Lev Yashin
“The relationship between players and numbers is a long-established one filled with memories and fascinating as well as fun stories behind them. With that in mind, the Guardian has had a go at deciding which male player is best associated with each squad number, from 1-50. Various factors were taken into consideration, including how long a player wore/has worn that number, what they achieved/have achieved in it, why they decided to wear it in the first place and, in some cases, how distinctly it has become associated with them in death. The below list is highly subjective and ultimately a bit of fun, but don’t let that stop you being shocked and furious in equal measure. …”
Guardian
From W-M to the No 10, shirt numbers tell a story of football’s tactical evolution
“Numbers have a fascination. The No 10 is revered almost everywhere, but perhaps most especially in Argentina, where it denotes the playmaker, the enganche, the quasi-mythical figure who links the front and back of the team. Liverpool and Manchester United have reasons to celebrate their No 7. Ajax retired No 14 for Johan Cruyff, Milan their No 3 and No 6 for Paolo Maldini and Franco Baresi respectively and Birmingham their 22 for Jude Bellingham as gestures of respect for their abilities. Other numbers have been retired to mark premature deaths: the No 20 at Liverpool for Diogo Jota, the No 23 at Manchester City for Marc-Vivian Foé, the 21 at Espanyol for Daniel Jarque. …”
Guardian – Jonathan Wilson
Bosnia-Herzegovina’s life after Edin Dzeko is a revolution built on something stronger than football ‘The Boy’s A Bit Special’
“Following the retirement of long-time talisman Edin Dzeko, Bosnia-Herzegovina is undergoing a generational shift. Largely, and somewhat uniquely, it is being powered by the emotional pull of a vast global diaspora. With the domestic league severely underfunded and ill-equipped to serve as a reliable talent conveyor belt for the national team, looking beyond its borders has become a necessity. A series of gifted foreign-born prospects, eligible for their countries of birth yet choosing instead to represent their heritage, is reshaping the team’s identity. At the heart of this recruitment drive is former captain turned sporting director Emir Spahic, who framed the philosophy in late 2024 with a simple declaration. …”
Four Four Two
How Germany’s greatest goalscorer is guiding the next generation
“It is no surprise Miroslav Klose recognises the value of a true goalscorer. He is, after all, Germany’s all-time leading marksman and until this summer had netted more than any other player in men’s World Cup history. Even now, only Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi can top his 16 across four tournaments. But of the more than 300 goals Klose scored in a career that began in Germany’s amateur leagues and spanned Kaiserslautern, Werder Bremen, Bayern Munich and Lazio, he reckons all but two came inside the penalty area. …”
BBC (Video)
Miroslav Klose’s FC Nuremberg side sit second in the 2. Bundesliga
“As BBC Sport reported in September, the Football Association (FA) process 
“Emiliano Martinez’s right hand will never be the same again. The 34-year-old broke his ring finger while playing for Aston Villa in the Europa League final last May and opted against having it surgically repaired in order to be able to play for Argentina at the World Cup. In the weeks leading up to the tournament, he could not train properly — diving with one arm to avoid the excruciating pain that came from putting weight through his right hand. …”
“Barcelona’s La Liga juggernaut rolled into Seville on Saturday and left with the scoreboard smoking, as the leaders beat Real Betis 5-2 to make it nine wins from nine, stretching their blistering league goal tally to 39. Lamine Yamal lit the fuse with a dazzling opener before Rodri, Gabriel Jesus, Eric García and the substitute Dani Olmo joined the party, while Valentín Gómez and Ez Abde replied for Betis, who played much of the second half with 10 men after Facundo Bernal was sent off for headbutting Lamine Yamal. … Álex Baena struck in the 89th minute to snatch a 1-0 win for Atlético Madridat Espanyol. Baena smashed in from the edge of the box to claim the Rojiblancos victory from a tight game in Cornella. Atlético have won six consecutive games across all competitions and remain five points behind Barcelona. Valencia and Athletic Bilbao drew 0-0 at Estadio de Mestalla. … In Germany, Luis Díaz scored a hat-trick as Bayern Munich pummelled a listless RB Leipzig 6-1 at home on Saturday to climb to the top of the Bundesliga table. Borussia Dortmund had edged ahead of Freiburg into top spot after their earlier goalless draw at Union Berlin, but Bayern responded in typically ruthless fashion. … In Italy, Inter pulled clear at the top of Serie A by coming from behind to beat Bologna 3-1. The champions were criticised after a 4-3 Champions League defeat against Club Brugge in midweek, but bounced back to move three points clear of second-placed Lazio, who face Juventus in Turin on Sunday. …”
“Football, the world’s most popular sport, played by laws drawn up in London in 1863. The 
