GM football fans. It’s Friday, June. 06 - Fifa slashes Club World Cup ticket prices due to a lack of demand, Trump includes a World Cup exemption in his travel ban order, and everything else you need to know. Forwarded this email? Sign up here.

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KEY FIXTURE

Nations League Final, Sunday, June 8, 20:00 / 15:00. Portugal vs. Spain. Portugal and Spain are contesting the 2024/25 Uefa Nations League final in Munich after coming through their respective semis. Both teams are bidding to become the first team to win the tournament twice. Spain go into the fixture as favourites having gone unbeaten in their last ten Nations League matches outside of Spain.

TV Channels: ITV (UK) | fuboTV (US)

Results…

• Nations League, Semi-Final: Spain 5-4 France (Report)

TOP TALKING POINTS

Ticket Prices Slashed

Fifa has once again slashed ticket prices for the Club World Cup, with fewer than nine days before the tournament begins. For the opening fixture, reports claim less than 20,000 tickets have been sold for the 65,326-capacity venue.

The match between Inter Miami, featuring Lionel Messi, and Al Ahly on June 14 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami originally had the cheapest ticket prices at $349. At the time of writing, thousands of tickets are now available for as low as $55.75, 16% of the original asking price. Some tickets will also be given away to thousands of emergency workers for matches in Los Angeles.

Fifa is selling tickets for the revamped 32-team tournament under a dynamic pricing model, where prices fluctuate based on demand. The sharp drop in prices for certain fixtures underscores the governing body’s struggle to generate local interest. FIFA is keeping prices high for later group-stage games, hoping that demand will rise.

Travel Ban Exemption

Despite U.S. President Donald Trump reinstating a travel ban, players, staff, and associated families of clubs participating in the 2026 World Cup are exempt. However, supporters are not currently included in the executive order’s exemptions.

Iran is the only country on the travel ban list that has already qualified for the 2026 World Cup. Among the other banned nations, Haiti is the best-positioned to qualify. Venezuela, subject to a partial ban, is currently seventh in South American qualifying and could reach the tournament through a playoff. African nations Equatorial Guinea and Libya remain mathematically eligible, though unlikely to qualify. Sudan, meanwhile, sits third in its qualifying group, just one point off an automatic place.

It remains unclear whether the “World Cup” referenced in section 4 of the executive order also applies to next month’s Club World Cup. Several players from Sudan, Venezuela, and Iran are due to participate in the tournament.

Premier League Loophole Remains

The Premier League has failed to close a loophole that allows clubs to sell assets to sister companies to remain compliant with the league’s Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR). This means clubs can still book profits by selling assets internally, potentially avoiding PSR violations.

A vote to close the loophole was expected this week and would have required support from at least 14 of the 20 clubs. However, reports suggest insufficient support led to the vote being shelved.

Ahead of the PSR deadline this month, The Athletic estimates that all Premier League clubs should be safe from breaching the rules. Chelsea, the biggest beneficiaries of the PSR loophole, is estimated to be the least at risk of breaching PSR, turning a ‘profit’ of £300m (see the table here). The full article is behind a paywall here.

POLL

ON THE BALL

Europe

> Serina Wiegman has named the 23 players that will represent England at Uefa Women’s Euro 2025 in Switzerland (More)

> Barcelona’s approach for Liverpool’s Luiz Diaz has been rejected as the Premier League champions say he’s not for sale (More) | Atletico Madrid have set Julian Alvarez’s release clause at €500m (More)

> Crystal Palace co-owner John Textor would be willing to sell his shares to his fellow owners in a cut-price deal to allow the club to play in this season's Europa League (More) | Wrexham are considering selling a stake of the club for a valuation of up to £350m ($475m) (More)

> Rangers have appointed Russell Martin as their new head coach on a three-year contract (More)

Americas

> World Cup qualifiers are taking place this weekend across all six confederations; see Uefa’s Groups (More); Concacaf’s Groups (More); Conmebol’s standings (More); AFC’s Groups (More); OFC’s standings (More)

> Canada Soccer has announced the 26 players who will represent the country in the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup (More)

> The NWSL returns after the international break as the season nears its midpoint, kicking off with Racing Louisville FC vs Utah Royals FC on Friday (June 6) (Full Schedule); see the Matchday 11 preview (More)

> The USL has announced two additional games for broadcast on ESPN2 this season, including the first USL Jagermesiter Cup to air as a national broadcast (More) | Matchday 14 of the USL Championship (Full Schedule)

Rest of the World

> Uzbekistan have qualified for the 2026 Fifa World Cup, it will be their first ever appearance at the tournament (More)

> Simone Inzaghi is officially the new manager of Saudi Pro League side Al Hilal, and will earn €26m per season over two years (More)

> Trade unions from 36 countries have filed a complaint over the treatment of migrant workers in Saudi Arabia ahead of the 2034 Fifa World Cup (More)

ROUTERS’ VOICE

Yesterday’s Poll: How confident are you that your club will make the right signings this summer?

🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 😎 Confident... (49%)

🟨 🟨 🟨 🟨 🟨 🟨 👎 Not confident... (48%)

🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ✍️ Other... (3%)

Your punditry takes:

• 😎 G.G: “Real Madrid fan here, we've been off to a blistering pace in the market, addressing key areas not just for now but for the future as well. Perez seems to be building a squad that Alonso can do some pretty special things with. It's revenge tour season.”

• 😎 L.H: “As a Crystal Palace fan for over 50 years, I have suffered many disappointing transfer windows. But I am convinced that the current management and recruitment team will get it right this summer.”

• 👎 G.R: “We [Arsenal] have failed to improve our situation for a few seasons now, and the fact that our intended buys are stalling, it hardly instils confidence that we're gonna get them in this window either.”

• 👎 G.G: “We’re talking Spurs here, and underwhelming transfer results, unfortunately, have long been the norm. The start of this window is no exception.”

• ✍️ S.B: “Not going to need many signings despite losing a couple of key players...looking forward to next season. Y.N.W.A.”

EXTRA TIME

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Can Reijenders fill Man City’s KDB gap?

Man United’s 25-26 home kit leaked.

GAME FACE ON

Question: Florian Wirtz is set to become the seventh player to join a Premier League club for more than €100m. Can you name the other six?

Scroll below for the answer.

ON TODAY

UEFA World Cup Qualifiers

• Estonia vs Israel (19:45)

• Norway vs Italy (19:45)

• N. Macedonia vs Belgium (19:45)

• Wales vs Lichtenstein (19:45)

• Czech Republic vs Montenegro (19:45)

• Gibraltar vs Croatia (19:45)

*All times in UK. ET -5. CDT -6. PDT -8. MDT -7. CET +1.

Answer

Enzo Fernandez (€121m), Jack Grealish (€117m), Declan Rice (€116m), Moises Caicedo (€116m), Romelu Lukaku (€113m), and Paul Pogba (€105m). Source: Transfermarkt.

Want more? Try our daily football Wordle – guess the name of a current or former player in six tries. Play it here.