World Cup 2030: FIFA chose six countries across three continents
World Cup 2030: the hosts FIFA chose in 2024, the dates the press published, the 48 versus 64 teams debate and the 1930 centenary.
Highlights
Gegenpressing: the press Klopp wanted more of on his Germany debut
Gegenpressing is not a synonym for the high press: what it is, who created it, how it is measured and what the evidence says, from Rangnick to Klopp.
Klopp's Germany debut ends 1-1 as the Dutch equalise in stoppage time
Klopp's Germany debut ended 1-1 in Amsterdam on 24/09/2026. The match, kicker's numbers, his staff, the debutants and the rules Bild reports.
How Long Is a Football Match? Duration, Added Time & Extra Time
A football match lasts 90 minutes in two halves of 45, plus added time. Here is how the clock, stoppages, extra time and shootouts actually work.
Manchester United: record revenue and a seventh straight loss
Manchester United published their 2025/26 accounts on 23 September 2026: record revenue of £677.6m without European football, an operating profit and yet a seventh straight loss, with £689.0m in borrowings. The full picture, line by line.
Rayan: the £130m clause that would beat the English record
Transfer sites say Bournemouth are refusing any discount on the £130m (€150m) release clause of ex-Vasco forward Rayan, active only from January 2027; as of 22 September 2026, Liverpool, now coached by his former manager Iraola, had the most concrete contact.
The world transfer record: from £100 to Neymar
From £100 paid in 1893 to €222 million for Neymar in 2017, unbroken for nine years: the full timeline of football's world-record transfer fee.
What every 2026 Ballon d'Or favourite is worth: the market doesn't follow the award
Yamal and Haaland tied at the top, 220 million euros each, while Messi, owner of eight Ballons d'Or, is worth just 15 million. What Transfermarkt says about the award's favourites.
Today's matches
World Cup 2030: FIFA chose six countries across three continents
World Cup 2030: the hosts FIFA chose in 2024, the dates the press published, the 48 versus 64 teams debate and the 1930 centenary.
How Long Is a Football Match? Duration, Added Time & Extra Time
A football match lasts 90 minutes in two halves of 45, plus added time. Here is how the clock, stoppages, extra time and shootouts actually work.
Tiki-Taka Explained: How the Short-Passing Style Works
A clear guide to tiki-taka: what the term means, how the short-passing game is built on the pitch, where it came from and why it is so often misunderstood.
How Ligue 1 works: format, tie-breakers and relegation
A quick guide to the French top flight: 18 clubs, 34 rounds, the eight tie-breakers, the play-off against Ligue 2 and seven European places.
Champions League format explained: how the competition works
From the summer qualifiers to the single-match final, a clear guide to the Champions League format: the league phase, the knockout rounds and how clubs qualify.
Brasileirão explained: format, relegation and continental spots
Twenty clubs playing home and away, a tiebreaker that starts with wins, and a promotion playoff in Série B: the guide to Brazil's national league under the 2026 regulations.
Tiki-Taka Explained: How the Short-Passing Style Works
A clear guide to tiki-taka: what the term means, how the short-passing game is built on the pitch, where it came from and why it is so often misunderstood.
Catenaccio Explained: The Italian System That Changed Defending
A clear guide to catenaccio: the sweeper, man-marking and lightning counters that made Italian football feared, and what still survives of it today.
Bundesliga explained: the format and why no German club can be bought
Eighteen clubs, a relegation play-off and the rule that stops any investor taking control. A guide to the German league.
How Ligue 1 works: format, tie-breakers and relegation
A quick guide to the French top flight: 18 clubs, 34 rounds, the eight tie-breakers, the play-off against Ligue 2 and seven European places.
Champions League format explained: how the competition works
From the summer qualifiers to the single-match final, a clear guide to the Champions League format: the league phase, the knockout rounds and how clubs qualify.
Brasileirão explained: format, relegation and continental spots
Twenty clubs playing home and away, a tiebreaker that starts with wins, and a promotion playoff in Série B: the guide to Brazil's national league under the 2026 regulations.
Yamal's trophies vs Mbappé's goals: the 2026 Ballon d'Or duel
From 07/09 to 22/09/2026, Yamal and Mbappé traded barbs over the Ballon d'Or. In 2025/26 the Frenchman scored 58 goals and the Spaniard won 3 titles; in their 11 meetings up to 14/07/2026, Yamal's side won 9, while Mbappé scored 9 goals to 6. The duel, criterion by criterion.
The Old Firm: the history and numbers behind Celtic vs Rangers
A derby with 453 games, a disaster that killed 66 people, a law the Scottish parliament wrote specifically for it, and a Scottish title record still being fought over today: everything about Celtic vs Rangers, the Old Firm.
Grêmio vs Internacional: the history and numbers behind the Grenal
Titles, record routs, top scorers, mascots and the two clubs' racial origins: the full head-to-head across 454 meetings between Grêmio and Internacional in the Grenal, Rio Grande do Sul's biggest derby.
