GM football fans. It’s Friday, Mar. 21 - Thomas Tuchel’s first test, watering down the independent regulator, and everything else you need to know. Forwarded this email? Sign up here.
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KEY FIXTURES
UEFA World Cup Qualifiers: England vs Albania, 19:45 / 15:45. England are unbeaten in their last 31 World Cup qualifiers and have a perfect record against Albania, winning all six previous meetings. Albania, meanwhile, have never beaten a top-10 FIFA-ranked nation in a competitive match, losing 17 of 19 such encounters. See every UEFA World Cup qualifier fixture here.
CONMEBOL World Cup Qualifiers: Uruguay vs Argentina, 23:00 / 19:00. Uruguay are unbeaten in their last two qualifiers, including a 2-0 win over Argentina in November. Argentina, meanwhile, have failed to win any of their last three World Cup qualifiers away from home, but have still won three of their last four meetings with Uruguay overall. See every CONMEBOL World Cup qualifier fixture and result here.
Results…
Nations League Play-offs: Turkey 3-1 Hungary | Austria 1-1 Serbia | Greece 0-1 Scotland | Ukraine 3-1 Belgium | Armenia 0-3 Georgia | Bulgaria 1-2 Rep. Ireland | Kosovo 2-1 Iceland | Slovakia 0-0 Slovenia
TOP TALKING POINTS
Tuchel’s First Test
Thomas Tuchel takes charge of England for the first time on Friday (Mar. 21) as England host Albania in the UEFA World Cup qualifiers. Tuchel is out to extend a long run of permanent England managers to have won their first game–all of the last 10 have done so, since Bobby Robson drew 1-1 with Denmark in 1982.
The former Chelsea manager played a back-three system at Stamford Bridge for 87% of all his matches. However, some sources predict that Tuchel will opt for a four-back system with England, having done so in 75% of the total matches he has coached. See a detailed analysis on how England might evolve under Tuchel’s management here.
Yesterday, in an interview, Tuchel was critical of England’s 2024 European Championship campaign, stating that Gareth Southgate’s side were “more afraid” of defeat rather than “having the excitement and hunger to win it.”
New $5M Women’s Format
A new seven-a-side women’s tournament, World Sevens Football (W7F), will be played between May 21 and 23. The three-day tournament, hosted in Portugal, will have a $5m prize pot distributed between the eight teams. The winners could stand to earn more than in the Women’s Champions League, which pays the winner around $1.5m.
The tournament will be held just two days before the 2025 Women’s Champions League final and six weeks before the start of Euro 2025. As the tournament falls in the middle of the NWSL season, it’s unlikely that NWSL teams will participate. The competing clubs are yet to be announced.
The tournament format will feature two 15-minute halves on a pitch half the size of an 11-a-side pitch. Watch a similar seven-a-side format–organised by The Soccer Tournament–here.
Independent Regulator Diluted
The UK government is considering scaling back (paywall) the powers of its planned football regulator as part of a wider clampdown on bureaucracy. The Independent Football Regulator–which will oversee clubs in England’s top five tiers–is expected to come into force within the next 12 months.
Reports suggest Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s office wants to ensure that the regulator doesn’t stifle the growth of the Premier League by disincentivising overseas investment. These concerns were outlined by the Premier League–which is against the introduction of the regulator–in a statement last year.
Despite receiving criticism, the Football Governance Bill gained approval from the House of Lords this week. The legislation must now secure approval from the House of Commons before it becomes law. Dive deeper into the role of the regulator here.
POLL
Do you think Thomas Tuchel will be more successful than Gareth Southgate as England manager?
