Really cool to see the impact Son is having on MLS for LAFC – Son’s 1st Hat Trick. Staying in MLS – here’s Messi’s Goal 20 in game 21, LA GK Hugo Loris Sits on Save. One of my favorite soccer announcer’s Rocky Ray Hudson THE MAGISTERIAL ONE is hanging up the mic this season here’s His story Some of Hudson’s Messi Calls – his other Great Calls another story. Gonna miss his sweet calls!

Champions League Match-Day 1

Wow the world’s best competition is back with a vengance – we had a 4-4 thriller at Juventus as Juve and American Weston McKinney came back from 0-2, then 2-4 down to tie it in extra time. Marcus Rashford returned to London in Barca colors and helped Barcelona win 2-0 with a Brace vs Tottenham. Awesome as Tim Weah Becomes 1st American to Score at Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu as Mareille took a 1-0 lead on Real before the Galictico’s got a questionable PK late to secure the 2-1 win. Matchday 1 Scores Matchday 1 great saves | Best Saves | UEFA Champions … (see GK section below). Games return Sept 30th with Matchday 2.

INDY 11 hosts Birmingham Sun 5 pm Hispanic Heritage Night
The two teams battling for the final playoff position in the USL Championship Eastern Conference faced off Saturday night, with host Rhode Island FC scoring a second-half goal and surviving a frantic finish for a 1-0 win.  With six games left in the regular season, Indy Eleven trails Rhode Island by one point. Indy Eleven hosts Birmingham Legion FC this Sunday, September 21 at 5 pm on Hispanic Heritage Night at Carroll Stadium with $11 tickets & an $11 scarf special.

2025 ISCA Boys & Girls September 15th State Rankings

3A ISCA Girls Poll

1.        Hamilton Southeastern @ Zville Wed 7:45 pm

2.        Carmel hosts Noblesville Mon 7 pm

3.        Homestead

4.        Westfield

5.        Cathedral

6.        Zionsville

7.        Crown Point

8.        FW Carroll

9.        Bloomington South

10.      Center Grove

11.      Castle

12.      Penn

13.      Lake Central

14.      Evansville North

15.      Evansville Memorial

16.      Noblesville

17.      East Central

18.      Lawrence North

19.      Columbus North

20.      Northridge

ISCA Class 3A boys soccer poll As of Sept. 15.

1. Harrison (West Lafayette)
2. Brownsburg hosts Cathedral Sat 11:30 am
3. Carmel hosts Noblesville Tues 7 pm
4. Fishers travels to Avon Tues 7:30 pm
5. Bloomington South
6. FW Carroll
7. Goshen
8. Evansville Memorial
9. Concord
10. Penn
11. Hamilton Southeastern
12. Castle
13. Noblesville
14. Valparaiso
15. North Central
16. Lake Central
17. Elkhart
18. Warsaw
19. Cathedral
20. Columbus North
    
    

Goalkeeping

Champions League Matchday 1 saves: Wednesday’s best stops
Matchday 1 great saves | Best Saves | UEFA Champions …
LA GK Hugo Loris Sits on Save
USL Championship Save of the Week – Week 28
Teenage GK Kalmurza becomes youngest to save a penalty in Champions League debut

Champions League -Matchday1

Champions League talking points: Is Rashford back to his best? Who shone?
Champions League returns in style: Marcus Rashford redeems Barcelona, Harry Kane dominates, Real Madrid
Champions League overreactions: Arsenal only PL team to have deep run
Haaland breaks record as fastest to 50 UCL goals
With Haaland and Guardiola, Manchester City can never be counted out in the Champions League
Flick praises ‘fantastic’ Rashford after Barça win
Rashford’s brilliant first goals for Barcelona prove Man United exit doesn’t define him
Leverkusen rescue dramatic draw in Copenhagen
Simeone on fan squabble: ‘I was fighting back’
Chelsea are back in the Champions League, but Bayern prove too much to handle
Monaco players get creative after air conditioning fails on UCL flight to Belgium

USA

Pepi back with 2 goals for PSV, eyes WC with U.S.
USMNT countdown to the World Cup: The race for the No. 9 shirt is wide open
Will Gladbach’s instability prove to be a blessing or a curse for Reyna?
Campbell hopeful for the U-20 World Cup and his Borussia Dortmund future
Pepi’s big day, Reyna starts, while Sands, Adams Balogun impress, & more
USMNT 2026 World Cup Big Board 2.0: Balogun, Zendejas on the rise
RUMOR: Joe Scally’s golf cart donuts reportedly lead to USMNT snub
Tim Weah Becomes 1st American to Score at Bernabeu
USWNT to close out 2025 with Florida friendlies against Italy

EPL

First-month grades for all 20 Premier League teams: From an A+ to F
Should Man United keep Ruben Amorim or let him go? The case for, against him
Arsenal vs Man City: Kick-off time, how to watch, stats, team news
Watch: Is undefeated Liverpool actually good or just lucky?
The concerning trend behind Liverpool’s early season success

World

José Mourinho set to become Benfica manager
Iconic broadcaster Ray Hudson announces his retirement, a look back at some of his best calls
FIFA Rankings: Spain Over France, Argentina at No. 1; USA at No. 16

MLS

MLS Power Rankings: Did Müller, Vancouver just leapfrog the league’s best?
Sources: Messi, Miami near multiyear extension
Messi delivers goal, assist; Miami tops Seattle
Messi tracker: All goals, assists, key moments for Inter Miami in 2025
Son reflects on first MLS hat trick with LAFC
Son’s 1st Hat Trick

NWSL

NWSL commissioner says lessons have been learned from on-field medical crises

Reffing

Know How Much Refs Normally Run?
Understanding offsides

=====RackZ BAR BQ ====Save 20% ===

Got some Good BarBQ for your Summer Plans ?  Try out the Best BarBQ in Town right across the street (131st) from Northview Church on the corner of Hazelldell & 131st. RackZ BBQ

Save 20% on your order 

(mention the ole ballcoach) 

Check out the BarBQ Ribs, pulled Pork and Chicken, Brisket and more.  Sweet, Tangy or Spicy sauce. Mention you heard about it from the Ole Ballcoach — and Ryan will give you 20% off your next meal. https://www.rackzbbqindy.com/ Call ahead at 317-688-7290  M-Th 11-8 pm, 11-9 Fri/Sat, 12-8 pm on Sunday.  Pick some up after practice – Its good eatin! You won’t be disappointed and tell ’em the Ole Ballcoach Sent You!  

