World Soccer - UK (2021-10)

FROM THE

EDITOR

CAMEROON

Drawmadefor

delayedAFCON

Amonthafterthecompetitionwasoriginally

scheduledtokick-off –beforebeingmovedtwice,

firstlydueto“unfavourableclimaticconditions”

andthenCOVID- 19 – thedrawforthe 2021

Africa CupofNationshastakenplace.

CAFhadchangedthetimingof thetournament

and,inJuly 2019 , Algeriabecamethefirst-ever

summertimewinnersinEgypt.However, 2 021

hostsCamerooncouldnotcommittoa summer

tournamentduetotheirrainyseason,thusthe

competitionwasshiftedto January 202 1,before

thepandemicledtoafurtheryear’sdelay.

Themosteye-catchinggroupwillseeholders

AlgeriafaceIvory Coast,whileAFCONdebutants

Comoroshavea toughtaskinGroupCagainst

Morocco,GhanaandGabon.

Thetoptwonationsfromeachgroupwill

progresstotheknockoutstages,alongwiththe

fourbestthird-placedteams.Thetournament

kicksoffonJanuary 9 , 2 02 2.

Drawinfull:

GROUPA

Cameroon,Burkina Faso,Ethiopia,CapeVerde

GROUPB

Senegal,Zimbabwe,Guinea,Malawi

GROUPC

Morocco,Ghana,Comoros,Gabon

GROUPD

Nigeria,Egypt,Sudan,Guinea-Bissau

GROUPE

Algeria, SierraLeone,EquatorialGuinea,Ivory Coast

GROUPF

Tunisia,Mali,Mauritania,Gambia

Twoof football’sgreatest-evergoalscorersreceivecoverageinthis

editionofWorld Soccer. We payour respectstothe game’soriginal
goalmachine,GerdMuller(page 58 ),withKeirRadnedgeoffering

a glowingtributeto“Der Bomber”,whosemanygoalrecordsstill

stand today.
Anotherplayerwhohashisownsetof incrediblegoalscoringfeats

isLionelMessi,and hisshock movetoParisSaint-Germainperhaps

poses more questionsthananswers fortheFrench giants(page16)
whilstsimultaneouslyleavinga gaping holeinthe Spanishgame.

ThefalloutinSpainfromMessi’sexit,alongwithLaLiga’sproposed
dealwithprivateequity firmCVC,hasledtoshockwaveswithin

thedomesticscene,andColinMillarhelpsus digestthelatest

developments(page 24).
Itisn’tjustgoalscorers,though, whoachieveheadlinesand

stardomin today’sgame. AnotherPSGsigning,and Euro 2 020
Playerof TheTournament,GianluigiDonnarumma looksset

foradecadeofdominance as theworld’s

bestgoalkeeper,andNickBidwell tracks
hisjourneyfromteenagestarletto

worldwidesuperstar (page 4 6).
Steve Menarydigsdeepintothe

murkiersideofthegame,withclubs in

Latvia(page 20 ) andBelarus(page79)
makingmoreheadlinesoffthepitchthan

onit, whileBen Bocsakshinesthelight

ona moreinspiringstory,withZambian
clubKafue Celticprovidinga pathwayfor

anabundanceof promisingAfrican talents
tomaketheirwayinthegame(page28).

Onthe pitch,congratulationsare in order

fortheUnitedStates,who added theGoldCupto theirrecent
NationsLeaguevictoryin what appearstobea powershift from

Mexicoto furthernorthof thecontinentin CONCACAF (page 8 2),
while Brazil’s men’steam(page 8 0)and Canada’s women’steam

(page 64)arrivedbackfromJapanwithcovetedOlympic gold

medalsaroundtheir necks.We providefullreviews,along with
definitive squadlists(page86),ofall threecompetitions.

Withthe 2022 WorldCupnowjustover 12 monthsaway, lots

ofcountrieswillhavesimilaraspirations forglory,and we provide
anupdateonthe “RoadtoQatar”withthe next roundofqualifiers

imminentlyunderwayinEurope,SouthAmerica,Asia, Africaand
CONCACAF(page 68).

Andon theclubscene,the ChampionsLeaguestarts againin

September.Asusual we providea previewand playerstowatch
ahead of UEFA’s showcase competition(page

where PSGwillbehopingthe

signingof Messi finallyhelpsthe

succeedintheirquesttowin the

crown.OnlytimewilltellifLeo

canaddanother glorious chapter

tohis alreadyiconiccareer.

StephenFishlock,GroupEditor

Twoof

football’s

greatest-ever

goalscorers

receive

coveragein

thiseditionof

WorldSoccer

THEWORLD THISMONTH