“If this is to be the end for 
“How bad could it be, really? How serious can a breach of arcane financial regulations be, really? Just how damning can accountancy be? Even after Friday’s revelation that 
“So it turns out none of that was real. Nothing that happened in English football between 2009‑10 and 2017-18 that involved Manchester City actually happened. City beating Manchester United 6-1 at Old Trafford? Fake. Sergio Agüero’s 94th‑minute winner to 
“Three league games played, 
“Two 
“After a weekend on which 
“Last season was the greatest Aston Villa have enjoyed since they 
“Perhaps it’s too early, with the shreds of gold tape still fluttering through the New Jersey sky, to make a proper assessment. That will only come when everything has sunk in properly, when memories have had the chance to settle and shape themselves, when the consequences of certain events have become clear. But let’s try anyway to make some sort of assessment of where the World Cup that ended with 
“World Cup games mean more. England have only ever played 80 games in the finals, which is to say, not much more than two Premier League seasons in the 76 years since they first entered. Those games draw huge audiences: more than 17 million in the UK watched Saturday’s win over Norway, even though it was after midnight by the time it finished. In most countries, 
A HYDRATION BREAK DURING NETHERLANDS VERSUS TUNISIA AT THE 2026 WORLD CUP. 
“The whiff of unfulfilment lingers around 
“Michael Olise is probably the best creative player in the world at the moment. He racked up 26 assists for Bayern Munich last season. It was his shift into a more central role that transformed 
“When Neymar was 18, he made his debut for Brazil as part of the rejuvenation of the national squad after the 
“Your manager has fallen out with the sporting director and results have gone awry, so you replace him. Easily done, it happens. But then it turns out that the new manager could not be more ill-suited to the squad, results go awry and so you replace him. A bad leader would hesitate and hope things worked out, but you are ruthless and decisive and turn to a manager who was once a youth player at the club and has some anecdotes about the old days. But it turns out some people think his methods are old‑fashioned and results go awry, so you replace him. And this time you pull a masterstroke. You get in a bloke who saved a team in not dissimilar circumstances last season, who takes 15 points from his first nine league games in charge, lifting you six clear of the relegation zone. If you beat Newcastle at home on Sunday you’ll be safe. You are a genius, your recruitment skills unmatched. …”
“Paris Saint-Germain have won 11 of the past 13 French league titles and, going into this weekend, stood four points clear of Lens at the top of Ligue 1. Bayern Munich have already wrapped up this season’s Bundesliga title, their 13th in 14 years. According to Deloitte, Bayern are the third-richest club in the world by revenue, PSG fourth. They meet in the 
“At half-time in 
Enzo Fernández will miss Chelsea’s clash with Manchester City on Sunday after ‘crossing a line’.
“There is always a slightly odd rhythm to the World Cup. The final round of qualifying games is almost invariably more exciting than the early games at the tournament itself, and now with 32 teams making it through the group stage and into the knockout rounds, that is likely to be even more true for the 2026 edition. Those final qualifiers in November were thrilling and meaningful – 
Iran’s players celebrate after qualifying for the World Cup but there are doubts as to whether they will participate in the tournament
Italy’s players perform the fascist salute before the start of the 1938 World Cup final against Hungary in Paris
Benjamin Sesko makes it 1-1 deep in stoppage time at West Ham.
Dominic Solanke scores his spectacular second goal as Spurs fight back from two down to draw with Manchester City
“
“At last, Morocco have arrived at the tournament they are hosting. For four games they had played scratchy, crabbed football. Finally, in a spiky, ill-tempered quarter-final, there was something more like the Morocco that reached the semi-final of the World Cup two years ago. If the game wasn’t fluent, that was largely Cameroon’s doing as they spoiled and delayed and sought treatment for injuries. But the hosts, for the most part, retained their cool, protecting a lead earned with verve in the first half with maturity in the second. …”
Iliman Ndiaye netted his first goal at Afcon 2025 to send 2021 champions Senegal into the last four
“Nigeria outclassed Mozambique to set up an Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) quarter-final against Algeria or DR Congo. The Super Eagles were runners-up in 2023 and, while they were always likely to beat outsiders Mozambique, this performance and their form so far in Morocco suggest they will take some stopping. They won all three group games and were dominant in Fes on Monday, with Ademola Lookman opening the scoring, Victor Osimhen netting twice and Akor Adams also on target. …”
The opening ceremony for the 1994 World Cup took place at Chicago’s Soldier Field.
