GM football fans. It’s Monday, August. 25 - Fifa have changed the 2026 World Cup draw location, Cristiano Ronaldo breaks another record, and everything else you need to know. Forwarded this email? Sign up here.
KEY FIXTURE
Premier League MD2: Newcastle United vs. Liverpool, Monday 25 August, 20:00 BST / 15:00 ET. Liverpool are unbeaten in the previous 17 league meetings between these two teams, though Newcastle did defeat them in the EFL Cup final last season. The Reds have scored 90 goals in 39 league games under Slot, giving them an average of 2.3 per match, which is the best ratio by any Liverpool manager in the top-flight. Meanwhile, Newcastle haven’t scored in any of their last four Premier League matches without Alexander Isak. See the Premier League table here.
TV Channels: Sky Sports (UK) | fuboTV (US) | DAZN / fuboTV (Canada)
Results…
Premier League: Fulham 1-1 Man Utd | Crystal Palace 1-1 Nottm Forest | Everton 2-0 Brighton (All Results)
Serie A: Cagliari 1-1 Fiorentina | Como 0-2 Lazio | Atalanta 1-1 Pisa | Juventus 2-0 Parma (Table)
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TOP TALKING POINTS
World Cup Draw Change
United States President Donald Trump confirmed at a press conference that the 2026 World Cup draw would take place at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Many had expected the ceremony to be held in Las Vegas, which was favoured by Fifa officials. However, Fifa president Gianni Infantino was keen for Washington to host so it would be easy for Trump to participate in the draw, if he wished. The draw will take place on December 5.
When asked about concerns over visa wait times, Trump said that for people from “certain countries,” travelling to the World Cup will “be very, very easy. And other countries are gonna be, obviously, a little bit more difficult.” Visa wait times in some countries are already in excess of 800 days, yet the World Cup begins in just under 300 days.
At the same press conference, Infantino carried the World Cup trophy into the Oval Office and handed it to Trump, breaking the superstition that only past winners should touch it. Trump also said that he thinks Russian President Vladimir Putin will attend the World Cup, despite being banned from Fifa competitions.
Cristiano’s Record-Breaking Night
Cristiano Ronaldo became the first player in history to score 100 competitive goals for four different clubs. This record was set during Al Nassr’s loss to Al Ahli in a penalty shootout after the Saudi Super Cup final ended 2-2.
Ronaldo’s 100 goals for Al Nassr add to his 450 goals for Real Madrid, 145 for Manchester United, and 101 for Juventus. He is also Portugal’s leading international scorer with 138 goals. Only three other players have scored 100 goals for three different clubs: Isidro Langara, who played in Spain from 1930 to 1948, as well as Brazilian forwards Romario and Neymar.
Despite the milestone, Ronaldo also became the first player ever to lose 12 finals, after suffering his third straight defeat in a final with Al Nassr. Across his career, he has appeared in 37 finals, winning 25 of them.
NWSL Attendance Smashed
Bay FC set a new record attendance for a National Women’s Soccer League game, with a crowd of 40,091 watching its 3-2 defeat to the Washington Spirit at San Francisco’s Oracle Park. The previous record was 35,038, set when Chicago Red Stars hosted Bay FC at Wrigley Field in June 2024.
Saturday’s game also set a record for any U.S. women’s professional sports league. The NWSL now accounts for 48 of the top 50 most-attended matches in U.S. women’s professional league sports history. Within the NWSL, it was the eighth match to draw over 30,000 fans, with San Diego Wave hosting five of those at Snapdragon Stadium.
This news came in the same week that Orlando Pride made Lizbeth Ovalle the most expensive signing in women's football history by signing the Mexico winger from Tigres UANL in a deal worth $1.5m (£1.1m). That’s the fifth time this year that the women’s transfer record has been broken.
POLL
Are you planning on attending World Cup matches?
ON THE BALL
Europe
> PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma has agreed personal terms with Manchester City, with an expected fee of £43.3m (More)
> Kevin De Bruyne scored on his debut for Napoli in the Serie A as they beat Sassuolo 2-0 (More)
> Harry Kane scored a hat-trick for Bayern Munich in their opening Bundesliga match against RB Leipzig, ending 6-0 (More) | Erik ten Hag lost his first Bundesliga match as Bayer Leverkusen manager as Hoffenheim came from behind to win 2-1 (More)
> A 94-point deduction has been handed to Romanian side FC U Craiova due to financial difficulties (More)
Americas
> Son Heung-min and Thomas Muller both registered their first MLS goals on Saturday; Watch Son’s (goal) and Muller’s (goal) | See every MLS result (More)
> The Kansas City Current’s dominant form at the top of the NWSL continued with a 2-0 road win against the Portland Thorns; they are now 12 points ahead of second-place Washington (More)
> Monterrey take the lead in Liga MX by one point following their 3-0 win over Necaxa; Cruz Azul sit second despite their 1-0 win over Toluca (See Results)
> USL Eugene, which is bringing pro football to the southern Willamette Valley, unveiled its official brand identity as Sporting Cascades FC (More); see every USL Championship result (More)
Rest of the World
> Fifa has confirmed the 2029 Club World Cup will not take place in Qatar and will be held in the summer; it could also expand to a 48-team model from 32 (More)
ROUTERS’ VOICE
Friday’s Poll: Do you prefer an early or late kick-off?
🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🌅 Early (54%)
🟨 🟨 🟨 🟨 🟨 ⬜️ 🌚 Late (44%)
🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ✍️ Other (2%)
Your punditry takes:
🌅 G.R: “I prefer an early kick off, then you can go out after and discuss the game over a couple of drinks with your friends. Then head home and enjoy the evening with the family.”
🌚 V.N: “There’s nothing like the atmosphere of a late kick-off. Get dressed up and head over to the stadium or pub—then, depending on the result, have a great night out.”
✍️ J.L: “All of us American football fans are getting up early regardless, so it really doesn't matter. I'm in Central Time, so a 12:30 pm kick-off is a 6:30 am start for me. I'm fine with it, but only because I've been doing it for more than 20 years. For Americans, it's a challenge. Day games are in the mornings, and night games are in the early afternoons. Missed A LOT of work over the decades watching the Champions League and the EPL night games, but it is SOOOOOO worth it!”
EXTRA TIME
Every transfer in Europe’s top five leagues. (live tracker)
A brilliant insight into what broadcasters deal with on live TV.
Are long throw-ins back in the Premier League?
Meet the tallest pro footballer ever–nearly a foot taller than Peter Crouch.
Can you run a Premier League football club? (Game)
Venezia release the boldest kits of the season.
… and why are Barcelona still wearing last season's kits?
GAME FACE ON
Question: Can you fill in the gaps from the sequence below?
Raul, Juan Esnaider, —————, Mariano Diaz, —————, Vinicius Junior.
Scroll below for the answer.
ON TODAY
Premier League
Newcastle United vs. Liverpool (20:00)
La Liga
Atheltic Club vs. Rayo Vallecano (18:30)
Sevilla vs. Getafe (20:30)
Serie A
Udinese vs. Hellas Verona (17:30)
Inter Milan vs. Torino (19:45)
*All times in UK. ET -5. CDT -6. PDT -8. MDT -7. CET +1.
Answer
Cristiano Ronaldo & Eden Hazard. The sequence: Real Madrid’s number 7s.
Daily Wordle: Guess the football-related word, from player names to classic phrases, in six tries or fewer. Play it here.
It's harder to be a manager in Turkiye because the manager here is the person who understands football the least.