======================RackZ BAR BQ ====Save 20% ======================

FULL TV GAME SCHEDULE

Fri, Sept 19
8 pm Prime Houston Dash vs Chicago Red Stars NWSL
10 pm CBSSN, Prime Utah Royals vs Racing Louisville NWSL
Sat, Sept 20
7:30 am USA Liverpool vs Everton
7:30 am CBSSN Leicester City vs Coventry City (Wright)
9:30 am ESPN+ Hoffenhiem vs Bayern Munich
10 am USA West Ham vs Crystal Palace (Richards)
10 am Peacock Burnley (Adams) vs Nottingham Forest
10 am Peacock Wolverhampton vs Leeds (Aaronson)
10 am Para, Prime Norwich City (Sargent) vs Wrexham
10:15 am ESPN+ Real Madrid vs Espanyol
12 noon Para+ Hellas Verona vs Juventus (McKennie)
2:45 pm Para+ Udinese vs AC Milan (Pulisic)
12:30 pm NBC Man United vs Chelsea
3 pm USA Fulham (Robinson) vs Brentford
7:30 pm Prime Columbus Crew vs Toronto FC
7:30 pm Prime, Apple Miami vs DC United
7:30 pm TUBI KC Current vs Seattle Reign NWSL
10 pm TUBI Portland Thorns vs San Diego Wave NWSL
10:30 pm Prime LA Galaxy vs Cincy
Sun, Sept 21
9 am USA Bournmouth vs New Castle
10:15 am ESPN+ Mallorca vs Atletico Madrid (Cardosa)
11:30 am ESPN+ Bayer Leverkusen (Tillman) vs B Mgladbach (Scally, Reyna)
11:30 am USA Arsenal vs Man City
2:45 pm Para+ Inter Milan vs Sassuolo
2:45 pm beIN Sport Olympique Marseille (Weah) vs PSG
3 pm ESPN+ Barcelona vs Getafe
8:30 pm ESPN2 Bay FC vs NY/NJ Gotham FC NWSL
9 pm FS 1 LAFC (Son) vs Real Salt Lake (Luna)
Tues, Sept 23
2:45 pm Para+ Fulham (Jedi) vs Cambridge
2:45 pm Para+ Wrexham vs Reading League Cup
3 pm Para+ AC Milan (Pulisic) vs Lecce Copa
3:30 pm ESPN2 Levante vs Real Madrid
Wed, Sept 24 Europa League
3 pm Para+ Crvena Z vs Celtic (CVB)
3 pm Para+ Real Betis vs Nottingham Forest
thur, Sept 25 Europa League
3 pm Para+ Rangers vs Genk
3 pm Para+ Aston Villa vs Bologna
Fri, Sept 26
2:30 pm ESPN2 Bayern Munich vs Werder Bremen
8 pm Prime KC Current vs Chicago Stars NWSL
10:30 pm Para+/Golazo San Diego Wave vs Orlando Pride NWSL
Sat, Sept 27
10 am USA ? Crystal Palace (Richards) vs Liverpool
10 am Peacock Leeds United (Aaronson) vs Bournemouth (Adams)
10:15 am ESPND, ESPN+ Atletico Madrid vs Real Madrid
12 pm Para+ Juventus (Mckinnie) vs Atalanta
12:30 pm ESPN+ B Mglabach (Reyna, Scally) vs Frankfurt (Chandler)
12:30 pm USA Nottingham Forest vs Sunderland
3 pm USA Tottenham vs Wolverhampton
7:30 pm Tubi Racing Louisville vs Angel City FC NWSL
10 pm Tubi Bay FC vs Utah Royals NWSL
Sun, Sept 28
11:30 am USA Newcastle United vs Arsenal
3 pm ESPNd, ESPN+ Barcelona vs Real Sociedad
7 pm Apple TV Cincy vs Orlando City
Sept 30, Oct 1/2 Champions League
Fri, Oct 10
8:30 pm TNT, Max USA Men vs Ecuador
Tues, Oct 14
9 pm TNT, Max USA Men vs Australia
Thurs, Oct 23
9 pm TNT, Max USA Women vs Portugal Chester PA
Sun, Oct 26
4 pm TNT, Max USA Women vs Portugal Hartford CT
Sat, Nov 15
5 pm TNT, Max USA Men vs Paraguay Chester PA
Tues, Nov 18
7 pm TNT, Max USA Men vs Uruguay Tampa, FL

Proud Member of American Outlaws  http://www.facebook.com/IndyAOUnite 

Looking to Get a Professional Company Headshot? Check out https://capturely.com/ Tell Rob The Ole Ballcoach sent you and he’ll give you a deal.

DISCOUNT SMALL ENGINE & BIG ENGINE REPAIRS IN CARMEL

Need your Riding Mower, Push Mower or any small engine or Car Engine Work Done by Carmel High Junior Mechanical Wizard for a bargain basement Price? Email my buddy Marc Sultanov at marc.sultanov@gmail.com

USMNT weekend viewing guide: Ides of September

Some of our most watched leagues embark on a new season.

Getty Images

It was a full week of soccer with Champions League rounds kicking off midweek but things aren’t slowing down over the weekend and we have a slew of matches including some head-to-head action in Germany. Here’s what we have our eyes on this weekend:

Saturday

Augsburg v Mainz – 9:30a on ESPN Select: Noahkai Banks did not appear last weekend in Augsburg’s 2-1 loss to St. Pauli, a week after getting his first minute off the bench in a 3-2 loss to Bayern Munich. Augsburg have lost their last two and look to get back on track as they play host to a Mainz side that are still looking for their first win of the season.

Wolverhampton Wanderers v Leeds United – 10a on Peacock: Brenden Aaronson received his first start of the season last weekend in Leeds’ 1-0 loss to Fulham. Leeds have one point from their past three matches, after opening the season with a win over Everton, and are in 16th place early in the season. This weekend they face a Wolverhampton side that have lost all four matches this season, though three of the four have been decided by a single goal.

West Ham United v Crystal Palace – 10a on USA Network: Chris Richards came off the bench to score a goal and convert his penalty midweek as Crystal Palace defeated Millwall in a penalty shoot-out to advance in the third round of the EFL Cup. Palace are undefeated though they have just one win in four matches early in the EPL season. They take on a West Ham side that have been involved in some lopsided affairs, winning 3-0 over Nottingham Forest for their lone points of the season while giving up three or more goals in each of their losses.

Norwich City v Wrexham – 10a on Paramount+: Josh Sargent was held scoreless for the first time this season as Norwich City drew with Coventry 1-1 last weekend. Sargent will look to return to his scoring ways against Wrexham this weekend as Norwich look for their third win against a newly promoted side that have just one win on the season.

Hellas Verona v Juventus – Noon on Paramount+: Weston McKennie was back in the lineup for Juventus because of course he is. McKennie, who had appeared as a late sub in Juve’s first two matches started as a left wing-back as Juventus defeated Inter Milan 4-3 last weekend, and started again midweek as Juve drew with Burussia Dortmund 4-4 in Champions League action. Despite speculation that McKennie was on the outside looking in to start the season he has once again shown himself to be a part of the picture in Turin. Juventus have won their first three league matches and are tied with Napoli atop the Serie A table. On Saturday they face a Hellas Verona side that are looking for their first win of the 2025-26 campaign.

Udinese v AC Milan – 2:45p on Paramount+: Christian Pulisic has come off the bench in AC Milan’s past two matches, wins over Lecce and Bologna. The team doesn’t have European competition to worry about though they do have a Coppa Italia match with Lecce coming up on Tuesday. Their slip up to start the season, a 2-1 loss to Cremonese, has Milan in fifth place, a point behind this weekend’s opponent Udinese.

Fulham v Brentford – 3p on USA Network: Antonee Robinson was an unused substitute last weekend in Fulham’s 1-0 win over Leeds United, and he has appeared twice for just over fifty minutes combined this season. Fulham’s win over Leeds was their first victory of the season and they are currently a point ahead of Brentford who drew with Chelsea last weekend in league play and defeated Aston Villa midweek on penalties in the Carabao Cup.

