village 90km north of Sydney that mixes the semi-rural, residential and light industry, the facilities of the Central Coast Mariners are modest at best. The gym is housed in domed tents, the physiotherapist department in a container, and three small tubs serve as ice baths for the players. The clubhouse still needs a lick of paint. During the recent Women’s World Cup, Germany used the single pitch at the training complex that met FIFA standards following an upgrade, and finalists England trained at the club’s stadium in nearby Gosford. The club’s head of athletic development Andy Bernal, a former Socceroo and Reading player, is almost apologetic over the facilities that can’t match those of more resourced outfits in the A-League or European clubs. But…

BOCA JUNIORS GROUP STAGE Monagas 0-0 Boca Juniors Boca Juniors 2-1 Deportivo Pereira Colo Colo 0-2 Boca Juniors Deportivo Pereira 1-0 Boca Juniors Boca Juniors 1-0 Colo Colo Boca Juniors 4-0 Monagas LAST 16 Nacional 0-0 Boca Juniors Boca Juniors 2-2 Nacional Boca Juniors win 4-2 on penalties QUARTER-FINALS Boca Juniors 0-0 Racing Racing 0-0 Boca Juniors Boca Juniors win 4-1 on penalties SEMI-FINALS Boca Juniors 0-0 Palmeiras Palmeiras 1-1 Boca Juniors Boca Juniors win 4-2 on penalties FLUMINENSE GROUP STAGE Sporting Cristal 1-3 Fluminense Fluminense 1-0 The Strongest Fluminense 5-1 River Plate The Strongest 1-0 Fluminense River Plate 2-0 Fluminense Fluminense 1-1 Sporting Cristal LAST 16 Argentinos Juniors 1-1 Fluminense Fluminense 2-0 Argentinos Juniors QUARTER-FINALS Fluminense 2-0 Olimpia Olimpia 1-3 Fluminense SEMI-FINALS Fluminense 2-2 Internacional Internacional 1-2 Fluminense…

“He is almost undroppable,” said Pep Guardiola. At a treble-winning club, such high praise is hard to come by. Julian Alvarez had just provided two assists in the Premier League victory over West Ham United in September. “He’s learning how to move in the pockets, he’s a threat with goals and assists, and his work ethic,” said the Manchester City manager. The departure of Ilkay Gundogan and injury to Kevin De Bruyne led Guardiola to deploy the Argentinian as a second striker, behind Erling Haaland. “He has his chance and he is using it,” said Guardiola. Three goals and three assists in his first seven games in the Premier League, plus two goals against Red Star Belgrade and another versus RB Leipzig in the Champions League, show the 23-year-old’s form…

Worldwide fans watching Braga for the first time may be somewhat surprised to see a striking similarity with a famous English club. The origin of the identical design to Arsenal’s traditional red top and white-sleeved kit is disputed. Some claim it dates back to when the first team was coached by Hungarian manager Jozsef Szabo in the 1930s, a confessed admirer of the North London club, while a competing version states that it was “fanatical Arsenal supporter” and former president Jose Antunes Guimaraes who was responsible for adopting the kit. Whatever the truth, the association with the English club stuck, and from the mid-1940s onwards the team has been commonly referred to by its nickname of Os Arsenalistas.…

“How have Braga risen so much in Portuguese and European football in the last 20 years? For a full answer, I would have to give a very long response, but to sum up I’d say we’ve had three major cycles during this period. The first job was to recover and stabilise the club, both in football terms and financially, at the same time making it more autonomous. Sporting Clube de Braga was a club dominated by political and business interests and this had to stop to fulfil our vision. Fortunately, we achieved this goal quickly, and in the second cycle we targeted growth and international consolidation. We duly accomplished this objective, which allowed us to increase the value of our assets and establish Braga as a club that fosters and…

