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Good morning football fans. It’s Monday, June. 22 - The Premier League fixtures have been released, breaking down the first 100 goals at the World Cup, and everything else you need to know. Forwarded this email? Sign up here.
KEY FIXTURES
2026 World Cup (June 22): Argentina vs Austria, Group J, 13:00 ET / 18:00 BST. Argentina have won their last eight matches, only failing to keep a clean sheet twice in that run. Austria also won their opening game (3-1 vs Jordan), extending their winning streak to four in all competitions, and have triumphed in 10 of their last 12 matches. France vs Iraq, Group I, 17:00 ET / 22:00 BST. France have scored in 14 successive matches, scoring multiple times in 13 of those, and a win would mean they’ve won their opening two matches at a World Cup for the fourth successive edition. Meanwhile, Iraq haven’t won any of their four previous World Cup matches and risk becoming the first Asian nation to lose their opening five games. Norway vs Senegal, Group I, 20:00 ET / 01:00 BST (June 23). Norway will try to extend their four-game unbeaten streak, while Senegal risk a fourth straight match without victory. All of Group I are in for a chance of last-32 qualification, but defeat for Senegal, coupled with France taking at least a point from their game, would consign them to a third-placed finish at best. See every World Cup fixture here and group standings here.
Results…
World Cup: Spain 4-0 Saudi Arabia | Belgium 0-0 Iran
Uruguay vs Cape Verde and New Zealand vs Egypt to conclude shortly after publication (Live Results)
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TOP TALKING POINTS
Premier League Fixtures
The 2026-27 Premier League fixtures have been announced, with champions Arsenal set to host Championship winners Coventry City in the opening fixture on August 21. See the full list of fixtures here.
Manchester United are projected to have the easiest opening five fixtures, according to Opta’s fixture difficulty rating. Michael Carrick starts with Hull (a), Ipswich (h), Everton (a), Manchester City (h), and Fulham (a). Newcastle and Liverpool have the second- and third-easiest opening five fixtures, while Brentford, Crystal Palace and Everton are tied for the next-easiest. Across the opening 10 matches, Fulham have the easiest schedule, with Arsenal and Newcastle tied just behind them and Man United ranked fourth.
Bournemouth are rated as having the toughest start, with Man City (a), Everton (h), Newcastle (a), Brentford (h), and Liverpool (h). All three promoted sides — Coventry, Ipswich Town, and Hull City — are also expected to have tough starts. They all face two ‘Big Six’ teams in their first five matches, while each also plays one of last season’s top eight in Matchweek 3. However, Newcastle appear to have the toughest festive schedule, facing Brentford (a), Man City (h), Nott’m Forest (h), Chelsea (a), and Man United (a) across 19 days.
Among the new managers for next season, Andoni Iraola will kick-start his time at Liverpool with an away fixture at Newcastle United, and Chelsea’s Xabi Alonso will prepare for a local derby with Fulham away from home. Man City vs Bournemouth is expected to feature new managers in both dugouts, with Marco Rose already appointed and Man City close to appointing Enzo Maresca. Crystal Palace’s Pierre Sage will begin his time in charge away at Everton.
World Cup Hosting Dispute
Spain and Morocco are competing to stage the 2030 World Cup final when they co-host the tournament with Portugal. The venue is yet to be decided, and Fifa has said that it was too early to make the decision, with the 2026 World Cup final venue being decided just two years before the tournament. According to The Times, Fifa insiders say they are 50-50 whether the final should be held in Spain or Morocco.
Earlier this year, Spanish Football Federation chief Rafael Louzan insisted that “Spain has proven its organisational capacity over many years. It will be the leader of the 2030 World Cup, and the final of that World Cup will be held here.” He later appeared to question Morocco’s suitability to host the final, saying that “we have seen scenes that damage the image of world football,” referring to the chaotic scenes during the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations final in Rabat. The redeveloped Santiago Bernabeu, home of Real Madrid, is expected to be Spain’s leading candidate to stage the final.
However, reports suggest Morocco are pushing hard for the Hassan II Stadium (see images) in Casablanca to host the final. It is currently under construction and, when complete, is projected to be the largest football stadium in the world, with a capacity of 115,000. The stadium’s designers, Populous, say on their website that it will be capable of hosting the 2030 World Cup final.
The 2030 tournament will mark the World Cup’s centenary. Spain, Portugal and Morocco will host the majority of the tournament, while three centenary celebration matches — one in each country — will be played in Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay.
The First 100 Goals
The 2026 World Cup has become the fastest edition to reach 100 goals since 1958, taking 33 games to do so. After those 33 matches, the tournament had produced 102 goals, an average of 3.1 per game. While high by modern standards, if maintained, that rate would be the seventh-highest in World Cup history, behind 1954 (5.4), 1938 (4.7), 1934 (4.1), 1950 (4.0), 1930 (3.9), and 1958 (3.6).