Saturday MLS Matches with USMNT flavor – here is when the September MLS call ups are kicking off their matches this weekend, all matches on MLS Season Pass:

• NYCFC v Charlotte – Noon: Matt Freese v Tim Ream
• Philadelphia Union v New England – 2:30p: Nathan Harriel
• Atlanta United v San Diego – 4:30p: Luca de la Torre
• Columbus Crew v Toronto FC – 7:30p: Max Arfsten and Sean Zawadski
• Orlando City SC v Nashville SC – 7:30p: Alex Freeman
• Sporting Kansas City v Vancouver Whitecaps – 8:30p: Tristian Blackmon
• Houston Dymano v Portland Timbers – 8:30p: Jack McGlynn
• LA Galaxy v Cincinnati – 10:30p: Roman Celetano

Sunday

PSV v Ajax – 8:30a on ESPN Select: Sergino Dest and Ricardo Pepi had a rough midweek falling to Union Saint-Gilloise 3-1 in Champions League group stage play with Pepi having a bit of a howler on the defensive end (don’t ask me what he’s doing down there). They return to Eredivisie action which is normally safer, Pepi scored two last weekend and Dest had an assist in PSV’s 5-3 win over NEC Nijmegen, but they will be facing rivals Ajax, who are just a point back of them in the league standings.

Bournemouth v Newcastle – 9a on USA Network: Tyler Adams and Bournemouth have won three straight and currently sit tied with Arsenal and Tottenham for second place with nine points. On Sunday they face Newcastle who picked up their first league win 1-0 over Wolverhampton last weekend and fell 2-1 to Barcelona in Champions League play on Thursday.

Torino v Atalanta – 9a on Paramount+: Yunus Musah got his first start for Atalanta on Wednesday in Champions League play. Unfortunately, his side fell to last seasons champions PSG 4-0. Musah had also come off the bench last weekend to make his first appearance for his new club in a 4-1 win over Lecce.

Mallorca v Atletico Madrid – 10:15a on ESPN Deportes and ESPN Select: Johnny Cardoso was not included in the squad for Atletico Madrid midweek as the team fell to Liverpool 3-2 and he was an unused substitute last weekend in his teams 2-0 win over Villarreal. Cardoso apparently picked up a bit of an injury though it’s unclear at this time how much action he will miss.

Monaco v Metz – 11:15a on beIN Sports: Add Folarin Balogun to the list of USMNT players who had a rough start to the Champions League midweek. Balogun’s Monaco side fell to Club Brugge 4-1 on Thursday. In League play Monaco have won three of four, including a 2-1 win over Auxerre last weekend with Balogun picking up an assist, and the team sits in third place heading into their match with Metz who have just one point in four matches.

Bayer Leverkusen v Borussia Monchengladbach – 11:30a on ESPN Select: Mallik Tillman and Gio Reyna will face off on Sunday as Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Monchengladbach meet up in league play. Tillman started on Thursday but went just 51’ in Leverkusen’s 2-2 draw with Copenhagen. Meanwhile Reyna made his first appearance for Gladbach, getting the start and going 74’ in the team’s 4-0 loss to Werder Bremen. Interestingly, Joe Scally who has been such a consistent feature for Gladbach was an unused substitute in the loss that cost manager Gerardo Seoane his position.

Olympique Marseille v PSG – 2:45p on beIN Sports: Tim Weah was one of the few American’s to have a positive match midweek in the Champions League group stage. Weah opened the scoring at the Bernabeu to put Marseille up 1-0 on hosts Real Madrid. Unfortunately, Marseille were unable to hold on to the lead as Madrid took advantage of a questionable handball call late in the match to pull out the 2-1 victory. Marseille have alternated wins and losses to start the Ligue 1 season, most recently defeating Lorient 4-0, and will now host league leading PSG on Sunday.

Sunday MLS Activity:

Austin v Seattle Sounders – 7p on MLS Season Pass: Cristian Roldan

LAFC v Real Salt Lake – 9p on FS1: Diego Luna

Champions League overreactions: Arsenal only PL team to have deep run

• Bill ConnellySep 19, 2025, 07:00 AM ET ESPNFC

One of the lessons we learned in last season’s Champions League league phase was that there’s little sense in playing for draws. Twenty-six teams won at least three of their eight matches, and 24 advanced. Feyenoord lost by scores of 4-0 and 6-1, but advanced with three wins. Club Brugge lost by scores of 3-0, 3-1 and 3-1 and advanced. Hell, three wins for Dinamo Zagreb damn near overcame a 9-2 first-matchday loss to Bayern Munich.If Matchday 1 of this year’s competition is any indication, teams figured this out, too, because teams were going for it. Sixteen of 18 matches featured at least two goals, and 11 featured at least four. We saw 18 goals after the 80th minute, and it only felt like all those were in the epic 4-4 between Juventus and Borussia Dortmund. We know that one matchday won’t teach us everything we need to know about a given competition; in last year’s Champions League, after all, eventual champion Paris Saint-Germain barely salvaged a meek 1-0 win over a bad Girona team, and eventual semifinalist Barcelona lost to Monaco. Reserved reactions are smart, but they’re also no fun whatsoever. So as we do at the start of the club season, we’re going to take the regulator off a bit and overreact.Here are five things I’m far more confident in than I was when matches began on Tuesday. – Champions League talking points: Is Rashford back to his best? Who shone?
– Women’s Champions League: Arsenal draw Lyonnes, Chelsea get Barça
– 

Arsenal will win the Champions League

The only surprise about Arsenal‘s 2-0 win at Athletic Club on Tuesday was that they didn’t score from a set piece. Otherwise, it was just about as Arsenal as an Arsenal match could be in that a) very little happened over a long period of time and b) Arsenal won. They have long been happy to default to “war of attrition” mode (total goals in their first four Champions League league phase matches last season: 4), and following a summer of ambitious spending — eight new acquisitions, nearly €300 million in transfer fees — they now have the depth to really lean on opponents.That depth earned them three points in Bilbao. Through 70 minutes, the two teams had combined for just 0.9 xG from 17 shots. But in the 72nd minute, substitute Gabriel Martinelli scored on a breakaway assisted by substitute Leandro Trossard, and then Trossard put the match away with a goal (assisted by Martinelli) at the end of another vertical attack in the 87th minute.Arsenal’s subs were difference-makers while in a combined 82 minutes, Athletic’s five subs combined for two shots (combined xG: 0.05) and no chances created. In fact, after a decent run of attacking to start the second half, Athletic managed only those two shot attempts in the final 33 minutes.Arsenal already have the best defensive setup in Europe at a time when many top clubs, including Premier League rivals Liverpool and Manchester City, are struggling at times with transition defense and tactical balance. Now coach Mikel Arteta knows he can eventually find attacking answers, too, even if he has to wait for opponents to wear down first. That means he has even less reason to take major tactical risks. Athletic had kept wingers Eberechi Eze and Noni Madueke mostly quiet on the night, and they’d gotten away with allowing a couple of decent opportunities to Viktor Gyökeres. But even without injured stars Bukayo Saka, Martin Ødegaard and Kai Havertz, Arsenal still landed a knockout blow.You can make an easy case that the Gunners overpaid for both Eze and Gyökeres — both are 27 years old, neither are heavily involved in link-up play or intricate passing sequences, and both could become albatrosses by the end of their respective contracts. But Arsenal can afford them, they’re clearly in win-now mode, and it’s hard not to like their chances of making a run even deeper than last year’s semifinal trip. (I said something similar about their chances in their other primary competition recently.)