“When you took charge of Namibia in June last year, the team had already dropped AFCON qualifying points, and two of your last three games were against the mighty Cameroon. Did you have any expectation of qualifying for the finals? In all honesty, yes! I looked at the squad, and the core of the team was 29 or 30 years old with many of them having played at the Cup of Nations finals in Egypt in 2019. With Kenya kicked out of the group, and the top two out of only three teams to qualify, I thought we definitely have a chance. I was thinking, “Hey, listen, we can actually create something really unique, nobody’s expecting anything from us.” For the core group of our players this would probably be…

For years, the closing of the summer transfer window has received as much attention in the men’s game as all but the biggest matches. This year, for perhaps the first time, it was an occasion in the women’s game too. That was especially evident at Manchester United. Just as Erik ten Hag did on the men’s side, women’s coach Marc Skinner signed four players on deadline day, bringing in Spain midfielder Irene Guerrero (Atletico Madrid), England defender Gabby George (Everton), American goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce (OL Reign) and France forward Melvine Malard (Lyon). It was a busy day for admin staff, with several players also exiting Old Trafford. Malard was a loan, but the others cost significant fees, another relatively new development. Having not been fully professional until recently, most players…

Post-Qatar, optimism was high that the A-League would be the beneficiary of the excitement generated by the Socceroos’ surprise run to the knockout phase of the Men’s World Cup, yet those hopes proved short-lived. Ten months later, and Australia is again basking in the glow of a major tournament. The Matildas’ run to the semi-finals of the Women’s World Cup on home soil brought the feel-good factor back. Can the domestic competition do better this time? The A-League Women’s is already showing signs of it, with record membership levels reported across the league. The Men’s equivalent however, is less certain. There is still anger at the hugely unpopular decision to sell off the competition’s Grand Finals for the next three years to Sydney. That, combined with an exodus of talent…

The 2023 Pacific Games comes at a vital time for countries that historically found playing regularly already difficult due to the distances involved and were further isolated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Only seven islands entered the 2022 World Cup qualifiers, which were relocated to Qatar last year and blighted by the virus, with Samoa, Tonga and American Samoa not entering and all subsequently dropping out of the FIFA Rankings due to inaction. With the virus seemingly in retreat, this year’s Pacific Games should then provide a vital opportunity for game time, particularly for locally-based players. But the tournament is not without controversy. Football was first held at the multi-sport Games in 1963, which has been staged at four-year intervals since 1971. New Caledonia have seven gold medals in football and…

SEASON RANKINGS Cumulative votes through the season GOALKEEPERS Yann Sommer (Internazionale) 3 Alisson (Liverpool) 2 Marcin Bulka (Nice) 1 Lukas Hradecky (Bayer Leverkusen) 1 Ivan Provedel (Lazio) 1 Marc-Andre ter Stegen (Barcelona) 1 DEFENDERS Alex Grimaldo (Bayer Leverkusen) 5 Joao Cancelo (Barcelona) 3 Jonathan Tah (Bayer Leverkusen) 3 Kyle Walker (Manchester City) 3 Gabriel (Arsenal) 2 Mario Hermoso (Atletico Madrid) 2 Mats Hummels (Borussia Dortmund) 2 Jean-Clair Todibo (Nice) 2 Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool) 2 Alessandro Bastoni (Internazionale) 1 Andreas Christensen (Barcelona) 1 Alphonso Davies (Bayern Munich) 1 Stefan de Vrij (Internazionale) 1 Ruben Dias (Manchester City) 1 Denzel Dumfries (Internazionale) 1 Achraf Hakimi (Paris Saint-Germain) 1 Jules Kounde (Barcelona) 1 Nahuel Molina (Atletico Madrid) 1 Benjamin Pavard (Internazionale) 1 Cristian Romero (Tottenham Hotspur) 1 Antonio Rudiger (Real Madrid) 1…

