FEATURES

Georgia Stanway went home with the match ball on Saturday after bagging a hat-trick in England's record-breaking 8-0 win over China, one just short of a record defeat for the 1999 Women's World Cup finalists. A dominant display, which had the European champions 3-0 up inside just 16 minutes, returned the Lionesses' biggest ever win at Wembley Stadium, surpassing the 6-0 thumping dealt out to Portugal back in May.

Lamine Yamal scored one and set up another as Barcelona came from behind to defeat Alaves 3-1 to rise to the top of La Liga on Saturday afternoon. Hansi Flick’s side bounced back from their Champions League defeat against Chelsea in midweek with a tight victory which saw them claim top spot ahead of Real Madrid’s trip to Girona on Sunday evening.

Phil Foden spared Manchester City's blushes as he struck late to snatch a 3-2 win after his side had chucked away a two-goal advantage at half-time. Foden scored in the very first and last minutes of the game, rescuing all three points for Pep Guardiola's side which could prove vital at the end of the season. Josko Gvardiol bundled in a second goal in a dominant first half from the hosts.

When Gian Piero Gasperini was unveiled as Roma's new coach back in June, he made a point of repeatedly stating that his first objective was getting the fans onside. The former Atalanta coach may have worked miracles in Bergamo but he's always been a bit of a divisive figure, so his appointment certainly wasn't met with universal approval among the supporters.

As Curtis Jones admitted on Wednesday, Liverpool are "in the sh*t" right now. The humiliating 4-1 Champions League defeat at home to PSV means the ragged Reds have now lost nine of their last 12 games in all competitions and the common consensus is that Arne Slot is only still in a job because he won the Premier League last season. But how have Liverpool gone from champs to chumps in just six months?

Ruben Amorim complained earlier this season that his 3-4-3 formation is always to blame whenever Manchester United lose but on the rare occasion they win, his tactics are not credited. The coach's system has been the No. 1 talking point since he took charge of the Red Devils, with many believing it cannot work in the Premier League. But Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner is proving otherwise.

The USWNT’s chemistry is clicking at every level, with Catarina Macario and Rose Lavelle driving a dominant showing and Olivia Moultrie rising fast.

The USWNT opened its final camp of 2025 with a strong start, fueled by another Moultrie goal and two second-half strikes from Macario.

No one expected Vancouver to contend MLS Cup when they were put up for sale at the start of the season, but they might be the team best equipped to win it

Inter Miami aim to defend home turf against NYCFC, while San Diego visit Vancouver in two finely poised conference finals. GOAL’s writers break down both matchups.

GOAL looks at the biggest storylines among Americans Abroad, including a big match for Chris Richards' Crystal Palace against Manchester United.

It’s no secret that, despite winning the last two European Championship titles and reaching the final of the most recent Women's World Cup, England’s Lionesses lack options at left-back. Sarina Wiegman has tried plenty to address the issue, deploying centre-forward Rachel Daly there for a good while, moving centre-backs across to test their credentials there and even changing formation to mask the problem.

England's centre-back room looks almost unrecognisable this month to how it has for the majority of Sarina Wiegman's tenure. With Millie Bright having recently retired, Leah Williamson still injured, Alex Greenwood ruled out for a few weeks and Jess Carter granted a period of rest, Wiegman is set to name a starting defence without any of that quartet for just the second, and third, time in her four years in charge of the Lionesses when her side take on China and Ghana over the course of the next week.

The incredible story of Leicester City's 2015-16 Premier League title triumph is perhaps the most well-known of the past decade. Claudio Ranieri guided a team of 5000-1 outsiders, which had been assembled on a shoestring budget, to glory in his first season at the King Power Stadium. No one could argue that Leicester were not the best side in the country either; they finished 10 points clear of second-placed Arsenal, losing only three of their 38 games.

