It's finally decision time for Thomas Tuchel, who is set to name his final England squad for the 2026 World Cup. Tuchel's brief for the role was quite simple when he began work in March 2025: ensure the Three Lions lift the trophy for the first time in 60 long years. Now, the German tactician must pick the 26 players who he believes can get the job done in North America as the tournament looms large.
For the fourth time in seven years, Lyon and Barcelona will go head-to-head in the Women's Champions League final on Saturday. The eight-time winners and three-time winners, respectively, are developing something of a rivalry in Europe's premier competition, with this season providing further support to the belief that they are the two best teams in the women's game right now.
When Barcelona won their seventh successive Liga F title last month, Alexia Putellas was reminded of the many doubts that were raised about her team prior to the season. Financial restraints produced serious obstacles in the transfer market and prevented the club from building the sort of squad one would hope for when competing on four fronts, leading many to wonder how they would fare this season, especially in the Champions League. That the Catalans are back in the final on Saturday and just one win away from a quadruple, then, is quite the rebuttal.
What was once unthinkable is about to become a reality for Manchester City, as Pep Guardiola prepares to call time on a glittering decade at the Etihad Stadium. The revered manager is widely expected to step down at the end of the season, bringing the curtain down on a revolutionary era for both City and the English game as a whole. It is an impossible act to follow, but former Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca is waiting in the wings.
As the 2025-26 Premier League season draws to a close, it's time to look back on what has been a campaign full of twists and turns. Arsenal eventually saw off the challenge of Manchester City to secure the title, but European places and the final berth in the relegation zone are still to be decided into the final day.
Brian Gutierrez’s growing role, Raul Rangel’s No. 1 case, and Edson Alvarez’s fitness are among the key storylines as Mexico face Ghana in Puebla on Friday. GOAL looks at five keys to watch in El Tri’s first pre-World Cup friendly.
Youri Tielemans, Emiliano Buendia and Morgan Rogers all scored great goals as Aston Villa claimed their first major honour in three decades by defeating Freiburg 3-0 in the Europa League final on Wednesday night. Unai Emery's men had gone into the game in Istanbul as heavy favourites - not least because their Spanish coach had already lifted the trophy four times - and, towards the tail end of a tense first half, they underlined their vastly superior quality with two sensational strikes.
The days leading up to the squad announcement have been far from calm. National coach Julian Nagelsmann heads into the World Cup in a weakened position, having suffered a surprising decline. A commentary.
When Mohamed Salah clashed with Jurgen Klopp after being taken off in a frustrating and costly draw with West Ham on April 27, 2024, the Egyptian decided against continuing the argument afterwards. As Salah told reporters as he passed through the mixed zone at the London Stadium, "If I speak, there will be fire", so the winger wisely kept his mouth shut, and his powder dry.
Viewed in its entirety, the season has seen four BVB players fall short of expectations. However, one forward has claimed the title of the second-half star. Here is Borussia Dortmund's season report card.
Pep Guardiola will reportedly leave at the end of the season, and according to those same reports, he will be replaced by Enzo Marseca. GOAL writers debate where Guardiola's legacy lies in English football.
And just like that, the Premier League title race is over. A truly absorbing battle between Arsenal and Manchester City swung this way and that throughout the second half of the campaign, but it is the Gunners who have come out on top, securing their first domestic title for 22 years with a game to spare.
Chelsea ensured Tottenham's fight for Premier League survival will go down to the final day as Enzo Fernandez inspired a 2-1 victory over their fierce London rivals on Tuesday - the Blues' first win in seven games. The Argentine swept home a fine opener from long range in the first half before turning provider for Andrey Santos in the second period, keeping his side's hopes of European qualification alive.
Tottenham will head into the final day of the Premier League season still with work to do if they are to avoid relegation after they fell to a 2-1 loss at Chelsea on Tuesday. Richarlison's second-half strike wasn't enough for Roberto De Zerbi's side as their four-game unbeaten run came to an end at the hands of their rivals from across London.
Despite the best efforts of Erling Haaland, Manchester City gifted the Premier League title to Arsenal by drawing 1-1 at Bournemouth on Tuesday. The visitors had arrived at the Vitality Stadium hoping to close the gap to the Gunners to just two points ahead of Sunday's final round of fixtures and, thus, give Pep Guardiola a shot at lifting the trophy for a seventh time before stepping down as manager.
This time last year, Gary Neville argued that Mikel Arteta's most notable achievement at Arsenal was not his 2020 FA Cup win - but still being in a job despite going five subsequent seasons without winning a major honour. "We thought those days were gone where you could have this type of patience being afforded to you," the former Manchester United defender said on Sky Sports.
Could this be the moment that Chelsea's fortunes finally change under the beleaguered BlueCo ownership? The club has pulled off what looks like a seismic coup by luring Xabi Alonso to Stamford Bridge despite their continued struggles, somehow convincing the revered 44-year-old former Real Madrid boss to take the reins ahead of what now promises to be an era-defining summer.
This is Legacy, GOAL’s feature and podcast series counting 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 explore what England must learn from their failure to claim glory in 2002, and why Thomas Tuchel’s task ahead is not about tactics, but about belief, identity, and courage on the biggest stage.
It was far from pretty, but Arsenal are one game away from the Premier League title after holding their nerve to edge past already-relegated Burnley on Monday night, courtesy of Kai Havertz's towering header from yet another set piece. The German forward rose to meet Bukayo Saka's corner shortly before half-time, although he was fortunate not be sent off later in the game. The 1-0 win means the Gunners will be champions if Manchester City drop points at high-flying Bournemouth on Tuesday.
If anyone knows their football, it's the editors at SPOX. As usual, we staked our expertise before the campaign kicked off, fully aware that our reputations were on the line. And while some calls were spot-on, others left us red-faced. Here are the bold predictions we made for the 2025/26 Bundesliga season.
All things considered, BVB's season hasn't improved much on the previous two. It remains uncertain whether the platform built under Kovac is solid enough to underpin the "new BVB".
Following his much-talked-about departure from Real Madrid, Xabi Alonso is taking charge of another club in turmoil: Chelsea FC. Is this a bold move or a suicide mission?
Unsurprisingly, Manchester City dominate GOAL's 2025-26 Women's Super League Team of the Season, after Andree Jeglertz's side comfortably clinched their first title triumph in 10 years without even needing a result on the final day. How the rest of the XI looks, though, sums up what an interesting campaign it has been.