Arsenal threw body blows, bided their time and then put the match away. Thrilling? No. Effective in a way that could remain effective through May? Yes.

No other Premier League team will make a major run

Arsenal obviously weren’t the only English club to spend absurd amounts to build roster war chests this summer. In fact, among the Premier League’s Champions League teams alone, their outlay of transfer fees (€293.5 million) was dwarfed by that of Liverpool (€484.7 million) and Chelsea (€339.2 million) and nearly matched by Newcastle’s (€278.9 million). The league threw its financial weight around in an almost unprecedented way.

However, spending power has not bought loads of Champions League runs in recent seasons. After producing all-Premier League finals in 2019 and 2021, the league has averaged only one semifinalist per year since. And aside from Arsenal, the other English teams in this competition are in odd places at the moment.

Liverpool is less a team and more a collection of adrenaline junkies at the moment. They’ve already blown five leads in six matches, including three two-goal leads. Now, they’ve still won five of those six, including all four Premier League matches and Tuesday’s raucous affair against Atlético Madrid. They’ve scored five game-winners after the 82nd minute, too, three in stoppage time. This is an absolute thrill-ride, and with their suddenly epic spending, they’re almost developing a Real Madrid-like inevitability. But Real Madrid’s most clutch squads weren’t blowing leads at this rate, and relying on late heroics is a good way to eventually fall in a knockout competition.

That said, from a stats perspective, their match against Atletico was probably their best of the season. They attempted 20 shots to Atleti’s 10 despite leading most of the way, and their plus-2.1 xG advantage was far greater than in early Premier League wins over Bournemouth, Newcastle and Arsenal (combined: plus-0.3). Yes, it was another blown lead, but it required a couple of miraculous Marcos Llorente goals — the kind he particularly enjoys delivering at Anfield (and Anfield only) — and it was otherwise a one-sided affair. Maybe that’s a good sign.

Manchester City also handled its business just fine this week, eventually easing to a 2-0 win over 10-man Napoli. Napoli were enjoying their only particularly threatening spell at the time of Giovanni Di Lorenzo‘s red card in the 21st minute, and it was one-way traffic from there. It looked for a while that Napoli might be able to will themselves to a 0-0 draw, but Erling Haaland put an end to that in the 56th minute.

Napoli finished with one shot attempt and 26% possession, but that one shot was a close-range effort on a set piece and required a pretty good save from Gianluigi Donnarumma. It was worth 0.17, which just about mirrored the average xG per shot City are allowing in Premier League play. Going back to the 4-3 Club World Cup loss against Al-Hilal, there’s a level of defensive fragility here that makes it hard to trust this team just yet.Tottenham Hotspur also won their opener, but they did the bare minimum against Villarreal, scoring on a dreadful error from keeper Luiz Júnior in the fourth minute and closing up shop. They attempted just nine shots (0.5 xG) and allowed 10 (0.5). They got the job done, but did nothing to assuage my concerns about their ability to create quality shots — they’re currently 17th in the Premier League in xG per shot — and I’m guessing this is a round-of-16 or quarterfinal team this year.

On paper, Chelsea certainly have the pieces to make a run, but their dramatic Champions League inexperience was laid bare in Munich on Wednesday. Against a sharp Bayern Munich, they were outshot and outrun, 3-1. Cole Palmer scored on a counterattack and had a second goal disallowed, but Chelsea ceded control to their hosts in a way that a genuine contender rarely does. They looked like an inexperienced underdog. Not a great start.

Newcastle United probably deserved a better outcome on Thursday against Barcelona; they generated more xG in 10 shots (1.4) than Barça did in 19 (1.3), but they were bested by Barça’s high defensive line, possession-hungry play and two goals — one good, one unbelievable — from Marcus Rashford.The concerns I have for Newcastle in the Premier League — depth and scoring capabilities, basically — certainly apply in the Champions League, and their chances of securing a top-eight finish in the league phase took a hit here.

A Belgian team is making the quarterfinals

Don’t ask me which one, though, because two have a shot.

Since a Super Cup loss to Club Brugge, Belgian champion Union St.-Gilloise — one of the most enjoyable teams to follow in recent years as they leapt from the second division to immediate top-division contention and landed exciting young player after exciting young player — has laid down a path of destruction. They’ve outscored seven Belgian opponents by a combined 15-3 margin this season, and in their first-ever Champions League match on Tuesday, they traded haymakers with PSV for most of an hour, then shut things down and won easily, 3-1.PSV finally scored in the 90th minute, and they perhaps deserved more after creating shots worth 2.2 xG, but USG generated 3.4 xG from 18 shots. They out-PSV’d PSV.Club Brugge, meanwhile, out-everything’d Monaco in a 4-1 home win on Thursday. They’ve dropped some points in domestic play, but they could be forgiven since, including qualification ties, they’ve outscored five Champions League opponents by a combined 17-3 thus far. Veteran Hans Vanaken and the left-sided duo of Christos Tzolis and Joaquin Seys have combined for seven goals and eight assists; Vanaken had one of each as four different FCB players scored.Going back to last year’s round-of-16 run, Club Brugge have now won nine of their last 14 UEFA matches. Via the Opta Supercomputer, they now have the 12th-highest projected point total for the league phase now; USG is 11th. Both are ahead of Borussia Dortmund, Napoli, Newcastle, Juventus and Atlético Madrid, among many others.Dutch teams have the far greater history in this competition, but their neighbors to the south are looking great, and they’ve positioned themselves well.

The price tag for Eintracht’s Can Uzun keeps going up

One of the most ruthless aspects of European competitions is that even if an upstart emerges and threatens to upend the status quo, the sport’s powers can pluck that upstart apart in the transfer window before the competition is even over.

Benfica had one of the most impressive teams in the group stage of the Champions League in 2022-23, winning a group with both PSG and Juventus while going unbeaten against both. But Chelsea offered eleventy million Euros (okay, €121 million) for star midfielder Enzo Fernández — who had himself only arrived from River Plate that previous summer — in the January transfer window, and that was that. Benfica still walloped Club Brugge in the round of 16 in February, but they fell with little resistance against Inter Milan in the next round. (Chelsea grabbed another breakout star, Shakhtar Donetsk’s Mykhailo Mudryk for €70 million in that same window. That one hasn’t worked out quite as well.)

For players on teams that aren’t mega-clubs, European competitions are almost like auditions. Eintracht Frankfurt know this as well as anyone. Omar Marmoush‘s four goals and two assists in 406 Europa League minutes last season helped to provide proof of concept for a €75m January transfer to Manchester City.

