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GM football fans. It’s Wednesday, Nov. 26 - The Super League is back on the agenda, Fifa has changed the World Cup draw, and everything else you need to know. Forwarded this email? Sign up here.
KEY FIXTURES
UEFA Champions League (Nov 26): Arsenal vs. Bayern Munich, 20:00 GMT / 15:00 ET. Arsenal are winless in their last five against Bayern, with three of their four defeats in that run coming via 5-1 scorelines. However, Mikel Arteta’s side have been flawless in this campaign, winning all four matches, scoring 11 goals, and the only side not to concede. Atletico Madrid vs. Inter Milan, 20:00 GMT / 15:00 ET. Inter, who boast a 100% record so far, have failed to win on any of their last 12 European away trips to face Spanish opposition. Plus, Atletico have won 11 of their last 12 Champions League games in their own stadium. Paris Saint-Germain vs. Tottenham Hotspur, 20:00 GMT / 15:00 ET. Despite a four-game winless streak in domestic competitions, Spurs are unbeaten across their last five Champions League matches, keeping four clean sheets in that time. These sides faced each other in August in the Super Cup final, where PSG won 4-3 on penalties following a 2-2 draw in regulation. See every Champions League league phase fixture here.
Results…
Champions League: Chelsea 3-0 Barcelona | Ajax 0-2 Benfica | Galatasaray 0-1 USG | Bodo/Glimt 2-3 Juventus | Dortmund 4-0 Villarreal | Man City 0-2 Leverkusen | Marseille 2-1 Newcastle | Napoli 2-0 Qarabag | Slavia Prague 0-0 Athletic (Standings)
Championship: Middlesbrough 2-4 Coventry (Full Results)
TOP TALKING POINTS
Super League Battle
The company behind the European Super League, A22 Sports Management, has sent a letter to Uefa demanding pre-authorisation of the new “Unify League” within eight weeks. A22 argues that Uefa’s refusal to approve the new league breaches EU law, specifically citing the December 2023 Court of Justice for the European Union (CJEU) ruling against Uefa’s monopoly.
Both A22 and Real Madrid have launched legal action against Uefa, claiming €4.5m (£4bn) in lost revenue due to Uefa blocking the project in 2021. Real president Florentino Perez argues that the project is the only way other leagues can compete against the Premier League’s dominance.
A22 has significantly altered the competition's format to align closer to the current ecosystem. The proposed Unify League will have three leagues (Star, Gold, Blue) mirroring Uefa’s Champions, Europa, and Conference Leagues. Unlike Uefa’s ‘Swiss Model’ (one big table), A22 proposes splitting the 36 teams in each league into two groups of 18. The biggest change, though, is that teams will qualify via domestic league performance, not the original closed-shop concept.
World Cup Draw Changed
FIFA has announced a major change to the World Cup draw format, with the four highest-ranked teams — Spain, Argentina, France, and England — placed in separate sections of the tournament bracket. It means they can avoid facing each other until the semi-final of the tournament if they all win their groups. The 2026 World Cup draw will take place next week on 5 December.
Spain (1st seed) and Argentina (2) have been paired, as have France (3) and England (4). Therefore, England won’t be able to come against Spain or Argentina until the semi-finals, and France until the final. The logic is that Fifa wants to ensure the top-ranked nations don’t meet early in the knock-out rounds, allowing for blockbuster games later in the tournament.
The pots for the draw have been confirmed—see here. The draw will distribute teams from four pots into 12 groups, with co-hosts (Mexico, Canada, USA) and top seeds pre-assigned to specific sections. To save time, a new "random grid" system will automatically determine fixture slots rather than drawing them manually. Geographically, groups cannot contain more than one team from the same confederation, with the exception of Europe (which can have two teams in four groups). More details on how the draw works here.