Flamengo vs Palmeiras: titles, finals and points from 2016 to 2025, side by side
Over the ten seasons from 2016 to 2025, Flamengo won 11 trophies and Palmeiras 8, counting the Brasileirão, the Brazilian Cup, the Libertadores and the Brazilian Super Cup; in the four finals between them, each side won two.
Kane vs Haaland: who comes out on top, criterion by criterion
Kane broke the Bundesliga's fastest-to-100 record on 18/09/2026; two days later, Haaland completed all 25 Premier League clubs. Career numbers, honours and the head-to-head between both strikers, side by side.
Premier League vs La Liga: styles, history and reach compared
How England's Premier League and Spain's La Liga really differ: money and depth against technique and European pedigree, with a balanced verdict.
Klopp's Germany debut ends 1-1 as the Dutch equalise in stoppage time
Klopp's Germany debut ended 1-1 in Amsterdam on 24/09/2026. The match, kicker's numbers, his staff, the debutants and the rules Bild reports.
Man City fight back from 2-0 down to draw at Bayern in the UWCL
On 22/09/2026, Bayern led Manchester City 2-0 inside 28 minutes on Women's Champions League matchday 1. Mead pulled one back with a flare on the pitch, Shaw missed a penalty and Wamser equalised in the 86th. The match, the numbers and Bayern's new stadium, analysed.
Huijsen's Red Card Costs Mourinho's Real Madrid the Derby
Down to ten men from the 51st minute, Mourinho's side lost for the 2nd time in seven LaLiga matchdays and dropped to 4th place, behind the very Betis side that had already beaten Real Madrid in September 2026.
Flamengo beat Remo and top the Brasileirão for the first time in 2026
Palmeiras drew with Botafogo on the same day and lost the lead they had held since round seven. Flamengo on 54 points, Palmeiras on 53, with home games for both a week later.
Man City fight back from 2-0 down to draw at Bayern in the UWCL
On 22/09/2026, Bayern led Manchester City 2-0 inside 28 minutes on Women's Champions League matchday 1. Mead pulled one back with a flare on the pitch, Shaw missed a penalty and Wamser equalised in the 86th. The match, the numbers and Bayern's new stadium, analysed.
Huijsen's Red Card Costs Mourinho's Real Madrid the Derby
Down to ten men from the 51st minute, Mourinho's side lost for the 2nd time in seven LaLiga matchdays and dropped to 4th place, behind the very Betis side that had already beaten Real Madrid in September 2026.
Flamengo beat Remo and top the Brasileirão for the first time in 2026
Palmeiras drew with Botafogo on the same day and lost the lead they had held since round seven. Flamengo on 54 points, Palmeiras on 53, with home games for both a week later.
Tottenham's Premier League collapse deepens as Aston Villa win 3-2, and BBC says it's already their worst start on record
Goals from Johan Manzambi, Nicolas Jackson and Emiliano Buendía put Aston Villa 3-0 up before a late rally from Conor Gallagher and Jan Paul van Hecke fell short, leaving Roberto De Zerbi's side with, according to the BBC, a worse start than their previous low point, the 2008-09 season.
Gegenpressing: the press Klopp wanted more of on his Germany debut
Gegenpressing is not a synonym for the high press: what it is, who created it, how it is measured and what the evidence says, from Rangnick to Klopp.
Flamengo vs Palmeiras: the turnaround, xG and the run-in to December
On 20 September 2026, Palmeiras drew with Grêmio and Flamengo beat Bragantino: 60 to 57 after round 28 of the Brasileirão. How Flamengo clawed back 7 points in the second half of the season, what xG says about each campaign and the fixtures, cups included, to 6 December.
£308m and Bottom: Tottenham's Worst Premier League Start
With Roberto De Zerbi in charge and more than £300 million invested in the squad, Tottenham came out of round 5 of the 2026/27 Premier League with 2 points and a goal difference of -6: the club's worst start in the competition's history.
Home advantage: how much it's worth, and what the pandemic proved about it
An experiment nobody planned, covid-19's empty stadiums, measured, for the first time at scale, how much of home advantage comes from the crowd and how much comes from something else entirely.
Flamengo vs Palmeiras: the turnaround, xG and the run-in to December
On 20 September 2026, Palmeiras drew with Grêmio and Flamengo beat Bragantino: 60 to 57 after round 28 of the Brasileirão. How Flamengo clawed back 7 points in the second half of the season, what xG says about each campaign and the fixtures, cups included, to 6 December.
£308m and Bottom: Tottenham's Worst Premier League Start
With Roberto De Zerbi in charge and more than £300 million invested in the squad, Tottenham came out of round 5 of the 2026/27 Premier League with 2 points and a goal difference of -6: the club's worst start in the competition's history.
Home advantage: how much it's worth, and what the pandemic proved about it
An experiment nobody planned, covid-19's empty stadiums, measured, for the first time at scale, how much of home advantage comes from the crowd and how much comes from something else entirely.
Ballon d'Or 2026: who are the favourites and why
The numbers, the trophies and the strongest cases for the 26 October ceremony in London: from Kane and Messi to PSG's nominees and World Cup winners Spain.