For good measure, Hugo Ekitike (four goals and three assists in 809 minutes) then left for Liverpool for €95 million over the summer and even though they aimed for more of a veteran presence with their own summer acquisitions, another young star has quickly emerged. Nineteen-year-old Can Uzun has three goals and two assists in three Bundesliga matches this season, and he made an immediate Champions League impact with a go-ahead goal against Galatasaray on Thursday.Eintracht have made a lot of money due to their recent run of great talent identification and development, and it seems they’ll probably be rewarded for Uzun’s star turn, too. But it would be awesome to see what they might be capable of if they could keep some of this talent in-house for a bit longer at some point. They scored five goals against Galatasaray even without Marmoush and Ekitike, after all.If we’re doing some proper scouting for future big moves, here are eight other players who probably saw their respective stock prices rise quite a bit this week under the floodlights.

Ismael Saibari, PSV Eindhoven (24). He’s a central midfielder who plays so advanced that he was second in the Eredivisie in assists last season (11) and ninth in goals (11), and for all the nice words I paid to Union Saint-Gilloise above, Saibari created a couple of spectacular chances to redefine the game, missing opportunities in the sixth (0.54 xG) and 55th (0.80 xG) minutes.

Camilo Durán, Qarabag (23). Qarabag have come to rule Azerbaijan’s Premier League with a veteran-heavy squad, but Durán, acquired this summer from Portugal‘s Portimonense, took full advantage of a shot at Portuguese giants Benfica. He assisted Qarabag’s first goal, then scored its second as the Atlilar (the Horsemen, a pretty fantastic nickname) came back to secure their first-ever group stage victory in the Champions League.

Lamine Camara, Monaco (21). Monaco got absolutely wrecked by Club Brugge, but Camara still filled the box score. He had 20 combined progressive passes and carries and 10 ball recoveries, most of anyone in Matchday 1. He also suffered two fouls and won seven ground duels. He enjoyed a breakout season last year, with seven league assists, and if Monaco did anything right on Thursday, Camara was probably behind it.

Daniel Bassi, Bodo/Glimt (20). He has only just begun to work his way into the rotation for the Arctic Circle club, but in just 45 minutes on Wednesday, he won a penalty, scored to cut Bodo/Glimt’s deficit to 2-1, then played a key role in the sequence that made it 2-2.

Youssoupha Mbodji, Slavia Prague (21). Why was Bodo/Glimt down two goals to begin with? Because Mbodji scored twice, appearing out of nowhere from his left back position to finish two great opportunities.

Georgiy Sudakov, Benfica (23). A Benfica player recently acquired from Shakhtar? He was destined to become a Champions League star! And while his team played poorly enough against Qarabag to get its manager fired, Sudakov was fantastic, creating one assist from two chances and completing 12 progressive passes.

Nicolo Tresoldi, Club Brugge (21). After a couple of solid seasons in the 2. Bundesliga, the 6’0 Tresoldi joined a Champions League team, and including qualification he has two goals and an assist in 226 minutes. He scored Brugge’s first against Monaco, and I’m guessing that’s not his last in the league phase.

Marcus Rashford, Barcelona (27). Have you heard of this up-and-comer? Okay, no, this list was neither meant for known onetime stars or Barcelona players, but I had to squeeze him in here somewhere. I mean, did you see this strike?This is what life looks like when you escape Manchester United, I guess.

My off-the-cuff 1-to-36 rankings after one matchday

• 1. Arsenal
• 2. PSG
• 3. Liverpool
• 4. Real Madrid
• 5. Bayern Munich
• 6. Barcelona
• 7. Manchester City
• 8. Inter Milan

Real Madrid are a perfect 5-for-5 since the Xabi Alonso era began in earnest last month, and while they needed a pair of penalties to survive Marseille at home, 2-1, the score was misleading — Real Madrid generated far more quality chances (even while playing down a man for about 20 minutes because of Dani Carvajal‘s foolish red card) and got away with both the red card and an early-game injury to Trent Alexander-Arnold.

• 9. Chelsea
• 10. Tottenham
• 11. Napoli
• 12. Newcastle
• 13. Borussia Dortmund
• 14. Juventus
• 15. Eintracht Frankfurt
• 16. Sporting CP

BVB-Juventus set the early bar for Match of the Tournament with eight second-half goals, a brilliant surge from Borussia Dortmund, and an equally brilliant stoppage time comeback from the home team.https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ebg7aEFNlMc?si=983a-VnKbpvdfHZD&wmode=transparent

• 17. Atlético Madrid
• 18. Bayer Leverkusen
• 19. Villarreal
• 20. Union Saint-Gilloise
• 21. Club Brugge
• 22. Atalanta
• 23. Athletic Club
• 24. Bodo/Glimt

The fightin’ Glimts of Bodo, semifinalists in last year’s Europa League, erased a 2-0 deficit at Slavia Prague to salvage a point, and now they’ll get a shot at revenge with a semifinal rematch at home against Tottenham Hotspur in two weeks. (Monaco, Juventus and Manchester City must also visit the Arctic circle. Love it.)

• 25. Marseille
• 26. Benfica
• 27. Qarabag
• 28. Galatasaray
• 29. Monaco
• 30. Copenhagen
• 31. PSV Eindhoven
• 32. Ajax
• 33. Pafos
• 34. Slavia Prague
• 35. Olympiacos
• 36. Kairat Almaty

I got to know this Qarabag team watching them nearly take down Bayer Leverkusen in the Europa League two years ago, and with the dose of energy Durán has given them, they look awfully fun. Their comeback win over Benfica was a stunner, and they might need to spring only one more surprise to advance to the knockout rounds.

Juventus 4-4 Borussia Dortmund: Breaking down an instant Champions League classic

By Conor O’Neill Sept. 17, 2025

“I’ve already had enough of this type of match,” grumbled Juventus manager Igor Tudor in his post-match interview with Sky Sports Italia after their 4-4 draw with Borussia Dortmund. He certainly wasn’t speaking for the majority.For those fortunate enough to watch on, the Champions League laid out an opening-night banquet in Turin: eight goals from seven scorers, the latest two-goal-deficit fightback in the competition’s history, refereeing controversy and a glimpse of the game’s next star. Now, with breath just about regained, it’s time to unpack how last night’s madness unfolded.

Borussia Dortmund go 4-2 up in the 86th minute. Job done, surely… (Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images)

“We are conceding too many. At least we’re scoring a lot too, but we cannot carry on like this,” said Tudor, his fatigue betraying the whirlwind week his side has endured. A few days after a last-gasp 4-3 Serie A victory against perennial rivals Inter, here he was again embroiled in another chaotic thriller.While Italian football has shed much of its traditional defensive skin, Serie A still averaged fewer goals per game last season than Europe’s other ‘big five’ leagues, and its coaches bristle when games descend into disorder.The opening half was far more restrained, feeling like a subdued comedown from Juventus’ weekend exploits. It was tame and tentative, with neither side especially eager to force the issue. A speculative long-range effort from defensive midfielder Khephren Thuram after just three minutes drew a sharp save from Gregor Kobel, but action was scarce thereafter.The expected goals (xG) step chart below shows that while Juventus created more chances in the first half (0.67 xG), they didn’t exactly overwhelm Dortmund. Most of their threat came from corners and Weston McKennie’s long throws rather than incisive attacking play.

Juventus’ blunt approach still carried more impetus than Dortmund could muster, with the visitors failing to register a shot on target in the first half. Their first sign of attacking life arrived five minutes into the second period, when right centre-back Julian Ryerson picked out the darting run of Maximilian Beier. The attacking midfielder stretched to meet it and almost squeezed in his extremely acute effort, only to rattle the base of the post.

