GM football fans. It’s Tuesday, Sept. 30 - Pressure increases on UEFA, the Champions League league phase resumes, and everything else you need to know. Forwarded this email? Sign up here.
KEY FIXTURES
Champions League league phase (30 Sept): Kairat vs. Real Madrid, 17:45 BST / 12:45 ET. This is a meeting between No. 151 and No. 1 in Uefa’s club rankings. Real Madrid, coming off the back of a 5-2 defeat to Atletico in La Liga, will look to build upon a record that has seen them win 24 of their last 30 first-time meetings in Champions League/European Cup history. Chelsea vs. Benfica, 20:00 BST / 15:00 ET. Benfica have failed to win any of their past eight games against English teams, and manager Jose Mourinho has won just four of his 14 matches against his former club, Chelsea. Galatasaray vs. Liverpool, 20:00 BST / 15:00 ET. Galatasaray and Liverpool each have one win from their four previous clashes. However, the Reds have a draw and a defeat from the two meetings in Turkey. See every Champions League Matchday 2 fixture here.
Results…
TOP TALKING POINTS
UEFA Pressure Mounts
Turkey has become the first member of the European football’s governing body, Uefa, to publicly call for Israel’s suspension from all competitions. This comes as Uefa prepares to vote on whether to suspend the nation, whose men’s team is competing to qualify for next year’s World Cup–read Friday’s write-up for more detail here. The timeline for the vote is unclear.
Pressure is mounting on Uefa as a coalition of 50 high-profile professional athletes signed a letter demanding Israel’s expulsion. France midfielder Paul Pogba and England cricketer Moeen Ali were among the signatories calling for Israel’s suspension, published under the banner of Athletes 4 Peace.
Israel has the backing of the United States, as the US Department of State said it would “absolutely work to fully stop any effort to attempt to ban Israel’s national football team” from next year’s World Cup.
Champions League Resumes
The Champions League league phase returns on Tuesday and Wednesday as Matchday 2 kicks off. See every Champions League fixture here and the league phase table here.
Tuesday kicks off with 15-time title winner Real Madrid travelling to Kazakhstan for the first time, where they’ll play Kairat Almaty in the early kick-off. Jose Mourinho returns to Stamford Bridge with Benfica for his first Champions League match there since leaving Chelsea, where he managed in two spells. The other Premier League teams in action on Tuesday are Liverpool, who travel to Galatasaray, and Tottenham, who play away at Bodo/Glimt. Elsewhere, Bayern Munich, who have the toughest set of fixtures in the league phase (see here), travel to Cyprus to face Pafos.
The standout fixture is on Wednesday when Barcelona host Paris Saint-Germain, with the match taking place at the city’s Olympic Stadium. Among the Premier League sides, Arsenal host Olympiakos, Manchester City travel to Monaco, and Newcastle visit Union Saint-Gilloise.
Dive deeper into all the key match stats here.
World Cup Relocation Threat
United States President Donald Trump has threatened to move matches from next summer’s World Cup away from host cities he deems to be dangerous. The federal government had no role in selecting the cities or negotiating hosting contracts, and it cannot unilaterally cancel or move games. Only Fifa can declare a city unsafe and relocate matches.
Trump said he would “make sure” San Francisco and Seattle were safe, adding that the cities were “run by radical left lunatics who don’t know what they’re doing.” Seattle’s mayor responded that “violent crime is down 20%” and pointed to additional safety investments being made ahead of the World Cup.
Trump also claimed Chicago would be safe for the World Cup. The city withdrew from the host selection process in 2018, citing Fifa’s “inflexibility” and taxpayer risk. He also mentioned Washington D.C. and Memphis, though neither is a World Cup host city.
POLL
Do you think multi-club ownership should continue to be allowed?