This time last year, the narrative around Chelsea's meeting with Arsenal at Stamford Bridge focused on whether Cole Palmer had reached Bukayo Saka-levels of stardom. He had taken west London by storm during his first year with the Blues and was spearheading an unlikely title charge through the autumn. Now, though, the debate between the two rivals has shifted to midfielders Moises Caicedo and Declan Rice.

With Rose Lavelle flying, Naomi Girma healthy again and new faces pushing in camp, Emma Hayes gets a final 2025 look at the USWNT against Italy.

It's a wild time to be a fan of American soccer, leaving those who follow it plenty to be grateful for this holiday season

A little over a year ago, Gianni Infantino announced that Inter Miami would participate in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup. He said the Herons were "deserved participants", having supposedly proven themselves "the best club" in MLS. Only they hadn't. Miami may have finished top of the regular-season standings, but the play-offs had yet to get under way.

Kalvin Phillips left Leeds United for Manchester City to chase his dreams, but since penning an emotional, two-page letter to his boyhood club to mark his departure from Elland Road, his career has been a living nightmare. There have been multiple runs of bad luck, injuries and humiliation, and when his former club visit the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, the England international is highly unlikely to even be on the bench.

Weston McKennie and Jonathan David are in different situations for their club and, with the World Cup around the corner, need to start playing their best soccer.

Liverpool were condemned to another damaging, dreadful defeat as Arne Slot’s side were thumped 4-1 by PSV in a Champions League horror show at Anfield. The Reds' shambolic defence was exposed time and again, with captain Virgil van Dijk conceding an early penalty while Ibrahima Konate was at fault for the third as their season hit another depressing low.

Paris Saint-Germain loanee Randal Kolo Muani shone against his parent club with two goals and an assist, but his heroics ultimately counted for nothing as Tottenham slumped to a comprehensive 5-3 defeat at the reigning European champions. Spurs went ahead twice in the game. but were undone by some dismal defending as PSG scored five times and took home all three Champions League points.

A ridiculous four-goal showing from Kylian Mbappe led an otherwise shaky Real Madrid to a 4-3 win over Olympiacos in the Champions League on Wednesday evening. The Frenchman continued his outrageous run of form, while Vinicius Jr eased tensions after a week of controversy by grabbing an assist to carry Los Blancos to a much-needed European victory against a dogged opponent.

Bayern Munich's unbeaten start to the season came to an end on Wednesday as they fell to a 3-1 loss at Arsenal in the Champions League. Teenager Lennart Karl found the net yet again for Vincent Kompany's side after they had fallen behind to a Jurrien Timber header, but strikes from Noni Madueke and Gabriel Martinelli settled the game in favour of the Gunners.

Arsenal are now the last team with a perfect Champions League record this season after they beat Bayern Munich 3-1 on Wednesday. The Gunners have recorded five wins from five and kept up their 100 percent start by ending that of the Germans' in the process. Jurrien Timber put Arsenal ahead in the first half, while Noni Madueke and Gabriel Martinelli came off the bench to score.

GOAL spoke to a number of former NCFC players, who outlined the harsh realities of a volatile league after being made redundant four days before a playoff game

A new league, a new routine, and a surprisingly “boring” life in Germany - John Tolkin tells GOAL he’s finding stability at Kiel just as his USMNT chance reopens.

You'll Never Walk Alone? Liverpool supporters started streaming out of Anfield long before referee Andy Madley brought an end to Saturday's shambolic showing against Nottingham Forest. They knew that there was no way back for their team after Morgan Gibbs-White fired in the visitors' third and final goal with 12 minutes remaining. Truth be told, it felt like the game was up for the hosts as soon as Murillo opened the scoring after just over half an hour of play, because this is a side suddenly bereft of backbone.

England are missing a lot of key names for their final international camp of 2025. Captain Leah Williamson remains sidelined, making the absences of both Alex Greenwood and Jess Carter all the more notable in a depleted centre-back unit, while Lauren James remains out of the squad having only just returned from injury at Chelsea. Perhaps the most significant bit of team news, though, concerns Hannah Hampton, who could miss the rest of the year with a quad issue.