July 18 – Switzerland boss Pia Sundhage has called the quarterfinal against Spain the biggest managerial challenge of her career yet.
July 15 – Axel Tuanzebe, who walked through Manchester United’s gates at eight years old with starlight in his eyes, has returned as a 27-year-old man wielding High Court documents like weapons of war.
July 15 – There’s something almost poetic about watching a manager’s composure crumble in defeat’s dying embers. Luis Enrique, who once commanded Barcelona’s throne with regal authority, found himself reduced to a street brawler’s instincts as Paris Saint-Germain’s FIFA Club World Cup dream turned to dust against Chelsea’s clinical efficiency.
The final of the Club World Cup was bizarre, surreal and supremely ugly in its beauty. The Club World Cup has been a month of lies and PR overkill from FIFA, a massive over-hyping of what, for 90% of the competition, was like watching walking football. But then this was never really about football as a sport.
July 14 – After 24 matches and 3.7 goals on average per game, eight teams remains, all with a chance and a dream of conquering Euro 2025.
July 15 – West Ham United Women have unveiled Paul Robinson Solicitors as the team’s new Back of Shirt Partner in a multi-year deal.
July 13 – At the start of the Club World Cup FIFA and its president Gianni Infantino met with selected representatives from the European Club Association. At the end of it he and his cohort of good old boys met with a group of player unions but failed to invite the only players’ union that truly matters, Fifpro.
July 14 – US president Donald Trump was booed during the opening ceremony of the Club World Cup at the MetLife Stadium on Sunday in East Rutherford, New Jersey, and again at the end when he joined the presentation party.
July 14 – On the day of its Club World Cup final FIFA announced that the sponsorship programme for its expanded Club World Cup has sold out.
July 14 – Arsène Wenger’s latest comments about the FIFA Club World Cup heat fiasco perfectly encapsulate everything wrong with his transformation from one of the most intelligent men in football to a corporate shill – after all, this is the man who once championed player welfare but who now is making flimsy excuses for putting footballers in genuine danger.
July 14 – Greece’s PAOK FC is moving forward with a project to construct a new, state-of-the-art stadium in Toumba, Thessaloniki, replacing their historic current ground.
July 14 – The global hunt for football investment opportunities has landed in Mexico, and it’s about to get very interesting indeed. Querétaro FC’s $120 million sale to a US-led consortium has cracked open a market that private equity has been eyeing for years.
July 14 – AC Milan have teamed up with PUMA Golf for a limited-edition capsule collection that merges elite football with golf heritage.
July 14 – Wales icon Gareth Bale says his consortium has submitted a fresh proposal to buy Championship-relegated Cardiff City, as the former Real Madrid and Tottenham star pushes ahead with plans to take control of his hometown club.
July 13 – Premier League Champions, Liverpool have made the decision to retire the number 20 shirt in perpetuity, ensuring Diogo Jota’s memory will be woven into the fabric of Anfield forever.
Netherlands 2 France 5
July 13 – France rallied from behind to defeat the Netherlands 5-2 and claim top spot in Group D with a perfect record and in doing so eliminating Oranje and their departing manager Andries Jonker from Euro 2025.