“The weirdest aspect of Ange Postecoglou’s 40-day reign at Nottingham Forest was how inevitable it all felt. The only shock was that he was sacked on Saturday, within minutes of a 
“It was the Community Shield, and that should not be forgotten. There isn’t anybody who has been watching English football for any period of time who hasn’t made the mistake of taking too seriously a conclusion drawn in the midst of the traditional curtain-raiser, giddy on the sight of Wembley in its pomp and the return of competitive club football from the summer wilderness. … They are learning a new system, the 4-3-3/4-2-3-1 hybrid of last season yielding to a 4-2-3-1. It’s not a huge shift but Wirtz, as the most advanced of the triangle of central players between the centre-backs and the centre-forward, is very much a forward, whereas Dominik Szoboszlai, who tended to be the most advanced of the central midfield triangle last season, is an attacking midfielder. …”
“If Anthony Martial hadn’t been injured in the warm-up, and Manchester United hadn’t already been missing 12 players, Marcus Rashford wouldn’t have played. It hadn’t seemed a particularly significant game: the second leg of a 
“At Trump Tower, the new home of FIFA in Manhattan, Gianni Infantino hailed the Club World Cup a ‘huge, huge, huge success’ on Saturday. The president of soccer’s world governing body later posted on Instagram that the tournament had ‘taken over the United States and united people in joy’. FIFA has been on a victory lap since Chelsea’s 3-0 victory against Paris Saint-Germain in Sunday’s final in front of an 81,118 crowd at MetLife Stadium, a few miles to the west in New Jersey. … Dynamic pricing and empty seats. FIFA adopted a dynamic pricing approach to tickets, where prices fluctuate according to supply and demand. For high-interest sports and music events, this can lead to prices skyrocketing in value but during the Club World Cup, where not a single game was a complete sellout, these costs often tumbled instead due to a lack of demand. … Similar deals emerged with different universities during the tournament as FIFA scrambled to avoid tens of thousands of empty seats becoming a regular occurrence. The group-stage games recorded an average of 35,000 spectators, but the size of the venues chosen — largely NFL stadiums with capacities of more than 60,000 — left big gaps in the stands. The dynamic-pricing market made for some absurd fluctuations. Standard admission pricing for the semi-final between Chelsea and Brazil’s Fluminense at MetLife was 
Empty seats were an issue at Club World Cup games
“Football’s memory is short, particularly when it comes to national sides. The most successful resemble club teams in that they have a core of players and a clearly defined style of play. There’s always an in-form player around whom a clamour develops, but continuity is just as important, perhaps even more so, in the international game. But next week inevitably represents a new start as Thomas Tuchel picks his first 
Leeds striker Joel Piroe celebrates with a young fan after scoring against Hull. Daniel Farke’s side currently top the Championship ahead of Sheffield United.
“Liverpool this season have been very good at being good enough. There have been very few games in which they’ve dismantled the opposition. They have won fewer league games by more than three goals than Tottenham have, but ended the day nine points clear at the top with their closest rivals to play the defending champions on Sunday. If 
“It was a very good weekend for Liverpool, and a pretty good weekend for the Premier League. It’s one round of games, and blips and quirks do happen. But that three of the top four on Saturday morning could lose felt not only invigorating – maybe this isn’t a league entirely predetermined by how much money you have – but also, perhaps, part of a pattern. And that pattern is of football that is a bit patchy, a bit scratchy, a bit lacking the sort of fluidity and quality we’ve become used to, which is perhaps not so good. Moisés Caicedo’s equaliser aside, Chelsea’s draw at Manchester United in 
“For the third time in eight games this season, 
“It was the third game of the Euros. There was a slow sense of familiarity returning. The night before, Italy had beaten Turkey 3-0 in Rome. Earlier in the afternoon, Wales and Switzerland had drawn 1-1 in Baku. In Copenhagen, 