At last, a spark, and moments later, Adeyemi’s wonderful opener ignited the night. The 23-year-old German is blessed with quick feet, and only Jamie Gittens, now at Chelsea, completed more take-ons per 90 minutes for Dortmund last season. That elusiveness proved decisive, as Adeyemi skipped by three closely attendant markers before arrowing his shot into the corner.

As good as Adeyemi’s goal was, Kenan Yildiz’s wonder strike leveller 10 minutes later was the standout effort in a game packed with goal-of-the-round contenders. The move began with excellent work from substitute Joao Mario, the summer signing from Porto, who carried the ball across the width of the pitch before laying it off to Yildiz on the right edge of the box. From there, he curled a stunning effort into the top-right corner, a finish he later described as “a bit instinctive”. Those innate instincts for the spectacular are among the reasons that the 20-year-old Turkish winger is fast emerging as one of the most precious young gems in European football. 

Champions League 2025-26 Projections: Who will lift the trophy in Budapest on May 30?

Yildiz was at his effervescent best all evening. As his player dashboard shows, no player was more involved in Juventus’ attacking sequences. Ryerson endured a tough evening, struggling to contain him.

Seemingly still spellbound by Yildiz’s strike, Juventus forgot they still had a match to play, falling behind again less than a minute after the restart. Below, Felix Nmecha can be seen screaming for the ball, arms outstretched, as Juventus left vast space at the edge of the area. The warning went unheeded when the ball was finally poked out to him, Nmecha punished them with yet another curling finish into the top corner.

This madcap spell was far from finished, and Juventus equalised again moments later, completing a remarkable flurry of three goals in four minutes. This time it was Dusan Vlahovic’s turn. Having only just come on, he could scarcely believe the space afforded to him as Yildiz slipped a clever through ball into his path. Vlahovic’s finish was relatively routine — the first goal of the night to come from inside the box.

Compared to the manic tempo that had preceded it, the ensuing seven-minute goalless lull felt like a marathon, broken when wing-back Yan Couto fired Dortmund back in front in the 74th minute. His low, driven effort from just inside the box skidded past Michele Di Gregorio at his near post, one the goalkeeper will feel he ought to have saved.

No thriller is truly complete without a dash of controversy, and this one duly obliged in the 86th minute when Dortmund were awarded a penalty. After squandering a golden counter-attack, the visitors worked the ball to Guirassy, whose shot struck a falling Lloyd Kelly’s hand, which he was using to break his fall. Centre-back Ramy Bensebaini calmly converted from the spot, and with a two-goal lead, it seemed Dortmund had settled the contest.Six minutes of stoppage time offered Juventus only a sliver of hope, and after three of them, it seemed to have fully evaporated. But Dortmund, a side with a reputation for late implosions, were architects of their own downfall. Penalty-scorer Bensebaini, instead of taking the sensible option of clearing long or conceding a throw, played the ball straight to the feet of Juventus’ Pierre Kalulu. From there, Kalulu flashed a cross across the face of goal for Vlahovic to turn in.

The dramatic equaliser came from the unlikeliest of sources, as Vlahovic then laid on an assist to Kelly, playing now as an auxiliary centre-forward, who powered home a headed effort. Few would have imagined Kelly delivering the decisive touch in a rip-roaring Champions League contest when he arrived from Newcastle United in February. Yet in some ways it was fitting: an unconventional goalscorer for a thrillingly unconventional game.Kelly’s goal is the latest scored by a Juventus player in the Champions League, which, for a club as storied as the Turin side, is quite something.Igor Tudor might be tired of chaotic games like this, but for everyone else, this was Champions League football at its very best, whetting our appetites for the campaign ahead.

Champions League post-MD1 projections: Liverpool early favourites but are Inter flying under the radar?

By Anantaajith RaghuramanSept. 19, 2025 11:39 am EDT

There were 67 goals scored across a thrilling Matchday 1 of the 2025-26 Champions League.Most of the big-hitters began with wins, some doing so in hostile territory and difficult circumstances. There were a few surprises along the way too, adding to the intrigue of this second season in the competition’s expanded 36-team format.Throughout the tournament, The Athletic will use its projections — powered by Opta data — to understand each club’s probability of league-phase elimination, direct qualification to the last 16 via a top-eight finish, entry into the play-off round by placing ninth to 24th and of winning the whole thing at the final in Budapest, Hungary on May 30.Despite being just one week into the eight-round league phase, our projections have already seen plenty of movement. The link to them is below.What You Should Read NextChampions League 2025-26 Projections: Who will lift the trophy in Budapest on May 30?Our Opta-powered Champions League projections update after each matchday

Here, we break down the key risers, fallers and more from Matchday 1.

Match of the week

Juventus’ stunning comeback to draw 4-4 with visitors Borussia Dortmund was the pick of the games. A fixture that was goalless for the first 51 minutes sprang to life in true “under the lights on a Tuesday night” fashion.

The result in Turin did not move the needle too much in terms of our projections for either team. Dortmund are still projected to pick up 12 points and have a 63 per cent chance of making the play-off round, the same as Juventus, who our calculations have finishing with 11 points.

Real Madrid are the only truly tough team among Juventus’ remaining seven opponents, while Dortmund must still play Manchester City and Inter.

How did the contenders do?

Despite wins for champions Paris Saint-Germain, Inter, Real Madrid, Manchester City, Arsenal and Barcelona, Liverpool lead the pack with a 20 per cent chance of being crowned champions of Europe for the seventh time.

Arne Slot’s side scored twice in the opening six minutes against Atletico Madrid but, typical of their start to the season, needed a stoppage-time goal from Virgil van Dijk (celebrating in the top image) to take all three points at Anfield. That improved their chances of qualifying directly for the round of 16 from 77 per cent to 84.

They trail only Arsenal, who beat Athletic Club 2-0 in Bilbao, on that front — Mikel Arteta’s side now have an 86 per cent chance of reaching the last 16 without having to go through February’s play-offs. This is largely due to the fact the north London club face, according to Opta’s fixture difficulty rankings, the third-easiest set of league-phase fixtures (Liverpool’s schedule ranks seventh). Arsenal currently have the second-highest chance of winning the competition at 17 per cent.

Barcelona are the only other team, alongside Liverpool and Arsenal, to have a less-than-one-per-cent chance of league-phase elimination after an impressive 2-1 away win against Newcastle United thanks to Marcus Rashford’s double. The manner in which Pedri and Frenkie de Jong dealt with Newcastle’s physical, ground-consuming midfield was also a joy to behold.

Barcelona’s projected points tally has improved to 17 (from an initial 15), while their chances of directly reaching the round of 16 have increased to 71 per cent (from 56).

The Catalans’ next match will have a major impact on our projections as they host PSG, back at their temporary Montjuic home. Luis Enrique’s team dispatched Atalanta 4-0 with four different players scoring the goals, improving their chances of retaining the title to 12 per cent (from 11). They still have a two per cent chance of a league-phase exit due to having the second-hardest fixture list per Opta, with matches against Bayern Munich and Tottenham Hotspur to come after that trip to Barcelona on October 1.What You Should Read Next70 years of the European Cup/Champions League: The best players, numbers and records from the world’s biggest club competitionHow much has Europe’s premier club football tournament changed since it began on this day in 1955?