EUROPE 2023-24 UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE Group A Sep 20 – Istanbul Galatasaray (Tur) 2 (Boey 86, Tete 88) Copenhagen (Den) 2 (Elyounoussi 35, Goncalves 58) Sep 20 – Munich Bayern Munich (Ger) 4 (Sane 28, Gnabry 32, Kane 53 pen, Tel 90+2) Manchester United (Eng) 3 (Hojlund 49, Casemiro 88, 90+5) Oct 3 – Manchester Manchester United (Eng) 2 (Hojlund 17, 67) Galatasaray (Tur) 3 (Zaha 23, Akturkoglu 71, Icardi 81) Oct 3 – Copenhagen Copenhagen (Den) 1 (Lerager 56) Bayern Munich (Ger) 2 (Musiala 67, Tel 83) Group B Sep 20 – Seville Sevilla (Spa) 1 (Ocampos 9) Lens (Fra) 1 (Fulgini 24) Sep 20 – London Arsenal (Eng) 4 (Saka 8, Trossard 20, Gabriel Jesus 38, Odegaard 70) PSV (Ned) 0 Oct 3 – Lens Lens (Fra) 2…

“Simply wonderful to watch. A world-class footballer who gave us that sense that this was a player who could do pretty much anything with a ball at his feet”Chelsea pay tribute to Eden Hazard who announced his retirement from football aged 32 The 2030 World Cup will be spread across six countries and three continents, the FIFA Council confirmed in October. In tribute to the centenary of the first World Cup, the opening match is set to take place in Uruguay at Montevideo’s Centenario, the venue for the 1930 final, with Argentina and Paraguay also hosting a game. After that, the rest of the competition will shift across the Atlantic to Spain, Portugal and Morocco. All plans are subject to a successful bidding process and FIFA Congress sign-off. The ramifications…

UNITED WITH DAD By Simon Lloyd (Pitch Publishing, £18.99) United With Dad is an emotional tale of football fandom and fatherhood, detailing the agonising final two years of a man’s life while drawing on his love for and memories of Manchester United. It is written by David Lloyd’s son, Simon, who reflects on his father’s life and their relationship, attempting to make sense of why, at such a bleak time, a shared love of a football club should matter so much. A LOVE LETTER TO FOOTBALL By Mark Davies (Pitch Publishing, £12.99) This is the story of how the beautiful game can help carry us through our darkest days. In 2016, Mark Davies was diagnosed with a rare and incurable blood cancer. A lifelong fan of Middlesbrough, this honest, funny…

“I have loved every minute of being a dad and…now seems like the right time to give my focus and attention to what is the most important thing in my life – my family”Former Socceroo Tom Rogic announces his retirement from football to focus on fatherhood IN OUT EUROPE JULIAN NAGELSMANN The ex-RB Leipzig and Bayern Munich boss was hired by Germany following Hansi Flick’s sacking. VINCENZO MONTELLA After Stefan Kuntz was fired by Turkey, Montella took charge of a country he is already familiar with, having led Adana Demirspor until June. SAVO MILOSEVIC The ex-Aston Villa striker was appointed Bosnia & Herzegovina’s fourth coach of the past year. FABIO GROSSO After the sacking of Laurent Blanc, Lyon turned to the former Italy left-back, who won Serie A promotion with…

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There is much more to come but it has been quite a year for Kim Min-jae. The classy centre-back helped South Korea to a place in the knockout stages of the 2022 World Cup and was a crucial figure as Napoli won a first Italian title since 1990 at a canter. Then-club boss Luciano Spalletti acclaimed the player, nicknamed “Monster” back home, as “the best defender in the world”. On the shopping list of most of Europe’s biggest clubs, Kim moved to Bayern Munich in July and then, in September, he became the first Asian defender to be nominated for the Ballon d’Or. “To appear on the list along with some of the best players in the world is of course a great honour, especially for a defender,” Kim told…

In three consecutive shootouts keeper Sergio Romero faced 11 penalties and saved six of them. The 36-year-old, who was a reserve for most of his time in Europe and still a reserve last year when he moved back to Argentina, has done more than anyone else to get Boca Juniors through to the Libertadores final. With two saves each against Nacional of Uruguay, compatriots Racing and Palmeiras of Brazil, he has been the king of the shootout, appearing to fill the goal and making saves to both left and right. For all his time spent on the bench, Romero is Argentina’s most capped goalkeeper, and a return to the Maracana stadium on November 4 will surely bring back some memories. Back in 2014 it was where he came within a…

