GM football fans. It’s Wednesday, June. 11 - US host cities express concern ahead of the 2026 World Cup, Arsenal’s men’s and women’s teams will share the Emirates next season, and everything else you need to know. Forwarded this email? Sign up here.

Enjoy reading Route One? Share with one click using this link (or copy URL here).

KEY FIXTURE

CONMEBOL World Cup Qualifiers: Brazil vs. Paraguay, 01:45 / 20:45. Carlo Ancelotti could help fourth-place Brazil qualify for the 2026 World Cup on his home debut in charge of the national team, if Venezuela lose to Uruguay and Argentina beat Colombia. Brazil have just six wins from their last 15 matches, but four of these victories came in front of their supporters. Nevertheless, with three matches remaining in the series, Paraguay enter the fixture on 24 points, two clear of Brazil. The result will be determined shortly after publication (see here).

Results…

• UEFA World Cup Qualifiers (Results)

• International Friendlies: England 1-3 Senegal (Report) (All Results)

TOP TALKING POINTS

Host Cities Express Concerns

US host cities for the Fifa World Cup 2026 have acknowledged that President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown could impact the tournament. During an event in New York City to mark a year out from the World Cup, the host city heads expressed hope for providing a welcoming environment for visitors, but are uncertain about whether fans from some nations will be able to attend.

The host city committees are also concerned, in part, with logistical constraints which could impact fans, such as transportation and lodging. They stated that they’re in communication with the administration over slow Visa processing times. With exactly a year until the start of the tournament, some wait times are already in excess of 800 days.

The 2026 World Cup, which will be co-hosted with Canada and Mexico, will take place in 11 cities across the US, and is predicted to draw more than five million visitors over the course of the 40-day tournament. Dive deeper into every host stadium in the tournament here.

Arsenal Share Emirates

Arsenal Women will play all of their Women’s Super League (WSL) home matches at Emirates Stadium next season. Should the reigning European champions progress to the knock-out stages of the Champions League, these matches will also be played at the 60,704-capacity stadium.

Last season, the north London club faced criticism for rescheduling the women’s Champions League fixture against Bayern Munich as it clashed with the men’s Carabao Cup quarter-final against Crystal Palace. Uefa granted Arsenal “special dispensation” to play the fixture at the 4,500-capacity Meadow Park stadium, despite it not meeting the governing body’s requirements.

Aston Villa and Leicester City were the only clubs to have hosted all their home WSL games at their main club grounds last season. Everton’s historic Goodison Park, which was set for demolition, is now set to become the home of the women’s team.

114-year-old Club Bankrupt

Brescia, which was relegated from Serie B to Serie C after the Italian side was docked four points during the 2025 season for financial irregularities, have declared bankruptcy. The 114-year-old club had spent 23 seasons in Serie A, but has now lost the right to participate in the Italian professional divisions.

The owner, Massimo Cellino, has failed to pay $3.4m of the club’s outstanding debts. Cellino was previously the owner of Leeds United, where he was known for his revolving door strategy of management changes and legal issues, which put the English side under financial strain. The FA banned him for 18 months after finding him guilty of breaching agent regulations.

While reports in Italy say it’s possible new owners could take over and rebuild Brescia in the Serie C, time is running “very short” to make that possible. Brescia is one of Italy’s most storied football clubs, with the likes of Roberto Baggio, Pep Guardiola, Andrea Pirlo, Gheorghe Hagi, and Luca Toni having worn the shirt.

POLL

PRESENTED BY GEMINI SPORTS

Be in the football business, not the software business

If your club suddenly received an additional $1m in budget, would you spend it on managing software developers, or on a player who could shape your next five seasons? For most clubs, the answer is obvious.

That’s why top European clubs are avoiding costly, custom-built platforms for player trading and turning to future-proof, ready-made solutions like Gemini. Gemini helps football club front offices make faster, smarter, more decisive personnel decisions—all in one place.

Gemini’s plug-and-play, mobile-first, AI-driven platform unifies information silos, turns scattered sports data into actionable insights, and supercharges your squad planning workflows. Avoid the hidden costs of custom app development and gain a competitive edge in weeks, not years. Contact Gemini Sports today.