Bayern, who have the hardest fixtures of all, were dominant in a 3-1 home win against Club World Cup champions Chelsea, courtesy of a Harry Kane brace and some self-enforced errors by the west London club. Though the Germans look a much more complete team now than last season, they have to play both Arsenal and PSG away, as well as a couple of potentially tricky games against Belgian pair Club Brugge and Union Saint-Gilloise. Bayern’s chances of league-phase elimination have fallen substantially, from 11 per cent to three, and beating Chelsea also boosted their odds of a top-eight finish to 50 per cent from 35.

City saw Napoli off 2-0, with Kevin De Bruyne’s swift return to the Etihad Stadium following his summer transfer cut short after 26 minutes as he was substituted following team-mate Giovanni Di Lorenzo’s dismissal. The win reduced City’s odds of finishing outside the top 24 to one per cent, while they have a 70 per cent chance of directly qualifying for the round of 16 in March. Barring a visit to Real Madrid in early December, Pep Guardiola’s side do not have a particularly tricky set of league-phase fixtures left.

Speaking of Madrid, they huffed and puffed to a 2-1 home win against Marseille to overcome losing Trent Alexander-Arnold to injury and Dani Carvajal to a red card either side of Timothy Weah’s 22nd-minute goal for the visitors.While not the most convincing victory, it means Madrid’s chances of league-phase elimination fell from six per cent to two, while their top-eight-finish probability rose from 48 per cent to 57. A 4,000-mile (over 6,000km) journey to play Kairat in Almaty, Kazakhstan, isnext for them, before facing Juventus, Liverpool and City all before Christmas. Phew.Inter’s 2-0 win against Ajax in Amsterdam went under the radar slightly, but the Italian side will once again be expected to go a long way in the competition. Champions League runners-up in two of the past three seasons, they have a three per cent chance of lifting the trophy this time and a 42 per cent chance of finishing in the top eight of the league phase. Inter host Liverpool and Arsenal and go to Atletico Madrid, but will be the favourites in their other four matches.

Biggest movers

Union Saint-Gilloise have increased their chances of qualification due to a surprise 3-1 win at PSV, courtesy of goals from rising stars Promise David and Anouar Ait El Hadj and centre-back Kevin Mac Allister (brother of Liverpool’s Alexis).Having begun the projections in 24th spot, the Belgian champions have soared to 13th with a 62 per cent chance of making the play-off round and 24 per cent odds of a top-eight finish. Newcastle, Inter and Atletico are USG’s next three opponents, so this may be short-lived, but for now, optimism in Brussels is through the roof.

PSV’s defeat at home, combined with Ajax never really threatening visitors Inter, poses some early questions for the competition’s Dutch contingent. Ajax were already ranked 32nd in our projections and are now down to second-last with a 71 per cent chance of league-phase elimination. This despite the fact John Heitinga’s side have the sixth-easiest schedule overall.

Eredivisie champions PSV have dropped from 22nd to 32nd, with their projected points falling from 10 to seven. They have the same odds as Ajax of finishing outside the top 24 in January and face the third-hardest schedule with visits to Anfield and St James’ Park, as well as home matches against Napoli, Atletico and Bayern. Yikes.

Alongside USG, Qarabag enjoyed an unexpectedly positive start in what is just the second time in the Champions League proper in club history. The side from Baku in Azerbaijan beat Benfica 3-2 away, courtesy of 25-year-old winger Oleksiy Kashchuk’s 86th-minute winner after the hosts had gone two up in 16 minuteQarabag ranked 35th out of 36 in our initial projections, having come through three rounds of qualifying to reach the league phase, and were estimated to pick up just six points, with elimination considered an overwhelming possibility (87 per cent). Wednesday’s result has added three points to their projected total and moved them up to 29th with a 41 per cent chance of making the play-offs and a two per cent probability of finishing in the top eight. They have the 12th-hardest schedule, with matches against Chelsea, Liverpool and Napoli to come, the latter two away, but this is the time to dream.

Benfica, meanwhile, could not have gotten off to a worse start, dropping from 13th to 23rd in our rankings following Tuesday night’s defeat in Lisbon. Their projected points tally has fallen from 12 to nine.

The result led to Bruno Lage’s sacking and Jose Mourinho’s return to the club where he began his managerial career 25 years ago. Benfica’s list of remaining fixtures looks tricky, with Mourinho set to face two of his former employers in Chelsea (their next game) and Madrid, along with trips to Newcastle and Juventus and a home match against Napoli.What You Should Read NextJose Mourinho is back at Benfica and ‘more alive than ever’. They need his old devil magicBenfica have chosen Mourinho as their new head coach – 25 years on from his first crack at the job – following a horror loss to Qarabag

The “us against them” mentality Mourinho brings with him could yet have another say in Europe, so don’t count them out just yet. Benfica have a virtually equal probability of finishing within the top 24 (48 per cent) and outside it (47).

The chasing pack

Chelsea began the tournament with a seven per cent chance of winning it, but that has now dropped to five following defeat in Munich. Their odds of a top-eight finish fell from 51 to 37 per cent. Though it may not be time to panic just yet: last season’s UEFA Conference League winners have the fifth-easiest schedule, with matches against Ajax, Pafos of Cyprus and Qarabag, though the visit of Barcelona and a finale at Napoli will pose challenges.

Their fellow English sides Newcastle and Tottenham, the latter beat Villarreal 1-0 at home, are in a similar boat. Both have a greater chance of needing the play-offs to get to the round of 16 than of finishing in the top eight and neither of them are considered likely tournament winners. But don’t let that fool you: these two can cause plenty of difficulties, as Barcelona found in the opening 30 minutes against Eddie Howe’s side.

Spurs have the fourth-easiest schedule, with PSG away in late November their toughest remaining fixture. Games against Bodo/Glimt, Copenhagen and Slavia Prague will provide opportunities to rack up points. It will not be as straightforward on paper for Newcastle, who have the fifth-toughest schedule. Before a final-game visit to Paris in January, they face Benfica, Athletic Club, Marseille and Bayer Leverkusen.

Atletico, who struggled early in the league phase last season too, losing two of their first three matches, have it all to do after being handed a very tough fixture list. Games against Inter and Arsenal, the latter away, will need them to both play superbly and have their full squad fit, with neither being the case for that opening defeat at Liverpool. Diego Simeone and company now have just a 10 per cent chance of finishing in the top eight, but do have a less than one-third probability of league-phase elimination (31 per cent).

Napoli shot themselves in the foot early on Thursday night against City at the Etihad but can take some solace from getting their toughest league-phase fixture out of the way early.

The Italian champions’ projected final points tally is 12, while they still have a 17 per cent chance of finishing in the top eight. Their next two games are home against Lisbon’s Sporting CP (who beat Kairat 4-1 on Thursday) and at PSV. Antonio Conte’s side don’t play what looks the second-toughest tie of their opening eight — a visit from his former employers Chelsea — until the final matchday in late January.

