GM football fans. It’s Wednesday, Jan. 28 - The final round of the Champions League league phase, former Fifa president supports a World Cup boycott, and everything else you need to know. Forwarded this email? Sign up here.
KEY FIXTURES
Champions League (Jan 28 at 20:00 GMT / 15:00 ET): Paris Saint-Germain vs. Newcastle. This is a winner-takes-all fixture, with the winner of this match almost certainly finishing inside the top eight, while the loser will be in a play-off spot. PSG have are unbeaten in their last four Uefa competition matches against English opposition and have lost only two of their last 18 Champions League group/league phase games at home. Benfica vs. Real Madrid. Real Madrid are unbeaten in their last ten Uefa competition games against Portuguese teams, including four consecutive away wins. Meanwhile, Benfica have won just three of their last 25 matches against Spanish opposition. Liverpool vs. Qarabag. Liverpool had won 16 straight Uefa competition group stage/league phase matches at Anfield before their most recent Champions League home fixture, a Matchday 5 loss to PSV. See every Champions League fixture here.
Results…
Coppa Italia last 16: Fiorentina 1-3 Como
EFL League One (Results)
TOP TALKING POINTS
Champions League Deciders
The final round of the Uefa Champions League league phase takes place on Wednesday (Jan 28), with all teams set to play at the same time – see all the fixtures here. Of the 36 teams competing, 32 are still capable of finishing either in the automatic qualification places (top eight) or in the play-off round (ninth to 24th).
Arsenal and Bayern Munich are the only teams guaranteed to finish in the top eight. A win for Real Madrid (vs Benfica), Liverpool (vs Qarabag), and Tottenham (vs Eintracht Frankfurt) would guarantee them automatic qualification. Meanwhile, eight teams – PSG, Newcastle, Chelsea, Barcelona, Sporting, Man City, Atletico Madrid, and Atalanta – are all tied on 13 points. The highest-stakes fixture is PSG vs Newcastle, with the winner likely to secure automatic qualification, while the loser risks falling out of the top eight.
In the play-off race, Inter Milan and Juventus have outside chances of reaching the top eight but are already guaranteed a place in the play-offs. Borussia Dortmund, Galatasaray, and Qarabag can all mathematically still reach the top eight or fall out of the top 24 if results go against them.
While four teams are already eliminated, Uefa awards €2.1m per win, €700k per draw, and €700k for each league-position place gained, keeping incentives for a win high.
Ex-Fifa President Backs Boycott
Former Fifa president Sepp Blatter suggested that he supported fans boycotting World Cup matches in the United States due to security concerns. This comes just a few days after a vice-president of the German football federation, Oke Gottlich, told the Hamburger Morgenpost newspaper that the time had come to seriously consider boycotting the World Cup. Dive deeper into why some are calling for a boycott here.
Blatter’s support came after comments made by Swiss anti-corruption lawyer Mark Pieth, who said that fans should stay away from the U.S. for the tournament. Pieth, who worked with Blatter on potential Fifa reforms when he was president, said in an interview: "If we consider everything we've discussed, there's only one piece of advice for fans: Stay away from the USA. You'll see it better on TV anyway.” Blatter later responded to the interview, saying: “I think Mark Pieth is right to question this World Cup.”
While many outlets are reporting on calls for a boycott, there have been no formal plans to implement one.
New US League
The United Soccer League (USL) has officially named its Division One men’s league ‘USL Premier’, and it will operate alongside MLS as a first-division U.S. outfit. The new league completes the top of the USL’s three-tier pyramid and sets in motion a path towards the first promotion and relegation structure in U.S. football.
USL Premier is set to launch as a single-table national league in 2028. It will likely begin with 12 or 14 teams, aiming to grow to 20. The name, which continues the USL’s model of naming its leagues after the English pyramid, was chosen “because it’s recognisable as the highest level of competition in soccer,” USL president Paul McDonough said. The USL recently hired Tony Scholes, the Premier League’s former chief football officer, to guide the launch of the new league and its structure.
The likely plan for promotion-relegation would see two teams go up and down when the league launches with 12 or 14 teams. Once USL Premier reaches 20 teams, it would likely transition to three teams promoted and three relegated. The USL is still working towards finalising its Division One professional league standards with U.S. Soccer — read more on first-division league standards here.
POLL
Is promotion and relegation the future of football in the U.S.?
ON THE BALL
Europe
> Manchester United defender Patrick Dorgu is set to miss around 10 weeks with a hamstring injury (More) | England striker Tammy Abraham has completed an £18.25m return to Aston Villa from Besiktas (More); see every transfer in Europe’s top five leagues (More)
> The Spanish FA’s president Rafael Louzan has said that Spain will stage the final of the 2030 World Cup, which will be co-hosted by Spain, Portugal and Morocco (More) | Barcelona’s president said PSG’s purchase of their 18-year-old midfielder Dro Fernandez was an “unpleasant” transfer (More)
> WSL Football, which oversees the top two tiers of the women’s game in England, has reported an operating loss of £8.2m in its first year (More)
Americas
> The United States women’s national team and Chile play each other in a friendly; the match will conclude shortly after publication (Live Result)
> MLS announced the launch of Walmart Saturday Showdown, a new weekly marquee matchup designed to create a must-watch Saturday fixture (More)
> FC Cincinnati is finalising a deal to sign Polish youth international goalkeeper Fabian Mrozek on loan from Liverpool (More)
Rest of the World
> Seven foreign-born players for Malaysia’s national football team have been cleared to keep competing after CAS temporarily halted Fifa-imposed bans while their appeal is reviewed (More)
ROUTERS’ VOICE
Yesterday’s Poll: Should heading the ball be banned at youth level?
🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 👍 Yes (61%)
🟨 🟨 🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ 🙅♂️ Nope (34%)
🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ✍️ Other (5%)
Your punditry takes:
👍 G.R: “Yes! Putting that stress on a young person’s head and neck area can cause issues, whether once or multiple times. I coached youth football for about 10 years and never coached heading the ball until the U14 level, and then it was as a last alternative to handling the ball in other ways. Keep it safe and fun for kids so they will want to continue playing. ”
🙅♂️ K.F: “I played since I was young and was a specialist at heading corners. Other than the one time I was knocked unconscious, I had no issues. I am still of sound mind. I remember watching a few 2026 World Cup matches.”
✍️ L.J: “This is a tricky one. The bigger, long-term question could be whether heading the ball is eventually removed altogether? If the medical evidence is so damning, then is banning heading at the youth level, only to then introduce it when players reach an arbitrary age, really the answer? I don't expect such a drastic change to happen in my lifetime, maybe not even in my 21-year-old son's. But if studies continue to show that ex-players are at a far greater risk of brain degenerative disease, despite the newer balls, then who knows how the game will look in 2100?”
EXTRA TIME
Fifa release Women’s World Cup 2027 branding.
Man City unveil ‘Year of the Horse’ kit.
Grading every big January transfer signing.
BBC’s Premier League team of the week.
Why did Real Madrid actually sack Xabi Alonso?
Manchester United show why the xG stat is important.
The first Women’s Champions Cup—what is it?
Potential breakout candidates in MLS this season.
GAME FACE ON
Question: While Lamine Yamal holds almost every 'youngest' record for Spain, he is actually only the second-youngest goalscorer in Champions League history. Who still holds the No. 1 spot?
Scroll below for the answer.
Daily Wordle: Guess the football-related word, from player names to classic phrases, in six tries or fewer. Play it here.
I know very well that around football, there are intelligent people, clever people, and stupid people
Answer
Ansu Fati.
