GM football fans. It’s Friday, July. 04 - Liverpool forward Diogo Jota has tragically died at age 28, the Gold Cup final between USMNT and Mexico is on Sunday, and everything else you need to know. Forwarded this email? Sign up here.
Editor’s note: Happy Independence Day to our U.S. readers celebrating—we hope you’re enjoying the holiday with good food and good company.
KEY FIXTURES
Club World Cup, Quarter-Finals: Paris Saint-Germain vs. Bayern Munich, Saturday 05, 17:00 / 12:00. Bayern Munich have won each of their last four games against PSG, with all of those matches coming since 2021 in the Champions League. However, the Parisian side have won all but one of their last nine fixtures, limiting their opponents to under one expected goal in each of those. Real Madrid vs. Borussia Dortmund, Saturday 05, 21:00 / 16:00. Dortmund are in good form, having won nine of their last 10 matches in all competitions. Real Madrid, though, have had the better of recent meetings between the two sides. They’ve won four straight matches against Dortmund, all in the Champions League, including a 5-2 victory in the group stage last October. See the Club World Cup bracket here and buy tickets here.
TV Channels: DAZN (UK) | DAZN (US) | DAZN Canada (Canada)
Results…
TOP TALKING POINTS
Diogo Jota: 1996-2025
Portugal and Liverpool forward Diogo Jota has died in a car crash aged 28, along with his brother Andre, 25, who played for Penafiel, a Portuguese second division club. It comes just 10 days after Jota married Rute Cardoso, who he had been with since 2013 and with whom he had three children. See live updates here.
The Guardia Civil, one of Spain’s law enforcement agencies, has said that the accident happened in Zamora, a province in the northwest of the country, at around 00:30 local time on Thursday. They said that Jota’s car, a Lamborghini, reportedly left the road due to a tyre blowout while overtaking another vehicle and then caught fire. See the first images of the crash site here.
Jota was travelling by car to Santander from where he would take a ferry to the south of England and then on to Liverpool. Doctors had reportedly advised him to travel by car rather than by plane to avoid cabin pressure, due to a lung condition he had recently undergone surgery for. He had travelled the reverse trip to attend his wedding.
Jota played an important role throughout his five years with Liverpool, having scored six times in the Reds’ recent Premier League-winning season. Liverpool have now retired the No.20 shirt in honour of Jota’s contributions to the club.
Watch Jota’s last career goal here.
Ligue 1 Launches Streaming Channel
Ligue 1 becomes the first European league to launch a director-to-consumer channel to broadcast live matches. The move marks a potential turning point in the traditional model of broadcasters bidding for media rights.
The new channel, costing €14.99 per month, will show eight of nine games each matchday, with Qatar’s beIN Sports paying €78.5m to broadcast the remaining match. The previous deal struck with broadcaster DAZN promised clubs €400m a year to broadcast matches, meaning the Professional Football League (LFP) will need around 2.25 million subscriptions to match that revenue, excluding production and marketing costs.
As traditional broadcast revenues begin to stagnate, other European leagues are also exploring similar models. The Premier League, which recently secured a broadcast package worth £6.7bn, is reportedly exploring a ‘Premflix’ streaming service for markets outside the UK.
USA and Mexico Reach Gold Cup Final
The United States and Mexico will face off in the Concacaf Gold Cup final on Sunday, July 6, in Houston. The USMNT earned their place with a 2-1 victory over Guatemala (match report), while Mexico can now defend their title after a 1-0 win over Honduras (match report). Nearly 60,000 tickets have already been sold–limited tickets remain available here.
The USMNT has now qualified for their 13th Gold Cup final, returning to the title match after failing to reach the semi-finals in 2023. While the seven-time winners entered the tournament on a four-match losing streak, Mauricio Pochettino’s side is unbeaten in the competition with a +8 goal difference across five matches.
Defending champions Mexico, chasing a record-extending 10th Gold Cup title, have been unmovable in recent knockout matches. They’ve recorded five consecutive clean sheets in Gold Cup knockout matches, equalling their run from 1993 to 1998.
POLL
Should more football leagues launch their own streaming platforms instead of selling rights to broadcasters?