… and Alternative World Cup Planned
Russia is planning to host an alternative World Cup for non-qualified nations, according to reports from Poland’s largest online news source Onet.pl. The proposed tournament would feature 8 to 12 national teams that are either sanctioned by Uefa or failed to qualify for the 2026 World Cup, and take place entirely in Russia. For now, the idea remains in its planning stage with nothing officially confirmed.
The competition is slated for June 2026, running parallel to the official World Cup. Two draft, unconfirmed groups have been circulated in reports: Russia, Serbia, Chile, and Nigeria in one pool; Greece, Peru, Venezuela, and Cameroon in the other. Importantly, none of these federations have publicly agreed to participate.
Russia, the World Cup host nation in 2018, has been banned from participating in Fifa and Uefa-sanctioned competitions since 2022 following the invasion of Ukraine.
POLL
Do you think it’s fair for FIFA to separate top-ranked teams so they don’t meet until later in the World Cup?
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ON THE BALL
Europe
> Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard could return for the Champions League match against Bayern Munich on Wednesday after nearly two months out (More)
> Streaming platform DAZN has cancelled its rights deal with the Belgian Pro League, marking the second European contract the company has terminated, following its exit from France’s Ligue 1 (More)
> Celtic are close to appointing Columbus Crew head coach Wilfred Nancy (More)
Americas
> Expansion side San Diego FC eliminated Minnesota United from the MLS Cup with a 1-0 victory in the Western Conference semi-final (More) | The Conference final schedule has been set: Inter Miami vs. New York City (Sat 29, 18:00 ET) and San Diego FC vs. Vancouver Whitecaps FC (Sat 29, 21:00 ET) (More)
> The United States deaf women's national football team defeated hosts Japan 4-0 on Tuesday to clinch a record fifth Deaflympics gold medal (More)
> River Plate's season came to an end when Racing Club scored a stoppage-time winner to earn a 3-2 victory in the Torneo Clausura Round of 16 (More)
Rest of the World
> Karim Benzema scored twice but Al-Ittihad lost 4-2 to Al-Duhail of Qatar in the Asian Champions League Elite (More)
ROUTERS’ VOICE
Yesterday’s Poll: Should Liverpool drop Mohamed Salah from their first XI?
🟨 🟨 🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ 👍 Yes (34%)
🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🙅♂️ Nope (64%)
🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ✍️ Other (2%)
Your punditry takes:
👍 S.H: “As a Liverpool fan, it is clear they need something major to change. While I don’t blame Mo, I think the best bet for that change comes from a press, and Chiesa has the higher work rate.”
👍 K.B: “He doesn't do enough work for the team to warrant a place. His lack of any defensive qualities means the team cannot carry him any longer. If he was scoring goals like Haaland, then fair enough, play him, but he is way off his best now, and Liverpool needs to change something.”
🙅♂️ G.M: “Salah isn’t the problem. First of all, Liverpool needs to get back to basics—start with ball possession. There are other problems that stem from letting Trent Alexander go, as he was a key ball player for Salah to be fed from. They are still not out of it (could still finish in the top four), just need to gel a little more and play without being fancy.”
🙅♂️ H.M: “Salah is a player who doesn’t need a whole game to make an impact, just moments. You can’t drop somebody like that.”
✍️ V.M: “I couldn't even imagine this question being asked a year ago. However, with the way things have been going for Liverpool, I think a shakeup is in order, and everything should be on the table. No player's inclusion in the first XI position should be guaranteed at this point.”
EXTRA TIME
BBC’s Premier League team of the week.
PSG’s Air Jordan fourth kit has been released.
Why Ronaldo’s World Cup red card is effectively redundant.
Estevao’s incredible goal against Barcelona. (US link)
The fastest players to reach 100 Premier League goals.
Is this the best celebration of the week?
Ian Wright makes New York City mayor-elect happy cry.
GAME FACE ON
Question: What do the following clubs have in common?
Everton. DC United. Derby County. Manchester United.
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 like my players fighting each other if someone didn’t do the right action. If you want that toughness and resilience to get a result, you want someone to act on it.
Answer
They’re all the teams that Wayne Rooney played for.