ON THE BALL
Europe
> The FA says it will carry out a safety review of perimeter walls at football grounds in the National League system after the death of former Arsenal youth player Billy Vigar (More) | Manchester United are reportedly keen on giving Ruben Amorim a full season to prove himself as the Portuguese manager retains the backing of the board (More/w analysis)
> Matchday 8 of the EFL Championship kicks off on Tuesday (Sept 30) as first-place Middlesbrough (17 points) host third-place Stoke City (13); Leicester City play Wrexham, and Birmingham City host Sheffield Wednesday (Full Fixtures)
> Italy's Serie A is exploring options for its international media rights, including the sale of a stake to external investors (More)
Americas
> Inter Miami host Chicago in the MLS on Tuesday (Sept 30) at 19:30 ET; a win would see Chicago secure a play-off spot and eliminate New York Red Bulls’ chances (More)
> Washington Spirit’s Gift Monday scored a record-breaking hat-trick in just 36 minutes to help her team into the post-season play-offs (More)
> The USL and Reno Pro Soccer plan to reintroduce professional football to Northern Nevada (More)
Rest of the World
> Qatar will host the final three games of the Fifa Intercontinental Cup 2025, as PSG will play in the decider on December 17 (More)
ROUTERS’ VOICE
Yesterday’s Poll: Do you think Manchester United should sack Ruben Amorim?
🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 😬 Yes (62%)
🟨 🟨 🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ 🙅♂️ Nope (34%)
🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ✍️ Other (4%)
Your punditry takes:
😬 D.C: “Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results is the definition of insanity. United never look like scoring, there seems to be no plan, and it’s too easy for teams to create chances. New manager ASAP.”
🙅♂️ E.S: “United supporter here. At this point, I'm tired of the cycle. If you sack him now, it'll be the same story as last season. Write off the rest of this season by allowing the new manager to get his tactics set. May as well wait until summer for a clean cut. These mid-season sackings obviously haven't worked for United.”
🙅♂️ J.P: “As a Liverpool fan, I hope he has a long, long reign. 😉 In all seriousness, that club needs to do a complete reboot and quit trying to wallpaper over the cracks.”
✍️ M.M: “He's got a tough job. United is not very good right now. A new manager will not be much different. Might as well give him some space and let him do his job until the end of the season. Unless it really goes off the rails.”
EXTRA TIME
The funniest ref-cam footage yet.
Arteta wants RAF fighter pilots to improve Arsenal’s communication.
Are Manchester City actually changing tactics? (video)
Kane’s 100th for Bayern breaks a European scoring record.
Sacramento Republic release unique 90s throwback kit.
The only unbeaten teams in Europe’s top five leagues.
GAME FACE ON
Question: Name every club that Romelu Lukaku has played for–not including loan spells.
Clue: 7 clubs.
Scroll below for the answer.
ON TODAY
UEFA Champions League
Atalanta vs. Club Brugge (17:45)
Kairat vs. Real Madrid (17:45)
Atletico vs. Frankfurt (20:00)
Bodo/Glimt vs. Tottenham (20:00)
Chelsea vs. Benfica (20:00)
Galatasaray vs. Liverpool (20:00)
Inter Milan vs. Slavia Prague (20:00)
Marseille vs. Ajax (20:00)
Pafos vs. Bayern Munich (20:00)
Championship
Birmingham City vs. Sheff Wed (19:45)
Blackburn vs. Swansea (19:45)
Bristol City vs. Ipswich (19:45)
Hull vs. Preston (19:45)
Leicester vs. Wrexham (19:45)
Middlesbrough vs. Stoke (19:45)
Sheff Utd vs. Southampton (19:45)
Derby vs. Charlton (20:00)
*All times in UK. ET -5. CDT -6. PDT -8. MDT -7. CET +1.
Answer
Anderlecht. Chelsea. Everton. Manchester United. Inter Milan. Chelsea. Napoli.
Daily Wordle: Guess the football-related word, from player names to classic phrases, in six tries or fewer. Play it here.
My parents have been there for me, ever since I was about seven.