ON THE BALL
Europe
> England will issue legacy caps to all 1,290 players who have represented the country in a senior international, dating back to the first official match against Scotland 153 years ago (More)
> Barcelona and Osasuna’s appeal to have next week’s La Liga fixture rescheduled has been rejected by the Spanish Football Federation, despite concerns key players will be missing on international duty (More)
> Chelsea have reached an agreement to sign Sporting Lisbon’s Geovany Quenda and Dario Essugo in a joint deal worth up to £62.4m (More)
> Bayern Munich mourns the death of Guo Jiaxuan, an 18-year-old who was part of the 2023 FC Bayern World Squad; he suffered a severe head injury during a training match in Spain in February (More)
Americas
> Canada and Mexico face off in the CONCACAF Nations League semi-final on Friday (Mar. 21) at 22:30 ET (More); the winner will face the winner of USA vs Panama (decided after publication) (See results here)
> Cincinnati and Atlanta open Matchday 5 of the MLS on Saturday (See Fixtures) | ESPN updates the MLS Power Rankings (More)
> Lautaro Martinez has left the Argentina camp due to muscle discomfort (More)
Rest of the World
> Japan become the first team to qualify for the 2026 World Cup after beating Bahrain 2-0 (More) | Australia edge a step closer to qualification after beating Patrick Kluivert’s Indonesia side 5-1 (More)
> 29 minutes were added at the end of Iran’s 2-0 win over the UAE in the AFC World Cup qualifiers after a floodlight went out (More)
> Former Manchester United sporting director Dan Ashworth is in talks to become Al Nassr’s new sporting director (More)
ROUTERS’ VOICE
Yesterday’s Poll: Do you think the promotion-relegation system make the USL more appealing than the MLS?
🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 👏 Absolutely... (77%)
🟨 🟨 🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ 🙅♂️ Nope... (19%)
🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ✍️ Other... (4%)
Your punditry takes:
👏 L.S: “Going to open the doors for real small team success, one might even say what the real American dream looks like.”
👏 M.G: “As someone who lives right by a USL team it will be great for the teams and fans to experience the intensity of near relegation or promotion games. There is no jeopardy in the leagues right now, you could finish dead last and just continue on, this will be a welcome change.”
👏 M: “This is a huge step. What kind of system is it that to fail you are rewarded with the first draft picks. The financial difference of relegation could be huge, and it will stop owners just creaming off the top by decimating good teams to lower salaries for personal gain. Plaudits to USL but who even watches it given the money in the MLS.”
🙅♂️ L.K: “It's appealing, but it will be impossible to take eyes off the MLS. Alternative gimmicks (and to the US, relegation/promotion will be seen as a gimmick) didn't work for American football, it won't work in football either.”
✍️ H.B: “It is not necessarily the ProRel System that makes it more attractive, that may be part of it. The other factors which are appealing to prospective investors/buyers are the ease of buy in and the rules are not so stringent when it comes to selecting candidates/players. It opens up where investment and player selection are worldwide.”
EXTRA TIME
Mapping the host cities for the 2026 World Cup.
The 2024-25 Nations League explained.
What are football ultras?
… and the chaotic world of Indonesia’s ultras.
Mbappe’s insane training ground finish. (via X)
Touring Barca’s new stadium. (video)
Lucy Bronze opens up about her autism.
Half-time talks were different in 1995. (explicit language)
Adidas pay tribute to the popular 2006 World Cup ball with new boots.
Sol Campbell joins The Overlap podcast.
GAME FACE ON
Question: Who is the only defender to have scored more Premier League goals than Nottingham Forest’s Nikola Milenkovic (4) this season?
Scroll below for the answer.
ON TODAY
UEFA World Cup Qualifiers
England vs Albania (19:45)
Andorra vs Latvia (19:45)
Malta vs Finland (19:45)
Poland vs Lithuania (19:45)
Cyprus vs San Marino (19:45)
Romania vs Bosnia-Herzegovina (19:45)
CONMEBOL World Cup Qualifiers
Brazil vs Colombia (00:45)
Peru vs Bolivia (01:30)
Ecuador vs Venezuela (21:00)
Uruguay vs Argentina (23:00)
CONCACAF Nations League Semi-finals
Canada vs Mexico (02:30)
*All time in UK. ET -4. CST -5. PDT -7. MDT -6. CET +1.
Answer
Josko Gvardiol (5).
They were more afraid to drop out of the tournament than having the excitement and hunger to win it.
