Good morning. The Dutch FA is calling for a global summit to overhaul Fifa’s structure, Champions League fixture difficulty ratings, and everything else you need to know.
KEY FIXTURE
Premier League MD2 (Aug 31): Aston Villa vs Arsenal, 20:00 BST / 15:00 ET. Arsenal have won 15 Premier League games at Villa Park, more than they have at any other away venue in the competition. Plus, Mikel Arteta’s side have won their first away game in each of their last four Premier League seasons, also keeping a clean sheet each time. Villa, though, have won their last three league home games against the reigning champions. See the Premier League table.
Results…
TOP TALKING POINTS
FIFA Reform Requests
The Dutch FA (KNVB) says it wants to host an international summit in Amsterdam to overhaul Fifa and work up sweeping reforms for the governing body. One of Fifa’s founding members in 1904, the KNVB also said it had lost confidence in Fifa president Gianni Infantino and is pushing for him to be replaced from 2027.
In the statement, the KNVB said the proposed summit would determine “what kind of Fifa we want” before deciding who should succeed Infantino. Specifically, the Dutch governing body is pushing for three reform priorities: better governance with stronger checks and balances, putting human rights and sustainability at the heart of decision-making, and stronger international cooperation. It also proposed a shift of power, whereby the organisation's secretary-general leads, and the president plays the role of representing Fifa globally.
“The KNVB no longer has confidence in the leadership of Fifa President Gianni Infantino. We believe Fifa needs new leadership from 2027 onwards,” it said in the statement. “The KNVB supported Infantino in the most recent presidential election. That support was never unconditional.” Infantino is set to run for re-election to the Fifa presidency in March, despite regional governing bodies considering a vote of no confidence.
UCL Fixture Difficulties
Real Madrid and Liverpool have been handed two of the more favourable Champions League league-phase schedules, according to Opta’s fixture difficulty rating. Both have an average opponent rating of 90.0, placing them eighth and ninth respectively across the 36 teams. Inter Milan have an even easier draw at 89.5, the second-lowest rating in the competition behind Stuttgart’s 88.9. See every team’s opponents here.
Barcelona and Arsenal sit together in the middle of the rankings, with both sets of opponents averaging 90.8. Bayern Munich are slightly higher at 91.0, while defending champions PSG have a 91.1 rating. The difference between several of Europe’s highest-ranked teams is therefore relatively small, despite every club facing a different set of eight opponents.
Manchester City are among the major sides with the toughest schedules, with an average opponent rating of 91.7 – higher than Bayern, PSG, Barcelona and Real Madrid. Atletico Madrid are even further towards the difficult end at 92.0, giving them the fourth-hardest fixture list overall.
Across all 36 teams, Sabah have the toughest schedule with an average opponent rating of 92.2, followed by Lens at 92.1.
National League Fee Record
National League side Boreham Wood have agreed to sell winger Abdul Abdulmalik for a fee in excess of £1.5m, a record fee paid for a fifth-tier player in England. The deal with Swedish side Djurgarden breaks the record set in 2012 when Leicester City paid Fleetwood Town £1m for Jamie Vardy, who went on to win the Premier League four years later. Watch the viral announcement video here.
Abdulmalik, now 23, scored 17 goals and provided 10 assists last season as Boreham Wood reached the National League play-off final. While his side lost on penalties after leading by two goals, he scored and assisted in that match. Boreham Wood had previously rejected bids of £1m and £1.5m for him earlier this summer.
Djurgardens currently sit fifth in the Swedish top flight, the Allsvenskan, whose season runs from April to November. With two games in hand over the majority of their rivals, they remain in contention to qualify for Europe next term, having most recently played in the 2024-25 Conference League.
ON THE BALL
Europe
• Bradley Barcola arrived in Liverpool to complete a move from PSG, with reports putting the deal at up to £123m (More) | Tottenham have reached an agreement to sign Iliman Ndiaye as Richarlison heads back to Everton (More) | Rafael Leao left AC Milan for Galatasaray in a deal reported at about €45m after seven seasons at San Siro (More)
• Bayern Munich won their opening Bundesliga match 5-1 against VfB Stuttgart (More) | Newly promoted Elversberg stunned Bayer Leverkusen 3-2 on their Bundesliga debut (More)
• Real Madrid won 4-0 against Malaga in Jose Mourinho’s third La Liga game since his return; Barcelona play Rayo Vallecano in the league on Monday (Aug 31); see the La Liga table (More)
• Cesc Fabregas’ Como beat last season’s Serie A runners-up Napoli 2-11 (More); see the Serie A table (More)
Americas
• Lionel Messi scored four goals in Inter Miami’s 7-1 win over Montreal in the MLS regular season (More); watch all four goals (Watch) | Sixteen-year-old Cavan Sullivan scored again for Philadelphia Union, becoming the first his age in MLS history with goal contributions in four consecutive matches (Watch); see every MLS result (More) and Standings (More)
• Gotham FC stayed top of the NWSL after a 1-1 draw with Portland, where Sophia Wilson scored her 11th of the season from the spot (More); see standings (More)
• Club America beat Puebla 2-0 to stay unbeaten and top of Liga MX (More)
• USL Championship Eastern Conference leaders Tampa Bay Rowdies drew away at fourth-placed Pittsburgh Riverhounds (More); see every USL Championship result (More) and Standings (More)
Rest of the World
ROUTERS’ VOICE
Friday’s Poll: Will PSG win the Champions League for a third straight season?
🟨 🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ 👍 Yes (15%)
🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🙅♂️ Nope (82%)
🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ✍️ Other (3%)
Your punditry takes:
👍 B.B: “No club in Europe benefits from the easy domestic league season like PSG. By the time it gets to the final, their best players have barely played relative to other teams and are ready for the latter stages of the competition.”
🙅♂️ T.S: “Arsenal have strengthened their team over the summer and will prove to be a more formidable opponent for the entire Champions League, and especially PSG. They know they can get to the finals and also know what it’s like to lose.”
🙅♂️ J.L: “Repeating is hard enough, but threepeating is just not going to happen. They have a very strong side and a huge advantage in that the French league is weak, so they don't really play anyone very good except in Europe, for which they built their team. The disadvantage is that all the strong sides now know their tactics and how to beat them, and everyone will be gunning to beat PSG this year.”
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GAME FACE ON
Question: Which club won the inaugural European Cup in the 1955-56 season?
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.
Unfortunately, you can’t buy mentality in the transfer market.
Answer
Real Madrid won the first five editions of the European Cup, starting with a 4-3 victory over Stade de Reims in the 1956 final.