GM football fans. It’s Thursday, Mar. 06 - the first-ever World Cup half-time show, the FA pushes for a lifetime ban, and everything else you need to know. Forwarded this email? Sign up here.

Enjoy reading Route One? Share with a friend using this link.

Europa League, Last 16, Leg 1: AZ Alkmaar vs. Tottenham Hotspur, 17:45 / 12:45. Spurs have won seven of their last 11 games against Dutch opposition (D2, L2), including a 1-0 victory over AZ in the league phase, while AZ have only beaten English clubs twice in 19 attempts. Fenerbahce vs. Rangers, 17:45 / 12:45. Fenerbahce are unbeaten in their last 18 matches across all competitions (W13, D5), while Rangers have lost three of their last four games, including back-to-back home defeats. Real Sociedad vs. Manchester United, 17:45 / 12:45. United are the only unbeaten team left in this season’s Europa League (W5, D3), while Sociedad have never progressed beyond the last 16 of a major European competition this century. See all Europa League fixtures here.

Results…

The 2026 World Cup final–hosted in the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey–will have a Super Bowl-style halftime show. This will be the first time a World Cup final has included a halftime show.

Fifa president Gianni Infantino has confirmed that a “list of artists” will perform during the 15-minute halftime break. Coldplay’s Chris Martin and Phil Harvey will help advise Fifa on producing the show. The British band headlined Super Bowl 50 in 2016 alongside Beyonce and Bruno Mars. Infantino also confirmed plans for a “Times Square takeover” in New York over the weekend.

The 1994 World Cup final–hosted at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California–featured a performance by Diana Ross before kick-off. This included Ross’ infamous penalty kick miss–see here. The Champions League has also featured opening ceremonies with headliners including Dua Lipa (2018), Imagine Dragons (2019), and Camila Cabello (2022).

The FA is reportedly pushing for a lifetime ban for West Ham midfielder Lucas Paqueta. The hearing into the Brazilian’s alleged betting breaches will take place this month and will last three weeks.

Paqueta was charged with breaching betting rules in May of last year. The charges state that Paqueta allegedly influenced a match by “intentionally seeking to receive a card from the referee” across four Premier League matches. He was also charged with two breaches of noncompliance with the league regarding providing information and documents.

The Brazilian denies any wrongdoing. In a statement at the time of his charges, Paqueta said he “will fight with every breath to clear my name”. He even asked the FA to investigate “misleading” leaks about his case.

Fifa will pay total prize money of $1bn to participants in the revamped Club World Cup taking place in the United States this year. Sources say that prize money for the top teams could exceed $100m each—similar to what the winner of the UEFA Champions League receives.

The Club World Cup—now featuring 32 teams worldwide—has a larger prize pot than that offered for the men's or women's World Cups. The total prize money for the 2022 men’s World Cup in Qatar was $440m, while for the 2023 Women's World Cup in New Zealand and Australia, it was $110m. However, it still remains significantly below the Champions League’s estimated payout of $2.66bn.

British streaming service DAZN agreed to air every game at the tournament between June 14 and July 13. The deal was worth around $1.05bn. Yesterday, TNT Sports announced that it will broadcast 24 matches from the tournament—including group and knockout stage games and the final–on its cable networks TNT, TBS, and truTV.

> Dejan Kulusevski is unlikely to feature for Spurs before March’s international break due to a foot injury (More) | Newcastle defender Lewis Hall is set to miss the remainder of the season with injury (More) | The FA has submitted a claim seeking to increase Liam Roberts’ sanction following his sending off in the FA Cup tie between Millwall and Crystal Palace (More)

> Antony’s agent has criticised Ruben Amorim and believes he is disrespectful to suggest the Brazilian’s success at Real Betis is a result of La Liga being less physical than the Premier League (More) | Barcelona winger Lamine Yamal will extend his contract with the LaLiga club beyond 2026, per his agent Jorge Mendes (More)

> Lyon head coach Paulo Fonseca has been handed a 9-month ban for confronting Ligue 1 referee Benoit Millot (More) | Paris Saint-Germain are reportedly willing to offer Marco Asensio, Randol Kolo Muani and Goncalo Ramos to Newcastle in exchange for Alexander Isak (More)

> Jose Mourinho says he is open to managing Celtic or Rangers in the future due to the "passion" of the Scottish Premiership (More) | Police Scotland has told the SPFL they are "open to discussions" on lifting football’s booze ban (More)

> CONCACAF Champions Cup round of 16 fixtures and results (More)

> Los Angeles FC defender Sergi Palencia has been cleared of any discriminatory actions by CONCACAF’s disciplinary committee towards Colorado Rapids defender Chidozie Awaziem (More)

> Japanese World Cup winner Yuki Nagasato, who made history by playing for a senior men's team in 2020, has announced her retirement from football (More)

> Japanese champions Vissel Kobe moved a step closer to the Asian Champions League Elite quarter-finals after a 2-0 win over South Korea's Gwangju FC; Saudi teams stumble (More)

> The Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) has received 24 expressions of interest from clubs looking to participate in the OFC Professional League, which is set to begin in January 2026 (More)

Yesterday’s Poll: Do you think it's a good move for leagues to play competitive matches abroad?

🟨 🟨 🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ 👏 Absolutely... (29%)

🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🙅 Nope... (65%)

🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ✍️ Other... (6%)

Your punditry takes:

Watch the nominees for the world’s best amateur goal.

… and Paul Merson’s son scores an outrageous non-league goal.

The origin story of Kaka’s name. (via X)

Opta’s latest Champions League predictions.

What actually is a Kop? (video)

One of the best clearances in UCL history.

Where does Salah’s season rank amongst all-time greats?

Kate Abdo’s latest CBS panel introduction... (via X)

Adidas launch a Germany 125th anniversary kit.

The highest-paid UK pundits in the world.

Question: Which English team played in the Europa League in the 2013-14 season while they were also in the Championship?

Clue: FA Cup.

Scroll below for the answer.

Europa League, Last 16

Conference League, Last 16

*All time in UK. ET -5. CST -6. PST -8. MST -7. CET +1.

Answer

Wigan Athletic. Learn about their qualification for the tournament here.