GM football fans. It’s Tuesday, August. 19 - Fifa is considering making the Club World Cup every two years, Santos hit rock bottom in the Brazil Serie A, and everything else you need to know. Forwarded this email? Sign up here.
KEY FIXTURE
La Liga: Real Madrid vs. Osasuna, Tuesday 19 August, 20:00 BST / 15:00 ET. Real Madrid have not lost to Osasuna in La Liga since January 2011, underscoring the challenge facing the away team. However, the two teams drew 1-1 in their last encounter in February 2025. Real Madrid have had just one pre-season match to prepare for the new season, recording a 4-0 victory over Austrian side WSG Tirol, with Eder Militao and Rodrygo on the scoresheet, while Kylian Mbappe came up with a brace. See the La Liga table here.
TV Channels: Amazon Prime Video (UK) | ESPN+ / fuboTV (USA) | TSN+ (Canada)
Results…
Premier League: Leeds United 1-0 Everton (Report)
TOP TALKING POINTS
Club World Cup Expansion Considered
Fifa is considering holding the Club World Cup every two years after the next edition of the competition is played in 2029. Sources say that while there are currently no plans for a 2027 tournament, the situation is likely to change after 2030, when the global football calendar will next be renegotiated. Discussions are also ongoing on whether to increase the number of teams involved from 32 to 48.
The governing body is reportedly under pressure from clubs to make it a biennial event. Real Madrid raised the issue of a two-year cycle during talks with Fifa in June. Reports suggest the proposal has gained support from other clubs that missed out on this year’s tournament, including Barcelona, Manchester United, Liverpool, and Napoli.
Clubs are motivated by the scale of the prize money relative to the number of games. Chelsea, who won this year’s competition, took home £85m for playing six matches. For comparison, PSG earned around £128m for winning the Champions League, a campaign that involved 17 games.
Fifa may be willing to remove the June international break to ease player workloads and create space for events such as the Club World Cup, although that would be opposed by Uefa, which uses summer dates to stage the finals of its Nations League competition.
Santos Hit Rock Bottom
Brazil Serie A side Santos have sacked coach Cleber Xavier just hours after suffering a 6-0 home defeat by Vasco da Gama, the first time that Santos have conceded six goals at home in a top-flight match. The loss left the eight-time champions just two points above the relegation zone at the halfway point of the season, sitting in 15th place with 21 points from 19 matches.
Neymar, who suffered the biggest loss of his career, left the field in tears as the fans turned their backs on the players. The forward’s previous worst defeats were a pair of 4-0 losses in 2011 and 2017. "I'm ashamed," said Neymar. "I'm totally disappointed with our performance. The fans have every right to protest.”
Former Liverpool and Aston Villa forward Philippe Coutinho scored twice as Vasco claimed their first win in six league games and their biggest league win in 17 years.
Diarra Seeks £56m from Fifa
Former France midfielder Lassana Diarra is restarting legal proceedings against Fifa and the Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA). He is seeking £56m ($75.5m) in compensation as part of a long-running legal battle with Fifa over the termination of his contract with Lokomotiv Moscow in 2014. Dive deeper into the landmark legal case here.
Last year, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled in favour of Diarra after it found that Fifa’s transfer rules broke European Union laws. Diarra says that he was hoping Fifa and RBFA would have the “decency” to approach him with a settlement. With this not happening, the Frenchman is now restarting proceedings in Belgium.
While Fifa has since amended its transfer regulation, Diarra argues that they "do not comply with the strict requirements imposed by the CJEU judgement.” At the same time, Fifa is facing a lawsuit from Justice for Players (JFP), seeking compensation over alleged loss of income because of restrictive transfer rules.
POLL
Do you think a biennial Club World Cup is a good idea?
ON THE BALL
Europe
> The Uefa Champions League play-off round first legs will kick off on Tuesday and Wednesday this week; this is the final round of the qualifying phase, and the winners on aggregate will advance to the league phase of the Champions League (Fixtures)
> The FA Cup first round qualifying draw has been confirmed, with 111 ties taking place across the weekend of Saturday 30 August; see the full draw (More)
> The Liverpool fan who has been arrested over alleged racist abuse towards Bournemouth’s Antoine Semenyo has now been banned from every football stadium in the UK (More) | Tottenham captain Cristian Romero has signed a new four-year contract with the club (More)
> AC Milan have confirmed their interest in signing Rasmus Hojlund after the Manchester United forward was dropped from Ruben Amorim's squad (More)
Americas
> Argentina have announced their squad for the Conmebol qualifiers (More)
> Monterrey remain in second place of the Liga MX Apertura after a 3-2 win over Mazatlan; they are level on points with first-place Pachuca (Standings)
Rest of the World
> Kyoto Sanga have climbed to the top of the J-League standings after a 1-0 win over Tokyo Verdy (Standings)
ROUTERS’ VOICE
Yesterday’s Poll: Do you expect expensive signings to integrate immediately?
🟨 🟨 🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ 👍 Yes (32%)
🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🙅♂️ Nope (65%)
🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ✍️ Other (3%)
Your punditry takes:
👍 E.A: “The ability to integrate quickly should be a part of the exorbitant fee paid. Logic would dictate that if they are not able to integrate quickly, then they are not worth the exorbitant fee, except in the case where their signing is to precipitate a tactical switch of the entire team game plan and style of play.”
🙅♂️ G.R: “Most of the signings come from European leagues, and those leagues are nowhere near the Premier League's pace. Not one player can come into the Premier League and expect to hit the ground running. They have to adjust and adapt.”
✍️ J.L: “I don't think the transfer fee has any effect on how quickly a player integrates. Coming from stronger leagues (Spain, Italy, Germany, England) equates to quicker integration. Players from weaker markets take longer to develop. If you transfer from England to Spain, it's a push. If you transfer from Portugal to England, it's going to take longer to get up to speed. If you transfer from England to MLS, you should be dominating immediately.”
EXTRA TIME
The best stats from the weekend matches.
Breaking down this summer’s transfer window.
How Frankfurt made €345m from strikers in six years. (video)
A how-to guide for surviving in the Premier League. (long analysis)
Inside Ligue 1’s new TV channel—and how it’s innovating for fans.
Vintage Johan Cruyff goal.
Cristiano features in dramatic Al-Nassr kit reveal.
GAME FACE ON
Name the club from the following clues:
They won the Uefa Champions League in 1997, the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1966, and the Intercontinental Cup in 1997.
They are the second most decorated football team in their country’s history.
Their stadium has an 81,365-capacity, and claims to boast the highest average attendance in Europe.
Scroll below for the answer.
ON TODAY
UEFA Champions League Play-offs
Ferencvaros vs. Qarabag (20:00)
Rangers vs. Club Brugge (20:00)
Red Star Belgrade vs. Pafos (20:00)
La Liga
Real Madrid vs. Osasuna (20:00)
EFL League One
See all fixtures here.
*All times in UK. ET -5. CDT -6. PDT -8. MDT -7. CET +1.
Answer
Borussia Dortmund
Daily Wordle: Guess the football-related word, from player names to classic phrases, in six tries or fewer. Play it here.
The fans have the right to curse and insult people today. It's acceptable. I feel ashamed. I had never experienced anything like this in my life.