(Photo: Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images)

Little-known World Cup ticket rule sparked confusion. FIFA has (some) answers

By Henry Bushnell

Sept. 17, 2025

When the first 2026 World Cup ticket lottery opened last week, Nick, a longtime soccer fan in Colorado, had a plan. Like many others across North America, to double his family’s chances in the random draw, he and his wife both signed up for FIFA IDs and entered. Then, via social media, they learned of a little-known rule that has sparked confusion as the Sept. 19 application deadline nears: “entries are limited to only one (1) entry per household.”

Advertisement

The restriction exists on Page 3 of the lottery’s “official rules,” and within the answer to Question 7 of a general ticketing FAQ on FIFA’s website. It was not, however, communicated to media or fans prior to the opening of this first sales phase, the “Visa Presale Draw,” last Wednesday.

So it startled some fans whose spouses, parents, children or roommates had applied.

Some were especially spooked by a portion of the FAQ that reads: “If FIFA identifies multiple registrations originating from the same household, it reserves the right to disqualify those entries and prevent the associated individuals from being selected in the draw.”

The revelation triggered flurries of questions on Reddit, TikTok, Instagram and elsewhere. As millions of applications rolled in — FIFA said there were over 1.5 million in the first 24 hours, and demand was “extraordinary!” — fans worried that their attempts to increase their lottery odds might backfire.

Ticket limits have become commonplace at major sporting events. (Carl De Souza / Getty Images)

“Everybody wants to maximize their opportunities,” said Jason Daley, a longtime fan who runs The World Cup Guide, “but nobody wants to risk their entire application being ignored.”

Nick — who spoke on the condition that The Athletic only publish his first name, so that the interview wouldn’t impact him professionally — said that he and his wife decided to delete one of their two entries.

Zara Pira, a fan in Toronto, told her apartment roommate to withdraw an entry because she was worried they’d both be disqualified. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” she said. “I don’t want to get stuck in this limbo and lose my chances.”

None of them, though, had seen any guidance from FIFA. A FIFA spokesman, when asked last week by The Athletic whether a husband and wife who applied would both be disqualified, did not provide a definitive answer.

Advertisement

Another FIFA spokesperson eventually told Travel Futbol Fan, a content creator who’s been explaining World Cup ticket intricacies to his TikTok followers, that households who’d submitted multiple applications didn’t need to take any action, but FIFA would only consider the first application.

On Tuesday, a third spokesman then told The Athletic that, in the days after the application window closes on Sept. 19, FIFA employees and other humans will manually check entries tied to the same home address as another entry. If they determine the two entrants are spouses or partners, the second application will be scrubbed, and the first will remain valid.

In other cases, specific details — such as credit cards, names and contact information — will be “taken into consideration,” the spokesman said, “and fans should not be concerned.”

When asked whether unrelated roommates, such as Pira and her friend, were allowed to apply separately, the spokesman confirmed that they can.

When asked about multigenerational households, though, and the precise line between permissible and impermissible, he could not give a conclusive answer. Much of this, he admitted, is “complex,” with many “different nuances.”

The reason for household limits

Ticket limits have become commonplace at major sporting events as a means to shut out scalpers and broaden access. The 2024 Paris Olympics, for example, capped purchases at four tickets per person for high-demand events and six per person for other events. At the 2018 men’s World Cup, according to FIFA, a given household could buy up to four tickets per match and 28 across the entire tournament. At the 2022 World Cup, the household caps were six per match and 60 overall.

“Household limits have been introduced to ensure fair and equitable ticket access for all fans,” the FIFA spokesman said.

Advertisement

For the 2026 World Cup, an expanded 48-team tournament set to be co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico next summer, FIFA lowered the cap back to four per household per match, and 40 tickets per household across all 104 games.

The spokesman said that data from the 2018 and 2022 tournaments — where the average number of tickets purchased per order (per match) was 2.2 and 2.8, respectively — “came into play as they were determining the specific rules and conditions for this tournament.”

The cap, though, has become a hurdle for families of five or more, and for larger groups hoping to attend games together. (There are 11.7 million households of five or more in the U.S. alone, according to the Census Bureau’s 2024 Current Population Survey.)

When asked about options for large families or groups, the FIFA spokesman mentioned hospitality packages. (The cheapest package for the cheapest group-stage game costs $1,400 per person.)

Separately, in theory, families could buy additional tickets, beyond the four-per-match limit, on unauthorized resale sites like StubHub. But it’s unclear if they’d be able to sit together, and FIFA, in the past, has warned fans to “be wary of unofficial ticketing sites claiming to be already selling tickets.”

On FIFA’s official resale platform, household limits will apply, though it’s unclear how they’ll be enforced in later phases.

It’s also unclear how, exactly, FIFA will distinguish between roommates and spouses who have different last names and different credit cards.

‘Annoyed with the lack of clarity’

Amid the uncertainty, Daley said he got many questions from friends, readers and others about what, exactly, was permissible as the presale draw opened. There were people wondering if they could apply twice with the same card. There were people wondering whether sons, daughters and parents could apply, essentially on their behalf. “There’s definitely high interest in trying to maximize opportunities,” he said.

Advertisement

Initially, he didn’t have clear answers to those questions. He scrutinized the information available and didn’t see any reason two spouses couldn’t both apply. FIFA’s “Visa Presale Draw Explainer” video on YouTube noted that “households can purchase up to four tickets per a match,” but said nothing about a limit on applications. FIFA officials had not mentioned the application limit during an hour-long Zoom call with reporters the week prior. There was nothing in the “Visa Presale Draw” section or “Sales Restrictions” section of a World Cup customer support website.

Then, when the application phase opened last Wednesday, attention turned to the long wait times and error messages that plagued the rollout.

It wasn’t until the following day that a significant number of applicants began to discover the one-per-household limit and question FIFA.

“I think most people are fine with one entry per household,” Daley said. “But — just tell them. I think that’s where the frustration came from.”

Nick, who was feeling pessimistic about his chances of being selected for a ticket-buying opportunity in this first phase, agreed. “I’m not really stressed out about it,” he said. “I’m just kind of annoyed with the lack of clarity.”

Next steps in the 2026 World Cup ticket process

After the Sept. 19 deadline for applications, FIFA will complete its “data cleansing” or “data scrubbing” process. With the help of technology, it will weed out bots and other improper entries. It will then select applicants at random and begin notifying some on Sept. 29 that they have an opportunity to purchase tickets on specific dates, in specific time slots, starting Oct. 1.

It’s unclear how many people will be chosen in this first lottery phase. Soon after it concludes on Oct. 21, there will be a second lottery phase similar to the first — but with no stipulation that entrants must have a Visa credit card, debit card or reloadable prepaid card.

Advertisement

The second phase will be open to people who entered this first lottery, whether or not they were chosen and purchased tickets, FIFA has said. The official rules state: “A person entering the Presale Draw also may enter any other random selection draw separately offered by FIFA subsequent to this Presale Draw.”

After the second phase, and after the Dec. 5 World Cup draw places teams into groups and host cities, there will be a third lottery phase, during which ticket buyers can select specific matchups. There will then be a “first-come, first-served” phase or “last-minute sales” phase in the spring. FIFA will also operate a resale platform where fans can buy tickets on the secondary market at uncapped prices.

The four-per-household-per-match and 40-per-household limits will apply across all phases — meaning, for example, that if someone purchases four tickets to a given group-stage match next month, they cannot purchase four more tickets to that same match next spring.