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Newcastle all-but secured their place in the last 16 of the Champions League as Anthony Gordon scored four first-half goals in a dominant 6-1 win over Qarabag in Wednesday's play-off round first leg. The Magpies ran riot from minute one in Baku, and might even feel that they should have won by a heavier margin given the chances they created on the night.

Mic’d Up: The CBS/Prime Video and AppleTV commentator hails Emma Hayes' impact, explains why NWSL is the best league in the world and is looking forward to arrival of Denver and Boston in 2026.

GOAL spoke to GMs and chief soccer officers across MLS about the league’s 3.0 vision: the calendar change is progress, but executives say the next steps must come faster.

Did Gianluca Prestianni racially abuse Vinicius Junior at the Estadio da Luz on Tuesday night? We don't know. Not yet at least. And that's mainly because the Argentine very deliberately covered his mouth with his shirt as he exchanged words with Vinicius after being inexplicably enraged by the Brazilian celebrating his 50th-minute goal with a little dance in front of the corner flag.

Coming into the 2025-26 season, few - if any - were carrying the kind of momentum that Chloe Kelly was. She was the Lionesses' hero in the summer, scoring the penalty that delivered the 2025 European Championship title after also enjoying huge moments in the quarter-and-semi-finals to get England into that title-deciding clash with Spain. With a permanent move to Arsenal secured after all that, having helped the Gunners win the Champions League in May while on loan, Kelly felt primed for a huge season.

Cesc Fabregas was one of the finest midfielders of his generation. He made his Arsenal debut at 16 and, by the age of 23, he'd already won a European Championship and a World Cup with Spain. So, when Como sporting director Carlalberto Ludi says that Fabregas is "even better as a coach" than he was as a player, it's quite the claim.

Eberechi Eze was meant to be Arsenal's X-factor this season, a player who could break the mould and deliver moments of magic for a regimented team in need of that extra attacking spark. The Gunners sit pretty at the top of the Premier League table, but they are still missing that fluidity in the final third, and Eze has seldom proven the answer to the questions over their potency from open play.

Hayes leaned on experience for the SheBelieves Cup, clarifying her defensive hierarchy, her approach at No. 9, and the standards guiding the USWNT’s build toward 2027.

Vinicius Jr scored the only goal of an otherwise controversial fixture as Real Madrid beat Benfica 1-0 in the first leg of their Champions League knockout play-off. The Brazilian forward's second-half strike was followed by a lengthy delay for an alleged racist remark from a Benfica player to Vinicius. Play continued, and Madrid held on for a crucial lead in the tie.

The North Londoner, who worked under Ange Postecoglou, Thomas Frank and Scott Parker, is hoping to bring an aggressive style of football to a young Rapids side

GOAL sat down with the Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder to discuss his not-so-meteoric rise and what it means for his World Cup hopes

One regular weekend of refereeing, that's all we ask for. Will never happen. At least not in the current climate - because if the fourth round of the FA Cup taught us anything, it's that the absence of VAR definitely doesn't mean an absence of controversy. The first half of the Aston Villa-Newcastle game alone made a compelling case for the continued use of technology for offside decisions and penalty claims.

For a particular generation of AC Milan fans, those who grew up in the early 2000s, one name stands out above any other. Andriy Shevchenko combined technical skill with a ruthlessness in front of goal that made him one of the best strikers the game has ever seen, a Ballon d'Or winner and a worthy entrant into GOAL's Hall of Fame...

This is Legacy, GOAL’s feature and podcast series that counts down to the 2026 World Cup. Each week, we explore the stories and the spirit behind the nations that define the world’s game. This week, we travel through the most emotional legacy in football history: Argentina’s journey from wounds to glory. From the heartbreak of lost finals to the joy of Qatar, this is the story of a team that turned suffering into strength, and passion into destiny. A nation that doesn’t just play the World Cup - it feels it.

Pep Guardiola has told Phil Foden to just relax amid his latest slump in form, but that is easier said than done, given his place in the Manchester City lineup is less certain than ever while his status in the England squad also at risk. Foden appeared to have put last season's struggles behind him towards the end of 2025, but he now appears to be suffering another dip at the worst possible time.

No one can create a siege mentality like Jose Mourinho. Benfica were almost universally written off when they welcomed Real Madrid to Estadio da Luz in the final round of league phase fixtures for this season's Champions League, having lost five of their first eight games, including a shocking 3-2 home defeat to Azerbaijani minnows Qarabag.

In an exclusive interview with GOAL, Marc Dos Santos explains why LAFC chose continuity - and how Son Heung-Min and Denis Bouanga will be used differently in 2026.