ON THE BALL

Europe

> Thomas Frank will become Tottenham Hotspur's new manager, with Brentford set to release the Dane for a fee around £10m (More) | Manchester United have released Victor Lindelof, Christian Eriksen and Jonny Evans (More)

> Celtic have confirmed the signing of Arsenal left-back Kieran Tierney on a five-year deal (More)

> Midfielder Jobe Bellingham has officially completed his club-record move from Sunderland to Borussia Dortmund in a deal worth an initial £27.8m and a 15% sell-on clause (More)

Americas

> USMNT (vs Switzerland) and Canada (vs Ivory Coast) host their last friendly fixtures before the Gold Cup; results to be published shortly after publication (See Results) | Christian Pulisic’s father responds to Landon Donovan’s criticism on his decision to sit out the upcoming Gold Cup (More)

> Concacaf have rejected Greenland’s application for membership ahead of this month’s Gold Cup, marking a significant blow to its attempt to play international football for the first time (More)

> The expansion Denver NWSL team broke ground in Centennial for the construction of its performance centre and temporary stadium (More)

> A new report has found that there’s a 70% chance of seeing a betting ad when watching the Brazilian league, with only 55% of broadcast time, on average, showing the ball in play (More)

Rest of the World

> Australia have qualified for the 2026 World Cup after beating Saudi Arabia 2-1, securing the last automatic AFC qualification spot (More)

ROUTERS’ VOICE

Yesterday’s Poll: Cristiano Ronaldo has said the Ballon d'Or should only go to a Champions League winner. Do you agree?

🟨 🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ 🏆 Yes... (13%)

🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🙅‍♂️ Nope... (85%)

🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ✍️ Other... (2%)

Your punditry takes:

• 🏆 S.V: “It shouldn’t be binary but, ultimately, the best player in the world should be competing in the hardest competition in the world, and guiding his team to victory. Almost every year that doesn’t have a big international tournament, like the World Cup, should see a Champions League winner take the Ballon d’Or home.”

• 🙅‍♂️ E.C: “The Ballon d’Or is indicative of an entire season's worth of work by a talented player and not just one tournament or game.”

• 🙅‍♂️ C.I: “Hypothetical player ‘John Smith’ goes from a Championship team to a mid-table Premier League club in this transfer window. Smith does so well, a goal-scoring winger, that he propels his club to the top of the league, winning it in 25-26. His play, 18 goals and 13 assists, cements him as a nailed-on starter for England, leading them to winning the World Cup. The only issue? His club team finished 8th in 24-25, meaning they didn’t qualify for the Champions League. Absurd that this player shouldn’t be seen as a Balon d'Or contender.”

EXTRA TIME

What’s (actually) the most exciting part of a matchday for fans?

Man City unveil Club World Cup kit with sash.

What is Thomas Frank’s managerial style?

Latest aerial footage of Barcelona’s new stadium.

Infantino’s name appears twice on Club World Cup trophy.

Interesting insight from a mic’ed up referee.

Is Pochettino's style too slow for the USMNT?

GAME FACE ON

Fill in the missing names in this sequence of players:

Kevin De Bruyne, Thierry Henry, ___ , Mohamed Salah, ___.

Scroll below for the answer.

ON TODAY

International Friendlies

• United States vs Switzerland (01:00)

• Canada vs Ivory Coast (01:30)

• Mexico vs Turkey (02:00)

CONMEBOL World Cup Qualifiers

• Uruguay vs Venezuela (00:00)

• Argentina vs Colombia (01:00)

• Brazil vs Paraguay (01:45)

• Peru vs Ecuador (02:30)

*All times in UK. ET -5. CDT -6. PDT -8. MDT -7. CET +1.

Answer

Mesut Ozil & Frank Lampard. The sequence is the list of players with the most Premier League assists in a single season, from highest to lowest. Source.

Daily Wordle: Guess the football-related word, from player names to classic phrases, in six tries or fewer. Play it here.