GM football fans. It’s Tuesday, Dec. 2 - Early World Cup projections, Championship side Sheffield Wednesday has more points deducted, and everything else you need to know. Forwarded this email? Sign up here.
KEY FIXTURES
Premier League MD14 (Dec 2): AFC Bournemouth vs. Everton, 19:30 GMT / 14:30 ET. Bournemouth have two wins in their last nine Premier League matches, though they remain unbeaten at home this season, claiming four wins from six. Meanwhile, Everton could go unbeaten in three straight top-flight away matches for the first time since March. Fulham vs. Manchester City, 19:30 GMT / 14:30 ET. Fulham have endured a mixed start to their campaign, collecting 17 points from 13 matches under Marco Silva. Despite their strong home form, City’s away performances have been a concern, with only two victories from six league matches on the road. Newcastle United vs. Tottenham Hotspur, 20:15 GMT / 15:15 ET. Spurs are unbeaten in all four of their Premier League games outside of London this season. However, they’ve lost their last three league games against Newcastle. See every Premier League fixture this week here.
See where these matches are being shown here.
Results…
TOP TALKING POINTS
World Cup Projections
Spain are 17% favourites to win the 2026 World Cup, according to Opta’s pre-draw projection model. Luis de la Fuente’s side haven’t lost a competitive international since March 2023 (0-2 loss to Scotland), and are now 31 games without defeat–excluding penalty shootouts.
France are projected to have a 14.1% chance of repeating 2018’s success in what will be manager Didier Deschamps’ last tournament in charge. Meanwhile, England enter the tournament as third favourites with an 11.8% probability following a qualification campaign that included eight wins and eight clean sheets from as many matches. Reigning champions Argentina (8.7%), Germany (7.1%), Portugal (6.6%), Brazil (5.6%), and the Netherlands (5.2%) are the only other nations with above a 5% chance of winning the tournament.
Out of the host nations, Mexico is given the best projections at 1.3%, compared to the USA’s 0.9% and Canada’s 0.4%. Elsewhere, aside from Portugal and the Netherlands, Norway is projected to have the best chance (2.3%) of winning the tournament of nations that haven’t ever won a World Cup. Dive deeper into this tournament’s dark horses here.
In related news, football’s lawmakers could allow VAR to be extended to corner kicks and second yellow cards at next year’s World Cup–read more here.
Editor’s note: Some of these projections will likely change once the World Cup draw is completed on December 5.
Nations League Final
The second edition of the Uefa Women’s Nations League will conclude on Tuesday (Dec 2) with defending champions Spain hosting Germany at the Metropolitano Stadium. It follows Friday’s goalless first fixture of the two-legged final.
Both managers, Christian Wuck and Sonia Bermudez, could secure their first piece of silverware after they were appointed by their respective federations following last year’s European Championship. While Spain has reached the finals of the last four major tournaments—winning the inaugural Nations League in 2024 and the Women’s World Cup in 2023—Germany has been in search of a major trophy since 2016. The Germans are taking confidence from their performance in the first leg, though, where Spanish goalkeeper Cata Coll was the busiest player.
Spain will be without three-time Ballon d’Or winner Aitana Bonmati after she suffered a broken leg in training on Sunday. “It’s a huge loss,” Bermiudez said Monday. “Yesterday, the mood was a bit down because it’s hard when a teammate is injured.” Reports suggest Bonmati will be sidelined for at least three months.
Wednesday’s Six-Point Deduction
Championship club Sheffield Wednesday has been handed a further six-point deduction by the English Football League (EFL). In October, the 158-year-old club faced a 12-point penalty after filing for administration, and the most recent breach relates to the club’s failure to pay players in March, May, and June of this year.
Former owner Deijphon Chansiri, who ended his association with the club after placing it in administration, has also been banned from being an owner or director of any EFL club for the next three years. Around six bidders are in line to compete for ownership on Wednesday, with administrators demanding at least £30m ($39m).
Wednesday currently sit at the bottom of the Championship table (see here) and are now on –10 points. Relegation to League One looks almost certain for Wednesday as they are now 27 points adrift of safety. Across 18 matches, they’ve won once, drawn five, and lost 14.
POLL
Should players and fans suffer point deductions for mistakes made by club owners?
ON THE BALL
Europe
> Police evidence which led to the banning of Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from a match against Aston Villa was based on facts changed to fit a decision, MPs have heard (More) | Leeds United could sack manager Daniel Farke if his side loses home games against Chelsea and Liverpool this week (More)
> Galatasaray stay top of the Super Lig by one point after drawing with rivals Fenerbahce 1-1 (More); see the Super Lig table (More)
> Robin van Persie gave his son Shaqueel his Eredivisie debut for Feyenoord in their 2-1 win against Telstar (More)
> The Scottish FA has secured a "multi-million-pound, long-term partnership" for the naming rights of the national stadium to Barclays Hampden (More)
Americas
> The Copa America could be held in the United States for the second consecutive edition in 2028 (More)
> Internacional coach Abel Braga, 73, has apologised for homophobic comments he made about his side’s training kit within hours of his appointment (More)
> Boca Juniors are through to the semi-finals of Argentina’s Clausura tournament following a 1-0 home victory over Argentinos Juniors (More)
Rest of the World
> Cameroon have left goalkeeper Andre Onana out of their squad for the Africa Cup of Nations (More)
> Ulsan defender Jung Seung-hyun claims he was slapped by former South Korea head coach Shin Tae-yong during the manager’s time with the K League club (More)
ROUTERS’ VOICE
Yesterday’s Poll: Should teams have to take off an outfield player when a goalkeeper goes down injured?
🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 👍 Yes (67%)
🟨 🟨 🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ 🙅♂️ Nope (29%)
🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ✍️ Other (4%)
Your punditry takes:
👍 M.M: “We have to continue to attack these elements of time wasting that are currently tolerated. It would be nice if the spirit of the game could keep the elite players honest, but the money and emphasis on winning create an atmosphere where any tactic is tried. Maybe it's too idealistic a view, but the honour is in putting values first and winning as a result.”
👍 D.W: “Most definitely, and I would like to see the time extended to one minute, which would then hopefully detract teams from using this method of cheating to gain an advantage.”
✍️ N.M: “I prefer the idea of just not letting players go to the touchline (or preventing their manager from talking) during an ‘injury break.’ Injuries in general shouldn't turn into a chance for tactical discussion and changes.”
EXTRA TIME
Lamine Yamal’s 60 Minutes interview.
This goalkeeper took mind games to another level.
BBC’s Premier League team of the week…
… and who are the worst champions in Premier League history?
Mbappe enters the top 10 of an elite list of players.
The 100 best female footballers in the world. (Nos 100-71)
Why the US love of football is reaching new levels.
Is Cesc Fabregas the next great manager? (video)
GAME FACE ON
Question: What do the following clubs have in common?
West Ham. Real Zaragoza. Parma. Villarreal. Atalanta.
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.
How do you describe moonlight? How do you describe candlelight? How do you count the bubbles in a glass of champagne? I don't know. I just know when I see it, it's bloody beautiful.
Answer
They have all won a major European trophy (Uefa Cup/Europa League, Cup Winners’ Cup, or Conference League) but have never won their own country’s top-flight domestic league title.