ON THE BALL
Europe
> England and France will face each other in the Uefa Women’s Euro 2025 on Saturday (July 05) (Match Stats); See all Euro 2025 fixtures (More) and group standings (More)
> A consortium led by Gareth Bale has submitted an offer of around £40m to buy the ex-Real Madrid player’s hometown club, Cardiff City (More)
> Italian club Brescia, which was founded 114 years ago, has officially had its national license revoked and have been kicked out of Serie C after going bankrupt (More)
Americas
> Prices for Club World Cup tickets have been slashed for the quarter-finals of the competition, with some tickets as low as $11.15 (More); the Round of 16 ties averaged 42,751 spectators, up 23% from the group stage (More)
> MLS matchday 22 begins with Eastern conference action as New York City host Toronto; result to conclude shortly after publication (See Results); see MLS Conference Standings (More)
> USL Championship Eastern Conference leader Louisville City FC travel to Colorado Springs Switchbacks on Friday (July 04) for an inter-conference match; Western Conference leaders New Mexico United travel to Pittsburgh Riverhounds (See Fixtures); See UCL Championship standings (More)
> NWSL expansion side Boston Legacy have signed their first player, midfielder Annie Karich (More)
Rest of the World
> Chinese club Changchun Xidu has been fined for placing superstitious items in their away locker room to unnerve visiting teams (More)
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ROUTERS’ VOICE
Yesterday’s Poll: Who do you think will win the Club World Cup?
🟨 🟨 🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ 🏴 Chelsea (12.5%)
🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🇫🇷 Paris Saint-Germain (37%)
🟨 🟨 🟨 🟨 🟨 ⬜️ 🇪🇸 Real Madrid (21%)
🟨 🟨 🟨 🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ 🇩🇪 Bayern Munich (17%)
🟨 🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ 🇩🇪 Borussia Dortmund (4%)
🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ 🇸🇦 Al Hilal (1.7%)
🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ 🇧🇷 Palmeiras (2.9%)
🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ 🇧🇷 Fluminense (2.6%)
Your punditry takes:
🏴 S.V: “I think Chelsea will win because we have the biggest squad. We have 10 high-level senior forwards to choose from alone. When we lift the trophy while staying fresh and injury-free, don’t be surprised if other teams start copying Boehly’s big-squad strategy.”
🇫🇷 M.J: “PSG have the best full-backs, midfielders and set of attackers in the world, with a two-time UCL-winning coach. They’re the most complete team by far.”
🇪🇸 J.B: “I think Real Madrid are the most proven side. Defeating Juve definitively and a draw against a side that defeated City. Despite their tough competition, I think that they have a Real chance.”
🇩🇪 K.F: “Bayern has the deepest depth on the bench and needs to prove themselves with another trophy.”
🇸🇦 M.B: “Don't sleep, beating Man City and tying with Real Madrid was no fluke.”
EXTRA TIME
First images of Argentina’s World Cup kit.
Thiago Silva’s incredible team talk before Fluminense beat Inter.
Yildiz becomes the most valuable Turkish player in history.
Looking back at Brazil’s World Cup wins.
A breakdown of attendance at the CWC last 16 ties.
The 2025 Under-21 Euro team of the tournament.
GAME FACE ON
Question: Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund face off in the Club World Cup quarter-finals, a rematch of the 2023-24 Champions League final. Can you name the starting XIs from that night?
Scroll below for the answer.
ON TODAY
UEFA Women’s Euro 2025
Denmark vs. Sweden (17:00)
Germany vs. Poland (20:00)
Club World Cup, QF
Fluminense vs. Al Hilal (20:00)
*All times in UK. ET -5. CDT -6. PDT -8. MDT -7. CET +1.
Answer
Real Madrid: Courtois, Carvajal, Rudiger, Nacho, Mendy, Valverde, Camavinga, Kroos, Bellingham, Rodrygo, Vinicius Jr.
Borussia Dortmund: Kobel, Schlotterbeck, Hummels, Maatsen, Can, Sabitzer, Ryerson, Sancho, Brandt, Fullkrug, Adeyemi.
Daily Wordle: Guess the football-related word, from player names to classic phrases, in six tries or fewer. Play it here.
I will do everything possible to make sure the Club World Cup never happens again.
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