Since the origins of football in Portugal a century ago, the country’s football landscape has been dominated by the Tres Grandes (Big Three) of Benfica, Sporting and Porto. But that could be about to change, as an increasingly strong case can be made to include Braga in such exalted company given the club’s sustained growth over the past 20 years. On August 29, Braga beat Panathinaikos in Athens to book their place in the Champions League group stage. Less than a week later, back at their home in the beautiful Minho region of northern Portugal, the club had another day of celebration as the second phase of their “Sports City” was inaugurated amid much pomp and circumstance. The ceremony to mark the opening of the multi-million-euro complex that includes a…

GOALKEEPERS MATHEUS (Bra) Age 31 (29.03.92) The tall and stocky keeper joined from America Mineiro in 2014 and took his time to win the No.1 spot, but has been in magnificent form ever since doing so. Tiago SA Age 28 (11.01.95) A dependable back-up, Sa has spent his entire career at Braga but playing time has been limited given the form of Matheus. A former U18, U19 and U20 Portugal international. Lukas HORNICEK (Cze) Age 21 (13.07.02) The Czech Republic U21 international keeper stands extremely tall at 6ft 6ins, and joined Braga from Czech minnows Pardubice in 2019 initially on loan. Victor GOMEZ (Spa) Age 23 (01.04.00) Considered by many as the best right-back in Portugal last term. Braga turned the ex-Spain U21 international’s loan deal into a permanent transfer…

Lamine YAMAL Barcelona In a sentence A 16-year-old winger in his maiden full season in the Barcelona first-team squad, already good enough to feature regularly in the star-studded Blaugrana ranks and to score on his senior debut for Spain in September. What they say “He had a very particular running style, he was a little wild. But you could see the real talent there” Barcelona youth development director Aureli Altimira “I’m not picking him on a whim. I’m doing so because he’s capable of making a difference. Arriving at the right decisions is the most difficult thing for a player and Lamine always makes the correct choices” Barcelona head coach Xavi The story so far Lamine Yamal Nasraoui Ebana, born and raised a stone’s throw from the Camp Nou by…

“Why did you decide that now was the right time to retire? I’m almost 44 and it’s not easy to still play professional football. I was mentally and physically tired. It wasn’t a difficult decision. I have other things to do in my life. A lot of people have called from around the world to congratulate me on my career. I wasn’t phenomenal with my feet like Messi, but I played with my soul, my heart and everything I have. You won 137 caps for Andorra. How satisfying was it to represent your country so many times? I love football. I started when I was 17, with our second official game against Estonia, and I had no idea I was going to play for that long. I was so proud…

After a run of one senior international match in seven years, football in the Cook Islands has had a difficult time. Their only match between 2015 and last year was the ill-fated Oceania World Cup qualifiers, which were controversially relocated to Qatar due to the COVID-19 pandemic. After flying more than 10,000 miles, the Cooks managed a single match – a 2-0 defeat to the Solomon Islands – before the virus decimated the qualifiers and the side returned home without playing another game. Since then, however, the appointment of Jess Ibrom as national academy director has prompted an upturn, particularly at junior level, with the women’s Under-19s finishing fourth at this summer’s Oceania Championship in Fiji. “I’ve been working hard to incorporate a talent identification programme for players at various…

Tunisia 2 Saudi Arabia 2 2006 World Cup group stage, Munich “The then-Bolton Wanderers centre-back was a key player for Tunisia at the 2006 World Cup in Germany, and he proved it in his country’s first game of the finals The World Cup means a lot to Tunisia and myself. I was so proud to represent my country in the biggest venues and at the biggest tournaments. As a young kid growing up, you never think it’s going to happen, so it was a huge honour. On the back of winning the Africa Cup of Nations in 2004, expectations were high. We thought we had a good squad that could push on and achieve more. Going into the World Cup, our aim was to qualify for the second round. We…