Of the first 100 goals, 28 came from the 76th minute onwards, representing 29.2% of all goals scored, making it comfortably the most productive period of matches. The next-highest total (19) came between the 31st minute and half-time. This pattern suggests that fatigue or hydration breaks, or perhaps both, could be contributing to more goals being scored. Some analysts also suggest the Trionda ball is causing problems for goalkeepers, evidenced by the 13 long-range goals scored, though former Man City goalkeeper Joe Hart thinks that will become less of a problem as the tournament progresses.
Scoring first has so far been a strong indicator that a team will avoid defeat. In the first 33 games of the tournament, teams that scored first recorded 22 wins, nine draws, and only one defeat, while teams leading at half-time had a record of 16 wins, five draws, and no defeats.
POLL
Is the nation you’re supporting at the World Cup performing better or worse than expected?
ON THE BALL
Europe
> Ipswich Town are set to appoint Gary O’Neil as their new head coach ahead of the new Premier League season (More) | Lucas Bergvall has reportedly informed Tottenham that he would like to leave the club this summer (More) | Liverpool have rejected a €25m offer from Inter for Curtis Jones and told the Serie A club that the bid is so far from their valuation that they don’t want further talks (More)
> A French television presenter has apologised after criticising Jeremy Doku for saying he wants to leave Belgium’s World Cup camp to attend the birth of his first child (More)
> Real Madrid have said they have not had contact with Bayern Munich forward Michael Olise despite circulating transfer rumours (More)
> Former Arsenal and Chelsea defender Ashley Cole is set to leave his role as head coach of Serie B side Cesena after managing just eight matches (More)
Americas
> Haiti, Turkiye, and Tunisia have been eliminated from the 2026 World Cup, as of the time of writing (More)
> The smallest nation to ever qualify for the World Cup, Curacao, has earned their first-ever point at the tournament with a goalless draw against Ecuador (More); Curacao goalkeeper Eloy Room made a record-equalling 15 saves in the match (More) | Paraguay’s Miguel Almiron received the first-ever red card for talking with his mouth covered during their 1-0 win over Turkiye in the second group-stage game (More)
> Neymar is expected to be called up for Brazil’s next game against Scotland after their 3-0 win over Haiti (More) | Ronaldinho has signed a contract at 46 with Serie C club Ravenna, though he is not expected to play (More)
> A television presenter has resigned after falsely reporting that the father of Lionel Messi had died during Argentina's first World Cup game (More)
> Inter Miami have verbally agreed to sign Brazilian midfielder Casemiro, 34, on a free transfer (More)
Rest of the World
> Steve Corica was confirmed as the new manager of Yokohama F Marinos, following his departure from Auckland FC this week (More)
ROUTERS’ VOICE
Friday’s Poll: Should Portugal drop Cristiano Ronaldo from the starting XI?
🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 👍 Yes (55%)
🟨 🟨 🟨 🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ 🙅♂️ Nope (40%)
🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ✍️ Other (5%)
Your punditry takes:
👍 K.S: “He would be a fantastic sub. Keep him fresh, then bring him on for 20-30 minutes. Sadly, he does not have what it takes to start at the very top level, but that does not take anything away from the argument that he is the greatest. The man is 41 and can still contribute immensely to his team's success, just not for 90 minutes.”
👍 W.T: “It's not just that he's past his best form. He's too selfish. His only concern is getting himself on the scoresheet. That worked when he was in his prime because he typically did score and help the team win, but now he's wasting opportunities, and it's killing Portugal's chances.”
🙅♂️ R.C: “Dropping Ronaldo entirely after one frustrating 1-1 draw against DR Congo is the definition of a knee-jerk reaction. Was it a tough opener in Houston? Absolutely. He missed two big chances in the second half that he usually eats for breakfast, and the service from the midfield just wasn’t fluid. But panic-benching your captain and most lethal finisher just after Matchday one is a terrible idea.”
EXTRA TIME
Incredible images from the World Cup's opening week.
The 2026 World Cup team of the tournament so far (without the superstars).
Why are footballers wearing pink boots at the World Cup?
The World Cup records that look set to be broken.
Fans cycle for nine months to Argentina’s World Cup opener.
What makes a good World Cup shirt?
GAME FACE ON
Question: Only two players have ever been sent off twice at the World Cup. Cameroon’s Rigobert Song is one—but who is the other?
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 may have made some suggestions for the Peace Prize in the coming years.
Answer
Zinedine Zidane (1998 group stage vs Saudi Arabia, 2006 Final vs Italy)
