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Planning a wedding in less than a year would be a rushed task – how about a 32-team tournament?
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?️ ♂️ Mysteries surround this year’s Club World Cup
? Sadness on England’s field for the elimination of players
? Chelsea and Ecuador’s ‘schoolboy feeling’
?? Marsch’s defeat in his debut as Canada coach
FIFA is rolling out a board of 63 matches and fine-tuning its piggy bank: this is your grandfather’s Club World Cup.
Previous editions were intimate encounters, played between a handful of continental champions over 10 days. Those days are long gone. Long shine.
According to FIFA President Gianni Infantino, club football will enjoy a new “peak”: a 32-team competition, to be held between June 15 and July 13, 2025, and once every 4 years. The United States, in preparation for the 2026 World Cup will be the hosts.
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Real Madrid, Chelsea, Manchester City and Seattle Sounders will face other recent winners of the continental competition, while PSG, Bayern Munich and Inter Milan are among those ranked according to the coefficient rankings.
There are 3 spots remaining, and with Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami still looking to qualify, a lucrative tiebreaker between the MLS Cup winners and the Supporters’ Shield may be the last spot in the United States.
To get advantages for European spectators, the games will basically be played on the East Coast, split between MLS and NFL stadiums, but what about the West Coast, you say?It will host the CONCACAF Gold Cup.
There is a lot to organize and FIFA is just getting started.
Infantino had barely finished speaking when court cases arose over the players’ workload. What could calm them down? A big pot of money.
But those profits come from sponsorship and broadcast deals and, according to Adam Crafton of The Athletic, FIFA is nowhere near its goals. The contracts, which target 10 sponsors and pay more than $100 million (£78 million), are still ongoing. The absence of Barcelona, AC Milan and other major Premier League groups has made the tournament a tougher sell.
Apple TV turns out to be the most likely streaming destination, but the final payout may be only a quarter of what FIFA initially intended. Its paywall is another obstacle for potential sponsors.
There are also practical problems. The contracts of European-based footballers expire on June 30, halfway through the tournament, and the growing dominance of multi-club ownership models means FIFA could face conflicts of interest.
Not many. Contacted through The Athletic, he insisted that he is “fully confident and convinced of the advertising and sporting fortunes of the new competition”, that he maintains a “productive dialogue” with advertising partners and that “appropriate measures” will be taken for years to deal with the club’s problems.
In a written reaction to leagues that threatened legal action over the schedule, FIFA said its arguments “are backed by facts. “
Gareth Southgate will not die wondering. The England coach has made the boldest haul in his coaching career: mainstays Jack Grealish and Harry Maguire from his Euro 2024 squad. In terms of physical form, their reasoning is justifiable, but both are part of the cultural heart of this group.
Several determined players are heartbroken before they’ve even played a minute. But if moons, tides and seasons can encompass cycles, so can England’s football team.
The ultimate excitement is reserved for midfielders Kobbie Mainoo and Adam Wharton (aged just 19 and 20 respectively), but in-form forwards Eberechi Eze, Cole Palmer and Anthony Gordon will also have a chance to shine. Captain Harry Kane is now an exception: Southgate England has Generation Z.
Kendry Paez looks bored. He is the little brother who harasses the coaches of Independiente del Valle for a call-up to the first team at only 15 years old. He needs to humiliate, sending the ball over the head of two opposing players with his first touch. the teenager who needed an intervention to tidy up his messy room. But it also happens that he has talent.
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“Kendry,” says former mentor Cristian Pellerano, “can do whatever he wants. “Martín Anselmi, Independiente’s assistant coach in 2019, couldn’t agree more. “Technically superlative,” he says. He’s a sensation in his home country, a school superstar. “
Paez, who turned 17 last month, has already agreed to sign for Chelsea next May and will do so through Tosin Adarabioyo, whose loose move has just been confirmed. He learned a lot at Manchester City and Fulham.
?? Canada’s new coach, Jesse Marsch, lost his opening game 4-0 to the Netherlands. Jérémie Frimpong scored the moment (above); Just take a look at the spin of that ball. It might be fun to watch the Euros!
?️ Why is the Netherlands betting on orange? How will Georgia exert pressure?The guides of the Athletic Euro team take care of you. And if you’re in the mood for nostalgia, our Euro Stories podcast series is underway.
Name those missing from this list: 1986: Everton; 1988: Everton; 1990 : ?????; 1992: Nottingham Forest
Obstructed? The answer will be revealed here at 11 a. m. ET/four p. m. UK time and in Monday’s bulletin.
Saturday: United States vs. Colombia (friendly), 5:30 p. m. ET – Telemundo/Peacock/TNT; Mexico vs. Brazil (friendly), nine o’clock in the evening. Eastern Time – fuboTV.